This week, let's step away from Liberty Square for a bit. In fact, let's head to the west coast for a while and take a look at some of the details of Disneyland, Walt Disney's original park which will celebrate its 54th anniversary next Friday.
Disneyland Park in Anaheim is special for many reasons, not the least of which being that it is the only park Walt Disney personally supervised. His influence has extended, of course, to the other 10 parks built since his passing, but Disneyland is filled with countless tiny details that bear the signature touch of the master showman.
One of the first of these can be found in the plaque above the entrance tunnels leading from the main gate, under the railroad tracks to Town Square. It was Walt's way of setting his audience up for what was to come, telling them to put away their modern cares and worries and let themselves escape into his world. The message, like everything else in Disneyland, was crafted with care, as can be seen in these hand-written edits made by Walt Disney himself (image from the Disney Archives, via D23: www.disney.com/D23):
As we approach the July 17 anniversary, we'll take a look at some of these Disneyland details and savor the beauty and charm that make this Disney park the most unique of them all.
I VERY MUCH look forward to your upcoming posts about my all time favorite Disney park, Disneyland. Thank you, Shawn, for all that you do!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE this stuff!