Walt Disney Quotes

Disneyland Was Built on a Mortgage

No bank would fund Disneyland. Walt borrowed against his life insurance. He sold his vacation home. He convinced ABC to invest in exchange for a TV show. On opening day, July 17, 1955, asphalt was still wet, rides broke down, and there weren't enough drinking fountains. The press called it 'Black Sunday.' Within seven weeks, a million people had visited. Walt died on December 15, 1966, at 65. His last act was lying in a hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, mapping out the layout of Walt Disney World on the ceiling tiles with his finger. He never saw it built.