Disney’s Land: Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park That Changed the World

Just as Walt Disney’s animated and live movies changed cinema, his theme park changed the way America, and eventually the world, thought about amusement parks. In this accessible and well-researched history, Snow (Iron Dawn) recounts the personal histories of the people who helped make Disney’s concept a reality. From the fabrication of scale-model trains and steamboats to the park’s landscaping and architecture, the book reveals just how much attention to detail went into the construction of Disneyland in Anaheim, California. While the description of the opening day telecast and contemporary cultural criticism of the Disney model makes the narrative bloated, fans of Disney and amusement park history will find compelling accounts of the work and innovation that resulted in a park that was organic in its creation. Readers of Chad Denver Emerson’s Project Future and Martin Sklar’s Dream It! Do It! will relish the stories from the cast of characters who worked long hours under extreme pressure to open the happiest place on Earth.