As much as Disney memorabilia, movies, and marketing are seemingly everywhere, it's very rare that the movie studio actually opens up its archives. Which is why on an early September afternoon last week, I got one of the most rewarding treats when I was invited to Walt Disney's only original, still-standing house, high up in the Hollywood Hills. I also got to sit down with a Disney legend in his own right: the executive producer of Maleficent, Don Hahn. Getting a tour of Walt Disney's house was exciting, but I was just as fascinated talking with the Oscar-nominated Hahn, who produced Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, among others. What he revealed about Walt Disney and the making of those classic movies absolutely floored me, and I know you will be just as fascinated. Read on.

Glamour: I was in Copenhagen, Denmark, over the summer and went to Tivoli Gardens, which was the inspiration for Disneyland. There's a ride there that is almost identical to It's a Small World.

Don Hahn: Yeah, that's what is so cool about about how his background impacted him. Tivoli has a pirate ship, a lake, and parades every day, and there were pictures of Walt Disney there before there was a Disneyland. He admitted it. They had been doing theme parks and amusement parks for years, so [Walt's stance was] "Why wouldn't I take a hit off of that?"

The fantasy ride in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. If you get the chance to visit this gorgeous city, make sure you spend a few hours at Tivoli!

Glamour: We're sitting in Walt's backyard doing this interview. How often have you been here?

Don: Not much, really. The current owner has only owned the house three or four years and has been so gracious to open it up to us. The leap of faith it took to build this—because the year before, in 1931, Walt had a nervous breakdown.

Glamour: Walt Disney had a nervous breakdown at one point? I had no idea.

Don: Mickey Mouse was a huge star in the Depression. They were making millions of dollars with consumer products and everything else, and he burns out. His doctor says, "You have to stop working, you have to get out of here." So he leaves and goes back to Kansas City and St. Louis [where he was from] and recharges. He ends up wanting to take a cruise up the Mississippi but couldn't find a boat, so he goes to Washington, D.C., and from there to Havana, Cuba. Eventually, he cruises back through the canal to get back [to L.A.]. He's totally fried, but he comes back weeks later totally rejuvenated. Then, in 1932, he makes Flowers and Trees, the first color cartoon and then The Three Little Pigs. Then he builds this house and has this renaissance. He was just the kind of guy that worked himself to the ground, I think. He had this work ethic from his dad.