(Disneyland City Hall, Main Street, U.S.A.)Essentially there are four main areas that I will be examining as I look at Disneyland's aesthetic influence in Anaheim. First is the formal pressure the Disneyland Resort (as it is known today) has exercised on the functions and powers of the Anaheim government bodies (mostly the City Council and the Planning Commission). This includes things like recent pressures from SOAR (Save Our Anaheim Resort, a Disney-formed and funded lobbying group) to block the proposal by SunCal (a real-estate developer) to construct a housing complex (which includes affordable housing) on a lot that stands within the currently designated resort area. This relationship has changed rather drastically in recent years with this housing proposal, which represents one of the first times the city has not automatically given a concession to Disneyland as a sign of the importance the park has played in the local area.
Second is the informal aesthetic influence that Disneyland has had over the local area, primarily over businesses, hotels, and the relatively new "Anaheim Resort District." The resort district, as its name suggests, is a large area surrounding Disneyland, the Anaheim Convention Center, and numerous hotels and tourist businesses that was completely revolutionized in 1998 when the Anaheim City Council passed new aesthetic regulations for zoning in the area to create a uniform appearance throughout the resort. The idea, allegedly, was to make tourists feel that they are experiencing a purely resort experience and to encourage longer stays in the area. Whether that works is, of course, up for debate.
(The zoning requirements of the Anaheim Resort District)Third is the influence Disney has on what I'm calling the "Disneyland Sphere of Influence" - that is, the businesses in the tourist area surrounding the resort. In this way I'm looking mostly on the fact that production industries that used to exist in the area have more or less disappeared in recent years, giving way to a purely tourist area within a triangular area south of the 5 freeway and bounded by the boundaries of the city of Anaheim. Another aspect is the theming that occurs among the majority of the businesses in the area - the hotels that look like Alpine Chalets, European Castles, and Tahitian Resorts. Clearly to appeal to tourists in the area, you have to be somewhat kitschy, and the Disneyland influence is visible less directly than in the previous two cases.
(The Castle Inn Hotel, on Harbor Blvd., across from Disneyland)The final aspect is Disneyland's influence on blending reality and the entertainment media in city planning. Not only in the Anaheim Resort but throughout Anaheim there exist businesses that build of Hollywood blockbusters and television successes to create a commercial experience, and without a doubt Disneyland was one of the earliest examples of such a project. Walt Disney literally wanted to build a giant movie set - complete with its "Castmembers," "Backstage," and performance protocol - to take "Guests" into his movies and imagination. More than an experiment in escapism, the park is also an ingenious (and multi-million dollar) marketing tool. This technique has been copied a number of times over, but never duplicated with quite the success and acumen of the Disney name.
(Main Street Hotel, which, at one point, actually offered accomodations)With these directions in mind, I'm beginning to pour over my notes and data sets to find examples of these trends (and potentially of others). Disneyland is really quite the interesting phenomenon, and for all the criticism it gets it is important to recognize the park for the genius that went into its creation (by Walt, Roy, and all their peers). Disney and the Disney Park have had influence far beyond the tourism industry, not only forever altering the model of that industry but also redirecting the goals of urban planners, architects, advertisers, politicians, businessmen, and redefining American culture as we know it. He may have been a bit of an idealist when he spoke, but as Walt said on that hot July day in 1955: "Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America...with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."
All images are my own, taken in July and August, 2007. All rights reserved.
