Understanding Disney by Janet Wasko

Author:Janet Wasko
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Polity Press

6 Dissecting Disney’s

Worlds

To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past . . . and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future.

– dedication plaque at Disneyland

“I’m going to Disneyland.”1

In 1967, Schickel observed that the “aesthetic content of Disneyland has been endlessly debated by intellectuals.”2 That was more than 30 years ago. Since then, a deluge of studies have attempted to interpret not only the aesthetics of the Disney theme parks, but their meanings and significance as sites of contemporary American culture. As Wilson observes, “Among Walt Disney’s many contributions to American popular culture, his theme parks call for special attention, because they form the landscape against which Disney’s visions met the historical and political realities of America.”3

While many would agree with Wilson’s sentiments, the company and its supporters are typically defensive about any kind of interpretations of the park other than the obvious one of family entertainment. However, in spite of official intent, the result of Disney’s efforts is a value-laden environment, which extends and expands Classic Disney into a material or physical existence, as well as providing a strong dose of all-American ideology.

As noted previously, much recent Disney scholarship has focused on the theme parks, which have been interpreted in a myriad of ways. This chapter will not offer yet another guided tour of the parks, but will present an overview of the approaches that have been used to understand how Disney’s worlds have contributed to the Disney phenomenon, as well as to American culture in general. First, it will discuss briefly the historical development of the Disney parks, followed by a summary of the major themes identified by park analysts. It will conclude with a look at the Disney community of Celebration, as an extension of the Disney theme park concept into at least some people’s everyday lives.

History of Disney’s worlds

The creation of the first Disney world – Disneyland – is often identified as the beginning of the concept of theme parks. But, as many commentators have pointed out, the historical precedents can be seen in popular amusement parks or urban resorts, such as Coney Island in the USA and Tivoli Gardens in Europe. In the early years of the twentieth century, such amusement sites provided recreation and pleasure for throngs of workers, immigrants, and young people. Adams reports that there were between 1,500 and 2,000 amusement parks in the USA by 1919. Following a decline during the Depression, amusement parks again became popular in the post-World War II period, when American families with higher incomes discovered leisure-time activities.4

Disneyland was also especially reminiscent of world fairs, which combined a celebration of the past with visions of the future. Bryman describes the Disney parks’ uniqueness as “the combination of the transformation of themed attractions into one of themed environments with the transformation of the world’s fair/exposition concept into a permanent site.”5 Davis argues that Disney’s important contribution was the concept of a fully designed themed environment, or “land,” with all services provided in-house.

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