“The happiest place on Earth.” Disney gives people of all ages a sense of belonging and joy all around the world. Now for people to explore “the happiest place on Earth” past someone’s TV screen, the Disney World and Disney Land parks were created, and the youngest of the two parks, Disney World, recently turned 50 years old last month!! Disney has done so many things for us giving us smiles and comfort when we needed it and creating a safe place where we can believe anything is possible. So in dedication to Disney World and achievements as a company, it’s probably time for a recap, or timeline if you will, showcasing the past, present, and future of Disney, and how it came to be and what it is today. 

History of Disney

Beginning of Cartoons – 

Disney, an amazing company created just by a couple of drawings and a dream. Walt Disney went to California in 1923, pursuing to sell his first cartoon. This cartoon was “Alice in Wonderland,” it started as a short film that became part of a series called “Alice Comedies”, that Walt was willing to sell to a distributor. A distributor came along, M.J Winkler, and on October 16, 1923, the Disney company officially began. Walt and his brother Roy were the first original equal owners of the company, but they both created the name for the company, “Walt Disney’s Studio.”

After four years, in 1927, Walt made an all-cartoon series, and the main character that was created was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald was created under the contract between both Walt and his M.J Wrinker, but M.J Wrinker took the rights to Oswald, behind Walt’s back. Since Walt lost Oswald, he created a new character who today is one of most beloved characters of all, Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse was created at his new studio the Hyperion Studio. Mickey Mouse starred in many cartoons that Walt produced from there, rocketing Walt’s career. From there, in the 1930’s, Walt created his first full cartoon movies starting with “Snow White and the Seven Dwarf.,s” and from there more films were produced to the times of World War 2, like “Pinnochio” and “Fantasia.” This was the start of the Disney career. 

Beginning of Parks – 

After the success of his programs, on July 17, 1955 Disneyland was opened after many years of planning and construction. Disneyland was the first park created by Walt Disney and he added more and more advancements to his park, since there was so much left to unlock in his imagination. Even though his success was booming Walt Disney died on December 15, of 1966 but, before his death he bought a piece of land on the East Coast that became today’s Disney World, that was looked over by Walt’s brother, Roy Disney and Disney World opened on October 1, 1971, what has now happened 50 years ago, and that is what were celebrating here in Lindenhurst and all around the world. From the parks flourished taken over by the Disney family tree and other significant workers in the company that give us so much magic everyday. 

The 50th Celebration of Disney

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Disney World, new rides and celebrations have been added to the park to celebrate their past achievements and hopeful future. The celebrations for the 50th anniversary started on October 1st, a month ago, and the celebrations last for 18 months with a special edition of decorations and accessories. For the 50th anniversary there has been new merchandise at gift shops based on the anniversary and new light show productions at night! Disney has added for night celebrations new light shows called Disney Enchantment, Harmonious, and Beacons of Magic. They also added to their shows a Disney Kite-Trails. This added kites decorated to look characters to fly around in the sky and for all the classic Disney movie songs play as they fly! They added miniature gold statues of characters all around their park, that have been a part of Disney for the past 50 years! The new rides that are coming to Disney are Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and a new show called Drawn to Life, showcasing the magic of animation. These are also a part of the release of the 50th celebration.