Disneyland and Freeways

I was surprised by how often Disneyland was mentioned in a chapter focusing on the development of the freeways in Los Angeles. (Avila Chapter 6) He ends the chapter talking about how Disneyland can be seen as an escape from the rush of the city, but earlier comparisons make me realize just how representative Disneyland can be of this time period. Perhaps because Disneyland is something very real that I can connect to, it helps to being Los Angeles in this time more to life for me. In my opinion, when one goes to Disneyland, Tomorrowland is perhaps the least thrilling area in the park. If I’m not mistaken it is ironically one of the oldest areas of the park, that has not been renovated much since its construction. As a result, when you enter you are greeted with the “innovations of the future”… of the sixties: cars and rockets. As a child, I was not too thrilled with Autopia: I was driven around a mini road in a mini car. Hadn’t this been how I’d arrived at the park in the first place? Now I can see how exciting this ride might have been to the tourist of the fifties or sixties, especially if they came from outside the city and didn’t have much experience with the freeways, which were new and exciting! Walt Disney was very smart to play off of peoples’ fascination in his park. He was also insightful in his choice of location: right off the highway (p203). How convenient to just drive off the freeway and be in the “Happiest Place on Earth.” I was surprised also by how connected Disneyland and especially Autopia was to automobile consumerism. It seems that the idea was to get children used to and liking cars even before they were old enough to actually drive, but planting seeds for future consumers. I wonder whether Walt Disney thought of these implications of his Tomorrowland and what he might have gained from it. Further connecting these two ideas is the concept of the freeway originally being an escape from society. (Also tying back to Disneyland ironically being an escape from the freeways. ) Originally, the freeways were seen as liberating, giving many people a sense of freedom. They could now leave their homes and neighborhoods for any reason they wanted whether it be work or pleasure. This translated into driving on the freeways as an escape from everyday life, a vacation one might say. Disney incorporated this idea into the Autopia attraction, letting passengers go for a leisurely tour of the track. Additionally, the highway builders took a tip from Disneyland and tried to remove all of the “unwanted” sights (p 213). There were walls along the freeways to hide parts of town that would be considered unsightly.
This insight into Disneyland makes me wonder about what other social comments out forms of entertainment and vacation might reveal. I’m sure Disneyland has even more to offer, in terms of idea about the time that it was created, which of course were totally lost on my eleven-year-old self.