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Making Magic:

1965 Disney

Executive Board

Chair: Christine So

Crisis Director: Max Valenti

Junior Staffers: Zach Tonnere, Mohamed Malik,

Jenna Carlisle, Andrew (AJ) Lorenz, Uzair Bandagi

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Table of Contents Introduction..……………………………………………………………………………………….3 ~Your Senior Staffers……..……………………………………………………………….4 ~Letters from your Junior Staffers………………………………………………………...6 Rules of Procedure………………………………………………………………………………....7

Internal Memo from Walt Disney………………………………………………………………….9 History of Disney….......…………………………………………………………………………...10

~Company History ~Important Success and Struggles ~Subsection: World War II ~Walt’s Dissatisfaction Financial Status…………………………………………………………………………………….14 Current Labor Issues………………………………………………………………………….........15 ~Vietnam War ~Unionization Media Transformations…………………………………………………………………………….15 ~Television ~Disney and Television ~Other Production Companies Disneyland………………………………………………………………………………………….18 ~History behind Disneyland’s construction ~Core concepts ~Issues with Disneyland ~Disneyland since

~Audio-Animatronics ~ Other Production Companies

Companies……………………………………………………………………………….………….24

Company Marketing…………………………………………………………………………….......24 The Florida Project………………………………………………………………………………….26 ~Why Florida? ~Land Acquisition ~Environmental Impact ~Pests Character Bios……………………………………………………………………………………….31 Work Cited……………………………………………………………………………………….......36

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Introduction

Hello and Welcome to MSUMUN XX! This year is the 20th anniversary and we are all

so ecstatic of how far this organization has come. You should be excited as well. Being apart of

this organization is something to be proud of, so don’t forget how amazing each of you are to be

participating as a delegate. To put together a crisis committee is no easy feat and lots of work has

gone into this throughout the school year just for our delegates, which is you guys! With the

amount of work you have put in we hope you push ourselves to put in the same amount of effort

as well to succeed in this magical crisis. Within this committee our wonderful Crisis Director

created an arc in which you guys have much flexibility to use your creativity to shape the

committee in your own way. We want not only for you guys to grow as a delegate but also have

fun and find something to take away from this. Model UN is more than just a club or activity you

might do, it teaches you skills you can take with you throughout your whole life. Good luck and

we cannot wait to see all of your hard work! If you have any questions or concerns do not

hesitate to reach us at crisis6@msumun.org and we will respond in a timely manner.

Lets see what making magic is all about.

Sincerely,

The Staffers of Making Magic: 1965 Disney Executive Board

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Your Senior Staffers

Most honorable delegates,

Hello! I am so excited to be a crisis chair for the first and on the 20th year! This will be

my second year in MSUMUN but my first year as a senior staffer and even chairing. Last year, I

was an assistant crisis director in FPAQ: maple syrup crisis as a first time staffer. I am so

honored to have been given the opportunity to be your chair in this magical committee. This

committee is no doubt very different from other crises you have probably seen which is not only

exciting for you, but also for us! We have put immense work into this whole committee and have

gone through every step to make sure this is a special experience for each and one of you

delegates. Besides being a crisis chair, I am a sophomore double majoring in oboe performance

and music education. Other activities I participate in are ASMSU’s General Assembly as a

college representative, I do two band fraternities and I also work as a barista at Starbucks. In my

free time I enjoy spending time with my friends, exploring quirky stores, trying new types of

coffee, and eating hot Cheetos.

I am so eager to see what you all bring to the table as this crisis committee is very unique.

Remember that the most important thing is to have fun on these conferences and grow! I

remember having so much fun as a high schooler going to Model UN conferences, so do your

best. Bring all the magic you can to make this committee yours!

Christine So

Crisis Chair

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Dear delegates,

Hello, and welcome to MSUMUN XX. I am extremely honored and excited to be a part of

MSUMUN as a senior staffer and the Crisis Director for Making Magic: 1965 Disney Executive Board. I

am from Northville, Michigan. This is my second year as a part of MSUMUN as a staffer, and I have

been attending MSUMUN since my freshman year of high school and was even a delegate at RCMUN

II. Last year, I had the distinct pleasure of serving as the assistant chair in the FPAQ executive board, and

thus understand that even though the committee is functioning as a board and business committee, you all

as delegates can be amazingly creative in your problem solving skills and demonstrate yourselves as

ingenious future leaders. As a former delegate and advisor, I know just how creative and intelligent each

one of you are, and I am thoroughly excited to watch you perform throughout this committee. Apart from

working for MSUMUN, I am a sophomore studying Hospitality Business, and I spend my free time

working for my other clubs and am an avid fan of PC gaming and movie streaming.

This was a committee that I have been thinking about since my senior year of High School, and I

am very excited to bring the concept to life with the help of my extraordinary staffers. The Disney

Company as a whole and the Walt Disney World property in particular were an enormous part of my

childhood, and the binding philosophies that govern its creation and operation have provided me with a

vision for the best way in which I could live my life. My hope for this committee is that you all as

delegates can dream big and solve the various issues that can arise from creating a city-size amusement

park! Best of luck to you all!

Max Valenti

Crisis Director

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Letters from the Junior Staffers

Zach Tonnere - Hi delegates, and welcome to MSUMUN XX. I am a sophomore majoring in Chemical

Engineering, and I am from Missoula, Montana. This is my fourth year doing MUN, and my second year staffing

MSUMUN. I also do MUN and Mock Trial on the college circuit. I am so excited to see what wonderful ideas you

all will come up with and what direction you will take Disney over these 3 days.

Mohamed Malik - Hello delegates! First of all I want to welcome all of you to MSUMUN’s 20th conference. This is

a major milestone for all of us staffers and you all as delegates. I'm so excited to see all the great work that will

come out of the conference weekend. I’ve been doing MUN for 5 years now and this will be my second year staffing

MSUMUN and hopefully I’ll have another 2.

Jenna Carlisle- Hello delegates, I am looking forward to working with you and hearing your bright ideas. I am a

freshman majoring in social relations and policy, and I am from Milford, MI. This is my first time doing anything

related to Model UN, as it was not offered at my high school, so I am excited to learn how things work through your

experience.

Andrew (AJ) Lorenz- Hello delegates, I am very excited to see what you are able to bring to this magical

committee. I am a freshman majoring in Business (likely accounting) and I am from Rochester, MI. This will be my

third MSUMUN, but first as a staffer. Other than MSUMUN, I am involved with the Residential Business

Community here at Michigan State. I look forward to an exciting weekend!

Uzair Bandagi- Hey delegates! Like most MUN nerds I’m studying International Relations, as well as Arabic and

Muslim Studies. I’ve been doing MUN since 9th grade and coming to MSUMUN since 10th and I can honestly say

this is one of the most exciting crisis committees I’ve ever been a part of. I can’t wait to see how you all deal with

this magical crisis!

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Rules of Procedure

Article I: General Rules

1. Delegates are expected to adhere to all regular MSUMUN rules and standards of

decorum.

2. In the event of a dispute over the Rules of Procedure, either those of MSUMUN generally

or the Making Magic: 1965 Disney Executive Board Committee, the MSUMUN

Secretary General will be the ultimate authority of appeal.

Article II: Meetings

1. All of Making Magic: 1965 Disney Executive Board Committee meetings shall be

attended by all specified members of the committee, unless otherwise authorized by the

MSUMUN Secretariat.

2. Quorum for discussion and voting will always be 14 committee members, unless

otherwise authorized by the Secretariat of MSUMUN or at the Chair’s discretion.

3. Unless otherwise indicated by the Secretariat or Making Magic: 1965 Disney Executive

Board staff, all meetings of the committee will be held in the specified Making Magic:

1965 Disney Executive Board room as designated by MSUMUN.

Article III: Agenda

1. Items for debate may be pulled from the background guide but do not need to be limited

to what is mentioned. Making Magic: 1965 Disney Executive Board Committee staff

would like to see well-rounded and well-researched delegates think outside of the box

and bring new and relevant topics to the table.

2. Any Committee member may make a motion to restrict debate to one topic. If this motion

passes, debate shall be limited to the topic specified until such time as another motion is

made to either change the topic under consideration or return to general debate.

3. If at any point an imminent crisis should arise, the Crisis Chair shall immediately declare

it as such and limit all debate to the topic of said crisis, upon conclusion of the crisis,

debate may or may not return to the previous topic.

Article IV: Conduct of Business

1. Making Magic: 1965 Disney Executive Board Committee proceedings shall be conducted

in the form of a permanent Moderated Caucus until such a time that a Board member

makes a motion to change this.

2. Board members may motion for either a Roundtable or a Straw Poll. A Roundtable

consists of the Chair recognizing each Board member in turn to speak for a specified

amount of time on a specific topic or proposal. A Straw Poll consists of Board members

giving their probable vote on a specific proposal.

3. From time to time, representatives of parties to a crisis who are not necessarily on the

committee may become available to meet with the committee members. If this should

happen, the Chair will announce their availability and invite them to address the Board.

At the conclusion of a representative’s presentation, if they are available to answer

questions, the Chair shall call upon members until such time as either there are no more

questions or the representative must depart. Upon a representative’s departure, debate

may or may not return to the previous topic.

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Article V: Types of Proposals

1. Directive: A directive requires only one sponsor, though it may have more. The amount

of required signatories is up to the discretion of the Chair. A committee member need

only move to introduce a directive in order for it to be considered by the entire cabinet.

2. Press Releases: A press release is usually passed in lieu of a directive if doing so is more

likely to make the committee’s intentions clear. A press release is written either in the

form of a directive or a press release; it requires the same amount of sponsors and

signatories as a directive.

3. Communiques: A communique is an external communication from the entire committee

with a non-committee member. Such a communication can include anything from a

request of support, to negotiations, to even a threat. Passing this type of document can

also result in the person being contacted meeting with the committee if requested.

4. Upon introduction, a directive, press release, or communique is discussed non-

exclusively along with all other committee business.

Article VI: Voting

1. Votes may be entered as Yeas, Nays, or Abstentions.

2. Votes on non-substantive proposals or procedural matters will be passed by the

affirmative vote of a simple majority of committee members. Abstentions are allowed on

non-substantive proposals, but not procedural matters.

3. Votes on substantive matters will be passed by the affirmative vote of a simple majority

of committee members.

4. In all cases, a simple majority constitutes more than half of the Yea and Nay votes.

Other Things to Consider

1. We will be working on the double notepad system. You should not have two notepads in

the backroom at the same time. MSUMUN will be providing the notepads used in this

crisis.

2. We will be having multiple crisis drops per session - we have plans sketched out, but

would rather bring your ideas to the front room.

3. Be creative - both Max and I have been in many committees and seen a lot. Starting a

communist revolution is not creative and may not be appropriate for a Disney Executive

Board setting.

4. Bring depth to your notes - when you reach out to characters for resources or favors you

should establish the relationship and give them motive to help you.

5. We will allow for SOME in person meetings with “characters” (our crisis staff) but only

if your plan is complex enough that an in-person meeting would be necessary.

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From the Desk of Walt Disney

If you are receiving this letter, you have been selected to serve on the advisory board for

the development and oversight of my newest creation, Walt Disney World, which has been

formerly mentioned as the Florida Project. You have each been selected because each of you has

a unique outlook and expertise that is vital to the success of the project. The creation of

Disneyland was part of an effort to create a fantastical experience in which family members of

all ages and families of all backgrounds could come together in one place to share joy in each

other’s company. In the years since the opening of Disneyland, we have had out hiccups and

shortcomings, but ultimately we have proved successful in bringing people together in this way.

However, 10 years later, we are able to take the concepts and ideas that created Disneyland and

refine the processes that went into its creation to a higher form. With the original Disneyland

property, we were able to acquire just over 500 acres of land to fill with wonder and

magic. Now in our Florida project, we have been able to acquire 30,000 acres of pristine Florida

swamplands to shape into our own creation. With this fast land open for creation, now is the

time to put our creative minds to use and figure out just what to do with all of it. We have been

blessed with the opportunity to make magical memories for many families so far, and with this

bodies help, we will be able to vastly expand that governing philosophy of Walt Disney World.

Best of luck to all of you,

Walter Elias Disney

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History of Disney

Around the world, Disney is one of the most well-known companies for its entertainment

and service. Like all great stories, however, it must start somewhere small. The vision of Disney

began with Walt Disney along with the help of his brother Roy. Before the vision of theme parks

and movies, Walt arrived in California in the summer of 1923 with just the dreams of his

animations. 1923 just so happens to be the year as the start of the famous company we know as

Walt Disney Studios.

Company History

Walt sold a pilot film series called “Alice Comedies” to a distributor, which ignited his

slow rise to success. This distributor was in New York, M.J. Winkler on October 16, 1923 and

this date is the start of the Disney Company. Prior to the name today it went from Disney

Brothers Cartoon Studios, and then Roy, who were equal partners, suggested it to be the Walt

Disney Studio. At the beginning, Disney Studios was in the back half of a real estate office on

Kingswell Avenue in Hollywood. Eventually, however, Walt had made enough money to a

whole store for his studio. Shortly, the studio was outgrown and found another piece of property

on Hyperion Avenue in Hollywood, which was developed in 1926.

Important Development

Much to the surprise of modern audiences, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, not Mickey Mouse,

was the first character Walt had designed to be the star of his series in 1927. Unfortunately, Walt

had not realized he had signed away the rights in a misleading contract to another company so as

to receive capital to start his studio. From that moment forward he made sure everything he

created was owned by himself. With this shortcoming, Walt returned to his studio and proposed

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a new character: Mickey Mouse. With the help of his chief animator, Ub Iwerks1, the famous

mouse was put to screen, but not without some difficulties. After two attempts of silent films

with Mickey with varying success, his third attempt produced the infamous Steamboat Willie,

which premiered with fully synchronized sound at the Colony

Theater in New York November 18th, 1928. With the creation of this

new character, Walt created the Silly Symphonies to go along with

Mickey. An episode called Flowers and Trees, the first full color

cartoon won the Academy Award for Best Cartoon in 1932 which is

when the category was also first created. For the rest of the decade,

Disney won an Oscar® every year.

With Mickey Mouse on the rise, a man in New York offered Walt $300 for the license to

put Mickey Mouse on some pencil tablets he was manufacturing, starting Disney’s practice of

merchandising its characters. Walt Disney needed extra money, so he said yes. Soon, there was

Mickey Mouse on nearly every item a child would need. The company realized merchandising

the characters was an additional source of revenue. Eventually there were dolls, dishes,

toothbrushes and just about anything you could think of to have the smiling Mickey Mouse on it.

1930 was a huge year because Mickey Mouse had its own comic strip and book released that

year.

1 Pictured on the right

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Important Successes and Struggles

In 1934, Walt Disney had informed his animators about

making an animated feature film about the story of Snow White

and the Seven Dwarfs. With some skeptics along the way and

in three years the film debuted on December 21, 1937 and

became a huge hit. It was the highest grossest film of its time

until Gone with the Wind surpassed the film. From this moment

forward Walt knew future profits would come from feature films, not the short cartoons. Shortly

after the success of Snow White, the company started working on other feature film projects, but

World War II had come along halting some progress. In 1940, Pinocchio and Fantasia were the

next two features released. While they were technical masterpieces, the costs were too high for a

company losing most of its foreign markets because of the war. Dumbo was made in 1941 with a

tiny budget and Bambi in 1942 which caused the studio to retrench due to how expensive it was

to produce that specific movie. It would be a while for the company to recuperate before creating

a high caliber production.

Subsection: World War II and its impact on the Disney Company

During World War II, Walt made two films in South America, Saludos Amigos and The

Three Caballeros, at the request of the State Department. The studio focused on making

propaganda and training films for the military. When the war ended, it was difficult for the

Disney Studio to gain its pre-war footing. Several years went by with small feature films such as

Make Mine Music and Melody Time, which contained groups of short cartoons packaged

together. Walt also experimented and made an award-winning True-Life Adventure series with

nature photography in such a unique style that was never seen before.

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The 1950’s was the peak of Disney success during that time. Treasure Island was the first

completely live-action film, Cinderella as a new classic animated feature film, and the first

Disney television show for Christmas. With the company on the rise again and two successful

Christmas specials, Walt Disney went onto television making a huge impact in 1954 with the

beginning of the Disneyland anthology series. Besides the fact that this series went through six

title changes and would run on three networks, it remained on air for 29 years. This made it one

of the longest-running primetime television series ever. The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse which

debuted in 1955 became the most popular children’s series and created a group of talented

Mouseketeers. Mary Poppins, the release of the classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, legendary

hero Zorro and more. One of the most influential moments in the company’s history, the Walt

Disney Company was able to partner with other prominent countries such as General Electric to

produce 4 separate booths at the 1964 World’s Fair.

Walt’s never-ending dissatisfaction

Around the same time of the 1950’s, he was still unsatisfied even knowing his motion

pictures and television programs were a huge success. Walt wanted to branch out into the idea of

an amusement park. The idea of amusement parks had always intrigued him. As a father, he

would take his daughters to entertainment enterprises or the zoo, but he felt as a parent, he would

always end up on the bench. So, he envisioned a park where parents and children could all have a

good time together. The idea of Disneyland2 was born and after several years of planning and

construction, the park opened July 17, 1955.

2 More about Disneyland further into the background guide starting on page 17

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Financial Status of Walt Disney Company 1964-1965

Films in the 1950’s and 1960’s

The financial successes of the 1950’s and 60’s enabled the Disney company to initiate

planning of Walt Disney World. This success came in part from the movie Mary Poppins. This

was the companies’ most risky production to date, as they combined live action and animation

scenes. In the film, they also introduced the use of some future technologies in audio-

animatronics, which would be utilized at Disney parks in the future. The movie made $102

million dollars from a $6 million dollar budget, a box office success3. Other movies released

around this time such as Swiss Family Robinson, and Cinderella, found similar success. Swiss

Family Robinson made $40 million dollars off a four-million-dollar budget, and Cinderella

earned $263 million dollars off a three million dollar budget. However, some movies did not do

so well at the box office. The original release of Fantasia only made $1.3 million dollars off a

$2.28 million dollar budget in 1940. It was not until it’s re- release in the 1960’s that it made

back its budget.4

Stock/Investor History

The Walt Disney Company first traded over the counter stock in the 1940s, its first issue

being 155,000 shares of six percent cumulative convertible preferred stock in the over the

counter stock. These shares were being traded frequently and the stock was gaining worth, so a

stock split occurred in 1956, even before Disney’s Initial Public Offering in 1957. A stock split is

when a stock is split up in order to give current shareholders more shares in the company, when

the company or corporation is confident that the profits will go up. This drives the stock price

3 Polivka, Alexa. “These Movies Are Disney's Biggest Flops Of All Time.” Guff. Accessed December 9, 2019. https://guff.com/these-movies-are-disneys-biggest-flops-of-all-time. 4 “All Time Worldwide Box Office for Walt Disney Movies.” The Numbers. Accessed December 9, 2019. https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/worldwide/all-movies/theatrical-distributors/walt-disney/101.

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down, but more small investors will be able to buy shares in the company, making the stock

price rise again. However, this is a rare move before an IPO, as the stock isn’t officially being

traded on Wall Street quite yet. Disney stocks started trading at $13.88 a share at its IPO, and

the stock became more heavily traded.5

Current Labor Issues

Vietnam War

The Vietnam war lasted from 1955 until 1975. During this time, there was a shortage of

labor as many Americans were serving abroad. Certain materials and technologies that Disney

might need are going to be more expensive because most resources are being allocated towards

the war effort.

Unionization

The creation of Disney World is in a time crunch and the company does not have time to

deal with angry workers. The board needs to keep an eye out for any employees who may seem

like they are planning on organizing a strike. It is likely because in the lead-up to the opening of

the park the workers are being made to work far beyond usual hours to make sure everything is

ready on time. Unions are currently extremely popular in America following their rise after

World War II. Walt Disney does not like unions as he feels they stifle productivity and creativity.

Media Transformations

Television

Few innovations could compare to the impact that television had on the culture shift in

the 1950s and 1960s. Arguably one of the earliest and most prominent examples of the expanded

5 Pan, Jing. “Disney Stock Split History.” Income Investors | News, Research, and Commentary, July 20, 2018. https://www.incomeinvestors.com/disney-stock-split-history/19718/.

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reach of television was the Nixon v Kennedy presidential debates in 1960. Around 40% of the

American population watched the debate on TV, and the perception of who won the debate

varied depending on whether the debate was watched on live television or listened to over the

radio. For the first time, television was directly shaping not only the American social life, but

the political life as well. In this same timeframe, television was becoming recognized as a

serious artistic medium by the public. With the creation of programs such as Star Trek and The

Twilight Zone, television was an effective medium to communicate about serious issues in

society in a shorter time frame. This was also combined with the rapid rise of television news

networks, which enabled news to travel much faster throughout the country and reach more

people. Television was also reaching more Americans than ever before, with around 52 million

households owning one or more television sets and having greater amounts of networks to

choose from. Because of these new changes in media and entertainment, many companies have

their sights set on individual television programs to market new technologies and products.

Disney and Television

Official Disney television productions began in December 1950, during a team project

with the Coca Cola company, where the Disney company launched a network special on NBC

titled An Hour in Wonderland. This special combined animation and live action acting from the

voices from the soon to be released movie, Alice in Wonderland.

During the opening of Disneyland in California, the ceremonies were broadcast on most

major news networks. This type of publicity had never been seen before, and allowed the magic

of Disney into the American home, which served as a powerful advertisement. The company

would continue to televise the opening of additions made to Disneyland, and the company

utilized the news coverage to encourage a wider range of guests to attend the park.

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Arguably the most notable of the Disney television programs was the Mickey Mouse

Club, which premiered in 1955 and received wide public support, with the stars of the show and

the fans dubbing themselves as “Mouseketeers”. This addition was one of the finest examples of

Disney fans being able to engage with each other and have a larger sense of identity with the

brand.

Entering the 1960s, the Disney company had very little in the way

of plans for the future of television programming. The company

sought to continue the production of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World

of Color. The series was an anthology variety hour show, which

showcased many different shorts clips over the span of an hour. This

series featured a diversity of programs, focusing on westerns, cartoons,

and even scientific segments which discussed the latest and additions to 20th century

technology, such as new technologies from General Electric and emerging space technologies.

One of the most publicized and hotly debated of these installations was the three-part series

involving controversial German scientist Wernher Von Braun discussing the advancements and

theories from the modern space program in 1954. This segment is one of many which existed to

showcase the various technological developments occurring in the world. (Wright)

Propaganda Films

Despite the success of the 1960’s, Disney was reliant on the United States government

for financial support. During World War II, animators created sixty-eight hours of training

videos for the United States and Canadian armies. In addition to these films, they were also

commissioned to create thirty-two propaganda films for the United States, a move that would

save the company from bankruptcy. At this point, 90% of the Disney workforce was devoted to

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the creation of these propaganda films. This movement helped move the company into the

1950’s in a financially sound way.

Disneyland

History behind Disneyland’s construction

The inspiration for a park likely came from the stories that Walt Disney’s father had from

working at the 1893 Chicago World Fair. The Columbian Exposition was the first fair to show to

exhibit the burgeoning mechanical marvels that the industrial revolution brought about. It was

home to a mini passenger railway, the first Ferris wheel, sky ride, and moving walkway.

However, it wasn’t until the 1940's that Disney began to develop the idea for a park, one to be

enjoyed by both adults and children, while visiting parks around the U.S. with his daughters6.

As more and more fans expressed their interest in visiting the Disney studios, Disney

envisioned a Disney-themed park, as the studio offered little of actual interest. August of 1948

marks the first time Disney actually expressed the idea for a theme park, through an internal

memo about his idea for a “Mickey Mouse Park7.” Disney soon began traveling the world,

visiting parks all over America and Europe for inspiration.

Once he finally settled on an idea, Walt requested a survey of the Los Angeles metro area

by leisure-time economic analyst Harrison Price to find the ideal location for a park, eventually

settling on purchasing 160 acres of Walnut and Orange trees in 1953. Construction began little

more than a year later, on July 16th, 1954, and ended exactly one year and one day later, on July

17th of 1955, the very same day it opened to invited guests only, soon to be known as “Black

Sunday.” The full public opening was the next day, July 18th8.

6 “Walt Disney.” The Walt Disney Family Museum. Accessed December 9, 2019. https://www.waltdisney.org/walt-disney. 7 WaltsApartment.com. “Walt's First Vision of Disneyland.” Walt's Apartment, February 18, 2013. https://www.waltsapartment.com/walts-first-vision-of-disneyland/. 8 “DISNEYLAND TIMELINE.” DISNEYLAND TIMELINE. Sacramento State University. Accessed December 9, 2019.

https://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/shawg/articles/facilities/disneyland_timeline.html.

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Core concepts

Though Disney’s original intent was simply a place for families to enjoy together, his

vision for what that meant was ever changing. His 1948 memo envisioned a theme park with a

home-like theme, something new yet familiar, featuring plenty of stores and transportation--

including a passenger railway. Yet, as he visited more and more theme parks, he was struck with

a simple question: Why must a theme park have only one theme? With this in mind, his idea

soon outgrew the 8 acres he had originally planned on using. By the time it came to actual

building the park, Disney had finalized 5 sections, requiring 160 acres total of space to be built4.

First was Main Street, U.S.A., the front of street of the park, and meant to emulate the

typical turn of the century city main street. The goal of this section was to inspire nostalgia in

older visitors, while offering a glimpse of their parents’ or grandparents' childhood to younger

visitors. To create a land of wonder still grounded in nonfiction, Disney created Adventureland;

an exotic tropical region to allow visitors to picture themselves far from civilization. To further

tap into the nostalgia and patriotism of visitors, Disney created Frontierland to emulate the

pioneer days and Wild West period of the U.S.’s history. Fantasyland was created with the goal

of making dreams come true, whether it be flying with Peter Pan or falling into Wonderland,

turning classic stories into reality. Lastly was Tomorrowland, created to give visitors a glimpse

of the marvels the future held, though Disney feared this would quickly become outdated.

Transportation remained an important part in all of these areas. Main Street, U.S.A

featured a train station, a fire station, double-decker buses, horse-drawn carts, and jitneys.

Adventureland featured a jungle cruise. Frontierland had a riverboat ride, a railroad, and a ship

ride. Tomorrowland featured a submarine ride and a monorail, which would go on to be

implemented around Disneyland as a mode of reliable and efficient transportation.

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In total, the project cost $17 million dollars, equivalent to over $160 million today. At

the time, Disney was still just a movie studio, so Disneyland Inc. was created to secure outside

funding. ABC studios agreed to finance $5 million of the cost in exchange for a weekly show

and one-third ownership of Disneyland Inc. Further costs were saved by renting out shops on

Main Street, U.S.A. to other companies. Construction began July 16th, 1954 and ended exactly 1

year and 1 day later on July 17th, 1955. 5

Issues with Disneyland

Though Walt Disney provided a comprehensive framework and design for the park,

issues still arose, coming to a head on opening day, Sunday, July 17th, 1955, soon to be

remembered as “Black Sunday.” Already set to be one of the hottest days of the year, the heat

proved to be unbearable to guests and lead to further complications. The asphalt in the park had

only been laid that morning, meaning that combined with the extreme heat, people’s shoes were

sinking into the ground. Unresolved labor issues with the plumber’s union meant that the

plumbing in the park wasn’t fully implemented. This left Disney with the choice of having either

functioning toilets or functioning drinking fountains. Despite the heat, Disney chose the former

However, all of this only came to light because of the sheer volume of people attending.

Originally, the opening day was intended to be an invite-only event, reserved for friends, family,

celebrities, and the media. With 6,000 invitations having been sent out, an estimated 11,000

guests were supposed to attend. However, opening day had over twice as many guests present, a

total of 28,000, most of whom had entered the park with counterfeit tickets or had simply hopped

the external fences. Despite the expansions that had been made to the highways leading to

Disneyland, a multi-hour traffic jam occurred, ruining the set schedule that various celebrities

21

were supposed to appear at. The unexpected number of people combined with the heat resulted

in most shops selling out of amenities part-way through the day9.

Walt Disney was in the dark about the issues for most of the day, as he was busy leading

a dedication tour with invited media hosts, including his friend and future U.S. president Ronald

Reagan. This tour too would prove disastrous. Cables for the broadcast had been poorly laid out,

resulting in countless guests tripping on them and unplugging some. One host was caught kissing

a dancer on camera in Frontierland. Another lost his microphone when coverage was returned to

him, resulting in the other hosts reporting on his actions as he searched for his microphone. Walt

Disney had to restart the dedication to Tomorrowland when he stopped mid-dedication to

respond to someone off camera.

In light of this disastrous day, Walt Disney re-invited everyone for a second day at

Disneyland. For the rest of his life, Disney insisted that July 17th was a preview, with the official

opening day being July 18th. However, the 17th is primarily recognized as the opening day and

has been celebrated as such since.

Disneyland since

In the decade since its opening, the attendance has skyrocketed. The millionth visitor was

in September of 1955. The 5 millionth was in October of 1956. The 10 millionth was in

December of 1957. Last year had 6 million visitors, this year has 6.5 million, and it is projected

that in 1970, 10 million people will visit the park, meaning an average of over 30,000 people per

day5. Disneyland currently employs a system where a small fee is paid to enter the park, but

coupons of different values need to be purchased to ride an attraction. To deal with the ever-

increasing number of visitors, Disney has introduced a “Keys to the Kingdom” booklet, which

9 Malloy, Betsy. “Overview of Disneyland's Amazing History.” TripSavvy. TripSavvy, August 28, 2019. https://www.tripsavvy.com/history-of-disneyland-1477799.

22

has 10 coupons. However, the waste the coupons produce and the difficulties and price of

manufacturing them has Disneyland looking to other ways of having customers pay, such as a

larger one-time entry fee with all rides being free.

Disneyland has grown

much since its opening,

with plenty of new

attractions, like Tom

Sawyer’s Island and the

Matterhorn Bobsleds, as

well as the Monorail. An

entire new land, New

Orleans Square, is under construction, set to open in 1966. At a cost of $18 million, it is more

expensive than the original park. Controversy arose after Disneyland continued to refuse to hire

African Americans, with executives claiming they would “consider” the requests.

Disneyland has already entrenched itself as the premier theme park, as the numerous

other parks that have attempted to replicate Disneyland’s success have failed. Competitors, such

as Six Flags, SeaWorld, and Busch Gardens have appeared, but only Disneyland was requested

for visit by USSR First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev. His visit request was denied due to Cold

War tensions, but that did not stop Walt Disney from inviting other world leaders, like the Shah

and Empress of Iran, to visit the park.

Audio-Animatronics

Adding to Disney’s rising fame was their presence in the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens,

New York. Although The Walt Disney Company did not have a booth at the fair, they used their

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technologies developed for Mary Poppins for several exhibits, such as “It’s a Small World”

made for Coca Cola and the “Carousel of Progress” made for General Electric. Both became

rides at Walt Disney World upon its completion.(1) However, the most expensive project was

“Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln”, which recreated Abraham Lincoln using animatronics. This

creation was a massive success, as some fair attendees thought that the man was real, as they

attempted to distract it and threw objects at the animatronic. Disney used their presence at the

World’s Fair as an opportunity to develop technology before using it in their parks.10

Other Production Companies

Walt Disney’s production company is currently churning out films that will become

classics at a marvelous rate, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have any competition. MGM

Studios, Universal Studios, and Paramount Pictures are all currently putting out blockbuster

films as well. The dilemma facing the Board is this: do they try to beat them or buy them.

Marvel and DC have not quite broken into the film industry yet, but they are an important part of

the cultural zeitgeist in terms of literature and television. Mickey Mouse is arguably the most

iconic character of this era, but Spider-Man and Superman are following not far behind.

10 Schmidt. “Was 1964 the Most Significant Year in Walt Disney Company History? We Think So.” silive, February 8, 2013.

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Company Marketing

In order for the Disney brand to be as successful as Walt Disney had hoped there needed

to be a plan set in place. The company had a recipe for success on its hand, an imaginative

creator, a loyal fan base, and marketable characters. Each character was methodically designed

to allow for major profits to be made from merchandise based on their likeness. Merchandise

sales are a major driving force of additional revenue and when capitalized on appropriately, there

are vast monetary gains to be had. Children are an easily influenced audience and many parents

are eager to give into their child's desires and spend money on toys as well as other accessories.

25

With the rise of home television sets, the average American

began to watch more and more television, sparking a new wave of

advertising. Television commercials are a great way of reaching a

massive audience at once but can prove to be costly. Disney wanted to

claim their stake on air and began creating ads to attract children. A

common practice began going after A-list celebrities to endorse your

product with the hope that the buying audience would trust them and

purchase it. This sales tactic proved successful and Disney followed suit

using characters such as Tinker Bell or Mickey Mouse to captivate

audiences and increase sales. Characters appeared in an array of

different commercials spanning form peanut butter to pancakes.

In addition to television appearances Disney News started selling

as a magazine targeted to children who wanted to learn more about what

was going on in the Disney Universe. The magazine was released

seasonally and was a major hit among younger fans. There was also a

comic book series created as a means of creating more content for the fans and create more

awareness of the brand.

The merchandising rights to the existing 10 feature length animated films were a great

opportunity for the company's branding. These movies included Snow White and the Seven

Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the

Tramp, and Sleeping Beauty [2]. Children were excited to buy products representing their

26

favorite characters and the company benefited from these sales. The popularity of Disney

merchandise created the possibility of opening stores throughout the parks. Kids around the

country wanted to visit Disneyland to see their favorite animated characters and experience all

that the theme park had to offer. Whilst there they could enter one of the countless merchandise

stores and buy figurine, tee shirt, or costume.

Another source of marketing was through music used in movies and other specials. The

release of an album before a movie release was a great way of creating anticipation for the film.

Once the film was released they would advertise it as much as possible and common practice

was cross promotion. Integrating the brand with other companies and products is a great way of

getting the companies name out there. In regard to music, the power it had was vast due to the

fact that all it takes is a catchy song and you have a hit in the making. If the general audience

resonates with the song enough it will begin to be played everywhere especially on the radio and

that is free promotion [1]. In addition, re releases are a great way to bring attention back to an

album after some time has passed. The ultimate goal through all methods of marketing was to get

the company’s name out there as much as possible in hope to maintain relevance. When it comes

to the park the same principle needs to be in place for it to become a success.

The Florida Project

Why Florida?

When deciding where to place his newest theme park, Disney had a lot to consider.

Transportation, weather, and the price of land were all big factors to this decision. First, reports

showed Disney that few visitors to Disneyland came from east of the Mississippi, which

encouraged him to build on the East coast. His next issue was weather, which eliminated the

27

ability to use Niagara Falls, as the weather would have forced the park to close in the winter,

which was something that Disney didn’t want. Eventually, Disney decided on central Florida,

where it was common knowledge that swampland was immensely cheap, and the average climate

had an average of 13 days of rain in the winter (the most of any season) and only 4 in the spring

and winter. The average high is 95° in the summer, and the low is 51° in the winter, neither of

which are temperatures that would force the park to close down. With all this in mind, Disney

flew over Florida to stake out a perfect spot, and discovered a spot where Highway U.S. 192 and

Interstate 4 intersected. On closer inspection, the spot also housed an integral part of travel to

Walt Disney World, an airport, which would be integral to bringing guests to the park from

around the nation. Thus, Disney decided to build a park in Florida.

Land Purchasing

In 1964, talks about the new park became more serious, as Walt and his brother Roy

searched for locations on the East Coast, eventually deciding on swampland in central

Florida, as the location for the future park. The land was bought for $5.5 Million dollars,

approximately $45,000,000 dollars today. Upon deciding where the park would be, Disney was

faced with a new issue. The fame of the brand would attract hotels and other attractions seeking a

profit. To prevent this, Disney created false companies and used them to buy land in order to

keep his identity secret, in an attempt to not run up prices on the land he was purchasing.

Eventually, however, people caught on, and the Orlando Sentinel ran a story exposing Disney’s

plans. As a result, the first acre was sold for $80 dollars and the last one was sold for $80,000

dollars.(3)

No wonder the world was suspicious, as Disney purchased over 30,000 acres of land.

Disney world now takes up the land area of two towns, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, both of

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which are governed by Disney employees who live in the towns in an area called the

“backstage.”

Environmental Impact

The next issue faced by Disney was that while swamp land is cheap, it’s difficult to build

on. Another struggle was making sure Disney didn’t cause an ecological imbalance within the

area, as there were many bodies of water which, if damaged or removed, could have had a

serious negative impact on the environment. This was an issue that Disney, along with his

engineers had to address when building the park, as well as the fact that Disney wanted to have

bodies of water in the park as a way to help the surrounding environment. Disney also to deal

with water, gas, power and set up trash-handling facilities, as well as clean and make use of

wastewater and find a way to irrigate landscaped areas, such as lawns and flowerbeds.

Environmental groups reached out to Disney asking him to set aside land to protect wildlife and

vegetation.

Pests

While developing on the property in Orlando, it is worth considering the plethora of

wildlife that inhabit the area that could pose pest issues within the park and harm the guest

experience. While there are many over the counter solutions for dealing with these pests, a

project with the scale of Walt Disney World may require unique solutions due to the size and

clientele of the park.

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Cockroaches

There are four types of cockroaches in central

Florida, the German cockroach, the Asian

cockroach, the American cockroach, and the Smoky

brown cockroach. The most common cockroach in

Orlando is the American cockroach, also called the

Palmetto bug. This cockroach is large and can fly.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are common in Florida and can cause

serious harm. Despite being annoying mosquitoes

also carry the risk of disease, which adds to the

factors Disney would have to address in keeping

them out of the park. Mosquitoes in Orlando have

tested positive for illnesses such as Eastern equine encephalitis virus infection, and many other

diseases that could be a threat to park visitors.

Mice

The most common mouse in Florida is the field

mouse. The mice are nocturnal and extremely

smart, so getting rid of them poses a serious

problem for Disney. The mice also breed more

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often than most mice, meaning they are constantly multiplying in numbers.

Cats

After leaving Sleeping Beauty's castle alone for a

period of time, Disney returned to find that

numerous feral cats had taken up home in the

building, and brought their fleas with them.

However, simply removing that cats would have

angered guests at the cruelty at simply throwing them out, this forced Disney to look for a

solution which would please everyone, and possibly fix other problems along the way.

Seagulls

Birds can cause serious damage to buildings,

and one of the most common types of birds on

Orlando Florida is the Seagulls. When birds

create nests in a building they can damage the

roof, as well as leaving their droppings

everywhere, which would be an unfortunate sight for Disney’s visitors.

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Characters

Chief Creative Officer - John Hench

After graduating from the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, Chouinard Art Institute in Los

Angeles, and the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, John Hench became one of the

earliest and most notable animators within the studio. In 1954 he then left to become one of the

core founders of WED enterprises, the “imagineering” wing behind many of the design involved

in the creation of Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Due to his influence and experience with

this project, he has been selected to serve as Chief Creative Officer in regards to the creation of

Walt Disney World.

President of Production - Tony Ambazo

With the rapid explosion in the development of new television media, and the plethora of

business responsibilities associated with the production of feature films, the Walt Disney

Company has appointed a President of Production to oversee these important ventures and

provide instruction and guidance in a way that best benefits the company. The media production

industry is what is primarily responsible for building the company in the first place, so

continuing the company’s grand tradition in film innovation and production would prove

invaluable to providing a positive cash flow during the intense cash sink of building Walt Disney

World.

Representative for General Electric - Linda Holston

Following the success of the recent New York World’s Fair, the Walt Disney company has seen

fit to continue their advantageous partnership with the General Electric company. In a mutually

beneficial arrangement, the World’s Fair saw a Walt Disney company produced booth that

demonstrated the various innovations created by the General Electric company. In the spirit of

that arrangement, the Walt Disney Company has continued their relationship with the General

Electric company and has permitted a representative of the General Electric company to sit on

this executive board and vote on matters concerning the construction of Walt Disney World.

Senior Vice President of The Walt Disney Corporation - Donn Tatum

A current Vice President of The Walt Disney Company, he is a close friend of Roy Disney. He

went to Stanford University for his undergrad and received a law degree from Oxford University.

He served as general manager at KABC-TV before he started at Disney. Tatum has an intense

attention to detail, and will use his communication skills to further enhance the creation of this

magical park.

Chief Financial Officer - Thomas Barnard

He attended Georgetown University and graduated at the top of his class. After college, he

worked at Price Waterhouse for fifteen years before joining Disney. Mr. Barnard is hopeful that

the park will be built in a timely fashion and a cost effective manner. He will be in charge of all

final financial decisions and will help to steer the direction of the initial development of the park.

Risks will have to be taken in order to create this experience, but Mr.Barnard wants to keep these

to a minimum so as to ensure its financial success. Politically, Mr. Barnard is a liberatarian, and

any public official involvement will make his skin crawl. In his free time, Mr. Barnard is a

skilled card magician and would like to see magicians in the park.

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Investor Relations - Kevin O’Donnell

Born and raised in Boston, Mr. O’Donnell was always interested with the rise and fall of the

stock market. He attended Harvard University, working on Wall Street for five years, before

burning out and joining Ford Motor Company as an advisor--eventually joining Disney.

Mr.O’Donnell is the point man for all of the major investors into the Walt Disney Company, and

more specifically this project Mr. O’Donnell will have his finger on the pulse of his investors as

they expect things to exceed the somewhat disastrous start of Disneyland. Mr. O’Donnell is a

skilled golfer, as he is best friends with seven time major winner Arnold Palmer, and would like

to see golf implemented into the parks.

Vice President of Marketing - Card Walker

After graduating from UCLA, Walker joined the Disney Company and began working in the

studio mailroom. Walt believed that the mailroom was the best way for a new hire to learn how

the studio operates. He quickly began climbing the ranks, first moving up to the camera

department and eventually made it to the corporate level. In 1941, Walker enlisted into the

military and eventually returned to the Disney Studio in the story development department.

Years later becoming the Vice President of Sales during premiers of movies like 20,000 Leagues

Under the Sea. Four years later he became a member of the board of directors and was appointed

as Vice President of Marketing .

Director of Solicitations - James Sullivan

James Sullivan graduated from Yale with a degree in Business Management and immediately

began rising in the world of business. He began his corporate career at Kraft Foods, then moved

around through various corporate management positions at ExxonMobil, Procter & Gamble, and

CBS. His role is to find sponsorships, such as possibly getting Pepsi or Coke to supply the

beverages, so that the park runs smoothly. James is responsible for meeting with other companies

and convincing them to become a part of The Disney Family. He plays an important role in the

financial division of Disney.

Chief Technology Officer - Thomas Watson Jr.

Thomas Watson Jr. is the son of Thomas Watson, the founder of IBM. He took over as President

and CEO of IBM in 1956 just before the death of his father. Thomas is the go-to guy for

anything that has to do with tech at Disney from amusement rides to film equipment. His

knowledge of the tech that keeps Disney on the cutting edge is far beyond that of any of his

colleagues. He is very well connected with a number of tech companies in practically every

industry. He is always looking for the newest innovative tech to make Disney as cutting edge as

possible.

Director of Construction - Stephen Bechtel Jr.

As the Director of Construction, Stephen Bechtel Jr. is quite literally keeping Disney World

together. It shouldn’t be too big of a challenge for him, considering that he successfully runs one

of the world’s largest construction firms (Bechtel Corporation). Under his father’s leadership, the

company was able to successfully complete the Hoover Dam in under four years. Bechtel is one

of the first people who Walt Disney recruited onto this team to see if his project in Florida would

be viable. He has been there from the start and is a trusted friend of the family. He has one of the

33

biggest responsibilities which is making sure the park’s infrastructure is finished on schedule and

doesn’t have any defects.

Chief Communication Officer - Sterling Cooper

In order to maintain a company culture conducive to all employes, Disney decided to employ a

Chief Communication Officer. The main responsibility of the role is to ensure the company's

values are upheld through all forms of marketing and company initiatives. In addition, upholding

brand image and that is crucial for companies such as Disney with a family focused clientele.

They also help to scale the business and take them to bigger and better places. For Disney this

role is crucial to maintain the company's message consistent and maintain the great quality

customers expect.

Environmental Advocate Representative - Jane Goodall

With Disney Florida being built on a swamp, there were a lot of risks of environmental distress,

Disney chose to bring in environmental advocates in order to keep his project environmentally

friendly. The main focus of this job was keeping the project from causing detrimental effects to

the surrounding area of Florida. Dr. Goodall worked with animals her whole life, and was taken

in by Disney to give him her expertise on animals and wildlife.

Special Advisor - Ron Miller

Ron W. Miller was Walt Disney’s son-in-law and the husband of Diane Disney. He also became

Disney’s CEO and had a big hand in pushing technological innovation, and computer animation,

such as in movies like Tron. Miller became president and chief operating officer of the Walt

Disney Company and his main job was to reinvigorate its film division, where he spent most of

his career as a producer and executive.

Chief of Engineering of Disneyland - Don Edgren

Don Edgren was the chief engineer in building Disneyland, giving him a lot of experience

working with Disney. While this was a similar project there were differences which would need

to be addressed by the engineers. With the land being swamp land, draining the area and moving

water is extremely important to the success of the park as well as a healthy environment. There

were many tasks assigned to the engineers such as setting up underground cables, installing a

wastewater treatment plant, and digging up and moving water to build new bodies of water.

However, with swampland, every movement of water is risky.

Marvin Davis

After graduating from USC with a degree in Architecture and an American Institute of Architects

medal, Marvin instead turned to the film industry, working as a film director for 20th Century

Fox. After being recruited to WED Enterprises to build Disneyland, Marvin worked closely with

Walt Disney to bring his dream to life exactly as Walt had imagined it. Marvin was personally

responsible for the design of Mainstreet, U.S.A., which John Hench called “irrepressibly

optimistic.” Due to Marvin’s background in film design, he had a strong understanding of how to

give life to structures. Marvin was noted for his love of castles, and hopes to make use of it in

designing the new par

34

President of Disneyland- Robert Book

Considering the rapid growth of the park and reacquisition to completely belong to Disney, it

was time to turn over control someone whose sole focus was Disneyland. Responsible for the

thousands employed, as well as all facets of business, the president has plenty to manage, but

wields considerable influence within the company thanks to the massive revenue of Disneyland.

Their experience running a park will prove invaluable to the committee, but may risk loss in

standing if Disneyland stagnates

Harrison Price

Harrison earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from CalTech, served in World War 2,

worked for several years as a sales engineer in South America, and earned an MBA from

Stanford all before turning 30. Having worked with Disney since 1953, Harrison has already

conducted 150 studies regarding the development of theme parks by Disney, and was responsible

for the choice of location for both Disneyland and Disney World. He remains a key advisor and

economic researcher for the company while also advising other theme parks across the United

States. Harrison still maintains strong ties with his South American associates. If anyone would

be looking to bring a Disney park abroad, it would be Harrison

Cornelius Vanderbilt Wood

Named for the famous business magnate, Cornelius always preferred the nickname “Woody.”

Hired as Disneyland’s first employee, Woody was not afraid to make use of Walt’s imagination,

Roy’s financial acumen, and his own boundless energy to bring Disneyland to life with a steady

stream of set designers, artists, and special effects technicians. Though Walt initially treated him

like a son, their relationship soon became strained, as both were fiercely independent. Woody

soon left and helped design several other theme parks, many of which failed, though to no fault

of his own. His return to Disney could signal the beginning of a new relationship with Walt, or

could prove tumultuous. Woody is a two-time chili cook-off world champion and co founded the

annual World Championship Chili Cookoff. He also has a fascination with cryptids.

Bob Gurr

The designer of beloved attractions like the Disney Monorail and Matterhorn, Bob’s real passion

lay in vehicles, having designed Autopia and given himself the title of Director of Special

Vehicle Development. Also responsible for the audio-animatronics, the first of their kind, that

Disney unveiled at the New York World's Fair in 1964, Bob has shown himself to be more than

capable in all aspects of park design, which is why he has been retained as a lead designer for the

new park. Bob’s dream is to eventually create his own animatronic firm to create giant monster

animatronics like King Kong and a T-Rex

Aqueous Engineer- Maxwell Chuly

Maxwell is a native of Florida who grew up near Boca Raton. He was super studious and found

his way to Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study Aqueous Engineering. With the land

being primarily a swamp, draining the area and moving water is extremely important to the

success of the park as well and to create a healthy surrounding environment. There are many

tasks assigned to the aqueous engineer including setting up underground cables, installing a

wastewater treatment plant, and digging up and moving water to build new bodies of water.

However, with swampland every movement of water is risky. Maxwell has a love for the nature

35

of Florida and its ecosystem, so after working at R. G. Vanderweil Engineers LLP for 4 years he

was hired on the ground floor of the creation of Walt Disney World. With his familiar

background of Florida, he was ecstatic to start this new project.

Director of HR - James Scuttle

A California native, James was born in Anaheim in 1939. A friendly and admirable person by

many, he had always been a charismatic person being President of his student government at

Anaheim High School. His mother worked as a desk secretary at an HR firm in California and he

was influenced to pursue being in Human Resources as he enjoyed interacting with others. With

hard work he ended up at Northwestern University as a double major in Psychology and Human

Resources. After he graduated in 1960, he began working in the HR department at Wells Fargo.

With his bright ideas, just after a year he was promoted to Director of HR within the company.

Soon after his promotion a job recruiter from the Disney company had heard of his good work

and wanted him to bring his warmth to the company. He couldn’t decline as he had a love for

Disneyland and was super eager to start there as the Director of HR.

Chief Operating Officer - Daniel Giruoux

Daniel had brilliant leadership skills that appealed to many as he had a presence like no other. At

a young age he was already ambitious and started his own mini consulting company in college

helping out other college students striving to become entrepreneurs. He majored in Business

Administration at Notre Dame University in Indiana graduating in the class of 1946 then after

working for a bit at multiple companies such as Ford Motor Company, Heineken, and Nestle. At

all of his jobs he left such an amazing impact his work was known internationally. To further

enhance his skills, he got his MBA at Columbia University in 1955. With an skilled and

experience background at such a young age, at age 30, Daniel was appointed to the COO

position by Roy Disney himself seeing how accomplished one can be. With creative and unique

approaches with his leadership, he helped model a better Disney Company.

36

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