Walt Disney always had an intense fascination with history. That interest particularly showed up within the design of his theme parks. For example, the Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland and the ones at subsequent Disney theme parks serve to honor various eras of America gone by. At one point Walt even attempted to build a park that would be devoted to American history called Riverfront Square. Sadly, though, that project never got off the ground.
Even after Walt’s passing, The Walt Disney Company has continued to show respect for the bygone days of America. That’s why it should be of little surprise that, at one point, Disney was going to build a park specifically devoted to Americana. In the early 1990s, as part of CEO Michael Eisner’s “Disney Decade,”The Walt Disney Company began work on a new park for Haymarket, Virginia titled Disney’s America.
Disney’s America developed into one of the most exciting – and controversial – Disney projects ever conceived. Let’s take a look at how it progressed and ultimately fell apart.
Liberty Street
Since around the time that Disneyland opened, Walt Disney was eager to create a place where young people could be educated about the history of the nation.
An early attempt to incorporate more history in his growing theme park empire was the Liberty Street concept. In the late 1950s Walt intended to add an area off of Disneyland’s Main Street called Liberty Street. It was to be a cul-de-sac that recreated colonial America, filled of shops and exhibits inspired by that era. Guests would have gotten to see actual silversmiths, blacksmiths and other professionals of that era show off their skills. At the end of the cul-de-sac would have been Liberty Square, a plaza which included, among other things, a recreation of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall.
Inside the recreation of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall (referred to as “Liberty Hall” by Walt Disney and his team) would have been the Hall of Declaration of Independence and the Hall of Presidents of the United States. There would have been two shows, both of which utilized Audio-Animatronics technology. The plans for them were probably premature, as the tech wasn’t anywhere near perfect at that point. The term “Audio-Animatronics” hadn’t even been coined yet! Here are the two attractions:
- A series of scenes based on famous paintings that would have shared the story of the Declaration of Independence through music, narration and special lighting techniques
- A show titled One Nation Under God that seems very similar to Walt Disney World’s Hall of Presidents. The most significant difference is that One Nation Under God would have focused on George Washington instead of Abraham Lincoln.
Concerns about funding and insufficient technology caused the Liberty Street project to fall apart. The expansion budget was instead put towards a much-needed upgrade to Tomorrowland and a single animatronic of Abraham Lincoln. That paved the way to the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show at the 1964 World’s Fair, a key event in Walt Disney’s theme park legacy. And, of course, Disney eventually adopted many of the ideas for Liberty Square area at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.
While it didn’t come in the form of Liberty Street, Walt’s desire for another place honoring America would help lead to plans for something much bigger many years later.
The concept of Disney’s America is born
After spending (and losing) a boatload of money on the Euro Disney Resort, Michael Eisner and the Imagineers started looking into ways that Disney could open a less expensive theme park. Eisner and Disney president Frank Wells were inspired by a trip to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, but decided that that specific area wouldn’t be a good choice.
Eisner asked the Disney Development Company to find a better place to construct a park. They eventually decided on land in Haymarket, most of it owned by oil company Exxon, who was more than glad to give Disney a long-term option on it. It had a prime location, just twenty miles away from downtown Washington, D.C. That made it the perfect spot for U.S. history fans already on a trip to the nation’s capital. Everything seemed perfect, at first…
The lands of Disney’s America
Eisner wanted a park that combined many aspects of American history, positive and negative. With the technology and capabilities of Disney he planned to celebrate the “diversity of the nation.”
Disney’s America was supposed to contain nine lands, more commonly referred to as “territories.” Each would honor a certain era of a certain part of the United States.
Crossroads USA (1800-1850)
This land, inspired by the Civil War era, was the gateway into the park and the rest of the territories. Guests would enter a train trestle and ride one of two antique steel trains across the park.
Native America (1600-1810)
Disney was wise enough to celebrate the culture that lived in America long before those who would go on to found the United States. The Native America territory was being developed in tandem with the Pocahontas animated film, so Eisner and team hoped to build a village much like the setting of the movie. Multiple Mid-Atlantic tribes were to be represented with exhibits, arts and crafts and a Lewis and Clark Expedition. The whitewater raft ride intended for Native America would go on to inspire both Kali River Rapids at the Animal Kingdom and Grizzly River Run at Disney’s California Adventure.
Presidents’ Square (1750-1800)
President’s Square would have been inspired by the colonial era. Like the abandoned Liberty Street project, this territory would have had the Independence Hall replica with a Hall of Presidents attraction.
Civil War Fort (1850-1870)
This is an example of how Eisner was also willing to explore the more controversial periods of American history through the theme park. It would have included Civil War re-enactments, recreations of water fights between battleships on Freedom Bay and a Circle Vision 360 movie showing scenes from a battlefield.
We The People (1870-1930)
We The People was going to be a recreation of Ellis Island, the famous gateway for immigrants into the United States. This land would focus on sharing the immigrant experience, with ethnic food and music as well as a show depicting how conflict between different cultures shaped America. The plans for the show got a little more lighthearted by 1994, however, with Imagineers considering making a musical about immigration featuring the Muppets instead.
Enterprise (1870-1930)
Even though it would have covered the exact same period of time as We The People, the Enterprise territory would have been drastically different. A recreation of an American factory town, it was going to celebrate the technology that came out of the United States during that time.
It was originally supposed to have a steel mill-themed roller coaster called Industrial Revolution, but that plan likely would have been scrapped. In his memoir, Eisner indicates that he and his team were worried that the roller coaster wouldn’t have been an effective presentation of what life working in a steel mill is like, and could possibly have even trivialized the experience.
State Fair (1930-1945)
Here’s what Disney promotional material said about the recreation of 1930’s Coney Island:
State Fair celebrates small town America at play with a nostalgic recreation of such popular rides as a 60-foot Ferris Wheel and a classic wooden roller coaster, as well as a tribute to the country’s favorite pastime, baseball. Amid a backdrop of rolling cornfields, fans may have a hot dog and take a seat in an authentic, old-fashioned ball park and watch America’s legendary greats gather for an exhibition all-star competition.
This concept would later serve as inspiration for the Paradise Pier area of California Adventure.
Family Farm (1930-1945)
Family Farm was described as one of the most untraditional parts of Disney’s America. Based on the plans we know about, it wouldn’t have had any traditional attractions. There would have been exhibits and demonstrations focusing on rural life, an intense fascination of Michael Eisner’s. Guests would learn about and even participate in such activities as the harvesting of crops, the milking of cows and the making of home-made ice cream. It’s awfully similar to Bountiful Valley Farm at California Adventure, an area that was scrapped in 2010. If Disney’s America was completed, Family Farm may have suffered a similar fate.
Victory Field (1940-1945)
This was to be a territory themed to look and feel like a military airfield from around World War II. The popular attraction Soarin’ was actually intended for Victory Field, but once the plans were scrapped it moved over to Epcot and California Adventure. A really crazy plan the Imagineers had for Victory Field was for the first-ever dueling inverted roller coasters called Dogfighter. Guests would have been flying on German and American plane-themed trains, and there would have been several “near-misses.” It was too costly a project to be considered for long, but it’s cool to imagine.
Planned events
Much like EPCOT Center, Disney’s America was intended to be a place to learn as well as have fun. This quote puts the goals of the theme park other than simply entertaining nicely.
Beyond the rides and attractions for which Disney is famous, the park will be a venue for people of all ages, especially the young, to debate and discuss the future of our nation and to learn more about its past by living it.
– Bob Weis, November 11, 1993
Disney considered elements beyond regular attractions, often referred to as “edutainment.” That was meant to include televised political debates, public forums and gatherings of students, professionals, etc. to talk about the country. Most of the edutainment plans were still in the conceptual stages, but Eisner did at one point declare that the American Teacher Awards, created by Disney, would be broadcast at Disney’s America.
The sort-of dedication for Disney’s America
Since Disney’s America was never built, it naturally never had a grand opening. Without that grand opening there was no opportunity for an official dedication. However, this quote from Disney Promotional Material in 1994 serves as a good unofficial one. Like all Disney dedications, it’s a well-written attempt to capture the spirit of the park.
Every day, a diverse and unlikely society, made up of every culture and race on earth, is working together to build a great nation. We have a single vision – a new order based on the promise of democracy.
Our resources for building this nation are a rich mixture of land, family and beliefs – which we apply with our own fiety brand of spirit, humor and innovation.
As the nation has grown and changed, we are constantly reminded of how impossibly far we’ve come – and how far we still have to go.
DISNEY’S AMERICA celebrates these qualities which have always been the source of our strength and the beacon of hope to people everywhere.
The downfall of Disney’s America
As with many theme parks, there was a litany of reasons not to go through with Disney’s America. Even though Michael Eisner earned support for the project from outgoing governor L. Douglas Wilder, incoming governor George Allen and the Virginia Commission on Population Growth and Development, there were still a number of hurdles left to overcome. Here are several possible reasons Disney’s America never made it off the ground.
The name
Just the title of the theme park stirred up a fair amount of controversy. Some critics complained that calling the park “Disney’s America” implied a sense of ownership over the nation on the part of Disney. Because some of the academics who they hoped would support the project were insulted by the title, Disney started considering a name change to something “less presumptuous” such as Disney’s American Celebration.
Climate
The unpredictable weather in the area was another cause for concern. The climate would have likely forced Disney’s America to be closed more frequently than the parks in Orlando and Anaheim.
Powerful influencers?
If true, this is easily the juiciest reason Disney’s America never materialized. Very rich, powerful American families like the Mellon’s and the DuPont’s were not at all pleased to learn about plans for a big theme park to be built so close to their estates. After the announcement of Disney’s America, members of influential American families hired lawyers, politicians, public relations specialists, historians and more kinds of professionals to put a halt to development.
Historians, some possibly under the thumb of the elite American families, started to claim that presenting history in a less-than-academic way would be harmful, somehow insulting America’s heritage.
A group called Protect Historic America was launched to combat Disney’s America by Richard Moe, the president of the National Trust for historic Preservation. Protect Historic America argued that the park would intrude Civil War battlefields and even bulldoze historical locations like Bull Run and the Manassas Battleground. The New York Times published an editorial with similar claims. David McCullough, the host for Ken Burns’ Civil War miniseries on PBS, went so far as to compare the building of Disney’s America to the Nazi takeover of Western Europe. That would have been a bit much even if there were merit to the rumors that Disney intended to destroy historic land. However, there was no truth to them whatsoever.
Because of concerns over urbanizing Virginia, which were possibly perpetuated by the rich and powerful, Virginia ultimately lost out on billions in tax revenue over the years, Prince William County didn’t get 3000 new jobs and Disney fans didn’t get their history-focused theme park. In hindsight, some consider residents Disney’s America a lost opportunity. It’s certainly a loss for those of us eager for more Disney theme park fun and a diversification of the brand. All we can do now is look back at what could have been, and hope similar opportunities aren’t similarly passed by.
A brief flicker of hope for Disney’s America
For a time Disney tried to appeal to the owners of theme park Knott’s Berry Farm, who were taking bids for the property, to let them build Disney’s America in its place. However, the Knott family turned them down again and again. They were concerned with the legacy of the park their parents built and didn’t want it to be torn down. So, while there was a flicker of hope it 1995, it was soon snuffed out.
What we ended up with
As has been mentioned in this article, a number of the concepts and attractions intended for Disney’s America would see life at other Disney theme parks. California Adventure, in particular, owes a debt to Disney’s America. After plans for the Virginia theme park were scuttled, Michael Eisner and the Imagineers recycled what they could to fit at the park that actually did get made during Eisner’s time as CEO of The Walt Disney Company.
Of course, California Adventure turned out to be controversial in its way – being slammed by Disneyland regulars for having been built “on the cheap”. Finally, after a multi-billion dollar makeover, it is living up to its potential – just as Disney’s America may have done, given the chance.
