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Walt's Story: Episode 12
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Walt wonders...
"As the children rode the merry-go-round, Walt would sit and wonder ..."

"The voyage that ended with the opening of Disneyland in 1955 really began when Walt was entertaining his little girls on Sundays in the early 1940s," reports the Disney biography "The Man Behind the Magic." "As the children took their fifteenth ride around the merry-go-round, Walt would sit quietly on a wooden bench, wondering why no one had invented a clean safe place where parents and children could enjoy themselves at the same time." Walt played with a sequence of ideas that grew steadily bigger. Just before World War II, he considered a small amusement park across the street from the studio that would feature pony rides, a train, and statues of his popular characters. Later, he considered a traveling show featuring a series of scenes of old-time America. "He wanted [the show] to go to the people," recalled studio artist Harper Goff. But eventually Walt determined that that was impractical.
 
Walt visited amusement parks around the United States and the world. Mostly, he found them to be awful, smelly, dirty, and not particularly safe. He was particularly taken by the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, which was fairly priced and clean as could be. Of course, he continued working in the studio on feature-length cartoons like "Alice in Wonderland" and "Peter Pan"; more True-Life Adventures; and live-action films, notably "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," his most ambitious film project to date. Money was no object here; when the squid sequence seemed unrealistic, Walt just ordered it reshot -- for $250,000. But the idea of his amusement park consumed him. The company had, by this time, sold stock to the public, and Roy was concerned that shareholders would be furious if he put the company's resources in such a risky new venture.
The Squid!
"The squid scene did not look very realistic, so Walt had it shot a second time ..."
 
Disneyland
Walt presents Disneyland on camera for his new television show
But the lack of ready money had never stopped Walt before. He borrowed on his life insurance, sold his vacation home in Palm Springs, borrowed money from employees, and founded Walt Disney, Incorporated (which later became WED Enterprises, for Walter Elias Disney), to do the work. That still left him short on cash. No problem. He and Roy struck a deal to create a television show for ABC. In exchange, ABC would put up $500,000 in cash, guarantee $4.5 million in loans, and receive one-third ownership in the park (which it later sold back to Walt). The show, "Disneyland," would make Walt's face as famous as his name; his lead-ins provided an opportunity for him to talk directly to his audience in a tone that was natural and familiar and made him a favorite guest in millions of homes. For three years it was the only ABC show in the top 15 rated programs.
 
"Disneyland" led to the "Mickey Mouse Club" and "Zorro." The "Mouse Club," of course, was a phenomenon in its own right. And it owed a great deal of its success to Walt's insistence that children could be entertained without being condescended to. Soon, television wasn't just a means for funding Disneyland; it was an important part of Walt's empire as well. Meanwhile, on the home front, Diane had fallen in love with a handsome young man named Ron Miller. Walt described him in a letter to his brother Herb as "a wonderful boy, a big athlete whom we all love." Diane and Ron got married in a tiny church in Santa Barbara, California. Ron played professional football for a while and then went to work for Walt. "I have a great ambition for him," Walt told friend Herb Ryman, "He will run the studio one day." The wedding
 
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