"Disney" is actually a changed version of Walt's family's original name. The
original name was D'Isigny. It was around the year 1044. Originally from France,
Isigny-Sur-Mer was the area that Walt's relatives came from. Can you imagine planning a trip to
D'Isignyland?
REPORTED: Meg 29 JUL 96
When Walt was younger he was hired to work at the Kansas City Star newspaper. He was later fired from the paper because of lack of creativity. Years later The Disney Company bought ABC which owned The Kansas City Star. How strange that he was fired because he was not creative enough and years later you own them because of your creativness.
REPORTED: Becca 20 JAN 00
According to All About Community Colleges, Walt Disney attended Metropolitan Junior College, MO.
For other famous people who attended community colleges, see
the alumni page.
REPORTED: Christine 04 OCT 00
Walt Disney produced a series of cartoons entitled "Alice in Cartoonland",
which combined live action and animation. These cartoons were long before Mickey.
REPORTED: Ruffian 12 AUG 97
In 1945 Walt Disney designed the insignia for Fighter Squadron VF-84 while the squad was getting ready for the attack on Japan.
See the book.
REPORTED: Will S. Arburn 30 JUL 96
My grandmother served as a Women's Air Force Service Pilot (WASP) in WWII, and she has many items bearing the picture of "Fifinella", a cartoon character created by Disney. My grandmother told me she was a lucky charm of sorts for the women pilots.
REPORTED: anon 28 MAR 99
Mounted on the roof of the administration building at Avenger Field in 1943
was a 10-foot-high sign with a giant portrait of
Fifinella, the Walt Disney gremlin who served as
mascot to the Women's Airforce Service Pilots.
While stationed at the US Navy submarine base in New London, CT, a fellow sailor who worked at the USS Nautilus museum relayed an interesting piece of information to me. There had been some recent thefts at the museum. Some older submarine insignias that were made of gold were removed along with other stuff. I commented that they must have been worth a lot of money due to gold and their age. The other sailor informed me that the thieves had no idea what they had passed up though. In one of the offices (The head honcho's, I believe) is an original drawing of the design for the insignia of the USS Nautilus. It shows a submarine reared up on its tail with a nuclear symbol and some other navy stuff. The kicker of it all is that it was designed by and signed by Walt Disney himself!!!
REPORTED: Mike McCarthy 16 JUL 98
How far apart are the trash cans? Walt Disney ate a hot dog in Disneyland and counted how many steps it took to finish it. It took him 17 steps (I think), which is the spacing used in every Disney park today.
REPORTED: Sean Henderson 26 JUN 96
While on a behind the scenes tour, I found out that the trash cans are
no more than 25 paces apart
CONFIRMED: Timothy G Klees 23 SEP 96
They average 20 paces
CONFIRMED: Tom & Renée Shaw 29 MAR 98
There are many hidden Mickey's if you go to Walt Disney's former home in Beverly Hills. The iron gate to the mansion seems to have a curly design in the ironwork...but tilt your head slightly and notice that these curls are Mickey's head.
REPORTED: glynis rogers 08 DEC 96
As I heard from a Cast Member, Goofy was Walt's favorite character.
REPORTED: anon 31 JUL 96
Disney in the late 60's put out some educational films. I only know about two of them. One was describing a female's monthly cycle. The other was about syphillis, and gonorrhea. The one about syphillis and gonarrhea had both "VDs" grouped together like an army unit. They had oval bodies with berets on. Syphillis were red and they wore red berets and had an S somewhere on them. Gonorrhea were green and they wore green berets, they had a G somewhere on them too.
REPORTED: Josh C. 03 MAR 97
About Disney producing the female reproduction film. Its totally true. When they rounded us (the girls) up in fifth grade, they showed us a film, and it was DISNEY!! It was old, too. I would say 60's or 70's. It kind of disturbed me that Disney was teaching me about my monthly cycle.
CONFIRMED: Brandy Karl 10 MAY 97
CONFIRMED: Sha415 12 JUL 98
Disney did produce educational films for sex ed classes, but not just for the women. In fifth grade we got to see two films, one geared toward female growth and development, one geared toward males. Both of these were produced by Disney.
CONFIRMED: Grant Anderson 09 OCT 98
Story of Menstruation, The Educational film, made for International
Cellucotton Co.; delivered on October 18, 1946. Through animation and diagrams,
the film discusses the female reproductive organs and follows development from
babyhood to motherhood. A popular Disney film for girls in school for several decades.
Walt Disney was so passionate about trains that he built a 1/8-scale railroad running through his backyard and the rose gardens of his Holmby Hills home, much to his wife's dismay.
Because of his love of trains, Walt Disney built an eighth scale railroad at his
home. He took the Carolwood Pacific name from the street the house was
located on, Carolwood Drive. This authentic steam railroad, which Walt
himself helped to build, served as the inspiration for the larger steam trains at
Disneyland.
The engine that Walt built was No. 173 Lilly Belle. This 4-4-0 engine was
named after his wife, Lillian. It is now on display, along with the caboose,
inside Disneyland's Main Street Station.
For more information on the Carolwood Pacific, visit the Carolwood Pacific
Historical Society.
Many, such as myself, have wondered about the symbol on Walt Disney's tie shown during the Rocket Rods queue narration. It also appears on the bronze statue of Disney in the center of Disneyland. It looks like an Asian language character, but I recently found out that it is actually a compound of the letters S T R, which apparently stands for Disney's "Smoke Tree Ranch."
REPORTED: Alfonso Aguilar 13 NOV 98
From Disney A to Z (by Dave Smith): Smoke Tree Ranch. Walt Disney had a vacation home at this ranch, located
in Palm Springs, California, and he often wore a necktie emblazoned with a
stylized STR emblem.
UPDATE: Melanie Emmons 13 NOV 98
Walt Disney's tiepin is in the shape of the letters "STR," which stand for
"Smoke Tree Ranch," a favorite vacation destination of his. He specifically
asked that the tiepin be part of the statue in the hub of Main Street when it
was commissioned.
CONFIRMED: Amanda 18 NOV 98
I'm 35 and have been going to Smoke Tree Ranch during Easter week for most of my life. There is a recreation center there named Disney Hall. When I was young, they used to show Disney films to the guests. There are also pictures of Disney in the main ranch house where guests dine.
CONFIRMED: anon 30 MAR 99
The symbol you see on Walt Disney's tie-tack in the Rocket Rods queue Circlevision presentation is actually the initials of his ranch...the Smoke Tree Ranch.
CONFIRMED: AprilDecember 13 JUN 99
I work at Smoke Tree Ranch, and all the above facts are true. STR is a very private resort, membership by recommendation of a commitee only. When Disney asked to become a homeowner on STR, the current owners were wary of such a 'Hollywood Type' invading their exclusive hideaway. So to prove his love of the ranch, Disney had his designers design and build three cottages on the ranch, and they finally let him join. Those cottages are still there today. Also on the ranch still is a good gentleman friend of Disney's, who was the inspiration for the character of 'Jaques' the mouse in Cinderella. There are plenty of homeowners still living there that were friends of Disneys and knew him well.
CONFIRMED: anon 24 JUL 01
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