As the story goes, Walt Disney got the idea for Disneyland while
spending time with his two daughters. Saturday was his day with the
girls, and after doing various activities with them, he decided
there should be a new place where kids and parents could go
together and both have fun. That simple idea gave birth to an
American icon and the subject of our cover story, “Disneyland’s
Golden Year” (page 12).
The park was opened in July 1955, and in September of that year, my
Aunt Beverly visited the new attraction with her father. (The
ticket books on page 13 are hers admission price, $4.95 for
adults.)
“The ride I liked most was Autopia,” she told me recently. “Back
then you really got to drive the car. They weren’t attached to a
track. You could pass the other cars.”
Like so many native Southern Californians, over the years
Disneyland became a touchstone for her.
“I remember making out on Tom Sawyer’s Island as a teenager. That’s
when it used to be open at night,” she said. “Eventually I went
back with each of my kids as they grew up. Next, I’ll go with my
grandkids.”
Memories like these are at the heart of Disney’s success, and the
reason why the resort is popular generation after generation. It’s
the magic in the Magic Kingdom, and it should be central to the way
you sell Disney in 2005. As Sue Pisaturo, the Disney “super
specialist” in the story, said to me: “Visitors to Disneyland are
looking for a magical experience. Agents should go to the park and
look at the faces of the visitors there you’ll see grown adults
tear up during the fireworks. As an agent you sometimes forget what
it means to travel there. If I can save a family $1,000 on a Disney
trip, that’s only $100 or so in commission. But you better believe
they will remember me every time they go.”
Maybe even for generations to come.
