When you walk through Walt Disney’s original magic kingdom park of many lands, it’s evident there must have been many influences in its creation. On this day in 1948, Walt Disney returned from a trip that proved to be another great inspiration for his dream park. Walt and Disney Legend Ward Kimball had embarked on a 10-day trip visiting the Chicago Railroad Fair and Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village. The Railroad Fair in Walt Disney’s town of birth was an event organized to celebrate and commemorate 100 years of railroad history west of Chicago, Illinois. In addition to the great display of locomotives, the fair was broken up into various lands, including Vacationland, an Indian Village, a New Orleans section, a Gold Gulch (frontier section) featuring a haunted house, and opera house, as well as shows and a nightly fireworks display. On the same trip, the duo visited Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI, which featured four centuries of historic buildings moved from their original locations and laid out in an old fashioned Main Street design. When Walt returned to the studio after his 10-day whirlwind of inspiration, he described his ideas for “Mickey Mouse Park.” In 1955, Walt had realized his dream of a park which masterfully blended his visions largely inspired by this 10-day excursion along with the personal passions and contentment of his own past.
