These were in my April Issue of DVC email updates. I thought some of them were interesting, as I have heard many rumors. Sorry if these have already been discussed.
Exposing Disney myths
The origin of April Fool's Day may be obscure, but the tradition remains strong on the first day of April each year, as pranksters try to fool the trusting and gullible. To help prevent Disney Vacation Club Members from feeling "foolish" this year, I thought I would expose some of the most common Walt Disney myths that have endured for ages.
Myth No. 1: Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Truth: Walt Disney passed away at about 9:30 am on Dec. 15, 1966, at the St. Joseph's Hospital right across the street from the Disney Studios in Burbank, Calif. The official cause of death on the death certificate was "cardiac arrest." [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Walt was a very private person, and, since his battle with cancer had been kept secret, his death came as a surprise to the world. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Following his wishes, Walt was cremated, a fact confirmed by official signed documents. His funeral took place quickly and quietly at the Little Church of the Flowers at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, Calif., at 5 p.m. on Dec. 16. Walt reportedly hated funerals, and his was a small, private ceremony with only immediate family members in attendance. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Since nobody outside of Walt's close family saw him in the hospital, there was little sense of closure after his death. Questions and theories began to run wild. How could such a vibrant public personality disappear when he had so many exciting new projects in the planning stages? Wouldn't such a technological visionary have some secret plan to cheat death especially with all the discussion in the 1960s about the possibility of cryonics? [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The earliest known printed source of the rumor that Walt was frozen appeared in a French magazine in 1969. It has been suggested that a Disney animator known for his outlandish sense of humor was the source of the false rumor. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Myth No. 2: Walt Disney was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. military. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Truth: First, Walt never served any branch of the military, so he could never have been discharged. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]While his brothers served in various branches of the military during World War I, Walt was too young to join. Even fibbing about his age only allowed him to become a volunteer with the American Ambulance Corps (pictured above), a division of The American Red Cross, a civilian organization. Ray Kroc, who later led the McDonald's restaurant chain to fame, was a young volunteer in that same unit. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There was an incident concerning the possible abandonment of a supply truck that had broken down, but a disciplinary board reviewed the situation and cleared Walt of all charges, noting that he had taken reasonable steps to safeguard the vehicle. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]However, these facts didn't stop this myth of Walt's "dishonorable" discharge from being repeated on official tours of the Pentagon, and even repeated to recruits during basic training. As the years passed, the story became even more elaborate, with one tale claiming that Walt displayed his dishonorable discharge papers proudly in his office. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Myth No. 3: Walt's face is featured on a bust in The Haunted Mansion attraction. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Truth: Thurl Ravenscroft, known to many as the voice of cereal mascot Tony the Tiger, also supplied voices for such animated Disney films as Lady and the Tramp, and various Disney Theme Park narrations. His image is projected onto the broken bust, also known as "Uncle Theodore." Thurl has somewhat similar facial features, as well as a similar mustache, to Walt. In reality, Walt passed away many years before The Haunted Mansion opened. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Myth No. 4: Walt Disney was born in Robinson, Ill., and was named after Mr. George Walter, who assisted his parents on their way to Chicago. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Truth: This story has appeared several times over the years in Illinois newspapers. The truth is that Walt was born in Chicago, Ill., and he was named after a local minister and family friend, Walter Parr. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Myth No. 5: Walt Disney was born out of wedlock to a woman from the Spanish town of Mojacar and adopted by Flora and Elias Disney. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Truth: Flora and Elias never visited Spain, and they didn't have any known connections in that country. No adoption paperwork exists. Even a casual examination will show that Walt's resemblance to Flora and Elias is quite prominent. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Myth No. 6: Many residents of Asheville, N.C., believe that Walt worked in that city as a draftsman for a construction company in 1924 and was fired for doodling. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Truth: Walt never worked in Asheville, and instead spent 1924 in Hollywood working on the first "Alice Comedies." No employment records support the Asheville rumor. [/FONT]
Exposing Disney myths
The origin of April Fool's Day may be obscure, but the tradition remains strong on the first day of April each year, as pranksters try to fool the trusting and gullible. To help prevent Disney Vacation Club Members from feeling "foolish" this year, I thought I would expose some of the most common Walt Disney myths that have endured for ages.
Myth No. 1: Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Truth: Walt Disney passed away at about 9:30 am on Dec. 15, 1966, at the St. Joseph's Hospital right across the street from the Disney Studios in Burbank, Calif. The official cause of death on the death certificate was "cardiac arrest." [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Walt was a very private person, and, since his battle with cancer had been kept secret, his death came as a surprise to the world. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Following his wishes, Walt was cremated, a fact confirmed by official signed documents. His funeral took place quickly and quietly at the Little Church of the Flowers at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, Calif., at 5 p.m. on Dec. 16. Walt reportedly hated funerals, and his was a small, private ceremony with only immediate family members in attendance. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Since nobody outside of Walt's close family saw him in the hospital, there was little sense of closure after his death. Questions and theories began to run wild. How could such a vibrant public personality disappear when he had so many exciting new projects in the planning stages? Wouldn't such a technological visionary have some secret plan to cheat death especially with all the discussion in the 1960s about the possibility of cryonics? [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The earliest known printed source of the rumor that Walt was frozen appeared in a French magazine in 1969. It has been suggested that a Disney animator known for his outlandish sense of humor was the source of the false rumor. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Myth No. 2: Walt Disney was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. military. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Truth: First, Walt never served any branch of the military, so he could never have been discharged. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]While his brothers served in various branches of the military during World War I, Walt was too young to join. Even fibbing about his age only allowed him to become a volunteer with the American Ambulance Corps (pictured above), a division of The American Red Cross, a civilian organization. Ray Kroc, who later led the McDonald's restaurant chain to fame, was a young volunteer in that same unit. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There was an incident concerning the possible abandonment of a supply truck that had broken down, but a disciplinary board reviewed the situation and cleared Walt of all charges, noting that he had taken reasonable steps to safeguard the vehicle. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]However, these facts didn't stop this myth of Walt's "dishonorable" discharge from being repeated on official tours of the Pentagon, and even repeated to recruits during basic training. As the years passed, the story became even more elaborate, with one tale claiming that Walt displayed his dishonorable discharge papers proudly in his office. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Myth No. 3: Walt's face is featured on a bust in The Haunted Mansion attraction. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Truth: Thurl Ravenscroft, known to many as the voice of cereal mascot Tony the Tiger, also supplied voices for such animated Disney films as Lady and the Tramp, and various Disney Theme Park narrations. His image is projected onto the broken bust, also known as "Uncle Theodore." Thurl has somewhat similar facial features, as well as a similar mustache, to Walt. In reality, Walt passed away many years before The Haunted Mansion opened. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Myth No. 4: Walt Disney was born in Robinson, Ill., and was named after Mr. George Walter, who assisted his parents on their way to Chicago. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Truth: This story has appeared several times over the years in Illinois newspapers. The truth is that Walt was born in Chicago, Ill., and he was named after a local minister and family friend, Walter Parr. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Myth No. 5: Walt Disney was born out of wedlock to a woman from the Spanish town of Mojacar and adopted by Flora and Elias Disney. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Truth: Flora and Elias never visited Spain, and they didn't have any known connections in that country. No adoption paperwork exists. Even a casual examination will show that Walt's resemblance to Flora and Elias is quite prominent. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Myth No. 6: Many residents of Asheville, N.C., believe that Walt worked in that city as a draftsman for a construction company in 1924 and was fired for doodling. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Truth: Walt never worked in Asheville, and instead spent 1924 in Hollywood working on the first "Alice Comedies." No employment records support the Asheville rumor. [/FONT]
