On the weekend of June 4, 1938, Walt rewarded his hard-working staff with a 2-day party at the Lake Narconian resort hotel near Palm Springs. It was a thank-you to the overworked artists (their families were invited, too), who had worked scads of unpaid overtime to turn out this milestone of a film before Christmas, 1937. Incidentally, Art Babbitt’s main contribution to the film was lead animation for the evil Queen.
Reports differ as to what went on at this party – from nothing more than prohibition-era drinking to full-blown open sex. Either way, Walt was upset by the actions of his “boys” and, with his wife Lillian, left the retreat early.
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