Only one year after the grand opening of EuroDisneyland, Robert Fitzpatrick left his position as
EuroDisney’s chairperson, citing a desire to start his own consulting firm. In April 1993, Philippe
Bourguignon took over the helm of EuroDisney, thought by some to be a sinking ship. EuroDisney publicly reported a net loss of FFr188 million for the fiscal year ending September 1992, though cumulative losses through April 1993 approached half a billion dollars.1 The European park also fell one million visitors short of its goal for the first year of operations, with the French comprising only 29% of the park’s total visitors between April and September 1992—a far cry from the predicted 50%.2
In addition to the financial woes weighing on
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A12.
5 Jefferson, “American Quits Chairman Post at Euro Disney,” p. B1.
2 A15-99-0007
In 1955, Walt decided to send his entourage of characters into the real world, through the creation of Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Walt’s Disneyland dream was to create a place where people from all over would be able to go for clean, safe fun, unlike the less-than-wholesome carnivals of the day.
He wanted a place that would teach both young and old about America’s heritage and about the diversity of the world.
Since July 17, 1955, Disneyland has stood as the icon of Walt’s dream—a park for family-type entertainment that would provide clean, safe fun. Cleanliness is a high priority. By 8 a.m., when the park opens, the cleaning crew will have mopped and hosed and dried every sidewalk, every street, and every floor and counter. This begins at 1 a.m., when more than 350 of the park’s 7400 employees commence the daily cleanup routine. This routine includes using steam machines, razor scrapers, and mops towed by Cushman scooters to literally scour the streets and sidewalks in an effort to rid them of the chewing gum and other garbage left behind. Other examples of the emphasis placed on the small details include one person working a full eight-hour shift to polish the brass on the Fantasy merry-go-round; treating the meticulously manicured plantings throughout the park with growth-retarding hormones to keep the trees and bushes from spreading beyond their assigned
It’s no doubt that creating a family oriented theme park based on popular, beloved cartoon characters and imagination was a good idea. From Cinderella’s castle to the famous Main Street, U.S.A, there’s something extraordinary lying around every corner. Walt Disney World, other wise known as “the happiest place on earth”, or the place “where dreams come true”, was founded by a man with a dream of creating a place where children and parents could spend time together while making amazing memories. However, this extravagant amusement park is only one of the major accomplishments of Walt Disney.
“Walt wanted to create an amusement park in which his cartoon characters could come to life and interact with the visitors.” A place where both parent and child could have fun. So in 1955 Walt purchased 160 acres of land in California and began the $17-million-dollar project to construct Disneyland. His vision of how he wanted to construct Disneyland was unpretentious. He wanted the entrance to embody a euphoric restoration of the conventional American main street. The goal was that people would walk down “Main Street, USA” and want to discover more by going to the other 4 different “dream lands,” he had creted: Fantasyland, Adventureland, Frontierland, and Tomorrowland. Fantasyland was created to be more child orientated, where all of Disney’s
time of its opening in 1955, many people thought that the park would fail considering Walt’s
Along with his serious Down to earth side Disney also lived part of his life in the realms of fantasy and imagination. His great love of fantasy and the great lack of family entertainment in America inspired Walt to build a theme park of his own. All of America thought that this time Disney had really gone crazy. As Disney once said about the reactions to his ideas for a park "Almost everyone warned us that Disneyland would be a Hollywood spectacular - a spectacular failure. But they were thinking about an amusement park, and we believe in our idea - a family park where parents and children could have
According to the President of Economic Research Associates (ERA) in the TEA/ERA Amusement Park Attendance Report (2007) John Robinett
“It all started with a mouse.” Since the 1970’s, Mickey Mouse has become one of the most famous icons in the world. The Walt Disney Company started in 1923, and has since expanded into over a hundred different movies, merchandise, and theme parks around the world and a variety of countries and continents (Walt Disney Studio History). Walt Disney opened his first park, Disney Land in California, in 1955, but later built Walt Disney World in 1971 which is located in central Florida. This was a bold move, but it was Walt’s plan to make a bigger park with more space and more attractions and opportunities for the guests. Since then, Disney World has become one of the most admired tourist spots in the world, and has the most widespread theme park
Furthermore, Disneyland is a place that reminds me to be who I am. Being there truly
Disneyland may claim to be the happiest place on Earth but I know a place more enchanted than anything Mickey could have ever imagined. I know a place that’s bursting with magic, a place with a million adventures that have yet to be explored, a place where thousands of people are waiting to tell their story. It’s a place of limitless opportunities that will take you to wherever you want to go, whether it may be miles away in the sparkling lights of the concrete jungle or back in the heart of the Eternal City. It’s a place that always smells of a musty, intoxicating scent that lingers on your fingertips and if you’ll listen closely enough, you’ll hear whispers from another world tempting you with secrets. I can still remember strolling through
As a result, the characters created by Walt Disney ended up blending almost like real life personalities in the human society in which they were increasingly becoming
"To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here, age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world." Walt Disney
Disneyland grand opening was on July 17, 1955. Walt began planning and visualizing his Disneyland. He hired construction companies, landscapers, and craftspeople to help build his project. Walt bought 160-acres of land in Anaheim and would be the new location of Disneyland. The construction team first started build Main Street, U.S.A. This was the first the you’d see when entering Disneyland. Main Street was a replica of a midwestern American town that had an ice cream shop, a movie theater, and a fire house. “While walking down Main Street, visitors could see the majestic spires of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.” (citation 7) Walt’s idea was to put a big attraction that would attract people to that area like a magnets. He use this tactic in other areas such as, Frontierland and Tomorrowland. On grand opening day many news channels televised Walt Disney’s new and completed Disneyland. Disneyland became a huge success, it attracted over 4 million people in the first year. After the success of Disneyland, Walt had a bigger dream. So in 1964, he sent trusted employees on a special trip to Florida. “Their mission was to buy as much land as they could.” (citation 7) With over 27,500 acres, Walt and his brother Roy envisioned Walt Disney World, a bigger and better version of Disneyland, including old attractions and new ones. This was the total vacation package that Walt wanted for families. Walt wanted to create a
When Walt Disney first opened the gates of Disneyland in 1955, he envisioned a utopian reality, where he focused on fulfilling dreams for both the young and young at heart, providing relief and comfort. Not only did he revolutionize family vacations, he believed that in hopes of creating a magical park would not only bring families together, but a place where parents and children could have fun together. As more elaborative and imaginative his park became, his creation had became a source of joy, happiness, with the hope that it would bring inspiration to the rest of the world. The Disney vision, Walt originally planned has completely transformed the leisure industry with its unique storytelling, continuing to captivate guests from all around the world.
Before the opening of the Disney parks, theme parks were not as elaborate as they are today. Prior to Disney’s innovation, what was known as a theme park was simply a few rides set up next to a lake (The Evolution of Theme Parks p11). In 1955 when The Disney Company opened Disneyland, it forever changed the definition of what it meant to be a theme park (The Evolution of Theme Parks p11). Walt Disney came up with the idea to make his theme park feel like a whole new world. In making Disneyland, he wanted his guests to feel like they were entering a land they had never been to before. Once in the park, Disney's goal was to make visitors feel as if they were no longer in California, but as if they walked into one of his
He made so many new characters like: goofy, max goof, Horace horse collar, snow white, Donald duck, Minnie mouse, Cinderella, Pluto, and Clarabelle cow and many more. He went on to win a total of 48 academy awards and has been nominated 59 times. Not only did he win countless amounts of awards but his movie “steamboat Willie” was the first animated film with sound. And one of his other films called “snow white and the seven dwarves,” was the first animated film in full color. Best of all Walt Disney created the first theme park in the world in Anaheim, California, united states. “He was always willing to take that extra step to do something that hasn’t been done yet”. Walt Disney, said himself that “it’s kind of fun to do the impossible,” .Walt Disney was a humorous and imaginative person who could spill all his thoughts on a page and make something amazing with it. Walt Disney always followed his dreams and beliefs. There’s no doubt that Walt Disney is still considered a legend because, all of Walt’s ideals were the reason he was so
And now, nearly four decades after his death, the maker of said creations, Walt Disney, is not nearly as recognized as he should be. Not only are his works and other projects intriguing, his morals and techniques personally behind them are as well. And yet they weren’t just his morals, they were shared by the country’s people who so desired an example of good principles. Perhaps the most significant scheme of all was his creation of his very own amusement park in 1955, Disneyland, located in Anaheim, California.