< Browse to Previous Essay | Browse to Next Essay >

Walt Disney spends a weekend at the Seattle World's Fair beginning on September 21, 1962.

HistoryLink.org Essay 10142 : Printer-Friendly Format

On September 22, 1962, Walt Disney (1901-1966) and his family visit the Seattle World's Fair. The creator of Mickey Mouse and Disneyland likes what he sees, but does voice one complaint.

That Disney Touch

Disney flew up from Los Angeles on September 21 aboard United Airlines.  Accompanying the film producer/director was his wife, Lillian (1925-1966), his daughter Sharon Disney Brown (1936-1993), and his son-in-law, Robert Brown (d. 1967). Disney had already been in discussion with planners for the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair, for which he would later design four shows.  His visit to the Seattle World's Fair was strictly for pleasure.

Disney did not participate in the planning of Seattle World's Fair, although certain elements of it did have a Disney touch. George Whitney (1922-2002), director of Century 21's Concessions and Amusements Division, was a member of Disneyland's original design team and spent two year as the theme park's director of rides and amusements. Century 21's Operations and Services Division Director Frederick Schumacher was also one of Disneyland's planners.

A Fair, Not a Theme Park

Disney was eager to see the fair, and made a short visit on Friday night soon after his plane landed. When he visited on Saturday and Sunday, huge crowds followed him everywhere. When he wasn't signing autographs, he was often being interviewed by newspaper and television reporters.

Disney was quick to point out that drawing a comparison between the fair and his Disneyland theme park was difficult. "This fair is not Disneyland and Disneyland is not a fair. Disneyland is a place of fantasy and adventure. It is built around a carousel. The fair is built around the Science Pavilion, the Coliseum, and the Space Needle" (The Seattle Times, September 23, 1962). He seemed impressed with the Space Needle, predicting that there would be "Space Needles cropping up all over after the success of this one."

Disney's Saturday visit coincided with the fair's 8,000,000th visitor, which impressed him. Disney noted that since Disneyland opened in 1955, the largest annual attendance was only 5,000,000 visitors, but that this year his theme park would probably break that record thanks to people "making the grand circuit" by visiting both Seattle and Los Angeles in the same trip.

Not Enough Space

Although Disney's comments on the fair were generally positive he did have one complaint -- it wasn't large enough. Planners had designed the fair as what they called a "jewel box" -- small in size, but high in quality. Built on 74 acres, Seattle's World's Fair was much smaller than previous world's fairs -- a concept that the promoters highlighted as a positive when selling the fair to exhibitors.

But Disney didn't like it. "I think that 74 acres is too skimpy. You lack settings for these astounding buildings" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 23, 1962). He believed that if the ground were larger, various areas could be separated by vistas. "You don’t load up a showcase with everything. To get the proper effect, you put in just a few things" (The Seattle Times, September 23, 1962.

Walt Disney wasn't the only VIP to visit the fair that weekend. At the NASA pavilion, astronaut Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) helped dedicate a new exhibit on the X-15 rocket plane.  Armstrong had just been selected by NASA to train for the Gemini and Apollo missions, and would later become the first man to walk on the moon.

There is no record that Disney attended this dedication, but given his keen interest in space travel it would be surprising had he not.

Sources:
Paula Becker and Alan J. Stein, The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World's Fair and Its Legacy (Seattle: Seattle Center Foundation, 2011); "Disneys Here for Fair," The Seattle Times, September 22, 1962, p. A;  "Disneyland Cashes in on World's Fair Crowds," The Seattle Times, September 23, 1962, p. A; "Walt Disney Draws Large Crowd," The Seattle Times, September 23, 1962, p. B; "Disney Lands on Bored Sophisticates," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 23, 1962, p. 24.

By Alan Stein, July 05, 2012

Travel through time (chronological order):
< Browse to Previous Essay | Browse to Next Essay >

Special Suite: Century 21 Exposition |

Related Topics: Celebrities | Fairs & Festivals |

Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.

Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided By: The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins | Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry | 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle | City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private Sponsors and Visitors Like You