Meet the Disney Brothers

By Aaron Goldberg

You have probably heard the word Disney before. Come on, who hasn’t? You’ve seen Disney movies, watched Disney TV shows, and maybe even visited Disneyland or Walt Disney World.

Did you know there were two brothers with the last name of Disney who created this entertainment empire? Walt and Roy Disney built the world’s most popular theme parks and brought to life some of the best-known cartoon characters in family entertainment. The story of their lives is a wonderful tale of hard work, determination, and cooperation.

While this book is primarily about Walt Disney, his story can’t be properly told without including his older brother Roy and the strong bond between siblings that propelled them to worldwide fame and fortune.

Illustrations throughout this biography help tell the story of how two farm boys from the Midwest went on to build one of the world’s most successful entertainment companies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aaron Goldberg
• Release date: Feb 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9781733642026

Aaron Goldberg

Aaron H. Goldberg is an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania, having graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in anthropology.He is the author of the award-winning and bestselling books, The Disney Story, Meet the Disney Brothers, and The Wonders of Walt Disney World.Aaron has been featured in stories about Disney in the Los Angeles Times, CNN, Emirates Airlines Magazine, Huffington Post, Orlando Sentinel, The Dis, Imaginerding, and Inside the Magic.He’s active on Twitter @aaronhgoldberg and has visited the Disney theme parks more times than his wallet cares to remember!

Book preview

Introduction

You have probably heard the word Disney before. Come on, who hasn’t? Maybe you’ve visited Disneyland in California or Walt Disney World in Florida.

Perhaps you watch the Disney Channel on television or visit the Disney Channel on YouTube. Maybe you listen to Radio Disney. Wow, that’s a lot of Disney!

Did you know there were two brothers with the last name of Disney who actually created this entertainment empire? You have probably heard of one of the brothers—his name is known around the world: Walt Elias Disney, better known as Walt Disney.

Did you know Walt used to wet the bed when he was a little boy? Yep, this is a true story. What makes matters worse is Walt had to share a bed with his older brother Roy! Roy enjoyed sharing this story from time to time when the brothers had become successful businessmen in Hollywood.

Roy and Walt were not only brothers but also best friends and business partners. Both men were creative geniuses in their own right. While Walt enjoyed stardom in front of the camera, Roy preferred to stay in the background away from the glamour of Hollywood, which is probably why you don’t hear much about him. But today, you’re going to learn a lot about Roy. This book is primarily about Walt Disney, but his story can’t be properly told without Roy and the strong bond between the brothers that propelled them to fame and fortune.

Roy excelled at being a businessman; he controlled the finances of the company and helped make all of Walt’s dreams come true, the financial ones at least. Like most siblings, the Disney boys didn’t always get along and had their share of fights and disputes. Once they even stopped talking to each other for nearly two years. But through thick and thin, the brothers stuck together and created some of the most famous characters, the most visited theme parks, and some of the most watched movies in the entire world, and it all started back in Chicago in June of 1893.

Walt and Roy’s parents were Elias and Flora Disney, who lived in Chicago, Illinois. Elias worked as a carpenter and built the house the Disney family lived in. Flora was trained as a schoolteacher.

When the Disneys had their first child, Herbert, Flora left her job to care for her growing family. Soon a second child, Raymond, was born, and next came Roy on June 24, 1893. Eight years later, Walt was born on December 5, 1901. The fifth Disney child, Ruth, was born two years after Walt.

Shortly after Ruth was born, Elias began to think Chicago was changing and a big city wasn’t a peaceful place to raise his family. Elias wanted his family to enjoy a wholesome life surrounded by nature. So in 1906 the family moved to a farm in Marceline, Missouri.

The Disney brothers loved life on their forty-five-acre farm. There were creeks to swim in and all the apples, peaches, and plums a boy could eat from their orchards. Best of all for Walt were the animals! He loved to play with the cows, chickens, and pigs. He even had a favorite horse named Charlie.

One of Walt’s jobs on the farm was to take care of the pigs. He would often hop on the back of one of the critters and try to ride it. He usually fell off and landed in mud!

Well, one spring day Walt wasn’t in the mood for a pig ride. As he walked around the farm he noticed a bucket of tar with a brush in it. Elias had used the tar to patch the holes in the farmhouse roof. Since the weather was warm, the tar was soft and could be spread like paint. Walt grabbed the brush and started to paint a picture of farm animals on the side of the white barn.

Just as Walt was finishing up his picture, he noticed his father walking toward the barn. Oh boy, Walt was in trouble now. Elias couldn’t believe his eyes and questioned Walt about what he had just done. Elias tried over and over, but he was unable to get the tar off the barn. Walt received a big punishment that day. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the first time he was punished by his father.

Elias was a very strict and religious man. He believed in hard work and in little fun and few games. Even at age six, Walt was very playful, creative, and silly. When he started elementary school, he was one of the class clowns. Walt loved to act and perform for his classmates. These were all things Elias frowned upon and couldn’t understand.

According to Elias, art and performing was for the wealthy, and the Disney family certainly wasn’t wealthy. He thought his son should be more serious and refused to encourage Walt’s artistic abilities and creativity. But there was another family member who encouraged Walt and hoped he would

Reviews for Meet the Disney Brothers

[John Barrow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have traveled to Walt disney world 13 times and had no clue of some of the stuff in this book!!!! LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!