By 1955, year of the opening of the internationally famous park of Disneyland, Walt Disney was widely recognized as one of the most prominent figures and symbols of America. The man who started his career as a simple cartoonist quickly became an astoundingly creative and prolific entrepreneur in the entertainment business. Walt Disney was in fact behind the first animated film to use sound, the national sensation Steamboat Willie (1928), starring himself as the voice for Mickey Mouse. His constant need for improving his works, from an artistic standpoint as well as from a technical one, was often challenged. However, this eventually led The Walt Disney Company to create extraordinary feature-length cartoons and live-action films that went on
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He quickly came up with the idea of creating an amusement park, which would satisfy both children and adults’ imagination and love of fantasy. This idea was put on hold through the Second World War, but eventually came to life on July 17th 1955, and would be known as Disneyland. This was one of Walt Disney’s most magical and personal projects, but it was conceived during an ambiguous and puzzling time of the American history. While some scholars believe that the amusement park is a place allowing individual choice and personal transformation through one’s imagination, others opted for a more cynical view, seeing a degree of consensual control and surveillance at the heart of its creation. Disneyland was not only an incredible success, but, during a time plagued by the nuclear scare and a communist threat, it became a beacon of hope, fun and adventure for the American …show more content…
As they drew the plans of what would be known as Disneyland, Walt and his brother Roy turned to television and its marketing value to gather the money needed to build the park. Roy headed out to New York to seek a deal with the television network ABC, who agreed to help finance the park in exchange for weekly segments on the behind-the-scenes and other television programs from the Disney studios. Walt Disney, insisting that his face was shown in every episode of Disneyland, became the first publicly recognizable studio head in Hollywood history. On October 27th, 1954, the ABC television series started with Walt Disney describing his vision for Disneyland (“The Disneyland Story”). There would be one entrance on Main Street USA, leading up to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. From there, visitors could travel to different lands such as Frontierland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, or Fantasyland, where Disney characters would entertain them. This uncommon show sparked the imagination of both children and parents.
With that concept in mind, Walt Disney sought to recreate the world of his father, with Main Street USA as the 1890s-style central artery of the park, paying homage to turn-of-the-century America. And to realize this best, Disney had the buildings designed on a 5/8th scale. In fact, the smaller and more intimate buildings established a feeling
He quickly came up with the idea of creating an amusement park, which would satisfy both children and adults’ imagination and love of fantasy. This idea was put on hold through the Second World War, but eventually came to life on July 17th 1955, and would be known as Disneyland. This was one of Walt Disney’s most magical and personal projects, but it was conceived during an ambiguous and puzzling time of the American history. While some scholars believe that the amusement park is a place allowing individual choice and personal transformation through one’s imagination, others opted for a more cynical view, seeing a degree of consensual control and surveillance at the heart of its creation. Disneyland was not only an incredible success, but, during a time plagued by the nuclear scare and a communist threat, it became a beacon of hope, fun and adventure for the American …show more content…
As they drew the plans of what would be known as Disneyland, Walt and his brother Roy turned to television and its marketing value to gather the money needed to build the park. Roy headed out to New York to seek a deal with the television network ABC, who agreed to help finance the park in exchange for weekly segments on the behind-the-scenes and other television programs from the Disney studios. Walt Disney, insisting that his face was shown in every episode of Disneyland, became the first publicly recognizable studio head in Hollywood history. On October 27th, 1954, the ABC television series started with Walt Disney describing his vision for Disneyland (“The Disneyland Story”). There would be one entrance on Main Street USA, leading up to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. From there, visitors could travel to different lands such as Frontierland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, or Fantasyland, where Disney characters would entertain them. This uncommon show sparked the imagination of both children and parents.
With that concept in mind, Walt Disney sought to recreate the world of his father, with Main Street USA as the 1890s-style central artery of the park, paying homage to turn-of-the-century America. And to realize this best, Disney had the buildings designed on a 5/8th scale. In fact, the smaller and more intimate buildings established a feeling