Walt Disney World iPhone Wallpapers

I was hunting for these to Disney-fy my iPhone earlier today and thought I'd share a few of my favorites.  Enjoy!

You may also enjoy:

Disney World Facebook Timeline Cover Images

Disney World Christmas Computer Wallpapers

Walt Disney's Mother

Elias and Flora Disney

Behind the popular movies, Disneyland (“the happiest place on earth”) and the Mickey Mouse empire, Walt Disney carried a tragedy with him that he refused to speak about even with his family members - his mother’s untimely death.

When Walt was growing up, his family was far from well off. They struggled to make ends meet, moving many times to pursue better job opportunities and trying to keep food in the mouths of their five children (Herbert, Raymond, Roy, Walt and Ruth). Flora was described as a lively, even-tempered woman who enjoyed reading stories to her children and playing games with them.

In 1906 the family moved to a farm near Marceline, MO. Walt’s boyhood home, this town later became his inspiration for Disneyland and WDW’s Main Street, USA.  

Walt and his mother, Flora 

After the success of their 1937 film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", Walt and Roy presented their parents with a new home in North Hollywood, near the Disney studios in Burbank, CA. Less than a month after moving in, Flora started to complain of headaches and said she felt constantly ill. Suspecting the furnace, Walt sent a Disney Studios handyman to look into the matter, but the problem was not adequately fixed.

One morning, the Disney housekeeper felt lightheaded and went to get Elias and Flora out of the house. Elias had collapsed in the hallway; Flora had fallen on the bathroom floor. They were able to revive Elias, but it was too late for Flora. 

She passed away from asphyxiation on November 26, 1938, at the age of 70. Elias Disney was released from the hospital in time to attend his wife's funeral at Forest Lawn Glendale, at the Wee Kirk Church. 

Roy had an inspection done on the furnace, which stated: “installation of the furnace showed either a complete lack of knowledge of the requirements of the furnace or a flagrant disregard of these conditions if they were known.”

Walt, paid tribute to his father with a small sign on his
Main Street USA attraction at
Disneyland which is still in place today.
It reads, “ELIAS DISNEY, CONTRACTOR, EST. 1895.”

The accident plagued Walt with guilt and he refused to talk about the matter for the rest of his life – to anyone. Even many years later, when his daughter asked where her grandparents were buried, he wouldn’t discuss it.

Many have speculated that Walt’s guilt over his mother fueled the tragic fates of the mothers in so many of his films, but in truth the stories are pre-existing plot lines from fairy tales.

Top 5 Disney World Attractions that Were Never Built

There were numerous rides and shows of Disney parks that never left the drawing board. Some of them were fully designed with funding but not built, while others never made it past the concept-art stages of development.  


Here are 5 I wish Disney had seen through to completion for WDW: 

Original AK logo featured a dragon!

Beastly Kingdom - The original design for AK included a section called the Beastly Kingdom. It was a land devoted to creatures of legend and mythology, with an Evil side (featuring a dragon roller coaster) and a Good side (with unicorns etc). Due to budget constraints, Beastly Kingdom never came to fruition and the Camp Minnie-Mickey was built instead (so LAME!).  Give the Mt. Everest Yeti some mythological buddies to hang out with! 

Postcard for the never-built Venetian Resort

Disney's Venetian Resort (Deluxe) - The original resort opening was scheduled for Oct 1971. The Venetian would have been located between the Transportation and Ticket Center and Disney's Contemporary Resort near the water bridge. It was scrapped early on, replaced by plans for a Mediterranean Resort, which was also never built.  
Too bad! I love Venice and The Venetian hotel in Las Vegas is one of my favorites. You can never have enough wine, pasta and shopping. I like the idea of Goofy navigating a gondola around the Seven Seas Lagoon, too. 

Concept art for the Epcot Arab Pavilion

Arab Pavilion: Originally planned to be the largest Epcot Pavilion, the Arab Pavilion would feature a huge bazaar shopping area, animated boat ride and recreation of Persepolis. It reached the final stages of funding and approval until the Shah of Iran was overthrown and all financial support for the project was lost. 

Concept art for the Switzerland Pavilion - so cool!

Switzerland Pavilion: A Pavilion planned for Epcot's World Showcase. It would have brought a Matterhorn-bobsled type ride to Epcot. That would have been so awesome and such a difference to the Epcot landscape with the addition of a mountain! 

Concept art for the Mt. Fuji Roller Coaster for Japan

Japan Pavilion Roller Coaster: There were plans thrown around for a Mt. Fuji Coaster, Simulated Bullet Train Ride, and even a Godzilla themed attraction for the Japan Pavilion.  I love the Japan Pavilion, but also I really love roller coasters and thrill rides! The story is that Fuji Film was actually prepared to fully fund a mountain-coaster for Japan's Pavilion, but this sponsorship would have directly conflicted with Disney's contract with Kodak, so bureaucracy beat out artistic integrity and the plan was indefinitely shelved.


*~*~*~*~*
"You can design and create and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality." - Walt Disney