Is Disneyland Really Made for Adults?

When Walt Disney was initially designing Disneyland with his team of, what would become known as Imagineers, he said, kids have unlimited imagination, adults need to be transported as they’ve lost what children have. As a result Disneyland has immense theming and uses a lot of practical effects to draw out the imagination of everyone, but mostly adults.

Walt drew on what he knew, animation and theater, in the design of his park. As you enter the park and walk through the turnstiles you enter the lobby of a theater, with red carpet (brick) and an area to gather and make plans. The train station and Mickey floral design serve as the backdrop and you begin to be transported as you go under a sign that reads, “Here you leave today, and enter a world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy”, and walk through the tunnels under the train tracks. The tunnel is lined with attraction posters and serves as the curtain on stage. When the curtain is lifted, you’re presented with a town square and Main Street. Different buildings and shops line the street, and using forced perspective you’re drawn down Main Street toward the central hub and Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Forced perspective is an old animation trick to draw the eye where you want it to focus. Color and size is most commonly used, for example the buildings on Main Street are taller at the Town Square end and the second and third stories are each smaller than the first floor. This helps guests be drawn to the castle as they walk in and makes the walk out seem not as far for exhausted patrons because the buildings are bigger toward the exit as you’re walking out. I’ll do another post on this.

The hub and spoke idea was used to help guests know where they are and help them navigate the park. To the right is Tomorrowland, with it’s futuristic design and promise of tomorrow. Strait ahead is the castle, and through it Fantasyland where you can step into a page of book. To the left are two spokes, one for Frontierland and the other for Adventureland. The park has obviously grown since it’s early days with additional lands, but it had to start somewhere.

Walt used the idea of ‘weenies’ to draw guests into the different lands. The idea came from his pet dogs. If he held a weenie (hot dog) in front of his dogs he could get them to do anything before they got a treat. From ‘smellitizers’ to entering a themed gift shop as you exit a ride, to strategically placed food and merchandise carts (I’ll do another post on this topic), Disney manipulates it’s guests into purchasing what they want, and they’re amazing at it. I’ve purchased so many things I don’t need because the ‘Disney Winds’ pushed me right to them. Back to the weenies, Sleeping Beauty Castle is a great example, it brings guests to the center of the park and is now one of the most photographed locations in the world, thanks to optional Photopass purchases (Disney Winds again). In Tomorrowland it was the Rockets to the Moon. Frontierland is the Mark Twain and Adventureland was the Tiki Room since it has a hard left hand turn not far into the land.

Walt wanted nothing less than perfection in his park, it had to be clean and inviting, not like other theme parks. There are trash cans about every 30 feet (themed to each land) and you’ll see Cast Members (employees) on the janitorial team out emptying bins and cleaning bathrooms to make sure the park is kept spotless. They’re called Cast Members because they’re part of the ‘show’. Remember, Walt based his park off the idea of being at a theater. Everything you see is called show, and all the Cast Member areas are ‘backstage’. CM’s all play a part in the magic and some even play specific roles, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Princesses, Skippers on the Jungle Cruise, Train Engineers… All the costumes are meticulously thought out to help the guests and CM’s be drawn into the characters, same with the theming of the lands.

Now, back to is Disneyland really made for adults. Besides the theming and weenies, perhaps the biggest indication is in Walt Disney’s dedication speech, which is memorialized on a plaque under the flag pole in Town Square. “To all who come to this happy place; welcome. Disneyland is you land. Here age relives fond memories of the past… and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that created America…with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”