Disney's World Started In Ireland

Cartoonist's Irish Heritage Plays A Role At America's Theme Park

By John Mooney

The family of the world's most famous cartoonist emigrated from Gowran, Co. Kilkenny. His father, Elias Disney, came to the U.S. from Canada. His mother, Flora, was of German descent. As a child, Elias moved with his parents all across the country, including a stop in Kissimmee, Florida, where Walt Disney World would one day become the most popular vacation destination on earth.

Walt Disney was born in Chicago on Dec. 5, 1901, and later moved to Marceline, Missouri, where he learned to draw. The budding artist studied at the Chicago Art Institute, where he drew patriotic cartoons for the school newspaper during World War I. He arrived in California in 1923 with $40 in his pocket, an unfinished cartoon in his suitcase, and little else. He founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, but later changed the company name, at his brother Roy's suggestion, to the Walt Disney Studio.

Initially, Disney made silent comedies based on Alice in Wonderland comedies. In 1927, he created a character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He made 26 Oswald cartoons, and when he tried to negotiate with his distributor for a second year, he realized that he had signed away the rights to the character. It was a painful lesson for the young cartoonist, who from then on, made sure that he owned everything that he made.

In 1937, Disney made the first full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs for a whopping $1.5 million. Although production took three years, it was worth the wait. Snow White became the highest grossing film of all time -- a record it held until it was surpassed by Gone With the Wind. The next two Disney classics, Pinocchio and Fantasia, were released in 1940. Although considered masterpieces today, they were not as commercially successful as Snow White because revenue from foreign markets was cut short because of World War II. After Dumbo (1941) and Bambi (1942) were less profitable than hoped, the studio cut on its production of full-length features for nearly a decade.

During World War II, Walt Disney made propaganda and training films for the military at the request of the State Department. After the war, the studio moved into live action production with Song of the South, which included animated segments that audiences expected from Disney films.

During the 1950s, two live action films, Treasure Island and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, became very successful. The studio's return to classic animated features with Cinderella also met with audience approval. As the TV medium grew, The Mickey Mouse Club, one of television's most popular children's series ever, debuted in 1955 and made stars of the young Mouseketeers. Later in the 1950s, the studio began to produce a string of wacky comedies, such as The Shaggy Dog. In 1964, the studio released Mary Poppins, which earned Julie Andrews an Oscar for Best Actress.

Walt Disney was the first movie executive to successfully merchandise his characters. Watches, dishes, toothbrushes, radios, dolls and figurines bore Mickey Mouse's likeness and generated millions in revenue, which was used to fund movie production.

Always intrigued by amusement parks, Disney felt that there should be a park where parents and children could enjoy together. This was the genesis of Disneyland, which opened on July 17, 1955, in Anaheim, CA. It was termed a "theme park," and set the standard for all others that followed. Before he died in 1966, Walt Disney purchased 28,000 acres of land in Orlando, FL, to build an East Coast theme park. Walt Disney World opened on October 1, 1971 and instantly became a destination resort, unencumbered by the urban sprawl around California's Disneyland. With its hotels, golf courses and shopping villages, Walt Disney World soon became the premier vacation destination in the world.

Roy Disney, who oversaw the building and financing of Walt Disney World, died shortly after the park opened. Eleven years later, in 1982, Epcot Center opened (at the cost of over $1 billion). Three new attractions opened in 1989: the Disney/MGM Studios Theme Park, Pleasure Island, and Typhoon Lagoon. Walt Disney World later added Blizzard Beach

Walt Disney was a film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, visionary, philanthropist, and a quintessential American. Long after his death in 1966, his is the preeminent name in family entertainment. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to today's major corporation, it continues its mandate of providing quality entertainment for the entire family.

A Taste Of Ireland at Downtown Disney

Downtown Disney is an adult-focused portion of the resort featuring Cirque du Soleil, Planet Hollywood, and a Wolfgang Puck Café, and other eateries that serve food and alcohol. It is the home of the Raglan Road Restaurant & Pub, which was built in Ireland and shipped to Orlando. Ragland Road is owned by Irishmen, not by Walt Disney World itself, and has a menu developed by one of Ireland's leading chefs.

The cavernous eatery features a house band called Tuskar Rock, which has gained a following among tourists and locals alike. (Music starts at 9:00 p.m.)

Kevin Dundon, master chef of the Dunbrody Country House Hotel & Restaurant in Co. Wexford, created a modern Irish menu for the Raglan Road Pub. He has received kudos from renowned food critics. Ernie Whalley, editor of Food & Wine Magazine, who wrote, "Dundon is one of a handful of Irish chefs capable of measuring up to contemporaries in Britain, France and America." Mark McCrum from Conde Nast Traveller rates Kevin as "one of Ireland's best chefs."

Entrees at Ragland Road include:

• Beef stew infused with a hint of Guinness
• Homemade bangers served over onion and mashed potatoes, and topped with a red wine reduction
• Shepherd's Pie
• Sirloin Steak topped with Irish whiskey marinade, served with mashed potatoes and crispy fried onions
• Rag-Lamb Shank (served in an Irish stew consommé)

Ragland Road Irish Pub Pleasure Island Downtown Disney 1640 East Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista, Orlando FL 32830 Hours 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 a.m. (7 days a week) Lunch Served 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Dinner Served 3:00 - 11:00 p.m. (407) 938-0300 raglanroadirishpub.com

• Planxty - Roast pork served on mashed potato with apple chutney
• Pie In The Sky - Chicken and wild mushroom pie served with a rocket lettuce salad
• Beer-battered fish and chips
• Baked salmon fillet with maple glaze
• Crock o' Mussels (served in a saffron and leek broth)
• Kevin's Kudos (Ragland Road's signature dish): Oven-roasted loin of bacon with an Irish Mint glaze served with braised cabbage and creamed potato