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.
In Disney\'s Land , Snow brings a historian\'s eye and a child\'s 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 )..
Eight hundred million visitors have flocked to the Park since then.
But the curious masses kept coming, and the rest is entertainment history.
Disney was nearly suicidal with grief That he had failed on a grand scale.
On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened its gates...and the first day was a disaster.
The catch was That they had only a year and a day in which to build it.
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.
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 was told That he would only be heading toward financial ruin.
Amusement parks at That time, such as Coney Island, were a generally despised business, sagging and sordid remnants of bygone days.
Not his brother Roy, who ran the company\'s finances; not the bankers; and not his wife, Lillian.
Despite his wealth and fame, exactly no one wanted Disney to build such a park.
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.
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
