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IDEAS EXCITE ME
Why would Walt want to build something so unlikely as an amusement park? Industrial trainer Van Arsdale France wrote of the park’s early history for the training programs he created, and he speculated that Walt built Disneyland for three primary reasons: taxes, tourism, and the opportunity to reinvent something familiar—the amusement park—into something he, his family, and his friends would enjoy.
Walt was politically conservative, and he was not fond of taxes. Anytime he produced a hit film he had to give some money to the government, and he knew that if he could reinvest his profits, he would pay less in taxes. But Walt did not want to pay fewer taxes to accumulate wealth; he wanted the money available to fund his dreams. “Money is something I understand only vaguely, and think about it only when I don’t have enough to finance my current enthusiasm, whatever it may be,” he said. “Money—or, rather the lack of it to carry out my ideas—may worry me, but it does not excite me. Ideas excite me.”
Prior to the opening of Disneyland, studies had determined that tourism was California’s third-largest industry. Typically, most tourists to Southern California would go to the beach, pick an orange, or try to visit a movie studio. Walt felt that a movie-related destination would be a natural attraction.
The post–World War II timing was perfect. The middle class was growing, and they began to purchase automobiles and have more leisure time. They were also restless. Former Disneyland marketing director Edwin Ettinger said, “They felt awkward about all that leisure time thrust onto them and they weren’t sure what to really do with it.” Walt’s amusement park idea could offer something that seemed familiar, predictable, and reassuring.
“Walt had that instinct, that gut feeling of what people wanted, when they wanted it and how much,” said Tommy Walker, Disneyland’s first entertainment director. “He was tremendously creative, yet he was a practical and common-sense guy.” His desire to exceed his guests’ expectations was central to the park’s success. “I think the reason that Disneyland worked was because Walt Disney liked people in the first place,” said John Hench. “He was always trying for better communication, of linking with the audience, of touching them. He said that the only thing wrong with people, if they were acting badly, was because of poor communication. They simply didn’t have the right information. Walt blamed all the trouble in the world on wrong information.”
Disneyland emerged at a very special moment. After World War II, people were looking for an escape, and the mild weather of Southern California beckoned. The Los Angeles region was ripe for a movie-based tourist attraction. The fact that the metropolitan region was going through a population boom did not go unnoticed. Disneyland would become a pedestrian-friendly urban center surrounded by auto-centric suburban sprawl.
Walt also wanted to create an amusement park that his wife could enjoy. When Lillian asked him, “Why would you want to get involved with an amusement park? They’re so dirty and not fun at all for grown-ups. Why would you want to get involved in a business like that?” Walt said, “That’s exactly my point. Mine isn’t going to be that way. Mine’s going to be a place that’s clean, where the whole family can do things together.” He figured that if she enjoyed herself at his amusement park, he would be doing OK.
