The name “Disney” is a favorite amongst all. From being a leader in the animation industry to theme parks, production of live-action films and also television, Disney has carved a place for itself not just in the industry but also in the minds of people.
For all the Disney lovers, here we present 32 super interesting facts about Disney, the multinational mass media and entertainment giant.
- Alice’s Wonderland: It all started with Alice’s Wonderland in 1923. It was after the creation of this short film that Walt Disney joined hands with his brother, Roy O. Disney, to form Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.
- The birth of Mickey Mouse: In 1928, Mickey Mouse was born. Initially, he was visualized as a mouse, named Mortimer.
- The first comic strip: Back in 1929, the first Mickey Mouse comic strip was published in New York Mirror.
- Mickey and Minnie: The voice of Mickey Mouse and Minnie mouse was lent by a real-life couple.
- Style icon Mickey Mouse: Mickey Mouse has 136 different outfits which include tuxedos and also scuba suits.
- Record time in making Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The production for the first animated film took three years to complete. Disney started production in 1934 and the film premiered in 1937.
- First feature-length animated film: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first feature-length animated film by Walt Disney was released in 1937 and within 2 years, it became the highest-grossing film during that time.
- Oscar for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Walt Disney was presented with a normal-sized Oscar statuette and seven miniature Oscar statuettes.
- Characters modeled after film actors: Disney characters, Aladdin is modeled after actor Tom Cruise, and, Ariel after Alyssa Milano.
- Tinkerbell’s character is not based on Marilyn Monroe: It was believed that popular character Tinkerbell was based on Marilyn Monroe. But in reality, it was modeled after Margaret Kerry, who was a reference model.
- Iconic songs were almost removed: The iconic song, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King and “Part of your World” from The Little Mermaid were almost removed from the movie!
- Snow White Returns: A sequel to Disney’s first animated feature film, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was planned. However, it was never finalized and did not even cross the preproduction stage.
- New princess in Disney World after 30 years: It was after a gap of 30 years that a new princess was found by Disney. After 1959’s Sleeping Beauty, Ariel made an entry as the new princess in 1989.
- John Lennon’s voice: Disney requested Beatle’s John Lennon to lend his voice for the vulture’s character in The Jungle Book. But the offer was turned down by the iconic singer.
- The character of Princess Tiana: Alicia Keys auditioned for Princess Tiana’s character thrice and Beyoncé wished to be offered the role without any audition! But it was Anika Noni Rose who bagged the character.
- Disney movie with PG rating: The first animated movie from Disney to receive a PG rating was The Black Cauldron.
- Disney structures: All buildings and structures at Disney’s Hollywood Studios or Disney’s Animal Kingdom are no more than 200-feet tall.
- The voice of Elsa: Frozen’s Else got the voice of Idina Menzel, who auditioned for Tangled. But she did not bag a role there. However, her version of “Blackbird” made Disney consider her first for Elsa’s voice.
- Favorite character: The favorite character of Disney founder, Walt Disney, was Goofy.
- Wedding invitation for Disney characters: A wedding invitation for Mickey and Minnie Mouse or Cinderella and Prince Charming will have Disney characters sending back autographed photo or congratulatory certificate for the newly marrieds.
- Hollywood Walk for Fame: Mickey Mouse is the first animated character to get a Hollywood Walk of Fame star.
- Disney World employees: Walt Disney World has more employees than the combined number of all employees at Disney’s property across the globe.
- Color-coded secret tunnels: Disney World houses a network of tunnels for ease of movement of the staff.
- 30,000 rooms: At Disney World hotels and resorts, there are 30,000 rooms!
- Scrapped Epcot model: Walt Disney had plans to build a whole new city with selected 20,000 people living in the setup. But, post his death, the project was scrapped.
- No rainwater: The 16 million ton sphere at Epcot is so designed that the rainwater is funneled into the World Showcase Lagoon and there is no water dripping from the Spaceship Earth.
- Tallest water fountain: At Epcot Innoventions Plaza, the fountain shoots water about 150 feet in the air and is the second tallest in the world.
- Cinderella Castle: In Magic Kingdom, the Cinderella Castle looks to be made of glass, but it has the strength to withstand hurricanes!
- Trash bins at every 30 steps: At Disney World, to keep the park clean and the visitors happy, there is a trash bin every 30 step.
- Lost and found: The lost and found section if Disney World is pretty busy as 210 pairs of sunglasses are brought in daily. Moreover, each year 18,000 hats, 6,000 phones and 3,500 cameras are reported by the lost and found section.
- Closed for visitors: Disney World has closed three times since the time of its inception. Once it was due to Hurricane Floyd in 1999, once due to the terror attack on 9/11 in 2001, and once due to a power failure in 2002.
- Studio or theme park: Disney Hollywood Park was not built as a theme park. It was built as a studio where Christina Aquilera, Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling, and Justin Timberlake filmed for the Mickey Mouse Club.
