The Creation of Disneyland

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The Creation of Disneyland

Walt Disney: The Early Years

Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901. He was the fourth of five children born to Elias and Flora Disney. Elias was a fairly unsuccessful businessman, who moved the family from city to city in search of financial success. When Walt was four, they moved from their home in Chicago to a farm in Marceline, Missouri. Walt's time in Marceline provided him with the vision for Main Street USA (Francavigilia, 1981). His frequent associations with animals would also become evident in his later cartoons (Bryman, 4). In 1910, the family left Marceline and moved to Kansas City. Elias was a strict taskmaster who often beat his children. This led to Walt's two oldest brothers deserting the family. Another brother, Roy, left to go help an uncle on a farm. Although they were no longer living together, Roy and Walt remained close.

In 1919, Walt got a job as a cartoonist at a commercial art studio in Kansas City. That job did not last long, and following a failed attempt at starting his own business, Walt began to work for the Kansas City Film Ad Company. During this time, he seriously explored the world of animation. Success, however, did not come easily to Walt, and he soon decided that he had to leave Kansas City. In 1923, he carried just $40 in his pocket and left for Hollywood.

Walt's brother Roy, who was already living in Los Angeles, provided Walt with some financial backing and contacted a distributor about Walt's first animation Alice's Wonderland. Working together with Roy, the brothers opened "Disney Bros. Studio" (It would later be known as Walt Disney Studio). Roy handled the business operations and Walt specialized in the animated productions. Although produ...

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...jects. James Rouse, an accomplished architect has credited Walt Disney for providing much of his inspiration. In addition to suburban malls, Rouse has created Baltimore's Harborplace and Boston's Faneuil Hall Marketplace (Hine, 152). Although Walt Disney died in 1966, his ideas can still be found across the globe.

Works Cited

Adams, Judith A. The American Amusement Park Industry. Boston: Twayne, 1991.

Bryman, Alan. Disney and his Worlds. New York: Routledge, 1995

Francavigilia, R.V. (1981) "Main Street USA: a comparison / contrast of streetscapes in Disneyland and Walt Disney World", Journal of Popular Culture, 15: 141-156

Justdisney.com. 18 Apr. 2004 http://www.justdisney.com/disneyland/history.html

Thomas Hine, Populuxe (New York: Knopf, 1986), 152.

Works Consulted

Marling, Karal Ann. Designing Disney's Theme Parks. New York: Flammario, 1997.

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