Long ago, in a land before theme parks, a man named Walt Disney had an idea for a happy place called Disneyland.
Disneyland would be a magical world,
called something no one had ever heard of before—a “theme park.” There had been amusement parks, but never a park with themed lands filled with lush details. So trying to get funding for a type of place that never existed was certain to be a challenge. Disney Legend Herb Ryman was an art director who had worked on films such as Fantasia and Dumbo, but he had left the Company by this day in 1953 when he received a fateful phone call that Walt Disney wanted to see him. He told Herb about his idea for the park and that Roy (Disney) had to talk to bankers to raise funds for the enterprise. To convince them, Walt said, he needed to show visuals of the park. Herb thought it sounded great and told Walt he wanted to see it, too, but Walt told him, “You’re going to do it.” Herb quickly told Walt, “No, I’m not.” He could not understand why Walt waited until Saturday when he needed the art by Monday. So Walt, a very persuasive gentleman, offered to stay with Herb to work on it with him, and over the next 42 hours they created a detailed aerial view of Disneyland, proving that you may not be able to build a Happiest Place on Earth overnight… but you can design one in two days.
