Sleeping Beauty Castle,
Fantasyland, Disneyland;
Anaheim, California
1954
Herbert Ryman

Walt Disney Imagineering Collection
© Disney

Imagineering Disneyland

The exhibition begins with the layout of the Disney parks--with their heart-shaped plan surrounded by a mound, or berm, that separates the real world from the parks themselves. Walt Disney deliberately created the parks as a space for pedestrians devoid of any private transportation. Once past the entrance, Main Street, U.S.A. beckons. From the central Hub, the "lands" radiate out like a tourist's dream marked by clearly visible focal points, called "wienies" by Walt Disney, orienting visitors and luring them into the different lands. The castle in Fantasyland, the rocket ship in Tomorrowland, and the riverboat in Frontierland act as magnetic attractions. Walt Disney's weekly programs, glimmering from the TV screen, helped make these icons, even without the first-hand experience of Disneyland.

The global reach of Disney attests to its transcultural fascination. The exhibition documents the expansion of Disneyland from its original site in Anaheim, California, to Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida (1971), Tokyo Disneyland (1983), and Disneyland Paris, the former EuroDisney (1992). This global extension coincides with Disney's increasing emphasis on more convincing simulations of the remote and fantastic by precise architectural detailing. Disney described this process as "plussing," improving existing construction and adding new buildings to form a convincing environment.

[Introduction]
[Main Street, U.S.A.]
[Fantasyland]
[Adventureland]
[Frontierland]
[Tomorrowland]
[Simulations]
[Theme Park Architecture in the Real World]