A “Magical” Place
Time is the ultimate judge of anything.
Look at the Sphinx and the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal. Who can argue with the dynamic sense of time and history of these places and the lessons that they teach in history and art; yet they are stationary in time. As beautiful as they are and as much as we can conger the beauty of these places when they were new…they stand, in one place, in time. Now don’t get me wrong regarding the great works of history but one place has transcended life in the modern era…Disneyland.
Disneyland? Yes.
Walt Disney was every bit the visionary of ages past but with a different spin. That spin was motion and motion counteracts time which is the big differential of the great wonders mentioned above. It was his attention to detail and the need for motion that makes Disneyland a place of awe and wonder to children and parents alike.
While I am not sure of any numbers; it would seem incredulous that families from all over the world have traveled to the wonders of Egypt, China, or India yet families from all over the world makes trips to a relatively small area of Orange County, California to visit a modern day “Wonder of the World”.
Now there are those that would say that Florida, Paris and Tokyo should be considered and they are fine places, I am sure, but they are not “Ground Zero” of an idea that was so foreign to the thinking of most people in the 1950s and the fact that it is still one of the preeminent places to visit in America and the world. This alone should make us all take stock in what was on Walt’s mind back then.
Disneyland is not a place as much as it is an idea on a conscious plane that makes us focus in a different manner. When we are there, time stands still yet there is motion and excitement and memories that are made that follow our lives for the rest of our lives.
I remember Grad Night, June 15, 1967 at Disneyland as a time of seeing the park at night, all night, and being a part of something with other graduates that made a familial bond, if only for the night.
I have been there for the first times of my children and now grandchildren and the memories just keep piling up. My 60th birthday was special but made more special because Disneyland was “Ground Zero” for the celebration. I fully expect that there will be more memories made but if there were none more than I have a sufficient number to ruminate on for the rest of my time.
But back to Walt, what was he thinking?
With the sacrifice of World War II and the effect that it had on some many people; Walt wanted to build a place for Disney employees and their children and where peace reigned and the world outside took two steps back from everyone who entered there for just a little while. Where all the adults could be kids again and at the same time enjoy the childhood of their children and grandchildren. What a simple idea in a complicated world.
Disneyland is much larger and different than when Walt passed away in December 1966 but the essential reason for being has not changed…to “look like nothing else in the world” and did he ever succeed in that thought.
Time is the ultimate judge of anything.
Look at the Sphinx and the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal. Who can argue with the dynamic sense of time and history of these places and the lessons that they teach in history and art; yet they are stationary in time. As beautiful as they are and as much as we can conger the beauty of these places when they were new…they stand, in one place, in time. Now don’t get me wrong regarding the great works of history but one place has transcended life in the modern era…Disneyland.
Disneyland? Yes.
Walt Disney was every bit the visionary of ages past but with a different spin. That spin was motion and motion counteracts time which is the big differential of the great wonders mentioned above. It was his attention to detail and the need for motion that makes Disneyland a place of awe and wonder to children and parents alike.
While I am not sure of any numbers; it would seem incredulous that families from all over the world have traveled to the wonders of Egypt, China, or India yet families from all over the world makes trips to a relatively small area of Orange County, California to visit a modern day “Wonder of the World”.
Now there are those that would say that Florida, Paris and Tokyo should be considered and they are fine places, I am sure, but they are not “Ground Zero” of an idea that was so foreign to the thinking of most people in the 1950s and the fact that it is still one of the preeminent places to visit in America and the world. This alone should make us all take stock in what was on Walt’s mind back then.
Disneyland is not a place as much as it is an idea on a conscious plane that makes us focus in a different manner. When we are there, time stands still yet there is motion and excitement and memories that are made that follow our lives for the rest of our lives.
I remember Grad Night, June 15, 1967 at Disneyland as a time of seeing the park at night, all night, and being a part of something with other graduates that made a familial bond, if only for the night.
I have been there for the first times of my children and now grandchildren and the memories just keep piling up. My 60th birthday was special but made more special because Disneyland was “Ground Zero” for the celebration. I fully expect that there will be more memories made but if there were none more than I have a sufficient number to ruminate on for the rest of my time.
But back to Walt, what was he thinking?
With the sacrifice of World War II and the effect that it had on some many people; Walt wanted to build a place for Disney employees and their children and where peace reigned and the world outside took two steps back from everyone who entered there for just a little while. Where all the adults could be kids again and at the same time enjoy the childhood of their children and grandchildren. What a simple idea in a complicated world.
Disneyland is much larger and different than when Walt passed away in December 1966 but the essential reason for being has not changed…to “look like nothing else in the world” and did he ever succeed in that thought.
People have tried to copy it, replicate it, but it's just not the same. Whatever they try, they just can't capture the magic. It's not just about being an "amusement park." It's about the whole package. It's about how every view, every vantage point is joyful or pretty. A day at Disneyland is like salve for a tired soul. Well said, you!
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