15/12/2024
In late 1939, Walt Disney took his father on a tour of his brand new, state-of-the-art, movie studio in Burbank, California. The studio, still under construction, was being built by the funds earned by Walt's smash hit, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Walt's dad, Elias, was eighty years old at this point. Born in 1859, Elias never fully understood the success of his sons' business. 😢
As they toured the site where the buildings were still being built, Elias asked, "Walter, what can it be used for?" Walt took the question literally. "Why, it's a studio. It's where I work," he answered. Walt didn't understand that his dad was already thinking that his two sons were going to fail in this giant business venture of theirs, so, when they did, Elias wanted to know what the buildings could be used for. 😬 Walt thought fast and gloomily told Elias, "It would make a perfect hospital. Operating rooms could be installed above the wide corridors, and bathrooms put between office cubicles." That explanation seemed to satisfy Elias. 🥲
Just a couple of years later, Elias's worries almost became a prophecy. The world was at war and the overseas markets had completely vanished. Walt and his team had been working on "Bambi", "Pinocchio", and "Fantasia" all at the same time, and money was pouring out of the studio. Roy called Walt into his office to try to figure out how to keep their studio afloat.
Walt told his daughter, Diane Disney Miller, "I remember Roy calling me in and his opening was, 'I've got to talk to you, kid. This is serious.' I was as worried as he was, but I didn't think I could accomplish anything by brooding, so I was concentrating on trying to get our product wrapped up and ready to go, whether it was going anywhere or not.
"When I went in to see him, your Uncle Roy wore a long face. He talked about our bank difficulties, but when he mentioned the four and a half million bucks we owed, I began to laugh. 'What are you laughing at?' Roy asked. I said, 'I was thinking about the time we couldn't borrow a thousand bucks.'" 😁
Thank you so much for reading another Disney story! All of the quotes for this one come from "The Story of Walt Disney" by Walt's daughter, the late Diane Disney Miller as told to Pete Martin. You can find it in audio form on Amazon. The photo is of Roy O. Disney, Flora Disney, Elias Disney, Ruth Disney (Walt's sister), and Walt. 😊 I hope you enjoyed this story, just like every other one, and I hope you're having a great day when you read this! Thanks again!! 🙏❤