Finding Paradise: Walt & Lillian Disney’s 1925 Honeymoon at Mount Rainier (Part 1)
A historical fiction mini-series inspired by Walt and Lillian Disney’s 1925 honeymoon
Walt and Lillian Disney on their honeymoon at Mount Rainier, July 1925
The newlyweds bounced around the open-air tour bus like popcorn in a hot skillet as they traversed up the side of Mount Rainier. Walt held tight to Lilly’s hand as their tires rolled over the rough roads, wondering if she was missing riding in his Moon Roadster as much as he was. A large granite rock suddenly appeared in the road, causing the motor stage full of tourists to lift up and then slam down hard on the dirt road. Nervous gasps and giggles of the flatlanders echoed into the vast canyon in the drop-off to the right, the Tatoosh Mountain range looking on in amusement.
Walt and Lilly were worlds away from the cultured roads of Los Feliz, but they couldn’t be happier.
“I told you life with me would be an adventure, Lilly!” Walt exclaimed, grinning and giddy as a schoolboy.
Lillian Bounds—no, Disney now—simply nodded, holding onto her hat with her free hand to keep it from flying away into the deep Nisqually Valley.
As the bus turned a corner, suddenly it was there: the mountain that made every bump and bruise worth it.
Mt. Rainier was “out” today, not a cloud in sight to obscure its glistening glaciers and patchy snowfields as they sparkled in the warm July sunshine. The ticket agent at the bus depot had warned them that the mountain was fickle, and that guests could go whole vacations without seeing the very peak they were perched upon.
But today, luck was with the sweethearts as they grew closer to the majestic mountain, framed with wildflowers and wind-swept trees. The view was breathtaking, and Lilly was speechless. Never had she seen such concentrated beauty all in one place.
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This is just the beginning of Walt and Lillian Disney’s 1925 honeymoon adventure. Continue Finding Paradise on Substack to read the rest of Part 1 and follow along as this historical fiction miniseries unfolds!