Disney's Land: Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park That Changed the World

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A propulsive and entertaining (The Wall Street Journal) history chronicling the conception and creation of the iconic Disneyland theme park, as told like never before by popular historian Richard Snow.

One day in the early 1950s, Walt Disney stood looking over 240 acres of farmland in Anaheim, California, and imagined building a park where people could live among Mickey Mouse and Snow White in a world still powered by steam and fire for a day or a week or (if the visitor is slightly mad) forever. Despite his wealth and fame, exactly no one wanted Disney to build such a park. Not his brother Roy, who ran the companys finances; not the bankers; and not his wife, Lillian. Amusement parks at that time, such as Coney Island, were a generally despised business, sagging and sordid remnants of bygone days. Disney was told that he would only be heading toward financial ruin.

But Walt persevered, initially financing the park against his own life insurance policy and later with sponsorship from ABC and the sale of thousands and thousands of Davy Crockett coonskin caps. Disney assembled a talented team of engineers, architects, artists, animators, landscapers, and even a retired admiral to transform his ideas into a soaring yet soothing wonderland of a park. The catch was that they had only a year and a day in which to build it.

On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened its gatesand the first day was a disaster. Disney was nearly suicidal with grief that he had failed on a grand scale. But the curious masses kept coming, and the rest is entertainment history. Eight hundred million visitors have flocked to the park since then. In Disneys Land, Snow brings a historians eye and a childs delight, not to mention superb writing, to the telling of this fascinating narrative (Ken Burns) that will entertain Disneyphiles and readers of popular American history (Publishers Weekly).

Reviews

EntertainingMr. Snow [proves] to be as solid a storyteller as Walt Disney himself. The Wall Street Journal

Disney fans will enjoy this rendering of the founder and entrepreneurs will find their time well spent inside the covers of Snows book. Associated Press

Disneyland is rarely mentioned as a milestone American invention, but it should beThe captivating origin story of the Happiest Place on Earth is well-told inDisneys Land,the latest work from esteemed historian and novelistRichard Snow. Its a rollicking read befitting the home ofMr. Toads Wild Ride, chock full of Alice-in-Wonderland-level surprises, with the grandeur of Sleeping Beautys Castle, and other delightful details (Walt Disney would eat his favorite hot dog lunch from a cart, walk away, and place garbage receptacles at the exact spot he finished his frankfurter.) Medium
The clockwork of the park and to some extent, the personality of the man who created it receives an expert inspectionReaders are led toward the climax ofopening day, July 17, 1955, with narrative wienies aplenty and the whole enterprise is shown as a magnificent amoeba that was as much an accident as a mastered design. The New York Times Book Review

Eight hundred million visitors have trekked to the so-called happiest place on earth since its 1955 opening, seeking its carefully scripted brand of excitement and cheer. How and why Walt Disney envisioned a place where people could live among Mickey Mouse and Snow White is carefully detailed in this new book. Washington Post, Best Books to Read in December

An extremely entertaining story Disneys Land is Snows exhaustively researched, jam-packed chronicle of how Walt Disney conceived and created a new kind of amusement park. Newsday
This joyful, lavishly detailed account will entertain Disneyphiles and readers of popular American history. Publishers Weekly

An animated history of an iconic destination. Kirkus Reviews

Snows smooth narrative spotlights the hard work and heart that the happiest place on Earth. Booklist
Call it what you will: a fantasy, a folly, a country of its own, a city from the Arabian Nights, a giant cash register, a monument to Main Street, a saccharine absurdity, a triumph of urban design. Richard Snow calls Disneyland an invention on par with the Kitty Hawk Flyer andin the most shapely of narrativesnot only convinces us of its magic but somehow reproduces that magic on the page. A witty, wild, wondrous Tilt-A-Whirl of a book. Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prizewinning author of The Witches and Cleopatra: A Life

This is a deeply felt and deeply researched story about the complicated man and his vision to create the happiest place on earth. Snow brings a historians eye and a childs delight, not to mention superb writing, to the telling of this fascinating narrative. Ken Burns

Richard Snow gives Disney fans everything they could want in a history of the worlds favorite theme park, from its nascent phase as a mere faraway look in Walt Disneys eye, to the hysteria of its opening day, with the freshly poured asphalt on Main Street barely setand beyond. Snow is a great researcher and a terrific storytellerand no detail is too small, whether its the landscaping, the design of the rides, or the way Walt Disney did (or didnt) manage the money. As Snow tells it, Disneys Land is more than mere history; its a page-turner of a suspense story, and, even knowing how it all turns out, youll find yourself wondering if Walt is really going to get his pie-in-the-sky project ready in time for its opening day. I couldnt put it down. Brian Jay Jones, New York Times bestselling author of Jim Henson: The Biography and Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination
Fantastic. New York Journal of Books

[An] exceptional biography of the Disneyland theme park ... Snows attention to detail and impeccable research are the true highlights of a tremendous work of popular history. New England Journal of History
My favorite new book of 2019 brisk, smart, a delight. Richard Brookhiser, The Wall Street Journal

Author Bio

Richard Snow spent nearly four decades atAmerican Heritagemagazine, serving as editor in chief for seventeen years, and has been a consultant on historical motion pictures, among themGlory, and has written for documentaries, including the Burns brothersCivil War, and Ric Burnss award-winning PBS filmConey Island, whose screenplay he wrote. He is the author of multiple books, including, most recently,Disneys Land.