What Would Walt Do? (or rather, What Walt Might Think about the Disney Parks)

I think that Walt Disney would overall be very pleased with Walt Disney World and Disneyland, though there are some things that don’t fit his vision for the parks. While I have less experience with Disneyland than with Disney World, I think I can generalize about the attractions and general aesthetics of both locations. Walt Disney’s main goal in planning the parks was to create a new kind of amusement parks in which families could have fun together that was not aimed towards one particular age group (Weinstein, 1992). Both Walt Disney World and Disneyland certainly achieve this, as there is plenty to offer to adults as well as young children. However, there are things in the parks that Walt might not approve of.

Walt Disney’s aim in designing Disneyland was to create a place where whole families could have fun together, which is certainly true of both parks. Walt wanted to create an amusement park that was clean and family-friendly, unlike the more carnival like places he had visited with his daughters (Weinstein, 1992). I imagine he would love the family values reflected in the Disney parks, especially the Mainstreet USA’s found across the world. Part of his vision for Disneyland was to have rides that were “interesting, educational, and scientifically correct” so he would definitely approve of attractions like Ellen’s Energy Adventure and The Hall of Presidents (Weinstein, 1992, 150). He had a passion for trains, so he would love the presence of them in the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World and in Disneyland (Weinstein, 1992). As he was invested in using his films and characters for turning the parks into true theme parks, he would probably appreciate the saturation of character-themed attractions and character meet-and-greets. I think that overall, Walt Disney would be very pleased with Disney World and Disneyland.

While Walt Disney would be pleased with the parks, there are also definitely aspects that don’t fit his vision for them. He didn’t want “thrill rides, alcoholic beverages, games of chance, shoddy merchandise, or unfair prices for refreshments” in his theme parks (Weinstein, 1992, 150). Both parks have thrill rides, from the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster in Hollywood Studios to California Screamin’ in Disney California Adventure. Alcohol is permitted in all parks, except Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Disneyland. The entire parks, not just the refreshments, could easily be called overpriced. Additionally, most of the attractions are lacking the educational focus that Walt Disney had in mind for the parks and are less historically minded than he might have preferred. Obviously, his vision for EPCOT as a community of tomorrow never came into fruition. However, despite these deviations from Walt’s vision, I think that he would find the parks overall very pleasing as they completely achieve the family-centered atmosphere he had in mind. 

Weinstein, R (1992). Disneyland and Coney Island: Reflections on the evolution of the modern amusement park. Journal of Popular Culture, 26(1), 131-164. DOI: 10.1111/j.0022-3840.1992.00131.x.