As a child, Walt Disney sold his drawings to his neighbors. At 16, Walt Disney tried to join the military but was turned down because of his age. Instead, he joined the Red Cross and drove an ambulance in France. Disney grew his mustache at the age of 25. His first commercially released Mickey Mouse cartoon was Steamboat Willy, which was also the first Disney cartoon to feature synchronized sound. It premiered in New York on November 18, 1928. Disney provided the voice for both Mickey and Minnie Mouse for about 20 years. Disney's first animated feature film was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It cost about $1.5 million to produce. Disney won more Academy Awards than any other individual - 32. Following the commercial success of Snow White, he bought his parents a new house near Disney Studios. A month later, his mother died from asphyxiation caused by a broken furnace in the new home.
I also read that the "Lemmings Scene" filmed by Disney Studios in the 50s and leading to the myth that lemmings commit mass suicide was actually staged by the photographers, who herded the animals over the cliff, and if they refused to go picked them up and threw them over the cliff and into the water. A bit of Disney history not to be proud of.
Disney was said to be an expert Machinist, and my Dad, as one himself, remarked often about Disney's hand-built scale-model live steam locomotive. It is documented that he had installed a 1/8-scale railroad on their residence property in CA. 1/8-scale looks like the below: