by Neal Gabler
“And it was an extremely emotional…” Quoted in Anderson, “Disney’s Davy Crockett.”
“[s]ooner or later he will either…” Memo, Bill Anderson to Walt, Re: Fess Parker, May 1, 1956, Anderson, Bill, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956, A1641, WDA.
$750,000 budget. Memo, Bill Anderson to Walt, Re: 954-1955 Disneyland Television Show, Jan. 29, 1955, Anderson, Bill, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, A-C, A1637, WDA.
Bear zipper. Greene, and Greene, Inside the Dream.
“The people of the U.S….” “Davy’s Time,” Time, May 30, 1955.
“hero-hunger.” J. P. Telotte, Disney TV (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2004).
“Walt Disney, with his instinctive feel…” Watts, Magic Kingdom.
Walt initiating Man in Space. Ward Kimball, interview by Mica Prods., aired July 1, 1984, WDA.
Our Friend the Atom. Marian to Walt, Jun. 10, 1956, E Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, C-F, A1562; Walt to Mr. J. E. Thorin, Armour Research Foundation, Jul. 2, 1956, A Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, A-B, A1561, WDA.
Disneyland budgets. Memo, Bill Anderson to Walt, Re: 1954-1955 Disneyland Television Shows, Jan. 29, 1955, Anderson, Bill, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, A-C, A1637, WDA.
Portland Cement Association. Memo, Carl Nater to Walt, Mar. 15, 1956, Nater, Carl, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956-1957, K-Secrets, A1643, WDA.
Hiring ad agency. Memo, Roy to Walt, Re: Confidential Report, Oct. 23, 1944, Disney, Roy O., Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1938-1944, D, A1627, WDA.
“By and large, they are all…” Memo, Roy to Walt, Sept. 13, 1948, Roy Disney Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1945-1952, A-L, A1635, WDA.
Negotiating with RKO. Memo, Roy to Walt, Nov. 9, 1950, Walt Disney, 1941-1954 Folder, Roy O. Disney, Inter-Office Corr., Disney, Roy O.—Trips to Disneyland 1954-61), A3002, WDA.
“They had a lot of liabilities…” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
Asked to take over studio to thwart Hughes. Bob Thomas, “Disney Tells of Plans,” Los Angeles Herald Express, Sept. 16, 1955.
RKO balked at distributing shorts. Memo, Roy to Walt, Re: Short Subjects, RKO, Jun. 5, 1952, Roy Disney Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1945-1952, A-L, A1635, WDA.
“complete liquidation…” Walt to Roy, Jul. 2, 1952, Walt Disney, 1941-1954 Folder, Roy O. Disney, Inter-Office Corr., Disney, Roy O.—Trips to Disneyland (1954-61), A3002, WDA.
Roy’s plan. Memo, Roy to Walt, Aug. 4, 1952, ibid.
“so important to them…” Memo, Roy to Walt, Re: General, Jul. 31, 1953, Walt Disney, 1941-1954 Folder, Roy O. Disney, Inter-Office Corr., Disney, Roy O.—Trips to Disneyland (1954-61), A3002, WDA.
Leaving RKO. NYT, Sept. 21, 1954.
“my big brother Roy’s project…” Walt to Donald M. Merserau, Box Office, Nov. 26, 1954, Me Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1953-1954, L-O, A1553, WDA.
“It was shot for TV,…” Walt to Elmo and Lorraine Williams, Mar. 17, 1955, Wi Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1955, S-Z, A1560, WDA.
Kirk Douglas case. NYT, Aug. 2, 1956; LAT, Dec. 11, 1956; Tytle, One of “Walt’s Boys;” Memo, Walt to Gunther Lessing, Re: Kirk Douglas Case, May 1, 1957, L Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956-1957, K-Secrets, A1643, WDA.
“It makes me a little sad…” Kirk Douglas to Walt, May 11, 1959, Do Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1959, Di-G, A1575, WDA.
“turning point.” Anderson, Hollywood TV.
“I am not sure just where…” Benjamin Kalmenson, U.S. vs Twentieth Century Fox, et. al, Oct. 31, 1955, quoted in ibid..
Kintner’s rhapsody. Robert Kintner to Walt Disney, Dec. 16, 1954, A Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1953-1954, A-B, A1550, WDA.
By one account… Hollister, Man or Mouse, chap. 22.
Outlines for first hundred shows. Memo, Adelquist to Walt, Re: Mickey Mouse Club Show, Feb. 19, 1955, Hal Adelquist TV Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, A-C, A1637, WDA.
“those kinds with tightly curled hairdos.” Walsh quoted in Finch, Art of Disney; Walsh quoted in Santoli, Official Mickey Mouse.
“The talented kids…” Memo, Walt to Hal Adelquist, Apr. 15, 1955, Hal Adelquist TV Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, A-C, A1637, WDA.
“We’ve got to let Walt discover you.” Santoli, Mouse Club Book.
“fat and funny lookin’.” Ibid.
Inventing the hat. Ibid..
“We would discuss an idea…” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
“disastrous.” NYT, Oct. 4, 1955.
131 children. MM Club Reactions, Oct. 4, 1955, Mickey Mouse Club Reactions Folder, Roy to Jack Wrenn, City Hall, Marceline, Jul. 24, 1956, M Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, M-R, A1564, WDA.
“only show Babe Paley…” Jimmie Dodd to Walt, Feb. 27, 1956, Do Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, C-F, A1562, WDA.
About $3 million. Roy Disney to Robert Kintner, Jan. 20, 1956, ABC Robert Kintner Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, A-B, A1561, WDA.
“damned serious and direct orders.” William C. Park to Ed Ettinger (public relations), Aug. 12, 1955, Mickey Mouse Club—Newsreel folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, M-P, A1639, WDA.
$2.4 million to the park. Memo, Paul Pease to Walt, Feb. 10, 1955, P Folder, ibid.
“This avalanche of work…” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
“Those were the days…” Ward Kimball, interview by John Canemaker, Jul. 7, 1973, WDA.
“[T]he difference was…” Milt Kahl, interview by Christopher Finch and Linda Rosenkrantz, May 18, 1972, WDA.
Davis drawing new plans. Marling, Theme Parks.
“through a fascinating jumble…” J. P. McEvoy, “McEvoy in Disneyland,” Reader’s Digest, Feb. 1955.
Expeditions. Preliminary Report from Wm. H. D. Cottrell, Jun. 25, 1954, to WED Enterprises, Disneyland, Inc., Bill Cottrell Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, A-C, A1637; Memo, Ron Miller to C. V. Wood, Jr., Jul. 7, 1954, Disneyland (Amusement Parks Other than D.L.) Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1958-1959, A1645, WDA.
“While we were planning…” Quoted in Dick Adler, “Hippos Revenge,” Los Angeles Magazine, Sept. 1990.
No one with experience. France, Window.
“the most winning and likable…” R. C. Linnell, “Personal Experiences, Observations and Opinions Relative to Thematic Parks,” Aug. 1, 1960, C.V. Wood Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1961, M-Z, A1589, WDA.
Using charm to coax. France, Window.
“Walt reacted to him…” Harrison “Buzz” Price, Walt’s Revolution! By the Numbers (Orlando, Fla.: Ripley Entertainment, 2003).
“trapped.” Disney, Disneyland Tenth Anniversary Speech quoted in ibid..
Disneyland offices. Ibid..
Laying out foundations and framing. William T. Wheeler (structural engineer), “Report on Structural Design of Disneyland Anaheim, Calif.,” Aug. 15, 1955, W Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1955, S-Z, A1560, WDA.
Sandy soil. Martin A. Sklar, Walt Disney’s Disneyland (New York: Disney Productions, 1974), n.p.
Labor problems. Horan, Video Interview, WDA; Bright, Inside Story.
“He walked over every inch…” Ward Kimball, “The Wonderful World of Walt Disney,” in You Must Remember This, ed. Walter Wagner (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1975).
“Walt’s approach was to say,…” Quoted in Greene and Greene, Inside the Dream.
“You know, I’ve spent…” Goff quoted in Betsy Richman, “Harper Goff Remembers,” Disney News, Summer 1986.
Crying when he said it. Robin Allan, “Harper Goff,” in Walt’s People, ed. Didier Ghez (Xlibris, 2005).
“By the time Joe gets through…” Bright, Inside Story.
“Joe’s Ditch.” Ibid..
Giving Popes choice of house. Dolly and Own Pope, interview by Bob Mathieson, WDA.
Walt visiting Arrow Development. Memo, George Whitney to Walt, Dec. 21, 1954, George Whitney Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1
956-1957, Sunderland-Z, A1644, WDA. See also Whitney to C. V. Wood, Sept. 9, 1954; Whitney to Walt, July 27, Aug. 11, Aug. 17, Aug. 19, 1954.
Pressuring for a train. Walt to Frederic Shaw (architect), Feb. 10, 1954, Si Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1955, S-Z, A1560; Kimball quoted in Marc Eliot, Walt Disney: Hollywood’s Dark Prince (New York: HarperCollins, 1994).
“he would hate to be the one…” Jack DeVol, Jan. 15, 1954, Disneyland—General, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, D-L, A1638, WDA.
“greatly enthused.” Nat Winecoff to Robert Kintner [1954], A Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1953-1954, A-B, A1550, WDA.
“never in his life…” Memo, Roy to Walt, Re: Standard Oil of Calif., Jul. 15, 1954, Disney, Roy, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, D-L, A1638, WDA.
Lessees. Disneyland Lessee Rent & Participation Status [Dec. 1955], C. V. Wood, Jr., Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, R-Z, A1640, WDA.
Spiraling costs. Joe Fowler quoted in Bright, Inside Story.
Financing. Memo, Paul Pease to Roy/Walt, RE: Disneyland, Jun. 13, 1955, P Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, M-P, A1639, WDA.
“Look, the thing…” Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
Gustaf Tenggren watercolor. Marling, Theme Parks.
Canal Boats of the World. Bright, Inside Story.
“Toward the opening…” Quoted in Michael Broggie, Walt Disney’s Railroad Story (Pasadena, Calif.: Pentrex, 1997).
“[W]e don’t hire for jobs here…” Van France quoted in Kevin Wallace, “The Engineering of Ease,” The New Yorker, Sept. 7, 1963.
“[Y]ou can’t go on stage…” Ibid..
Dress code. Tytle, One of “Walt’s Boys.”
“Walt doesn’t like fat guys.” Charley Thompson quoted in France, Window.
Strikers on Walt’s antipathy toward blacks. Bill Melendez, interview by author.
CORE request. NYT, July 26, 1963.
“It is calculated…” Leo E. Litwak, “A Fantasy That Paid Off,” NYT Magazine, Jun. 27, 1965.
“Simonized Coney Island.” Wallace, “Engineering of Ease.”
“people are going to be embarrassed…” Jack Lindquist (Disneyland executive) quoted in Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
ABC sold out advertising. Tel. James A. Stablie (ABC) to Roy, Mar. 10, 1955, ABC General Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, A-B, A1561, WDA.
crews rehearsing. NYT, Jul. 3, 1955, sec. 2.
9,500 people. News memo to Disneyland Lessees, May 16, 1955, Disneyland 1954-1961 folder, Roy O. Disney, Inter-Office Corr., Disney, Roy O.—Trips to Disneyland (1954-61), A3002, WDA.
“just like a little kid.” Quoted in Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
Harrison Ellenshaw. Quoted in Scott M. Richter, “Peter Ellenshaw and Harrison Ellenshaw,” Disney News, Fall 1994.
“world’s biggest toy…” “Father Goose.”
“[H]e would stop…” Grenade Curran quoted in Paul F. Anderson, “The Apple Box Incident,” POV 1, no. 1 (Jul. 17, 1992).
“We had a tent set up,…” Walt Pfeiffer, interview by Christopher Finch and Linda Rosenkrantz, Jul. 5, 1972, WDA.
Anniversary party. Greene and Greene, Man Behind the Magic.
Walt waiting for guests. France, Window.
Hollywood Bowl. LAT, Jul. 11, 15, 1955; Memo, Bill Walsh to Walt, Re: Work Sheet, Jul. 12, 1955, Bill Walsh Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, R-Z, A1640, WDA.
three thousand workers… Richard Holliss and Brian Sibley, The Disney Studio Story (New York: Crown Publishers, 1988).
“Walt put on a mask…” Ken Anderson in Jay Horan, Video Interview with Ken Anderson, Bill Cottrell and Herb Ryman, Sept. 15, 1983, WDA.
“Just about everyone was worried…” Quoted in France, Window.
Counterfeiting tickets. Bright, Inside Story.
28,000 people had fought their way. France, Window.
heels stuck. Bob Broughton, interview by author.
“Either you let me through here…” Art Linkletter quoted in Greene and Greene, Inside the Dream.
Seventy million Americans. News Memo to Disneyland Lessees, Aug. 19, 1955, Disneyland Publicity Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956-1957, Disneyland J, A1642, WDA.
Director was so frazzled. France, Window.
“things weren’t going quite well.” Glenn Puder, interview by author.
“I have never seen a happier man.” Quoted in “Growing Up Disney,” People, Dec. 21, 1998.
“tear streaming down his cheek.” Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
Watching fireworks. Greene and Greene, Inside the Dream.
“Walt’s dream is a nightmare.” Bright, Inside Story.
“I think that everyone…” Disneyland, USA, Disney Enterprises, DVD.
“Walt Disney’s cartoon world…” “Disneyland,” McCall’s, Jan. 1955.
“Mr. Disney has tastefully…” NYT, Jul. 22, 1955.
“cute movie set is what…” Notes on TV Meeting, Mar. 22, 1954, TV Notes & Meetings Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, R-Z, A1640, WDA.
“success of Disneyland was primarily based…” Ben Sharpsteen, interview by Don Peri, Feb. 7, 1975, WDA.
Scale. Walt to William Rast, Nov. 21, 1957, R Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1957, P-Z, A1568, WDA.
“made the street a toy.” Quoted in Marling, Theme Parks.
“[P]eople like to think…” Ibid..
“You know, tyrants in the past…” Ken Anderson in Horan, Video Interview.
“key frames.” Bright, Inside Story.
“kind of live action cross dissolve.” Quoted in Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
Acting out guests’ reactions. Marling, Theme Parks.
“that Good triumphs over Evil…” Yi Fu Tuan with Steven D. Hoelscher, “Disneyland: Its Place in World Culture,” in ibid..
Scolding publicist. Bright, Inside Story.
“I want them to feel…” Quoted in Sklar, Disneyland.
“less an amusement park…” Gladwin Hill, “The Never Never Land Khrushchev Never Saw,” NYT, Oct. 4, 1959, sec. 2, part 2.
“Something in the Disney parks,…” Greil Marcus, “Forty Years of Overstatement,” in Marling, Theme Parks.
“When Walt built Disneyland,…” Quoted in Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
John Hench and order. Quoted in Marling, Theme Parks.
“single descriptive word…” Walter Annenberg to Walt, Sept. 10, 1956, A Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, A-B, A1561, WDA.
“where, in this most elaborate…” Wallace, “Engineering of Ease.”
“You’re always so absorbed…” Walt Disney interview by Martin, Disc 10.
“He knew everything…” Quoted in Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
Lillian said he knew where every nail… Greene and Greene, Inside the Dream.
“ironing out some little problems.” Walt to Feg Murray, Jul. 29, 1955, Disneyland Premiere Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1955, C-D, A1557, WDA.
Spending most of his time at the park. Walt to Robert A. Day, Dec. 1, 1955, D folder, ibid.
“You know, Joe…” Quoted in Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
Autographs. Walt to Mrs. Max Hill, Dec. 1, 1961, A Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1961, A-Christmas, A1586, WDA.
“If the trip is seven minutes…” France, Window.
Stuffing oranges. Bo Foster quoted in Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
Appear at night. James Haught, Jr., quoted in ibid..
“He practically lived there.” Quoted in Greene and Greene, Man Behind the Magic.
Standing at the window. Sherry Alberoni quoted in Eliot, Dark Prince.
Attendance. Gladwin Hill, “A World Walt Disney Created,” NYT Magazine, Jul. 31, 1955; Gladwin Hill, “Disneyland Reports on Its First Ten Million,” Feb. 2, 1958, sec. 2, Part 2; News Memo to Disneyland Lessees, Aug. 17, 1955, Disneyland 1954-1961 Folder, Roy O. Disney, Inter-Office Corr., Disney, Roy O.—Trips to Disne
yland (1954-61), A3002; News Memo to Disneyland Lessees, Oct. 8, 1955, Disneyland Publicity Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956-1957, Disneyland J. A1642, WDA; “How to Make a Duck,” Time, Jul. 29, 1957.
Ticket book. News Memo to Disneyland Lessees, Oct. 8, 1955, Disneyland Publicity Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956-1957, Disneyland J, A1642, WDA.
Circus ambition and failure. Walt to Gil Conlin, Mar. 9, 1960, Walt Disney Corr., 1960, C, A1581; Walt to John H. Harris (Ice Capades), Mar. 19, 1958, Harris, John, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1958, H-P, A1571, WDA.
“it is not unique enough…” Park Operations Commission, Meeting Minutes, Dec. 13, 1955, Disneyland Operations Committee Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, D-L, A1638, WDA.
Alpine Skyway. Memo, Jack Sayers to Walt, Re: Chair Lift, Nov. 18, 1955; F. A. Picard to C. V. Wood, Dec. 1, 1955, Von Roll (Picard) Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, S-Z, A1565, WDA.
House of Tomorrow. Walt to Edgar Monsanto Queeny, Dec. 2, 1955; Walt to Ralph F. Hansen (manager of market development, Monsanto), Jan. 10, 1956, Hansen to Walt, Jan. 20, 1956, Monsanto Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, M-R, A1564, WDA; Popular Science, Apr. 1956.
Cottrell’s reappraisal. Memo, Walt to Bill Cottrell, Feb. 2, 1956, Cottrell, Bill, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956-1957, A-Disney, A1641, WDA.
Expansion. LAT, May 13, 1956.
Snow on Main Street. Joe Fowler quoted in Dave Hooper, “WDW Disneyana Convention, 1992,” POV 1, no. 2 (Winter 1992).
Fear of Wood’s cadre. France, Window.
Assuming duties of general manager. Bulletin, Jan. 19, 1956, C. V. Wood, Jr., Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, R-Z, A1640, WDA.
Meeting of Disneyland Policy and Planning Committee, Minutes of Disneyland Policy and Planning Committee, Feb. 8, 1956, Mar. 22, 1956, Apr. 17, 1956, Disneyland Policy & Planning Committee Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956-1957, Disneyland J, A1642, WDA.
“I feel what’s wrong…” Walt Disney interview by Martin, Reels 9 & 10, Reel 10.
“[W]e can talk something over…” Ibid..
“synopsis” meeting. Memo, Bob Sunderland to Walt, Re: Synopsis Meeting, Feb. 28, 1956, Sunderland, Bob, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956-1957, Sunderland-Z, A1644, WDA.