It’s hard to think of Walt Disney as hard-pressed for cash, but there were a number of instances when the founder of one of the biggest entertainment companies of all time needed outside help to fund his ambitious, grandiose ideas.
Disneyland, at the time of conception, was considered a massive financial risk, and Walt couldn’t get The Walt Disney Company, which he didn’t own himself, to pay for it all. Because of their disinterest, Walt turned to some unorthodox ways to generate revenue so that he could build the Happiest Place on Earth which has, over time, led to Disney’s dominating theme park empire. Here are four ways Walt raised the money that brought the very first Disney park to life.
1. Walt took a loan from his life insurance policy
Image: Disney
Though his life insurance policy was intended to support his family and friends after he passed away, Walt was so desperate to make Disneyland a reality that he borrowed money from it to fund a private company created for the purpose of paying for the development of the first Disney amusement park. It was a bold move, but Walt Disney was certainly never known to be timid. It obvious paid off in dividends, and is an excellent demonstration of just how far Walt was willing to go to make his dreams come true.
2. Walt utilized the merchandising rights to his name.
Walt created yet another company with just the money that could be made off of having his name and likeness attached to a product or service. It says everything about the man that his sign of approval alone was worth millions, because that’s how much people trusted him to consistently deliver quality entertainment. The company created was originally called Walt Disney, Inc., but would later change its name to WED Enterprises to avoid confusion with The Walt Disney Company.
Though it was initially funded by Walt’s name and likeness, the mogul would go on to transfer more assets to WED Enterprises. Those included outright ownership of some of the early Disneyland attractions like the Disneyland Railroad, the Disneyland Monorail, the streetcars found on Main Street and the Viewliner. Because of this, the cast members who managed those attraction were actually employed by WED, not The Walt Disney Company. Walt also added to WED Enterprises licensing rights that netted him between 5% and 10% of the revenue from Disney products, like the ones that still sell in bundles at the Disney parks today. The rights to the iconic Zorro property were even transferred to Walt’s new company.
The Walt Disney Company ended up having to buy WED Enterprises after Walt’s death for a reported $46.2 million in shares in 1981. The company named after Walt Disney could have saved a huge sum of money if it had only believed in its founder in the first place.
3. Walt created the Disneyland TV Show for ABC
The television network ABC Studios, which would later come under the ownership the Walt Disney Company, was crucial to making Disneyland a reality. At the time ABC was struggling in a big way, so, when Walt offered to create a television program for a network in exchange for it investing in the park, they jumped at the chance.
The original title for the anthology series created by Walt, Disneyland, was fitting, considering that its very existence was driven by the desire to make the park of the same name happen. However, the television program would go through a number of name changes during its historic 29-season run. It was known as Disneyland from its debut in 1954 until 1958. Here are the names that followed:
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Walt Disney Presents (1958–1961)
- Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (1961–1969)
- The Wonderful World of Disney (first era) (1969—1979)
- Disney’s Wonderful World (1979–1981)
- Walt Disney (1981–1983)
Even after the end of that initial run, the anthology series originally known as Disneyland would go on to have a few revivals, most recently and currently as The Magical World of Disney Junior on the Disney channel for very young audiences. It never reverted back to the name it started with, probably to avoid confusion with Disneyland the theme park for those who didn’t grow up with it. Kind of sad in a way, but it makes sense.
At the time Walt made his deal with ABC, he believed it would take $5.25 million to create Disneyland. By the time of its opening, however, that figure had more than tripled to about $17 million, so Walt still had a lot more work to do.
4. Walt and his brother found a number of big-name sponsors.
Walt and his brother Roy O. Disney teamed up to collect money from some big businesses in exchange for a presence of those companies at Disneyland. Here are some of the deals they made:
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$50,000 from the Santa Fe Railroad, which in return got to sponsor the Disneyland railway
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$45,000 from American Motors, which sponsored Circarama, the first of several 360-degree movie attractions that would be featured at Disney parks
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$88,000 from a Swift meatpacking company for the Red Wagon Inn and Red Wagon grocery store on Main Street
Those sponsorships definitely paid off considering the fact that theme park history fans are still talking about them today. It’s interesting to see how, little by little, with tiny compromises to Walt’s vision, the Disney brothers were able to fund the most elaborate theme park ever built at the time of its construction. The entire effort to make Disneyland happen is a huge testament to the hard work and perseverance of its creator, Walt Disney, as well as his financially astute brother Roy.
