Disneyland Story by Gennawey Sam & Gennawey Sam

Author:Gennawey, Sam & Gennawey, Sam
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781628090130
Publisher: Unofficial Guides
Published: 2013-11-05T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

MOMENTUM: 1967–1969

IT’S LIKE a COCKTAIL PARTY

FROM THE BEGINNING, hosting Disneyland was a complex relationship between Anaheim, Orange County, and Disneyland. Back in the 1950s, Orange County had a small planning staff that reflected the county’s agricultural outlook. There were no building codes for the type of buildings and attractions that Disney wanted to create. The creation of Disneyland was the largest land use variance ever processed at the county at the time.

In January 1967, the City of Anaheim began to take steps to preserve Disneyland’s “in another world” effect with the creation of a 1,000-acre commercial-recreation zone. The park was then zoned for agricultural use, and the creation of a special district “would be a significant step toward the orderly ultimate development of the area,” according to a Disneyland spokesperson.1 The district concept would help protect the height restrictions that had been put in place in 1964.

However, Anaheim policy makers were not persuaded and decided against the proposal. This meant growth would continue to be regulated on a case-by-case basis. The City Council felt the current policy gave them the greatest control. Anaheim city planner Ron Thompson said of the 1950s approach, “After all, you’ve got to protect the goose that lays the golden egg.”2 In general, Disney management publicly stated they were “satisfied” with the surrounding development but were quick to add “maybe they could have been a little less intense.” Without a master plan on the part of the city, the march toward blight would continue in the area that was getting the reputation as “Las Vegas West.”

Inside the berm, things were much brighter. Disneyland was about to experience its most significant physical transformation since 1959 in the form of a new major attraction. Walt Disney had been working on a pirates ride since the mid-1950s. Through its series of fits and starts, the project had passed through a lot of hands. It had evolved from a simple walk-through wax museum to an elaborate boat ride with dozens of Audio-Animatronics figures. Pirates of the Caribbean, a landmark attraction, opened on February 14, 1967, at a cost of $5 million.

Walt had pulled together an all-star team to create Pirates of the Caribbean. Marc Davis was in charge of planning out what the pirates were, and what they were doing, and what they looked like. Claude Coats was in charge of the backgrounds and the layout. The project benefited from Coats’s background in architecture. His sets supported Davis’s animated character studies and gave the characters proper space and light to work in.

Blaine Gibson was responsible for sculpting the three-dimensional reference maquettes and full-size figures. Gibson would begin with Davis’s characters, but he had the liberty to make adjustments. In most cases, Gibson took the original idea and pushed it further. However, he was faithful to Davis’s brilliant comedic ideas.

Both Davis and Gibson knew they only had a few seconds to say something that could be understood from a distance. Therefore, everything was exaggerated, especially the facial features. The characters’ expressions quickly established who the good guys were and who the bad guys were.

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