A Cultural History of the Disneyland Theme Parks

Front matter

A Cultural History of the Disneyland Theme Parks

C

-= Middle Class :} Kingdoms

Contents

Foreword and Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Cultural Relevance of Disneyland

PartI: The American Disney Theme Parks 1. An Orange Grove in Anaheim: The Original Disneyland (1955) 2. Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom (1971) and the Age

Part II: The International Disney Theme Parks

3. “Is There Really a Disneyland in America?” — The Unique Case of Tokyo Disneyland (1983)

6. “Authentically Disney, Distinctly Chinese” - Shanghai Disneyland (2016)

7. Middle-Class Kingdoms: Then, Now, and Forever?

Index vii

195 215

Foreword and Acknowledgments

This book originated as my doctoral dissertation in American Cultural History at the Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich, Germany. I had never actually planned to end up working in academia, and yet here I am, almost incapable of imagining doing anything else — I owe this book, and the people that helped me write it, this much. Growing up, I wanted to be a teacher, then a writer, then an actress; academia allows me to put on all of these hats. The job is brutal — or less so the job, as I love teaching, I love writing and I love traveling for research, giving talks and digging into archives. But the job situation is, and the hours we have to put in for the compensation we receive. So, to every grad student that may find themselves reading this, I want to pass on one crucial piece of advice: find your people. Find those that will support you, whether it is mentors, or friends, or partners (in crime, or otherwise). Nobody can go it alone. While only my name may appear on the cover of this book, in reality, it is a great many people that have contributed to not only improving this work, but assuring its existence in the first place.

First and foremost, I would like to extend my gratitude to my thesis advisor Prof. Dr. Michael Hochgeschwender. Long suffering, he always had an open door and ear for this slightly obnoxious Bachelor’s, turned motivated Master’s student, and eventually, doctoral candidate. Over many a beer or the occasional whiskey sour, he shared wit, wisdom, and advice for which I will be forever grateful. Without him, it is doubtful I would have ever even considered writing my thesis, and consequently, you would not be holding this book in your hands — and I would not be allowed to call myself “Dr.” whenever I book a flight and then live in fear of someone needing medical attention I cannot provide. I truly thank you for everything, Michael, including that I can still show up announced in your office and share the newest gossip, surrounded by those familiar stacks of books.

My thanks also go to my second advisor, Prof. Dr. James T. Campbell, for his kindness to take the chance on a grad student whom he had never met before. On two occasions — once in Munich, Germany, and once on the other side of the world, at Stanford University, California — meeting with him resulted in newfound clarity. His genuine interest in my work encouraged me, his advice proved to be spot on. I am happy to still call you a friend now, and to continue to be able to rely on your guidance, whether we find ourselves on the same continent or not.

PD Dr. Sascha PohImann, who served as a third advisor, always made me feel welcome, provided a unique perspective and more than once, reassured me of my path. I am grateful for the time and kindness he offers me, and everyone else, so effortlessly. Consciously or unconsciously, I have modeled myself on the great example you set.

My thanks are also due to Prof. Dr. Filippo Carla-Uhink, PD Dr. Florian Freitag, and Ariane Schwarz. As part of the DFG-funded project “Here You Leave Today — Asthetische Eigenzeiten in Themenparks” I was not only able to sustain myself financially through most of my writing process, but also found a second academic home as part of the JGU Mainz. The opportunities I received are invaluable, and I would have hated to miss the times we spent researching in theme parks or meeting in many a German, or the occasional international, city. I am glad our journey together as theme park researchers is not yet over.

As part of the larger family of this research project, I would also like to acknowledge Prof. Dr. Jutta Ernst, who kindly invited me to her colloquium in Germersheim on several occasions and readily gave her advice. Dr. Michael Bies, whom I met in his function as SPP coordinator, deserves my thanks for his effort in organizing several conferences and for his help to secure funding for an invaluable research trip to the IAAPA Attractions Expo in November 2016.

Another important research trip to Berkeley was made possible by the LMU-UCB Research in the Humanities program and by Dr. Andrew Shanken who invited to his seminar and discussed his work on themed environments with me.

An additional source of funding over the last few months of my work was the LMU Graduate Center’s Abschlussstipendium as part of the Zukunftkonzept LMUexcellent, without which the completion of the thesis would have not been possible.

My gratitude also extends to the hardworking archivists and librarians at both the Anaheim Heritage Center (here, most notably Jane K. Newell) and the Orlando Public Library, for making possible two short but productive visits to both institutions in 2017.

A conference on interdisciplinarity I co-organized with Dr. Veronika Keller in April 2016 at the LMU Munich also provided me with invaluable insights — I would like to thank everyone involved, and especially Katharina Hilsmann who was kind enough to share her expertise on Japanese culture with me and made sure I did not misrepresent it in my chapter dealing with Tokyo Disneyland.

FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

When it was time to turn this thesis into a book — and technically, even before that, as I approached him before I had even written one word of it — it was another James Campbell, this one at Intellect, who helped me get it to print. Thank you for championing me all along the way. My gratitude also goes to Alex Szumlas for designing an amazing cover, and the lovely Helen Gannon for her help in getting this manuscript published, especially under the time constraints and other peculiarities of the German academic system.

Representative for the amazing network of Americanists all over Germany, and especially the many inspiring young scholars I met over the last few years, I would like to acknowledge Mareike Spychala, who was one of the co-organizers of the fantastic PGF conference in 2015 in Bamberg. Nothing makes you become friends faster than a shared love for, and rage over politics, pop culture, and academia — a friendship that has since led us to boldly go where no academics had gone before.

The Amerika Institut at the LMU Munich and its members that have come and gone since I began my Bachelor’s degree in 2009 has always been a true academic home for me. Years as a student, member of the Fachschaft, and eventually, a regular visitor of the Oberseminar and Kolloquium, accompanied by lots of pizza and beer every Monday night, have left me grateful to many. In addition to those already mentioned, I would especially like to thank PD Dr. Charlotte Lerg, Prof. Dr. Martin Lüthe (who once encouraged me to write a dissertation), Prof. Dr. Ursula Prutsch and her husband Prof. Dr. Klaus Zeyringer (who both also gave input on my chapter on Euro Disney), as well as Max Reimann.

My personal support system (or as we once liked to call it, the academic people’s front), also grew out of this special place in Munich’s SchellingstrafSe. Without Penny Kemekenidou and her “common sense,” I would have never made it through my Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees — I am forever grateful. Elena Torres Ruiz, I have to thank for advice, deadpan humor, and shared hours at her office when I finished writing in the summer of 2017. Lina Mair, thank you for many laughs and mutual support over the years, and now also a Tubelfingen connection. Sarah Earnshaw, your wit, compassion, and companionship were especially needed in the last few months of writing this book. Veronika Keller, besides the fact that you suffered through reading the whole manuscript in different stages of quality, you have become a real friend and colleague I would not miss for the world. Lisa Meinecke, you also not only read all of this, but listened to me frantically plot chapters on the phone, and spent many an hour sitting in a library with me, laughing about things only we find funny — I would still gladly share any blanket with you anywhere, anytime.

My gratitude also goes to Dr. Torsten Kathke, who, sparked by mutual research interests that also helped with my chapter on Walt Disney World, quickly turned xi from acquaintance into true friend and confidante over the last months of writing. His unwavering belief in a shared academic future lit some of the more treacherous paths leading into a postdoc life. We truly proved Harry Burns wrong, my friend. I would also like to thank Carrie Andrews, who equally grew into a shoulder to lean on and who usually has to suffer both of us.

Jenny Volkmer, you were not part of my life yet when I wrote these words originally, but you have been a constant ever since I had to defend them (without a sword, alas). Ever since, I owe you more than I can put into words. I am so glad and honored to call you my friend — after all, without you, we would still be stuck in the wrong timeline.

My parents, Martina and Stephan Mittermeier, who have supported me financially and emotionally through all these years, deserve my deepest gratitude. Without you, this book truly would have never been written. And not least of all because you took me to Disneyland when I was a child and made Big Thunder Mountain the first roller coaster I ever rode on, and then continued to when I was older and began to appreciate it on different levels.

You also understand most why I would also like to give my love to our cat Johnny, who sadly passed away shortly before I turned in my thesis, and who I still miss now, as I finalize in this manuscript. His companionship is something no human could have provided.

Markus Bauer, words cannot express what needs to be said here. I hope that despite everything, you know that without you, hardly anything I have accomplished would have been possible — least of all a book about the most magical place(s) on Earth that we have visited so often together. My love and gratitude for you will always be part of the fabric of these pages.

Munich April 2020 xii