I'll never forget my first trip to Disneyland in California. I was fifteen years old and was visiting the park on a trip with my high school band. Because we were performing in the park, our bus went through a security checkpoint that dropped us off in the backstage area located in the back of the property. My first views were not of the historic walk down Main Street USA leading to Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Instead, I exited the utilitarian buildings of the backstage portion into the stylized Toontown section of the park. I was instantly obsessed, amazed at the stark contrast between the idyllic world inside the park and the industrialized outside.In Disney's Land, author Richard Snow chronicles the journey of bringing Disney's dream to life. There are countless stories about what inspired Walt to create the park. Snow points to truths on several fronts. Partly disillusioned by the state of the animation business, partly inspired to create a place where children and parents could play together, and perhaps mostly looking for a new outlet for creative development, the germ of the idea that would become Disneyland started as a miniature train set in Disney's back yard. For months, craftsmen in Disney's studio machine shop labored to make a working scale version of a steam locomotive. Walt obsessed over each detail, painstakingly ensuring all the materials were correct, and even buying a new home with the perfect backyard to set the tracks. This not only foreshadowed the strict adherence to quality that would define Disney's park but created relationships that would be vital to bringing the park to life.
At a time when the bright lights of amusement parks were thought more of in terms of decaying glory, Walt sought to build a new type of park. Everyone who heard of his plans told him he was crazy. It would cost too much money. No one was going to travel all the way to the small orchard town of Anaheim. He was throwing good money after bad. Whatever objections were raised, Walt quietly moved past them to achieve his dream.
Disney's Land combines weaves many historical excerpts into a stunning tale of one man's willful ambition to achieve his ultimate dream. As an avid Disney Parks fan, there was little new information gleaned from this book, but Snow imparts his writing with the small human details that make the events jump from the page. I was struck by just how much new ground was being covered by Walt and the men and women he employed. It is difficult to imagine a time where Disneyland did not exist. The famed attractions have become engrained into the very being of American culture. But before Walt dreamed it, there was no precedent for the kind of place he created. As an adult, I visit a Disney Park each year and continue to be transported to new worlds that allow me to escape from everyday life. Disney's Land by Richard Snow expertly tells the tale of how the place that so many find magic in came to be.
For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2020, 3)
I am getting chills. I find Walt Disney to be such an inspiration. I am that woman crying during the film of his life they show at the park. I visit Disney World for the first time in 1979, and added another 70+ visits since then. I only went to Disneyland once, but I did an Adventure by Disney tour and we really learned a lot about the park and saw behind the scenes. I think I would enjoy this book.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you were such a Disney fan! You would adore this book!
DeleteIt sounds like this was such a great nonfiction book especially for Disneyland fans! I love Disney SO MUCH but I have yet to get to Disneyland in America. I've only been to the one in Paris seeing as it is accessible to me :)
ReplyDeleteOlivia-S @ Olivia's Catastrophe
I visited the one in Paris last May. It was incredible!
DeleteI've only been to Disney World in Orlando, like you once for school. It was our senior school trip and then oodles of times when we lived in Florida for six years. I love the magic of it all.
ReplyDeleteHey, did you request The Sun Down Motel on NetGalley? Do it....brilliant!!
I just got approved for my copy. I'm so excited to read it!
DeleteHow neat! I've watched a few documentaries and was a serious Wonderful World of Disney watcher, but I've only been to a Disney theme part once in my life, Disneyland in '85 during a family trip that also included Calico Ghost Town and Knottsberry Farm theme park. It was a great trip. I'd be interested in this book. Thanks for putting it on my radar, Ethan!
ReplyDeleteI'm a certified Disney nut lol, but I think this one would appeal to even casual interest.
DeleteThis book sounds interesting. I have never been to either Disneyland, nor Disneyworld. I would still love to go someday. 🏰
ReplyDeleteYou have to make a trip! By boyfriend and I try to go to one of the parks each year. So far we have visited the parks in California, Florida, and Paris. We talked about doing a trip to Japan this year, but now that's all on hold.
DeleteIt's hard to imagine a world where Disneyland didn't exist. I live about and hour and half north of Disneyland, but it's been a long time since I've visited. It'll probably be a good time longer now with everything going on. Glad you got to see a few of the parks before the pandemic! Hopefully you'll get to visit more in the near future. :)
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