Project Future | Ayefour Publishing | Trade Paperback | 978-0-615-34777-6 | $14.95 | Order online

Chapter 1
The Eastward Search Begins | 1959-1963

With high expectations, on July 17, 1955, in Anaheim, California, Walt Disney officially opened Disneyland, a new type of amusement park that promised a family-friendly form of entertainment different from the notorious midways of the era. Media, dignitaries, and leaders from around the world gathered in Anaheim for the debut. The buzz was palpable. Disney, the inspired creator of fantasy through film, was now bringing fantasy to life.

Despite a host of operational challenges in Disneyland’s early days, the park quickly became a major success. It was the culmination of Walt’s innovative vision of a place where the family could ride rides together in a safe and clean setting, a place the entire family could enjoy together—an idea that had lingered in Walt’s mind for several years.

Two years earlier, Walt had approached several close friends who were architects to get their input on how a Disney amusement park might be uniquely created. He wanted to use the latest in design and construction techniques to bring his vision into reality. At the same time, he knew such a venture would have to make business sense, so he commissioned feasibility and site studies for the proposed project. Fortunately, the studies revealed that a market did exist for his new type of family-oriented amusement venture.

With Disneyland a hit on the west coast, exporting Walt’s unique brand of recreation to the east coast made perfect sense. The idea of building an east coast project was also based on practical concerns. Disney had hired a large stable of creative talent to develop and to open Disneyland. Now that it was open, the company could hire some of that talent to continue to work on new projects for the park. However, expansion at Disneyland alone would not support Walt’s growing interest in amusement attractions nor would it provide enough work to keep all of these workers employed.

Even with Disneyland’s early success, the company was searching for other ways to defray the costs needed to develop the new technologies that would enable Walt’s visionary ideas, an especially urgent need since the possibility of building a Disney project on the east coast seemed likely. Somehow Disney had to find a way to reduce expenses without reducing creativity. The 1964-65 World’s Fair in New York City offered the perfect interim step. Walt could develop attractions for the fair and test whether his type of entertainment would work with eastern U.S. audiences, a large group that so far comprised only a small part of Disneyland’s attendance.

Ultimately, Disney’s creative arm, WED Enterprises, entered into agreements with General Electric, Ford Motor Company, PepsiCo, and the State of Illinois, Walt’s birthplace, to develop attractions for the fair. Yet by its very nature, a World’s Fair is a temporary effort with a distinct beginning and ending date. If Walt wanted a continuing presence in the eastern part of the United States, he would need a permanent project.

With Disneyland’s success increasing every year, Disney found itself with many suitors for another amusement park. In fact, within a year of Disneyland’s 1955 opening, the company received numerous letters from individuals throughout the eastern U.S. proposing expansion into their city or state. Almost all of the letters received a polite response that Disney was not interested. Every now and then, though, one of the ideas would pique Walt’s interest.