Despite a wealth of information available, there’s still a tremendous desire for more background about Disneyland. Walt Disney’s original 1955 theme park has so much history and feels different because it was the original. A lot has changed during the past 64 years, but the steps that led to the creation of Disneyland are still fascinating. There’s a lot more to the story than just the legend of how Walt envisioned Disneyland. In his book Inventing Disneyland, Alastair Dallas delves into lesser-known stories of others that worked to make the dream a reality.
Dallas is a former Disney Imagineer, and you can quickly tell that he’s not going to just provide a surface history. Instead, he explores the small stories and conversations that ultimately led to the completed park. There were a lot of obstacles and changes along the way to make that happen. Dallas reveals just how unlikely Disneyland’s success appeared to be right up to the opening (and beyond). There was a remote possibility that Disney could even meet the ambitious opening date with anything resembling a full theme park.
Inventing Disneyland uses a chronological structure to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Disneyland. We spend more time with figures like C.V. Wood, Jr., Ward Kimball, Marvin Davis, Harper Goff, and the many others that helped design and build the park. The main story begins in May 1953 and progresses through early 1956 following Disneyland’s opening. Within more than 300 pages (not including notes), Dallas takes a methodical look at each step in the process. It’s a bit exhausting but should be an enjoyable journey for devoted fans.
A Work of Fiction?
While reading Inventing Disneyland, I often wondered how Dallas was able to include so many quotes and emotions from Walt and other key figures. I suspected that many of them sprung from other sources like the source’s biographies and recognized that Dallas likely made assumptions. Given that background, this introduction to the Notes section clarified the situation:
“Inventing Disneyland is a work of fiction. It is impossible to know what the actors, famous and otherwise, were thinking at that particular moment in time. Even the precise sequence of events cannot be claimed as fact, as any witness to an incident later described by a journalist can attest.”
This blurb might raise warning signs about the authenticity of this book for some readers. I would also have concerns if the Notes section was thin or lacked specific sources. Instead, Dallas includes nearly 50 pages of notes with specific details on facts that might not be accurate. Reading through these notes helps to explain the challenge facing any author that hopes to go into such great detail. Dallas even cites specific dialogue and other details as fiction in the notes. If you read a section and wonder about the truth, these notes should help immensely.
I can’t entirely let Dallas off the hook for including fictional meetings, however. Could have simply have removed those moments given the lack of authenticity? It’s a tricky subject that authors and filmmakers often face when presenting historical events. Should the creator just state the facts or elaborate on them to convey a particular mood? Dallas bases much of the information on interviews and reliable sources, so I don’t want to overstate any concerns. It’s just an interesting topic to consider when reading such a detailed history.
Franticland
The most engaging section is the detailed look at both the eventful live show and ultimate opening day on July 12th and 13th in 1955. I can’t get enough of hearing the crazy stories of just how chaotic the park was during those days. It’s not a surprise when you consider all the different pieces that had to work together to make Disneyland click. Filming a live show for network television could only have some hiccups given that messy environment.
Stories of “Blood Alley” in the Autopia exemplify how little Disney could know before guests entered and tested attractions on a regular day. Bob Gurr recalls the failure of the bumpers, which happened quickly as kids purposefully crashed into other cars. Attractions don’t always run smoothly now, but they’ve had years of testing. Capacity also become a concern given the unknowns about how many guests will actually visit Disneyland. All of these nutty stories just make me appreciate what Disney was trying to accomplish with the ambitious park.
What I enjoy about Inventing Disneyland is the way the stories reveal the ingenuity needed to keep Disneyland afloat. It took serious imagination and bravery to even attempt to build the park, and the work was just beginning after July 1955. We take Disney’s theme parks for granted today, but there was a time before the public even knew we needed them. Guests now flock to resorts around the world, and it took countless small steps to make the dream a reality.
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The Imagineering Process by Louis J. Prosperi
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Hello Mr. Heaton. My name is Gordon Hoopes and I was an Imagineer at WED Enterprises (later renamed Walt Disney Imagineering or WDI). Disneyland was created before my time at Disney, although I did contribute a few attractions in later years. At Walt Disney World in Florida I was responsible for Tomorrowland followed by a number of smaller projects as WDI attempted to keep up with the enormous numbers of guests there. As EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow) appeared on the planning scene I was asked to lead the project and ensure the multitude design elements were created appropriately and on time. At the very start of this vast undertaking I selected a small clutch of individuals to be my right hand. I had recognized these people to be highly intelligent, hard working and incredibly talented from the pool of already superior people at Disney. Alastair Dallas was the first I selected.
Hi Gordon. Thanks so much for the comment! It’s awesome to hear that you worked at WED on such cool projects as Tomorrowland and EPCOT. It’s also great to hear that Alastair was closely involved in your group with planning for EPCOT. If you’re interested, I regularly interview former Imagineers on The Tomorrow Society Podcast. It would be great to talk and learn more about your career. Let me know what you think. Thanks!