View source for Disney's America

{{Short description|Canceled theme park}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox amusement park
|image        = Disney's America logo.png
|image_size   = 200px
|caption      =
|name         = Disney's America
|coordinates  = {{Coord|38|49|55|N|77|38|39|W|type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki|display=it}}
|status       = Cancelled
|location     = [[Haymarket, Virginia|Haymarket]], [[Virginia]] <small>(original concept)</small><br>[[Knott's Berry Farm]], [[Buena Park, California|Buena Park]], [[California]] <small>(revived concept)</small>
|location2    =
|location3    =
|theme        = [[American History]]
|homepage     =
|owner        = [[The Walt Disney Company]]
|operator     = [[Disney Parks, Experiences and Products|Walt Disney Parks and Resorts]]
|visitors     = 11&nbsp;million (projected)
}}

'''Disney's America''' was a proposed [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] theme park in the early 1990s. A site was selected in [[Haymarket, Virginia]], approximately {{convert|5|mi|km|spell=in}} from [[Manassas National Battlefield Park]] and {{Convert|35|mi||abbr=}} west of [[Washington, D.C.]], accessible from [[Interstate 66]]. Disney's America would have consisted of nine distinctly-themed areas spanning {{convert|125|-|185|acre}}, and it would have featured hotels, housing, a golf course, and nearly {{convert|2000000|sqft}} of retail and commercial development.

The $650-million project (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|650000000|1994|r=-4}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}) was announced on November 11, 1993.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Plans Unveiled for Disney's America in Virginia |url=https://archive.org/details/imagetopdf_202212/page/n5/mode/1up |magazine=Disneyland Line |language=en |location=[[Anaheim, California]] |volume=25 |issue=46 |publication-date=November 24, 1993 |access-date=December 27, 2022 |page=6}}</ref> It would have been themed to the [[history of the United States]], and it was scheduled to open in 1998. The project had initial support from various politicians and local officials, but it soon faced opposition from citizen's groups and historians who objected to Disney's planned portrayal of historical events, as well as the potential impact on nearby historic sites. It was cancelled in September 1994 following disappointing early results for [[Disneyland Paris|Euro Disney]] (now Disneyland Paris), the death of [[Frank Wells]], rising costs, and the prospect of reduced profits with the park being closed for four months each year.<ref name="Collider">{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/disneys-america-cancelled-theme-park-explained/|title=A Deep Dive Into the Bloody Battle for 'Disney's America', the Theme Park That Never Was|website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]] |date=July 3, 2020}}</ref>

When [[Knott's Berry Farm]] in [[Buena Park, California]], went on sale in 1997, discussions to buy the park and retheme it revived the concept. However, the Knott family refused to sell to Disney, citing concerns over Disney's plans, and the project failed to take off. Several of the proposed elements of Disney's America were incorporated into [[Disney California Adventure|Disney's California Adventure]], which opened in 2001.

==History==
{{Location map+|USA Virginia|width=300|caption=Proposed location for Disney's America.
|places=
{{Location map~|USA Virginia|label=Disney's America
 |lat_deg=038 |lat_min=049 |lat_sec=055 |lat_dir=N
 |lon_deg=077 |lon_min=038 |lon_sec=039 |lon_dir=W
 |marksize=12 |position=left}}
}}
Then-Disney CEO [[Michael Eisner]] stated the genesis for Disney's America was sparked by a visit taken by him and other Disney executives to [[Colonial Williamsburg]] three to four years before the 1993 announcement. After coming up with the concept, Disney spent two years scouting potential sites near Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://progresscityusa.com/archives/thanksgiving-special-neverworlds-part-i-disneys-america |title=Thanksgiving Special: Neverworlds, Disney's America |last=Crawford |first=Michael |date=November 22, 2007 |publisher=Progress City, U.S.A.|access-date=September 8, 2012}}</ref><ref name="WaPo-931112" /> However, officials from [[Explore Park]], a history theme park near Roanoke that opened in 1994, alleged that Disney stole some of the ideas for Disney's America from their park after a 1987 meeting between the officials from the two companies.<ref name="WaPo-940726" />

===Announcement and initial support===
At the time it was announced on November 11, 1993, Disney had already purchased or held options on the {{convert|3000|acre}} of land needed for the proposed park.<ref name="LAT-931112">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-12-fi-56182-story.html |title=With Liberty and Justice for Mickey |last=Shiver Jr. |first=Jube |date=November 12, 1993 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=December 9, 2016}}</ref> After concept plans for ''Disney's America'' were drawn up for the history-based attraction in 1993, it became Eisner's pet project.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chotank.com/disneyrom.html |title=Michael Eisner's passion: Disney's America |publisher=Chotank.com |access-date = September 8, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120823132934/http://www.chotank.com/disneyrom.html |archive-date = August 23, 2012 |url-status = dead}}</ref> Eisner obtained the support of outgoing [[Governor of Virginia|Governor]] [[Douglas Wilder|L. Douglas Wilder]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]) and incoming Gov. [[George Allen (U.S. politician)|George Allen]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]),<ref name="LAT-931112" /><ref name="NYT-9403" /> as well as the Virginia Commission on Population Growth and Development.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1994/vp940727/07270008.htm |title=Disney's America and Virginia's Growth Commission |access-date = April 3, 2005 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050507191228/http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1994/vp940727/07270008.htm |archive-date = May 7, 2005}}</ref> Wilder said he was "pleased that you [Disney] have come to us," and Allen promised to "kick down any hurdles" that would hold up the park.<ref name="LAT-931112" /> Wilder, who had learned of the proposed park approximately two weeks before the announcement, elaborated that Disney had not forced Virginia into a bidding war through government concessions to attract the development, in contrast with [[Legoland California|the first American Legoland park]], which was the subject of an ongoing competition between Prince William County and Carlsbad, California.<ref name="WaPo-931112" /> Many local citizens, including the head of the Haymarket Historical Commission, supported the project for economic reasons.<ref name="next-to">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/12/us/a-disneyland-of-history-next-to-the-real-thing.html |title=A Disneyland of History Next to the Real Thing |last=Wines |first=Michael |date=November 12, 1993 |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=November 16, 2015 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> As originally proposed, Disney's America would have created 1,900 jobs and generated $50 million annually in tax revenue.<ref name="lost">{{Cite web |url=https://www.richmond.com/discover-richmond/disney-s-lost-america-history-derailed-virginia-theme-park-years/article_7fa4e2eb-19cd-5651-8730-2eff1cfa8cdc.html |title=Disney's lost 'America': History derailed Virginia theme park 25 years ago |last=Rojas |first=C. Suarez |date=August 11, 2019 |website=Richmond Times-Dispatch |language=en|access-date=2019-08-16}}</ref>

{{blockquote|This is not a [[Pollyanna]] view of America. We want to make you a Civil War soldier. We want to make you feel what it was like to be a slave or what it was like to escape through the underground railroad.|Bob Weis, Disney Senior Vice President (November 1993)<ref name="WaPo-931112">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/11/12/disney-says-va-park-will-be-serious-fun/a1c0ef16-ae33-4d99-a489-3fbfeedd1c7b/ |title=Disney Says Va. Park Will Be Serious Fun |last1=Singletary |first1=Michelle |last2=Hsu |first2=Spencer S. |date=November 12, 1993 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref>}}

Peter Rummell, president of Disney Design & Development, stated the park was designed to be a one-day experience, and the goal was to make history "real but also make it fun." Rummell acknowledged that creating entertainment around historical events such as slavery and the Civil War could be controversial, but he elaborated that "an intelligent story, properly told, shouldn't offend anybody ... But we won't worry about being politically correct."<ref name="LAT-931112" /> The location was chosen to tap into the tourist crowds visiting Washington, D.C., and several local attractions, including the battlefield at Manassas, [[Kings Dominion]], [[Busch Gardens Williamsburg|Busch Gardens]], [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]], [[Siege of Yorktown|Yorktown]], Colonial Williamsburg, and the [[Washington Dulles International Airport|Dulles]]-based [[Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center|Udvar-Hazy Center]] of the [[National Air and Space Museum]].<ref name="LAT-940227" />

Although Disney did not ask for concessions at the announcement in November 1993,<ref name="LAT-931112" /> the company warned the purchase of land options would not proceed without improvements in roads and infrastructure.<ref name="LAT-931219">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-12-19-mn-3453-story.html |title=Opposition May Derail New Disney Park |date=December 19, 1993 |agency=[[The Washington Post Writers Group|Washington Post]] |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref> Allen proposed {{US$|163200000|1994|round=-4}} in State of Virginia spending, one of the costliest incentive packages offered to-date,<ref name="WaPo-940206">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/02/06/disney-deal-feeds-concerns-about-costly-state-incentives/a3c37975-068c-4489-a54b-95bed2dcbbdb/ |title=Disney deal feeds concerns about costly state incentives |last=Hsu |first=Spencer S. |date=February 6, 1994 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref> to improve roads at the proposed Disney site, defray relocation costs, and promote tourism in the area.<ref name="LAT-940201">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-02-01-fi-17844-story.html |title=Virginia Lawmakers Back Away From Disney Aid |last=Baker |first=Peter |date=February 1, 1994 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |agency=[[The Washington Post Writers Group|Washington Post]] |access-date = December 9, 2016}}</ref> In addition, Prince William County had requested {{US$|50000000|1994|round=-4}} in loans from Virginia to improve water and sewer lines.<ref name="LAT-940201" /> The project was granted subsidies by the Virginia state government in March 1994,<ref name="NYT-9403">{{Cite news |title=VIRGINIA APPROVES DISNEY SUBSIDIES |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/13/us/virginia-approves-disney-subsidies.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 13, 1994 |access-date = November 16, 2015 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> with Disney advancing the subsidy proposal on the last possible day and threatening to abandon the project if it was not passed.<ref name="LAT-940925" /> The Disney's America project received additional project support as late as September.<ref name="drops-plan">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/29/us/disney-drops-plan-for-history-theme-park-in-virginia.html |title=Disney Drops Plan for History Theme Park in Virginia |last=Perez-Pena |first=Richard |date=September 29, 1994 |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=November 16, 2015 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Opposition and protests===

==== Opposition materializes ====
[[File:Disney's America.svg|thumb|right|400px|The parcel intended to host Disney's America was close to the town of Haymarket and the Manassas National Battlefield Park.]]
Public opposition to the theme park and associated development was stronger than Disney expected, especially from a vocal group of prominent historians named Protect Historic America.<ref name="NYT-9405" /> Historian [[David McCullough]] described Disney's America as a potential "commercial blitzkrieg" in May 1994, predicting the same urban sprawl that surrounds Disneyland and Disney World for Virginia.<ref name="NYT-9405">{{Cite news |title=Learned Opposition to New Disney Park |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/12/us/learned-opposition-to-new-disney-park.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 12, 1994 |access-date = November 16, 2015 |issn=0362-4331 |first=Michael |last=Janofsky}}</ref> Other members of Protect Historic America included [[C. Vann Woodward]], [[John Hope Franklin]], [[James M. McPherson]], [[Barbara J. Fields]], [[Doris Kearns Goodwin]], [[Shelby Foote]], [[Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.]], [[William Styron]], [[Tom Wicker]], [[Richard Moe]] and [[Roger Wilkins]].<ref name="NYT-9405" /><ref name="LAT-940817">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-17-mn-28128-story.html |title=An Uncivil War Over Disney Plan |last=Mehren |first=Elizabeth |date=August 17, 1994 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref><ref name="WaPo-940511">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/1994/05/11/historians-writers-organize-against-disney-theme-park/6b3834a6-2af0-4649-81c3-783e27624a1d/ |title=Historians, Writers Organize Against Disney Theme Park |last=Hsu |first=Spencer S. |date=May 11, 1994 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref> McPherson warned that sprawl "would desecrate the ground over which men fought and died."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-27-me-9158-story.html |title=The Historian and His Friend Abe |last=Kennedy |first=J. Michael |date=June 27, 1994 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref> These opponents advocated for the protection of some {{Convert|8700|mi2||abbr=}} of land in order to prevent any large developments like Disney's America.<ref name="whose">{{Cite journal |last=Synnott |first=Marcia G. |date=October 1995 |title=Disney's America: Whose Patrimony, Whose Profits, Whose Past? |url=http://tph.ucpress.edu/cgi/doi/10.2307/3378384 |journal=[[The Public Historian]] |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=43–59 |doi=10.2307/3378384 |jstor=3378384}}</ref>{{Rp|45}}

Disney also faced opposition from groups concerned that historical events such as the Civil War and slavery could be trivialized by teaching history through entertainment and possibly selling "little souvenir slave ships."<ref name="LAT-940817" /> In particular, scholars objected that Disney's past portrayals of American history deviated significantly from the truth.<ref name="whose" />{{Rp|45}} Eisner would later disavow comments from Weis, a senior vice president who had stated a planned exhibit on slavery would "make you feel what it was like to be a slave," saying that Weis had misspoken and was not used to speaking to the media.<ref name="LAT-931219" /> Rummell also rejected the fears as premature: "Those are harsh words for a production that not only hasn't opened, but hasn't even been fully written."<ref name="LAT-940817" /> Weis later stressed the content of the park had not yet been decided, saying "I'm not sure we have a certain direction yet ... Our thoughts are evolving" in March 1994.<ref name="LAT-940309">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-03-09-fi-31839-story.html |title=Disney Unsure How It Will Organize New Theme Park |last=Hsu |first=Spencer S. |agency=[[The Washington Post Writers Group|Washington Post]] |date=March 9, 1994 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref> By August 1994, novelist William Styron penned an opinion that any exhibit that would allow visitors to "experience" slavery would be inadequate<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1994/08/05/slavery-and-disney/ |title=OPINION: Slavery and Disney |last=Styron |first=William |author-link=William Styron |date=August 5, 1994 |newspaper=Baltimore Sun |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref> and soon afterward, Disney announced the proposed slavery exhibit had been shelved.<ref name="LAT-940817" />

In addition, the heavy subsidies proposed from Virginia faced opposition in the state legislature.<ref name="LAT-940201" /> By late February 1994, the planned Disney park was still locally popular in Haymarket,<ref name="LAT-940925">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-25-mn-42972-story.html |title=America as Disney's Land: The Fantasy vs. the Reality |last=Fiore |first=Faye |date=September 25, 1994 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date = December 9, 2016}}</ref> but faced opposition from nearby towns who echoed McCullough's prediction: "following [the theme park] will be all the things people want, gas stations, motels and, God help us, the fast-food strips."<ref name="LAT-940227">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-02-27-mn-27884-story.html |title=Virginians in Civil War Over Disney Park Plans |last=Feinsilber |first=Mike |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |date=February 27, 1994 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date = December 9, 2016}}</ref> A national farm conservation group, the American Farmland Trust, voiced its opposition to the project, saying it threatened up to 50% of the state's orchards and 15% of its farmland.<ref name="LAT-940324">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-03-24-fi-38075-story.html |title=Disney Called Threat to Va. Farms |date=March 24, 1994 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date = December 9, 2016}}</ref> Proponents of the theme park project alleged Protect Historic America was merely a front to advance the interests of wealthy landowners who owned land close to the planned development.

Disney projected up to 35,000 automobiles per day, which raised traffic and pollution concerns amongst local residents.<ref name="LAT-940817" /> The Disney official in charge of the project, Mark Pacala, penned an editorial touting planned road improvements as benefiting all motorists.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1994/01/28/in-defense-of-disneys-america/cb070078-dae8-4fb4-85ae-5cb94d0ff3ed/ |title=OPINION: In defense of Disney's America |last=Pacala |first=Mark |date=January 28, 1994 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref> Virginia Transportation Secretary Robert E. Martinez announced the state would seek a full federal review of the planned freeway improvements, which would delay the approval of road construction funds.<ref name="WaPo-940511" />

Other residents, citing the already-low unemployment rates, were skeptical of the economic boost generated by the park.<ref name="LAT-940817" /> An economic report commissioned by park opponents said that Disney had overstated economic benefits, saying that only 6,000 (not 12,000) jobs would be created, in mostly low-wage, low-skill categories, and the park would only bring in an additional $1.5–5.1&nbsp;million in annual tax revenue (compared to the $14.1&nbsp;million Disney had estimated).<ref name="LAT-940121">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-21-fi-14029-story.html |title=Report Says Disney Overstates Benefits of History Theme Park |last=Bousian |first=Mark |date=January 21, 1994 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref> Operators of other area attractions, including Colonial Williamsburg, feared that Disney's America would siphon away tourist time and spending instead of adding another attraction for the Washington, D.C., area.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/1994/05/04/virginia-attractions-see-threat-in-disney/4ee9c23d-1a1f-4c7a-9773-70ffcab24569/ |title=Virginia Attractions See Threat in Disney |last=Hsu |first=Spencer S. |date=May 4, 1994 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26626743/ |title=Williamsburg leaders voice concerns over Disney park |date=February 4, 1994 |work=Daily Press|access-date=August 16, 2019 |location=Newport News, VA |page=17 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> Disney Vice President John Dreyer dismissed these protesters as stereotypical [[NIMBY]] citizens, saying "I think it's very similar to the arguments you've heard about a dozen projects around the country—which is, 'I'm here, I don't want anyone else to come.' "<ref name="LAT-940817" /> Despite the vocal opposition,<ref name="LAT-940121" /> polls showed a majority of Virginia residents supported the project.<ref name="drops-plan" />

Rep. [[Michael A. Andrews]] (D-[[Texas|TX]]), a Civil War buff, introduced a resolution on June 16, 1994, to send a message to Disney not to build the project in the proposed location,<ref>{{USBill|103|hcr|255}}</ref> saying he was "not opposed to Disney or the park, as long as the project is built in another location."<ref name="WaPo-940617">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/06/17/for-disney-fight-takes-new-twist/ec137169-064c-495a-abf5-96dd7907a5c0/ |title=For Disney, fight takes new twist |last1=Fehr |first1=Stephen C. |last2=Shear |first2=Michael D. |date=June 17, 1994 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref> Andrews was joined in support by Reps. [[Tim Roemer]] (D-[[Indiana|IN]]) and [[Robert Torricelli]] (D-[[New Jersey|NJ]]), with Torricelli adding that Civil War history should "not [be taught] by Minnie and Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck."<ref name="WaPo-940617" /> In total there were 29 cosponsors for the resolution.<ref name="whose" />{{Rp|47}} But even as several representatives promised to take any federal actions to prevent Disney's America from being built near Manassas, Eisner and House Speaker [[Tom Foley]] (D-[[Washington (state)|WA]]) hosted a lunch for Congress members in support of the project.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-06-17-9406170238-story.html |title=BATTLE OVER DISNEY PARK MOVES TO CONGRESS |last=Groer |first=Anne |date=1994-06-17 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-16}}</ref>

On June 22, 1994, a Senate subcommittee hearing was held in regards to the validity of the proposed development of Disney's America. Elected officials and Disney executives testified in support of the project, while historians testified in opposition. Sens. [[John Warner]] (R-VA), [[Ben Nighthorse Campbell]] (D-CO), and other officials argued that Congress had no business intervening in what was a state project.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/06/22/disney-combatants-march-up-capitol-hill/d1a34919-965e-4d88-998d-8335d1ffcb4a/ |title=DISNEY COMBATANTS MARCH UP CAPITOL HILL |last1=Hsu |first1=Spencer S. |date=June 22, 1994 |newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 15, 2019 |last2=Fehr |first2=Stephen C.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/22/us/a-new-battle-of-manassas-is-under-way-in-the-senate.html |title=A New Battle of Manassas Is Under Way in the Senate |last=Seelye |first=Katharine Q. |date=1994-06-22 |work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-08-16 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="hands-off">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34946450/ |title=Hill hands off Mickey |date=June 22, 1994 |work=Daily Press|access-date=August 16, 2019 |location=Newport News, VA |page=13 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> The same day, a Prince William County judge dismissed a lawsuit that had been brought by Disney's America opponents on the grounds that the proposed park violated local zoning ordinances.<ref name="hands-off" />

==== Eisner's response and continued opposition ====
{{blockquote|Disney's America not only will not replace historic sites but rather will add to their luster by enthusing our guests about events that occurred there and the people who took part in them. We are confident our project will actually encourage more people to visit historic areas. And we believe our presentation of the American heritage can make a significant national contribution to the important cause of historic preservation.

We plan to use all of the tools available to us -- filmmaking, animation, environments, music, interactive media, live interpretation -- to bring the American experience to life. We are working with historians and other experts to make Disney's America an engaging and genuine encounter with America's past. Together, we have identified some common themes that run through the American experience -- our persistent resistance to injustice, our quest for tolerance and inclusion, our history of rising to challenges, our faith in the promise of the future and our belief that ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things.

We believe that every person, particularly the children, who can touch history and sense the emotions of a time or event, will be impelled to learn more. This is the vision and purpose of Disney's America.|Michael Eisner, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company (June 1994)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1994/06/20/lets-celebrate-america/dfcad325-134e-4475-8f80-4f1095602ff8/ |title=OPINION: Let's Celebrate America |last=Eisner |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Eisner |date=20 June 1994 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = 14 December 2016}}</ref>}}

Eisner rebuked protesters and detractors, especially the historian members of Protect Historic America, saying in a June 1994 interview with ''The Washington Post'' that "I sat through many history classes where I read some of their stuff, and I didn't learn anything. It was pretty boring. I guess I can say that I object to some of their stuff."<ref name="LAT-940614">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-14-fi-4121-story.html |title=Eisner Blasts Critics of Disney Virginia Park |last=Powers |first=William F. |date=June 14, 1994 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |agency=[[The Washington Post Writers Group|Washington Post]] |access-date = December 9, 2016}}</ref> Eisner was surprised by the opposition, stating that he had "expected to be taken around on people's shoulders" for both the economic stimulus of 19,000 new jobs and the entertainment value that would allow visitors "to get high on history."<ref name="LAT-940614" /> In the same interview, Eisner reiterated Disney's rights to develop on the {{convert|3000|acre}}, saying "it's private land that is not in the middle of a historic area."<ref name="LAT-940614" /> Eisner did not rule out moving the park to other sites, noting that the governors of Maryland and North Carolina had begun to court the company.<ref name="WaPo-940621">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/06/21/virginias-neighbors-are-courting-disneys-america-project/04ff0c82-5483-4378-83c2-53fc6007fa79/ |title=Virginia's neighbors are courting Disney's America project |last=Powers |first=William F. |date=June 21, 1994 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref>

In order to try to convince historians who were opposed to the project, Eisner brought a group of historians to [[Epcot]] to see [[The American Adventure (Epcot)|The American Adventure]]. However, the historians reacted negatively to the exhibition, and Eisner later said that the historians probably had the impression that "Disney couldn’t be trusted to depict American history in ways that were sufficiently complex, subtle and inclusive".<ref name="part-5">{{Cite web |url=https://www.micechat.com/14684-disneys-america-part-5/ |title=Disney's America Part 5 – The Story Comes To An End |last=Gennawey |first=Sam |date=2012-10-25 |website=MiceChat |language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-16}}</ref> The group also went to see [[The Hall of Presidents]] at [[Magic Kingdom]], which received generally positive acclaim from the historians.<ref name="part-5" />

Disney's America faced new setbacks in the coming months. A new analysis found that the park would need to be closed for four months per year instead of two, decreasing potential revenue by 20%. Further, the projected construction costs were rising, and Eisner was concerned that it would not be profitable to build Disney's America in the first place.<ref name="part-5" /> In mid-September 1994, a crowd of 3,000 protesters, including [[Ralph Nader]], staged a march in Washington, D.C., opposing the park.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Disney Park Is Protested |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/18/us/disney-park-is-protested.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 18, 1994 |access-date = November 16, 2015 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="LAT-940918">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-18-mn-40211-story.html |title=Thousands Protest Disney History Theme Park Plans |date=September 18, 1994 |agency=[[Reuters]] |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date = December 9, 2016}}</ref><ref name="whose" />{{Rp|47}} Specific objections at the march included Disney's precedent of lobbying for and receiving State concessions for a Disney owned [[Reedy Creek Improvement District|privatized governing district in Florida]] and skepticism about Disney's plans to "make you feel what it was like to be a slave."<ref name="LAT-940918" />

===Project abandonment===
{{blockquote|We remain convinced that a park that celebrates America and an exploration of our heritage is a great idea, and we will continue to work to make it a reality. However, we recognize that there are those who have been concerned about the possible impact of our park on historic sites in this unique area, and we have always tried to be sensitive to the issue. While we do not agree with all their concerns, we are seeking a new location so that we can move the process forward ...

Despite our confidence that we would eventually win the necessary approvals, it has become clear that we could not say when the park would be able to open -- or even when we could break ground ...

The controversy over building in Prince William County has diverted attention and resources from the creative development of the park. Implicit in our vision for the park is the hope that it will be a source of pride and unity for all Americans. We certainly cannot let a particular site undermine that goal by becoming a source of divisiveness.|Peter S. Rummel, president of Disney Design and Development Co. (September 1994)<ref name="WaPo-940929" />}}

On September 28, 1994, Disney announced they would not build the Disney's America theme park at the originally-proposed site near Manassas,<ref name="WaPo-940929">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/09/29/disney-gives-up-on-haymarket-theme-park-vows-to-seek-less-controversial-virginia-site/937cbfa9-89a2-43d6-bfdc-e7aa53b33c87/ |title=Disney gives up on Haymarket theme park, vows to seek less controversial Virginia site |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |last2=Hsu |first2=Spencer S. |date=September 29, 1994 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref><ref name="LAT-940929">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-29-mn-44376-story.html |title=Disney Gives Up Plans for Park at Historic Site |last1=Harris |first1=Kathryn |last2=Sanchez |first2=Jesus |date=September 29, 1994 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/29/us/disney-drops-plan-for-history-theme-park-in-virginia.html |title=Disney Drops Plan for History Theme Park in Virginia |last=Perez-Pena |first=Richard |date=1994-09-29 |work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-08-16 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> despite the political backing of numerous officials.<ref name="LAT-940930">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-30-fi-44954-story.html |title=Company Town: Some See Disney's Magic Dimmed With Pullout From Virginia Site |last1=Fiore |first1=Faye |last2=Harris |first2=Kathryn |date=September 30, 1994 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref> By the time Disney withdrew the project from Haymarket, the ''New York Times'' reported that Disney felt they could gain official but not public approval, resulting in unacceptable delays.<ref name="drops-plan" /> Disney Parks and Resorts was also disadvantaged by the financial failure of [[Disneyland Paris]], which had lost nearly $900 million since its 1992 opening. These financial troubles also led to the abandonment of other theme park projects in the 1990s, including [[WestCOT]] and [[Port Disney]].<ref name="whose" />{{Rp|48}}<ref name="part-5" /> Further, opponents of Disney's America had sizable financing, with over $2 million allocated toward marketing campaigns against the project.<ref name="whose" />{{Rp|48}}

Disney put the {{convert|600|acre}} of land they had already acquired up for sale in March 1995 and relinquished options to purchase an adjacent {{convert|2037|acre|adj=on}} property in December 1994.<ref name="WaPo-950303">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1995/03/03/disney-selling-virginia-land-and-the-new-theme-is-departure/60c264b2-ad15-4e7d-8a74-0330f89e9fce/ |title=Disney selling Virginia land and the new theme is departure |last=Faiola |first=Anthony |date=March 3, 1995 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref> The land slated for the proposed park has instead since been used to build tens of thousands of single and multi-family homesites in the Dominion Valley and Piedmont housing developments and [[Camp William B. Snyder]] for the [[Boy Scouts of America]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/04/AR2006040401958.html |title=Theme Park-Like Camp for Cub Scouts Built on Old Disney Site |last=Stewart |first=Nikita |date=April 5, 2006 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref><ref name="lost" /> Since the demise of the Haymarket project, the promised road improvements have been on hold and traffic has increased from the housing developments built on the site, though some residents credit the new housing with attracting a wealthier, more-educated population; the population of Prince William County grew by nearly 100,000 people in the 10 years following the end of the project.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/11/24/disneys-defeat-didnt-stop-growth-or-end-debate-in-prince-william/36c86228-08d1-41af-a103-dde65e94b124/ |title=Disney's Defeat Didn't Stop Growth -- Or End Debate -- in Prince William |last=Ginsberg |first=Steven |date=November 24, 2003 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = December 14, 2016}}</ref>

At the same time they announced they were abandoning the Haymarket site, Disney announced they still intended to build the theme park at a "less controversial" site in either Virginia or Maryland.<ref name="LAT-940929" /><ref name="LAT-940930" /> One anonymous Wall Street analyst claimed there was a schism in support for Disney's America amongst top executives at Disney, including opposition from the recently ousted [[Jeffrey Katzenberg]].<ref name="LAT-940929" />

==Park plans==
[[File:Disney's America Park Map.svg|thumb|right|400px|Themed areas in the 1994 proposal for Disney's America]]

===Themed areas===
The plans for ''Disney's America'' called for nine distinctly themed areas<ref name="DA1994" /><ref name="Zenzen">{{Cite book |title=Battling for Manassas: The Fifty-Year Preservation Struggle at Manassas National Battlefield Park |last1=Zenzen |first1=Joan M. |date=1998 |chapter=11. More Battles: The Horse and the Mouse |author2=foreword by Edwin Bearss |author2-link=Edwin Bearss |url=https://archive.org/details/battlingformanas00zenz |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |location=University Park, Pennsylvania |isbn=0-271-01721-X |access-date=November 16, 2015 |url-access=registration}}</ref> within a {{convert|125|-|185|acre|adj=on}} theme park serving up to 30,000 visitors per day.<ref name="LAT-940227" /><ref name="LAT-940309" /> Much of the information is taken from a promotional brochure published by The Walt Disney Company in 1994.<ref name="DA1994">{{cite web |url=http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-1994-DISNEY-039-S-AMERICA-VIRGINIA-THEME-PARK-ARTIST-CONCEPT-BROCHURE-/361723942689 |title=Disney's America: Celebrating America's Diversity, Spirit and Innovation |date=1994 |publisher=The Walt Disney Company |access-date = December 14, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161214171249/http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-1994-DISNEY-039-S-AMERICA-VIRGINIA-THEME-PARK-ARTIST-CONCEPT-BROCHURE-/361723942689 |archive-date = December 14, 2016 |url-status = dead}}</ref>
* '''Crossroads USA''', 1800–1850&nbsp;– A pre-[[American Civil War|Civil War]]-era village that would have served as the hub of ''Disney's America''. Guests would enter under an 1840s [[train trestle]], which would have featured antique steam trains circling the park.<ref name="next-to" /><ref name="WaPo-940726" /> According to an early map, this land would have featured large amphitheater, a show named ''[[The Muppets]] Take America'', and something themed around ''[[Roots: The Saga of an American Family|Roots]]''.<ref name="van" /><ref>{{cite book |page=208 |title=Van Eaton Galleries Presents: Exploring The Disney Universe Catalog |date=2022 |publisher=Van Eaton Galleries}}</ref>
* '''Native America''', 1600–1810&nbsp;– A recreation of a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] village that would have reflected the tribes that were known in that part of the country. Guests would have also enjoyed interactive experiences, exhibits, and arts and crafts, as well as a [[whitewater]] river raft ride that would have traveled throughout the area, based on the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]].<ref name="next-to" /><ref name="WaPo-940726" />
* '''Presidents' Square''', 1750–1800&nbsp;– A celebration of the birth of democracy and those who fought to preserve it. [[The Hall of Presidents]], and [[The American Adventure (Epcot)|The American Adventure]]<ref name="van">{{cite web |url=https://www.icollector.com/Disney-s-America-Park-Site-Plan-Prospectus-Buttons_i46992023 |title=Disney's America Park Site Plan, Prospectus & Buttons - Auction |date=December 3, 2022 |access-date=May 19, 2023 |publisher=iCollector - Van Eaton Auctions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522150259/https://www.icollector.com/Disney-s-America-Park-Site-Plan-Prospectus-Buttons_i46992023 |archive-date=May 22, 2023}}</ref> would have been replicated or relocated in this section of ''Disney's America'' from, respectively, [[Magic Kingdom Park]] and [[Epcot]] at Walt Disney World.
* '''Civil War Fort''', 1850–1870&nbsp;– A [[American Civil War|Civil War]] fort would have plunged guests into a more turbulent time of American history; with an adjacent replica battlefield where Civil War re-enactments would be staged and an adjacent man-made ''Freedom Bay'', where water battles between the [[USS Monitor|Monitor]] and the [[USS Merrimack (1855)|Merrimac]] would have been staged as a "thrilling nighttime spectacular".<ref name="next-to" /><ref name="DA1994" />
* '''Enterprise''', 1870–1930&nbsp;– A mock factory town, it would have highlighted American ingenuity where guests could have ridden a major attraction called ''Industrial Revolution'', traveling on a [[roller coaster]]-type ride through a 19th-century landscape with heavy industry and blast furnaces.<ref name="next-to" /> On either side of the ride would have been exhibits of technology that defined America's industry, and developments that would have defined future industries.
* '''We The People''', 1870–1930&nbsp;– A replica of the [[Ellis Island]] building, which acted as the gateway to America for many immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Music, restaurants, and a live show would be here.
* '''Family Farm''', 1930–1945&nbsp;– A recreation of an authentic farm where guests could have had the opportunity to see different types of industries related to food production, in addition to hands-on experiences.<ref name="WaPo-940726" />
* '''State Fair''', 1930–1945&nbsp;– An area based on the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] with a live show about [[baseball]] and [[Coney Island]]-themed rides, including a {{convert|60|ft|adj=on}} [[Ferris wheel]] and a [[wooden roller coaster]].
* '''Victory Field''', 1930–1945&nbsp;– Guests would have experienced what America's soldiers faced in the defense of freedom during [[world war]]s. It would have been themed to resemble an air field with a series of hangars containing attractions based on America's military might using [[virtual reality]] technology. The air field would have also served as an exhibit of airplanes from different periods, as well as for major flying exhibitions. Concepts for what would have been the world's first [[Dual-tracked roller coaster|dueling]] [[inverted roller coaster]]s, which would have been named ''Dogfighter'', were drawn up, but were ultimately abandoned due to the projected cost of the attraction. The ride would have had guests flying through the air in German and American biplane-themed trains, and would have featured several near misses. Both tracks would have featured inversions (the American track featured a [[cobra roll]], a [[vertical loop]], a [[zero-g roll]], and two [[Corkscrew (roller coaster element)|corkscrews]]; the German track featured the same elements with an extra corkscrew leading into the final [[brake run]]), and at one point the German train would have come close to hitting both the floor and walls of a trench and a tank as it looped over a tank that had crashed into the trench.

Some of the ideas alleged to be lifted from Explore Park for Disney's America include the Lewis and Clark-themed water ride, Native American village, American main street and working family farm.<ref name="WaPo-940726">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/07/26/disney-may-have-taken-ideas-from-va-theme-park-officials-say/94e03a7d-a021-45fb-94e9-50205af46088/ |title=Disney may have taken ideas from Va. theme park, officials say |last=Shear |first=Michael D. |date=July 26, 1994 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = December 13, 2016}}</ref>

===Additional proposed development===
According to Rummell, plans also included:<ref name="LAT-940817" /><ref name="Zenzen" />
* resort hotels (with 1,340 guest rooms)
* an RV park (with 300 campsites)
* a 27-hole golf course
* nearly {{convert|2000000|sqft}} for retail and commercial development, split into {{Convert|1,300,000|ft2||abbr=}} of retail and {{Convert|630,000|ft2||abbr=}} of commercial space
Additionally, there were tentative plans to sell a portion of the land to a developer to build over 2,000 residential units and donate land for other municipal buildings, including schools and a library.<ref name="Zenzen" /> Disney intended to leave up to 40% of the total land undeveloped as a greenbelt/buffer between the Park and its surroundings.<ref name="Zenzen" />

===Disney's American Celebration===
Faced with public relations issues in the wake of vocal opposition, Disney put together a conceptual study of a park in August 1994 with an overarching theme celebrating common American themes and experiences. The conceptual study was discontinued weeks later. The planned pavilions for Disney's American Celebration would have included:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2005/01/25/533.aspx |title=Another great what-might-have-been: Disney's American Celebration |last=Hill |first=Jim |date=January 24, 2005 |website=Jim Hill Media |access-date = September 14, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120905121046/http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2005/01/25/533.aspx |archive-date = September 5, 2012 |url-status = live}}</ref>
* '''Democracy''', the entrance area featuring attractions such as ''America: A User's Guide'', the ''American Free Speech Forum'' and the ''American Hall of Fame''.
* '''Family''' or '''Generations''', featuring a multi-media show called ''American Families'' following four generations of a family from 1929 to 1999.
* '''The Land''', based on [[The Land (Epcot)|the Epcot attraction of the same name]].
* '''Creativity and Fun''', similar to the original concept for '''State Fair''', featuring a full-scale recreation of [[Ebbets Field]] and Coney Island-themed attractions.
* '''Work''' featuring factory tours of iconic American companies such as [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], [[Ben & Jerry's]] and [[Crayola]].
* '''Service & Sacrifice''', similar to the original concept for '''Victory Field''', featuring the attraction ''Soldier's Story'' taking guests through memorable moments in American wars and other interactive areas where guests could attempt military training.
* '''American People''' telling the ''Immigration Story'' on a ride and film featuring the [[Muppets]] as well as the ''Dream of Freedom'' movie discussing the ongoing struggle for freedom and equality.
* '''Streets of America''', a dining district featuring "streets" themed for cuisine from different cities, including:
** [[Chicago]] ([[Chicago-style pizza]])
** [[Los Angeles]] ([[Latin American cuisine|Hispanic]] and [[fast food]])
** [[New Orleans]] ([[Cajun cuisine|Cajun]])
** [[New York City]] ([[Jewish cuisine|Jewish]]/[[delicatessen|deli food]])
** [[St. Louis]] ([[St. Louis-style barbecue|barbecued ribs]])
** [[San Francisco]] ([[American Chinese cuisine|Chinese]])
* '''Disney's America Live''', the entertainment venue featuring outdoor stages and the ''State Farm Arena'' where guests could attempt [[hog calling]] and [[calf roping]].

==Proposed conversion of Knott's Berry Farm==
[[File:Independence Hall construction, Knott's Berry Farm, 3-17-1966 (4724915732).jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Independence Hall]] replica construction at [[Knott's Berry Farm]], March 17, 1966. Courtesy of Orange County Archives.]]
A conversion of [[Knott's Berry Farm]] (in [[Buena Park, California]], near Disneyland) into Disney's America was drafted shortly after the Knott family announced that they would take bids for its property. The idea for the conversion reportedly came from the exact replica of [[Independence Hall]], which sits in the parking lot of Knott's Berry Farm.<ref name="jim-hill" />

The plan called for stretching out the park's entrance across the street to the Independence Hall replica. The new entrance to the park would then be built to resemble Walt Disney World's Liberty Square, although the name of the entrance would have been changed to ''Presidents' Square''. The major attraction for this area would have included the [[Hall of Presidents]].<ref name="jim-hill" />

Another section of the proposed park would have included the "Native American" territories as it would have paid tribute to America's native people. The area would have included where the Mystery Lodge, Indian Trail, and Bigfoot Rapids are currently located. Also, Bigfoot Rapids would have had its name changed to ''The Lewis & Clark River Expedition'', which was a similar attraction proposed for Virginia. This idea was eventually scrapped because the [[Imagineers]] felt it was an "inconsistent hybrid of thrills and education."<ref name="jim-hill" />

Other proposed ideas would have been the conversion of the former Roaring '20s section into the "Enterprise" territory. Reflection Lake would have been converted to Freedom Bay, and would have showcased a recreation of the Ellis Island immigration center. Finally, the Old Ghost Town section of Knott's Berry Farm would have been mostly unchanged. Camp Snoopy and Fiesta Village probably also would have been converted into different "territories".<ref name="jim-hill" />

The California ''Disney's America'' project was cancelled due to several reasons. One was a lack of a practical means to transport guests from the [[Disneyland Resort]] to ''Disney's America''. Planners felt that extending the existing [[Disneyland Monorail System]] would be too expensive; they also noted that bus transportation would not have been practical. The main factor was that the Knott family had rejected Disney's bid since they were afraid that the Imagineers would replace much of what their parents had originally built. [[Cedar Fair]], the company that bought Knott's Berry Farm in 1997, removed more original features from the park than Disney's plans would have done, although keeping the Knott's name and layout intact.<ref name="jim-hill">{{cite web |url=http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2005/02/02/537.aspx |title=You're KNOTT going to believe where "Disney's America" almost got built |publisher=Jimhillmedia.com |date=February 2, 2005 |access-date = September 8, 2012}}</ref>

==Ideas transferred to other parks==
[[Soarin']] from Epcot and Disney's California Adventure evolved from some of the rides planned for Victory Field. Other concepts originally intended for Disney's America were slightly re-themed and re-worked as elements of [[Disney California Adventure]], including the ''Bountiful Valley Farm'' (Family Farm), ''[[Grizzly River Run]]'' (Lewis and Clark Expedition raft ride), ''[[California Screamin']]'' (State Fair roller coaster ride) as well as ''Condor Flats'' (Victory Field).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2007/07/13/why-for-doesn-t-zac-efron-have-more-fans-in-disney-company-management.aspx |title=Why For Zac Efron doesn't have more fans in Mouse House management |last=Hill |first=Jim |date=July 12, 2007 |website=Jim Hill Media|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719234032/http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2007/07/13/why-for-doesn-t-zac-efron-have-more-fans-in-disney-company-management.aspx|archive-date=July 19, 2011|url-status=live|access-date=December 15, 2016}}</ref>
<!--
==Contemporaneous opinions==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;"
|+ style="font-size: 150%;" |Editorials from 1993–94
! scope="col" |Don't Build
! scope="col" |Build
|-
|<blockquote>
{{pad|1.0em}}Will the project encourage [[Urban sprawl|sprawl]] beyond the boundaries of the park itself? There's little doubt that it will.<br />{{pad|1.0em}}What is sprawl? It is low-density development on the edges of cities and towns. It is poorly planned, land-consumptive, automobile-oriented, designed without regard for its surroundings -- and usually ugly as well.<br />{{pad|1.0em}}Sprawl has already established a solid beachhead in Northern Virginia, and this project will almost certainly give it a big push westward. New and widened highways will be built for the 30,000 tourists expected at the park each day, and this will likely lead to the rapid proliferation of fast-food restaurants, motels and strip malls. It is sadly easy to envision this "road rash" devastating some of the most beautiful and historic countryside in America.

[...]

{{pad|1.0em}}What effect will "Disney's America" have on public visitation at "real" historic sites? Disney spokesmen claim that the park will draw thousands of additional visitors to the area and that all historic sites will benefit.<br />{{pad|1.0em}}But the park's power to attract new visitors is no sure thing. When Disney steps too far beyond its tried-and-true formula of audience-pleasing entertainment and storybook endings, it can stub its toe. [[Disneyland Paris|EuroDisney]], an American-style theme park near Paris, drew disappointing crowds and lost nearly $1 billion in its first year. Disney may find that selling real history to Americans is as great a challenge as selling the Magic Kingdom to Europeans.<br />{{pad|1.0em}}If the park does draw huge crowds, it will likely do so by cutting deeply into the area's already-established tourist market. Washington is one of the country's most popular vacation destinations. Last year, more than 13 million domestic tourists came here for fun and a dose of history; it's as time-honored a ritual as anything in American tourism. Disney surely knows that a family planning the typical three- to-four-day visit to Washington will be under strong pressure from children -- and probably adults as well -- to spend at least one day at the theme park.

[...]

{{pad|1.0em}}What will "Disney's America" mean for the teaching of American history? How authentically will Disney portray the awfulness of slavery or the brutality of the Indian wars? Is the "warts-and-all" teaching of history too much at odds with modern notions of mass entertainment?<br />{{pad|1.0em}}Not necessarily. [[Ken Burns]]'s television classic, [[The Civil War (TV series)|''The Civil War'']], deeply moved millions of viewers, and David McCullough's series on [[American Experience|''The American Experience'']] has reached millions more. Any number of films and plays, ranging from [[Abe Lincoln in Illinois (film)|''Abe Lincoln in Illinois'']] to the recently released [[Gettysburg (1993 film)|''Gettysburg'']], have enriched our understanding of American history.<br />{{pad|1.0em}}Can Disney do the same? Perhaps, but the countervailing pressures of authentic history on the one hand and sustained commercial success on the other are probably too great for each other. Can George Washington co-exist with Mickey Mouse? Can the meaning of the Civil War be conveyed next to a roller coaster? Once a visitor has seen the Disney version of Ellis Island, will the real thing retain its appeal? Can slavery be properly interpreted in an amusement park?

—Richard Moe, 21 December 1993<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1993/12/21/downside-to-disneys-america/2e54e11f-dadb-4fe0-94c8-17a84069f8e8/ |title=OPINION: Downside to 'Disney's America' |first=Moe |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Moe |date=21 December 1993 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = 14 December 2016}}</ref>
</blockquote>
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{{pad|1.0em}}Critics complain that Disney is in the business of telling stories and is not up to the challenge of "serious issues."<br />{{pad|1.0em}}Yes, by its own admission, Disney's strength is story telling -- using creative methods and advanced technology to add realism and accuracy, and to hold the listener's interest. But what is history, if not a true "story"? Indeed, Webster's is instructive, defining history as "an account of what has or might have happened, esp. in the form of a narrative, play, story, or tale."<br />{{pad|1.0em}}Moreover, Disney has an impressive record in addressing serious questions. Its Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World is a sterling example of the company's ability to bring history alive without sacrificing accuracy. Given the opportunity, I'd rather meet Abraham Lincoln in the flesh. Given that Mr. Lincoln isn't available, Disney's Hall of Presidents is the next best thing.<br />{{pad|1.0em}}Disney's critics have also posed a fundamentally false choice between "real" history as represented by the monuments of Washington, D.C., and the Civil War battlefields of Virginia and "synthetic" history at Disney's America. Once exposed to history as depicted at Disney's America, the critics lament, tourists would ignore the White House, the Manassas battlefield, Mount Vernon, Monticello and other historic landmarks.<br />{{pad|1.0em}}No such choices are necessary. Disney's America is designed to complement the historic attractions in the D.C. area and the state of Virginia. By stimulating an interest in history, Disney's America should whet the appetite for visits to battlefields, museums, and Disney's critics also seem to suggest that there is a single, correct version of history. In fact, no book, no museum, no single authority possesses the final word.

—Richard R. Willich, 15 February 1994<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1994/02/15/let-disney-tell-the-story/c230fca6-1407-491e-a8a8-1bd6c003bfd8/ |title=OPINION: Let Disney tell the story |last=Willich |first=Richard R. |date=15 February 1994 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = 14 December 2016}}</ref>
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{{pad|1.0em}}Disney says that it intends to build a new city with 2,500 houses for a population of some 7,000 people on this now uninhabited site, along with hotels, offices, shopping and malls. The magnet for this suburban city is a theme park on American history, sitting at the project's center, that Disney estimates will attract some 30,000 visitors a day. Adding residents, visitors and some 9,000 workers together, we have a daily population of 46,000 people added to Haymarket's present population of 375. Ancillary development attracted by the project will draw at least half again as many people. (In Anaheim and Orlando, such development has drawn far more.) That will leave a city with a daily population of about 70,000 people, approaching the size of Alexandria. Issues of crime, sprawl, gridlock and pollution can't be dealt with here -- but Disney's claim that these won't be serious problems is wishful thinking.<br />{{pad|1.0em}}Certainly anyone who owns land in Haymarket could profit from Disney's America, provided he or she is prepared to sell it and move away. A family with 10 acres on the highway could be rich right now. If land values rise 20-fold, property taxes must certainly follow -- particularly with the vast, open-ended public commitment to infrastructure that the project will require. National chains and franchises are already bidding up the price of land in Haymarket -- they will soon control the land market entirely, just as they do in Manassas and other suburban cities. How many present residents of the region will remain after the conversion to an international tourist economy is complete? Those who can't afford the taxes will be forced to move, while those who can will go of their own volition. Whole communities like Aldie, Haymarket and The Plains, which are centuries old, are apt to be destroyed.

[...]

{{pad|1.0em}}Let's assume we're lucky -- that the presence of 13,800 new jobs attracts just 10,000 new families of 2.8 people to the Piedmont region, and that trailer parks along Route 66 and Interstate 95 spring up fast enough to handle them. The region will then have some 8,000 new students to educate, to which we should add another 2,000 students from Disney's housing tracts. At $5,000 per student per year, Disney's America could cost the public some $50 million a year for schools alone. New taxpayers will help foot some of that bill, no doubt. But it's a plain demographic fact that the candidates for Disney's low-paying, service-sector jobs are most likely to be those very people with young children who pay the least in taxes.

[...]

{{pad|1.0em}}Disney will be followed by a secondary invasion of national and global chains, to feed off the stream of tourists flowing through the park. The profits from these companies -- Sheraton, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Pizza Hut -- will be shipped back to their various home bases. Meanwhile, in the process of establishing themselves, they'll likely drive Joe's Pizza, Gossom's Hardware, Little River B&B and The Plains Pharmacy out of business. When that happens, Joe and his fellow business leaders will have no profits to re-invest, and no choice but to work at Disney or Pizza Hut like everyone else. Local leadership dies when the locally owned economy is wiped out.<br />{{pad|1.0em}}It's ironic that a 20th century mercantile power like Disney would choose Virginia, of all places, to establish a colony whose money would come from selling history, of all subjects. The first English mercantile colony was founded at Jamestown in 1604, and the revolution that drove the English from America was led by Virginians -- mostly from the Piedmont -- who accepted the English surrender, the first of many in their colonizing history, at Yorktown. Somewhere in its collective memory, Virginia knows about colonial oppression.

—Richard Squires, 23 January 1994<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1994/01/23/disneys-trojan-mouse/10aa4a77-eb19-408b-a809-6e7808989a6b/ |title=OPINION: Disney's Trojan mouse |last=Squires |first=Richard |date=23 January 1994 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = 14 December 2016}}</ref>
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{{pad|1.0em}}The naysayers paint a simplistic picture in which commercial development and a respect for history are mutually exclusive, in which past and present are combatants in a never-ending war of attrition. The actual arguments against Disney's America are more animated and exercised than "[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'s" dancing hippos.<br />{{pad|1.0em}}It is ironic that the jeremiads against Disney's America are themselves so cartoonishly overwrought. Disney's America will certainly spur traffic and population increases in the area (up to 6 million visitors are expected annually), but it is doubtful that the growth will consist of pushers and prostitutes. The anti-Disney forces repeat time and again that the park's site is "sacred" but never explain precisely how commercial development precludes an appreciation for the area's history.<br />{{pad|1.0em}}While T-shirt and souvenir shops may not be particularly rustic, they won't be plopped down in the middle of a historic battlefield, either. That is one of the reasons -- along with the economic opportunities generated by the park -- why a majority of residents of Prince William County, where the park will be situated, are in favor of the development.<br />{{pad|1.0em}}Much of the intellectual contempt for Disney's America is purely reactionary, exhibiting what the late Nobel laureate economist [[George Stigler]] identified in his 1963 essay, "The Intellectuals and the Marketplace," as "the instinctive dislike for a system of organizing economic life through the search for profits." By this logic, it is all right to maintain historic landmarks, as long as they don't draw very many visitors. But to build something nearby that local inhabitants support and that might actually generate tourism and money is, in C. Vann Woodward's mind, an act of 'invasion.'

—Nick Gillespie, 18 July 1994<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1994/07/18/disney-in-virginia-see-how-they-cry/bd681594-fdcb-491b-83dc-5e89df00af25/ |title=OPINION—Disney in Virginia: See how they cry |last=Gillespie |first=Nick |date=18 July 1994 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date = 13 December 2016}}</ref>
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==In media==
In 1995, [[England|English]] musician [[Graham Parker]] released a song about the planned park on his album ''[[12 Haunted Episodes]]''. The song was well-received and considered, "the best of his latest batch," according to Mike Boehm of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. The song was considered a critique of "soulless commercialism."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-24-ca-58279-story.html |first=Mike |last=Boehm |title=POP MUSIC REVIEW : Graham Parker: Mildly Angry These Days |date=April 24, 1995 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125165642/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-24-ca-58279-story.html}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Freedomland U.S.A.]], a defunct American history-themed amusement park in New York City, loosely based on the original Disneyland
* [[Marriott's Great America (Maryland–Virginia)|Marriott's Great America]], another unbuilt amusement park planned for Manassas, Virginia

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=09SwCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA285 |title=The Progress City Primer: Stories, Secrets, and Silliness from the Many Worlds of Walt Disney |last=Crawford |first=Michael |date=2015 |publisher=Progress City Press |location=Orlando, Florida |isbn=978-0-9862050-6-4 |access-date = September 14, 2016 |chapter=33: Disney's America |pages=285–307}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120823132934/http://www.chotank.com/disneyrom.html Disney Documents '''þlus''' on park's defeat]
* [http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2008/03/disneys-america-theme-park-project.html '''Disney and More''' The Disney's America Theme Park Project]
* {{cite web |url=http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2004/05/25/36.aspx |title=What would a trip to Disney's America have been like? |last=Hill |first=Jim |date=May 24, 2004 |website=Jim Hill Media |access-date = September 14, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161215173346/http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2004/05/25/36.aspx |archive-date = December 15, 2016 |url-status = live}}
* {{cite web |url=http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2011/07/03/on-the-fourth-of-july-let-s-remember-the-theme-park-that-didn-t-go-forth-disney-s-america.aspx |title=On July 4th, let's remember that theme park which didn't go forth: Disney's America |last=Hill |first=Jim |date=July 3, 2011 |website=Jim Hill Media |access-date = September 14, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110711151908/http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2011/07/03/on-the-fourth-of-july-let-s-remember-the-theme-park-that-didn-t-go-forth-disney-s-america.aspx |archive-date = July 11, 2011 |url-status = live}}
* {{cite web |url=http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2004/06/21/422.aspx |title=An Imagineer's insight on "Disney's America" |last=Hill |first=Jim |date=June 20, 2004 |website=Jim Hill Media |access-date = September 14, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110922092453/http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2004/06/21/422.aspx |archive-date = September 22, 2011 |url-status = live}}
* {{cite web |url=http://progresscityusa.com/2007/11/22/thanksgiving-special-neverworlds-part-i-disneys-america/ |title=Thanksgiving Special: Neverworlds, Disney's America (blog) |last=Crawford |first=Michael |date=November 22, 2007 |website=Progress City, U.S.A. |access-date = September 14, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100819143726/http://progresscityusa.com/2007/11/22/thanksgiving-special-neverworlds-part-i-disneys-america |archive-date = August 19, 2010 |url-status = live}}
* {{cite web |url=http://micechat.com/12820-disneys-america/ |title=SAMLAND: Disney's America, a Story of Desire and Failure, Part One (blog) |last=Gennawey |first=Sam |date=September 26, 2012 |website=MiceChat |access-date = September 15, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120929064955/http://micechat.com/12820-disneys-america/ |archive-date = September 29, 2012 |url-status = live}}
* {{cite web |url=http://micechat.com/13288-disneys-america-2 |title=SAMLAND: The Disney's America Story, Part Two (blog) |last=Gennawey |first=Sam |date=October 7, 2012 |website=MiceChat |access-date = September 15, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121009233733/http://micechat.com/13288-disneys-america-2 |archive-date = October 9, 2012 |url-status = live}}
* {{cite web |url=http://micechat.com/13595-disney-america-story-part-3/ |title=SAMLAND: The Disney America Story, Part 3 (blog) |last=Gennawey |first=Sam |date=October 11, 2012 |website=MiceChat |access-date = September 15, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121013235953/http://micechat.com/13595-disney-america-story-part-3/ |archive-date = October 13, 2012 |url-status = live}}
* {{cite web |url=http://micechat.com/14114-disneys-america-part-4/ |title=SAMLAND: The Story of Disneys America Part 4 (blog) |last=Gennawey |first=Sam |date=October 18, 2012 |website=MiceChat |access-date = September 15, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121021222341/http://micechat.com/14114-disneys-america-part-4 |archive-date = October 21, 2012 |url-status = live}}
* {{cite web |url=http://micechat.com/14684-disneys-america-part-5/ |title=SAMLAND: Disney's America Part 5, The Story Comes To An End (blog) |last=Gennawey |first=Sam |date=October 25, 2012 |website=MiceChat |access-date = September 15, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121027221454/http://micechat.com/14684-disneys-america-part-5 |archive-date = October 27, 2012 |url-status = live}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.baconsrebellion.com/archive/issues/04/10-4/Risse.htm |title=Chasing out the Mouse |last=Risse |first=Ed M |date=October 4, 2004 |publisher=Bacon's Rebellion |access-date = December 14, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161214165036/http://www.baconsrebellion.com/archive/issues/04/10-4/Risse.htm |archive-date = December 14, 2016 |url-status = live}}
* {{YouTube |id=M6MlVDBSmR8 |title=Abandoned: Disney's America}}

{{Walt Disney Parks and Resorts}}

[[Category:Disneyland Resort]]
[[Category:Knott's Berry Farm]]
[[Category:Unbuilt Disney attractions|America]]
[[Category:Prince William County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Walt Disney Parks and Resorts|America]]