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Books > Sport & Leisure > Travel & holiday > Travel & holiday guides > Theme parks & funfairs
From its humble beginnings as a place to swim and row a boat, Ideal
Beach eventually became Indiana Beach, a small amusement park where
families could have good old-fashioned fun. Founded by Earl
Spackman in 1926, its popularity was bolstered by the addition of a
dance hall that drew the top bands of the nation during the
Depression and war years of the 1940s. When Earl passed away, his
son Tom continued his legacy, setting Indiana Beach on a course
that would make it one of the most popular vacation resorts and
amusement parks in the entire Midwest, delighting nearly one
million visitors every year.
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Freedomland
(Hardcover)
Robert McLaughlin, Frank R. Adamo
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R781
R686
Discovery Miles 6 860
Save R95 (12%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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A propulsive and "entertaining" (The Wall Street Journal) history
chronicling the conception and creation of the iconic Disneyland
theme park, as told like never before by popular historian Richard
Snow. One day in the early 1950s, Walt Disney stood looking over
240 acres of farmland in Anaheim, California, and imagined building
a park where people "could live among Mickey Mouse and Snow White
in a world still powered by steam and fire for a day or a week or
(if the visitor is slightly mad) forever." Despite his wealth and
fame, exactly no one wanted Disney to build such a park. Not his
brother Roy, who ran the company's finances; not the bankers; and
not his wife, Lillian. Amusement parks at that time, such as Coney
Island, were a generally despised business, sagging and sordid
remnants of bygone days. Disney was told that he would only be
heading toward financial ruin. But Walt persevered, initially
financing the park against his own life insurance policy and later
with sponsorship from ABC and the sale of thousands and thousands
of Davy Crockett coonskin caps. Disney assembled a talented team of
engineers, architects, artists, animators, landscapers, and even a
retired admiral to transform his ideas into a soaring yet soothing
wonderland of a park. The catch was that they had only a year and a
day in which to build it. On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened its
gates...and the first day was a disaster. Disney was nearly
suicidal with grief that he had failed on a grand scale. But the
curious masses kept coming, and the rest is entertainment history.
Eight hundred million visitors have flocked to the park since then.
In Disney's Land, "Snow brings a historian's eye and a child's
delight, not to mention superb writing, to the telling of this
fascinating narrative" (Ken Burns) that "will entertain
Disneyphiles and readers of popular American history" (Publishers
Weekly).
Using the watercolour pencils and paintbrush included, create
unique pieces of Disneyland art
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