Disneyland: Happiest Place on Earth?

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KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2022

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s been known as the “happiest place on earth,” and if you’re a Californian, chances are you have been to Disneyland at least once. Indeed, when he opened the park in 1955, Walt Disney declared that “Disneyland is your land.” In 2019, over 18 million people visited Disneyland, and since its opening, the company estimates that 750 million visitors have come to the park, taking a spin on the Mad Hatter’s tea cups, zooming through Space Mountain, or sampling its refreshments and snacks, which include roasted turkey legs, churros and a simple box of popcorn. Nearly 70 years after it was founded, Disneyland has managed to stay both relevant and a bucket list destination. But how has a private park owned by a corporate behemoth managed to lodge itself into the California imagination? We’ll talk to two Disneyland experts to learn more, and we’ll hear from you about what feelings or memories Disneyland evokes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for KQED podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport.
0:05.3	You can fly back in time and visit SFO's Aviation Museum and Library to learn about the history of commercial aviation.
0:12.2	No boarding pass needed. Learn more at flysafo.com slash museum.
0:17.0	Support for forum comes from Broadway SF, presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a true story.
0:24.8	From three-time Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown comes the story of Leo and Lucille Frank,
0:31.2	a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in Georgia. When Leo is accused of an
0:36.9	unspeakable crime, it propels them into an
0:39.7	unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion. The riveting and gloriously hopeful
0:47.1	parade plays the Orpheum Theater for three weeks only, May 20th through June 8th. Tickets
0:53.6	on sale now at Broadwaysf.com.
0:57.0	From KQED.
1:00.0	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim, coming up on forum, Disneyland.
1:10.0	It's a California institution and more than just a theme park to a lot of people.
1:14.6	And with Florida's Disney World now caught up in a political fight, we want to hear what
1:18.5	Disneyland means to Californians.
1:20.8	What feelings or memories Disneyland evokes for you, good or bad, and your thoughts on
1:25.7	how a 70-year-old private park run by a mega corporation
1:29.3	has managed to become synonymous with magic lodging itself in California's cultural imagination
1:35.3	and the world's join us if your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme.
1:49.0	When you wish upon a star, as dreamers do. We were due. Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim. It's been called the happiest place on earth. And on a recent trip to Disneyland with my three young kids, I realized for some people it really is. I happened upon a marriage proposal in front of the castle. The answer was yes, by the way,
2:53.5	and witnessed a gender reveal while waiting in line for a character meet and greed. And then there's
2:59.9	just the sheer size and scale of the park reflecting the size and scale of the company and its
	...

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