Walt Disney, a man so legendary, his name probably makes you think of a giant media empire and massive iconic theme parks

before you think of an actual human being. Walt Disney, the man is a classic American success story if there ever was one.

But he wasn't born destined to become a successful animator, far from it. He didn't show up with the silver spoon in his mouth.

His mom was a homemaker and his dad worked a variety of jobs that always kept the Disney's off the street, but certainly never got to family ahead.

Walt got his first job at 11 to help his family pay the bills.

At the age of just 15, he went overseas to help out his country's World War I efforts working as a medic in France.

And he only worked as a medic because the army wouldn't let him enlist as a soldier due to his young age.

Later in life, he'd say that he wished boys were able to enlist at an even younger age in 15 in order to make men more self-reliant.

Dude may have been in the business of G-rated children's cartoons, but he sure as shit wasn't soft.

The story of the founder of the House of Mouse is fascinating and inspiring.

He overcame numerous obstacles to build his empire from having his first cartoon essentially stolen by his distributor to deal with a massive strike in the 40s that almost bankrupted him.

Walt was no stranger to adversity.

He was a brilliant innovator, someone with true entrepreneurial spirit and a man with no ounce of quit in him.

He literally worked himself into a nervous breakdown at one point.

And then after a doctor mandated vacation, he got his cartoon and ass right back to work.

There was so much you wanted to do, there were movies to make theme parks to build, a utopian community to design, dude set his sights high.

Nothing was ever good enough.

Was his utopian vision ever realized?

Just how big has his empire become?

How did Walt go from a small time Midwestern animator to one of the most famous media tycoons of all time?

Is there a secret hidden illuminati illuminati meeting place inside Disneyland?

We're gonna find out all this and more today on TimeSuck.

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