Walt Disney is a cartoon genius and was capable of elevating cartoon shorts into full-blown movies. He had a vision, which was to create an amusement park based around family. He wanted to build a place where everyone could have fun. He had studied amusement parks for years, and regularly sent employees to amusement parks to list the good parts of the park and the bad parts. He wanted to change the whole industry of amusement parks from being dirty, unsafe, and just lacking customer focus, to something better and fun for everyone. Roy Disney, Walt’s older brother and partner in business, didn’t see success in the park, and thought it was too expensive, and felt that it would be hard to sell as an idea to bankers. Also, they were doing just fine in the business ventures they already had, with their movies and cartoons, so why take the risk and go into a new unknown direction? But Disney kept going, unable to convince his brother of the success of the project. He didn’t get much money from the company at first, and had to invest his own insurance policy to fund the project himself. He was going in, all or nothing, into the amusement park that seemed doomed for failure, but he took on the challenges head on to achieve his new dream.1
Disney had a vision of a constantly changing park that would get better year after year, and he wanted to bring his dreams and creations into the real world. Some people have said that Disneyland was just Disney’s dreams made real, and that the magic kingdom was an acclamation of everything that Disney had become fully realized. In 1954, Disney thought he would need $11 million originally to fund the project, but was horribly wrong and put into a critical financial situation. The project ending up being $17 million, so he thought of an idea and ran with it. He started to lease places within the future park to big corporations like Pepsi and Kodak to help fund the project. The leases were for five years, and the first and last year had to be paid in advance. Disney’s idea worked phenomenally well, and he was able to raise most of the money he needed for the park with the rest of the money that was needed. Disney approached ABC to see if they would like to do a weekly show showing off things about Disneyland. Of course, the show was also called Disneyland when they signed the deal. In exchange for the rights to the show, ABC paid $500,000 and guaranteed $4.5 million more.2
The park’s opening day was on July 17, 1955. It had national coverage, but all kinds of minor mishaps took place. At first, it was projected that the park would get 10,000 customers on its first day, but double of that number appeared, causing many problems for the park. For example, people were getting in for free because Disneyland didn’t have enough tickets to sell. The park needed water fountains, but they were in short supply at the time because there was a plumber’s strike going on. Also the water in the rivers and lagoon dried up quickly, so the park engineers had to redo the bottoms with some clay. The riverboat Mark Twain nearly capsized because of the overcrowding, and the other rides didn’t have enough seats for the overwhelming number of guests that had appeared for the parks opening. Disney’s dream park was off to a rough start, and this wasn’t just another business venture to Disney. It was the chance to build the “happiest place on earth.”3 High temperatures further put the park in a bad position, and local critics in the press harshly attacked Disneyland. They called it a “nightmare” and a “giant cash register clinking and clanking.”4
The verdict on the park’s success laid in the people’s hands. But even though it wasn’t put into the best spot because of its opening day, Disney was able to make it into a success. Luck and promotions had a big part to play in the park’s success. The show Disney did about Disneyland showed all the attractions, and things to do in the park, like meet Mickey Mouse. Later the same year, the show released to the world, and we were introduced to a character named Davy Crockett. He soon became a huge trend in the country and was beloved by many that went to Disneyland. Disney had this to say to a friend about the park: “Billy, look around you at all the people. All the nationalities. All the colors. All the languages. All of them smiling. All of them having fun together. Billy, this is the real world.”5 Disney loved the way the park turned out, especially the monorail that went around the park, which was included in his design for the park since the very beginning.6
Disney never stopped trying to improve the park to make it into the vision of what he thought amusement parks should be all about. Disneyland had everything a regular amusement park would have, and then some, like a huge replica of the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. Despite Disneyland having a rocky beginning, it has become one of the most well-known and beloved amusement parks of all time, and is treasured by people of all ages. There’s always something new to do or look at, and its just a fun revitalizing atmosphere to be in.7
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2019, s.v. “Disneyland Amusement Park,” by Schweikart Larry. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2019, s.v. “Disneyland Amusement Park,” by Schweikart Larry. ↵
- Louise Krasniewicz, Walt Disney (Santa Barbara: Greenwood, 2010) ,126. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia , 2019, s.v. “Disneyland Amusement Park,” by Schweikart Larry. ↵
- Louise Krasniewicz, Walt Disney (Santa Barbara:Greenwood, 2010) , 128. ↵
- ”Walt Disney Biography,” April 2, 2014, Biography.com (website), https://www.biography.com/business-figure/walt-disney. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2019, s.v. “Disneyland Amusement Park,” by Schweikart Larry. ↵
22 comments
Nelly Perez
I never knew much about Walt Disney. The only things I knew about Disney was the fact that he created the iconic cartoons we know today. Walt has a dream of creating an amusement park and kept pitching the idea to his brother, but his brother could not see it. The plan for an amusement park to change every year was a great idea so it could be something new for families.
Anthony Coronado
This is a story of all start-ups having a rocky launch time such as the many globalized companies such as Apple and eventually leads to globalized success and recognition. Such the same concept with Disney globalizing its market from the film production industry to more of a physical market such that of resorts. He is an iconic figure with his unorthodox ideas and concepts of what could be.
Mia Hernandez
After reading this article, it is incredible and unbelievable to see what Walt Disney had to endure to make his dream come true. For him to know what he wanted to achieve in life and truly go after many obstacles presented to him and his park, is remarkable. His dream was obviously not perfect in the beginning, but over time it became an established environment for people of all ages to enjoy themselves.
Arsema Abera
Thank God Walt Desiny was born, if it weren’t for him amusement parks would be no fun to go to and should be applauded for his remarkable work. He is so fascinating to read about He not only was a businessman he was also an animator, a voice actor, and a film producer it is thanks to him we have the cinderella franchise and the iconic Disney land, Although the hardships that Disney encountered it was worth the effort and should be noted that his hard work will always be remembered and be praised for.
Davis Nickle
Its incredible to see the lengths that Walt Disney went to just to get his dream to come true. I never knew how hard he actually worked to get Disneyland created and all of the sponsorship and deals he needed just to build the place. I also had no clue that it had such a rough start and that it could have easily failed if he wasn’t lucky. I’m glad he was lucky though because without that luck the world would be a much more boring place.
Francisco Cruzado
This article tells a lovely story about a loving man who seemed to only care for the joy of the people. I imagine how visionary such a man had to be to be willing to start an amusement park from scratch, expanding a millionaire business until making it an ever-lasting money maker. What I do wonder, however, is what were the critics for the park in its beginnings, what did the local press of the time say about the park apart from referring to it as a “giant cash register clinking and clanking”. I also wonder how it affected Los Angeles, the US, and the building of the monopolistic Disney that we see today.
David Castaneda Picon
This was a very interesting article. Walt Disney was known for being ambitious and enthusiastic, looking at the Disney parks right know it is hard for me to believe that they had a rough start, but it is impressive to me that despite the obstacles the park faced at a the time Walt didn’t give up and managed to succeed, he truly changed the concept of an amusement park making it better, allowing the whole family (from adults to children) to enjoy and have fun.
Giselle Garcia
It’s nice to read about how Disneyland came to be, especially discovering how the constructing of it was a rocky start. It’s crazy to think about how much it cost to build the park, and Disney had to lease properties in order to get more money to be able to pay for the park. Then on the opening day, there were many problems that needed fixing, but eventually Disney turned the park into a success and continues to be one today.
Antonio Holverstott
Walt’s enthusiasm to make a great amusement park for everyone to enjoy is still shared by Disney engineers to this day. This constant renovation of Disney parks makes these areas more exciting to those who want to come which keeps the company’s ventures successful. Also, Disney created a new trend of major motion picture studios forming amusement parks to promote their work.
Brandon Torres
After constantly hearing of the global locomotive that is Disney, this article really showed a humble beginning to that of which simply started out as an amusement park. Through media interpretations, I was always under the assumption that just as Disney corporation began its reign of power in a swift and successful fashion, as did its initial startup. This article really dove deep into the hard fact that although this place was to be a child’s wonderland right off the bat, minor inconveniences indeed occurred in this heaven-like arena!