In the 1950s, Walt Disney, founder and head of the immensely successful Disney Studios, came up with the idea for a new kind of amusement park, unlike existing boardwalks and midways. Disney’s concept of a “theme park,” in which all attractions were linked by unifying ideas such as the future, adventure, or fantasy became reality in 1955 when Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California.

From its opening date, known internally as “Black Monday” because an unexpected crush of visitors filled the park to beyond its capacity Disneyland proved enormously popular with families. Many children became familiar with “The Happiest Place On Earth” through Disney-produced children’s television shows. In Disneyland visitors came face to face with characters they knew from Disney movies, such as Mickey Mouse, Snow White and Goofy. Many attractions at Disneyland also took their cue from Disney films. This unification of storytelling across media was both a creative breakthrough and a brilliant stroke of cross-marketing, spawning numerous imitators.

The concept also changed over time. The integration of Disney shows like “It’s a Small World” reveals its sensitivity to changing cultural norms (although employees have been strictly controlled in look, attire and conduct). Disney also was frustrated by his inability to control the plethora of cheap motels and competing attractions that enjoyed a parasitic relationship with Disneyland. Hence, he bought up thousands of acres of undeveloped property in central Florida, just west of Orlando, for a second theme park, although he died before Disneyworld opened in 1971. While initially consisting of a replica of the west-coast park, Disneyworld grew to include EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) Center, which Disney had envisioned as the ultimate product of his utopian ideal of a functioning city. In practice, EPCOT is merely another theme park, albeit one which uses technology community and globalism as conceptual frameworks. In subsequent years, other attractions have been added and Disneyworld has supplanted Disneyland as the number-one tourist destination in the United States. Most recently Disney’s planned community concept became a reality when the new urbanistic town of Celebration, Florida began inviting residents to its locale within the Disney property The corporation has also constructed Disneyland parks in Japan and France.

Disneyland and Disneyworld’s most lasting achievement is their unprecedented preeminence as tourist attractions. One or the other has been the top US tourist destination for four decades. Overall, Disneyland and Disneyworld occupy a particular place in American culture as the ultimate embodiment of the American urge to escape reality and indulge in fantasy and as a titan of an industry in which Americans have had particular success and are conspicuous consumers: dream-making.