Disneyland Story

Sam Gennawey is the author of Walt and the Promise of Progress City, a contributor to Planning Los Angeles and other books, as well as a columnist for the popular MiceChat website. His unique point of view built on his passion for history, his professional training as an urban planner, and his obsession with theme parks has brought speaking invitations from Walt Disney Imagineering, the Walt Disney Family Museum, Disney Creative, the American Planning Association, the California Preservation Foundation, the California League of Cities, and many Disneyana clubs, libraries, and podcasts. He is currently a Senior Associate at the planning firm of Katherine Padilla and Associates. Jeff Kurtti is author of more than 30 books, a writer-director-producer of award-winning documentaries, and a respected public speaker, host, and moderator. Kurtti is an expert on pop culture and entertainment. He is a consultant to clients in the motion picture, theater, museum/exhibit and themed-entertainment industries. He was creative director, content consultant, and media producer for the cornerstone exhibit of The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco that opened in 2009. In 2012, he served as a content consultant and media producer for the touring exhibit The Dream of Walt Disney on behalf of Disney Japan. He lives in Langley, WA.

"With hand scribblings from Walt Disney and original drawings of the theme park, Gennawey lays out a comprehensive description of the life and history of Disneyland." --Rachel Young, Passadena Now "The book [The Disneyland Story] relies heavily on quotations, which adds to its credibility and readability. Many of the quotations, but not all of them, include endnote numbers. So the book has an answer for you if you wonder, Where and when did that person say or write that?" &#8212Werner Weiss, --Yesterland.com "...Gennawey's book is "unofficial" in its content (but it's not a travel guide). There's nothing [that] should embarrass anyone, but it includes people and stories that you would not read about in Disney publications. For example, C.V. Wood, Disneyland's first general manager, has been all but erased from official Disney history. There are great descriptions of attractions that were announced but never built. And the story of how the land was chosen and acquired for Disneyland has never been published in this detail." --Werner Weiss, Yesterland.com "Don't let the title "unofficial" deter you in the least. This work exceeds anything Disney has ever formally put out. For that matter, in its total form it may exceed everything Disney has put out. There's just so much." --J. Jeff Kober, DisneyatWork.com "The great thing about this book [The Disneyland Story] is the mix of technical details about things like specs on the locomotive engines, Autopia cars, and Monorail designs, blended with anecdotal stories and quotes from many different sources, so there is something for everyone here. The book is peppered with "tips" and trivia along the way as well." --Susie Prendergast, The Mouse Castle "The book [The Disneyland Story] is incredibly exhaustive and takes us through Disneyland's history through the growth of the beloved park. It's laid out in large blocks of years that showcase the development of the park through major attractions and shows. What's fascinating is that Sam was able to delve into the political machinations with the city councils of Burbank and Anaheim to show how Walt's ideas were stymied as well as passed unanimously. The larger civic and community roles that Disneyland has played are usually not recounted, which makes this book so valuable. Kudos to Sam for including an almost rapacious bibliography and for having the decency to cite his references. Not many authors do that. This one is a must have for Disneyland fans!" --George Taylor, MiceChat.com

• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FOREWORD by Jeff Kurtti INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: One Little Spark One of These Days A Birthday Christmas Present Ideas Excite Me It Does Me Good Ever Been to Knott's? Walt Disney's America Cannibal Island Tell A Story Visually It's About the Park Bankers Don't Have Imagination Can Do! Twenty Feet of Earth Sneeze Twice CHAPTER 2: Stumbling Forward: 1955 An Establishing Shot Scene One: Main Street U.S.A. * Town Square * Main Street Corridor * The Plaza Hub Main Street Transportation Archetypal Truth All Aboard! Adventureland * You'd Sell That Tree? Frontierland * Ingenuity of the Pioneers * Queen of the River * They Will Appreciate It Fantasyland * Not Needed But Necessary * All Jumpers * Drama, Humor, and Beauty Tomorrowland * Science-Factual * Only Two Cars Running * Whale of a Tail Opening Day: The Public is My Subsidy CHAPTER 3: Learning: 1955 Year One World's Largest Striped Circus Tent Get a Bit Lost New Worlds of Enchantment Stalactite and Stalagmite Caverns CHAPTER 4 Hand On 1956 - 1958 Something We Don't Have A Good System Bloodmere Manor There was Something Missing An Innovator and a Thinker Two Heads For One of Yours Wild Turkeys Another Big Boat Down the Rabbit Hole 40 Hour Watch Build This! And That Was That CHAPTER 5: Walt's Disneyland 1959 - 1966 The Committee Car Give 'em a Real Show Highway In The Sky Poetic License A Mechanical Genius A Favorite Subject of Mine Undamped Divergent Oscillation Sizzling Teriyaki Steak The Bird Show We're Selling Happiness Other World Illusion Humor Doesn't Hurt Anybody This Stuff is Really Weird Set On The Shelf We're Just Gettin' Started Lincoln's Own Pen Too Many Good Ideas A Little Boat Ride Disney Realism A Time Tunnel A Happy Accident CHAPTER 6: Momentum It's Like a Cocktail Party Dead Men Tell No Tales His Private Dining Room A World on the Move Back On Visual Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow Stingrays The Pattern of Leaves People of Equal Clout Great Caesar's Ghost Chapter 7: Carrying On: 1970 - 1984 Repeat Customers Bears Who Could Laugh Bronzed Baby Shoes Jason Chandler A Receptacle of Experience A Milestone in Americana The Love Bug Simpler Pleasures Race Through Space Harold Do It With Integrity Enjoyment of Quieter Attractions What Have We Done? Fear and Conquest Kind Of Crazy and Eccentric Keep Changing the Show CHAPTER 8: NEW IDEAS 1985 - 1996 The First, The Fastest, and The Finest We'll Build You a Theater One Continuous Take A Little Gallery It's Not Just Disneyland The Longest, Steepest, Highest The Disney Decade Port Disney The Seven Wonders of the World 40-foot Pink Elephants A Christmas Present Normal Seasonal Adjustments A Complete Character Community Partners Highlighting Its Essence Making Us Think Twice The Jungle Cruise Trading Co. An Accident Waiting to Happen Invisible Technology The Anaheim Problem CHAPTER 9: The Resort 1996 and Onward Play at the Edge Erasing Leo Freedman Welcome Center for California The Lively Lass Imagination and Beyond Hip, Irreverent and Contemporary More Productive Time Speed Parking The Second Gate A Chance to be with Pooh 50 Years Mental Real Estate Tinkering EPILOGUE NOTES SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY