Uncle Walt Continues his tour...
The Disney Hub
(Tour, Part 3)
Walt called it a winnie. The castle, that is. By that he meant that it was something that could draw your attention. From Main Street you see the castle in the distance, and you head toward it.
As you pass the last building on Main Street, the area broadens. Soon, you see a circle, and inside the circle is a statue of Walt and Mickey.
Walt once said, "It was all started by a mouse." Really, the Disney Company as we know it was started by an piece of bad luck and an idea. Walt had some success early in his career with an animation character called Oswald theLucky Rabbit.
In 1927, Oswald was created for Universal Pictures by Walt Disney and has partner at the time Ub Iwerks (they thought of calling their early business Disney-Iwerks but it sounded too much like an eyeglass store.) The Oswald series was a success, but within a year, Universal decided to cut the budget on the series, and hired away most of Disney's artists for other projects. Disney was devastated. Later in life, he often told people that everyone should have some big failure once in their lifetime. Despondent, but still full of ideas, Disney took out pencil and paper as he rode the train back to California from New York. He fiddled with a few ideas, and then came up with a character he liked. A mouse. (notice the resemblance of Osward to Mickey). At first he called the mouse Mortimer. His wife, Lillian, didn't like that name. She suggested Mickey.
Mickey Mouse was born on that train ride. Walt decided to never be as vunerable as he'd been with Universal, and from that point forward he kept a stonghold on all Disney created cartoon characters. So, indeed, the Disney empire of characters started with a mouse. And that's the importance of the statue in the hub -- the partnership of man and mouse.
The hub has other importance. Walt designed DisneyLand (and later the Magic Kingdom) with the idea that visitors could easily find their way around. From the hub, you can visit all of the other lands in the kingdom. Today, we think this is fine and logical. Back in the 50s, Walt's DisneyLand was like no amusement park the world had ever seen. It's well designed "Theme" which Walt envisioned as as series of movies, gave a continuity to the park that was unique.
Walt described the layout of DisneyLand on the early Disney television show. It was almost like an infomercial. Long before the millions of people visited DisneyLand, they knew where each land was located. It is a simple map. Here is a rendition that includes today's DisneyLand and the Magic Kingdom (there are a few differences)
(this will be updated soon.)
So far, we've come into the entrance and have travelled up Main Street. Now you must make a decision. Which land do you want to visit. Your options are
- AdventureLand - The idea for this land is remote jungles in exotic places around the world. IN this land you will see wild animals, travel down remote rivers, and see natives from jungle tribes. AdventureLand was an original part of the themed park.
- New Orleans Square (DisneyLand). This was the first "new" land added to a park. It opened in 1966 and (in DisneyLand) housed the popular rides, Pirates of the Carribean and the Haunted Mansion.
- FrontierLand - This land celebrates the time in US history where the West was being settled. In it you'll find a saloon, a shooting gallery, an island aventure based on Mark Twain stories and much more. FrontierLand was an original part of the themed park.
- Critter Country (DisneyLand) - This land (also at the Toyko DisneyLand), was originally Indian Country, then (1972) Bear Country and finally (1988) Critter Country. It's theme revolves around Brer Rabbit type stories featuring fantasy animals.
- FantasyLand - Some think this is the grandest Disney theme of them all. It's theme is based on many of the Disney's early animation successes including Snow White, Peter Pan, Cinderella, and more.
- Mickey's ToonTown - A recent addition to the park, ToonTown comes from the movie, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" as the place where the cartoon characters live.
- TomorrowLand - An original part of the park, TomorrowLand is a whimisical look at tomorrow (still flavored from it original 1950s beginning.)
Some of the "Lands" have changed names over the years, but AdentureLand, FrontierLand, FantasyLand and TomorrowLand were named in the first park.
To visit the rides in each area, click here.
More to come.
