http://www.mouseextra.com/2007/12/23/the-12-milestones-in-disney-world-history-part-1-the-1964-new-york-worlds-fair/ Feeding the Disney fixation daily Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:33:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 http://www.mouseextra.com/2007/12/23/the-12-milestones-in-disney-world-history-part-1-the-1964-new-york-worlds-fair/#comment-2215 Bill Sun, 30 Dec 2007 06:20:27 +0000 http://www.mouseextra.com/2007/12/23/the-12-milestones-in-disney-world-history-part-1-the-1964-new-york-worlds-fair/#comment-2215 I'm glad the World's Fair made the list. Anyone living in the Northeast or the Midwest knows what is means when someone says they are "going to Florida;" it means they are going to Disney. The World's Fair showed Disney's entertainment worked on the East Coast; in fact about 70 million people went to the Fair in its two seasons, mostly to see Mr. Lincoln, It's a Small World, General Electric's (based in Fairfield, CT) Carousel of Progress, and mostly, Ford's Magic Skyway. On my last trip to Disney World in September 2007, the Carousel of Progress was filled with 40 somethings in Yankees jerseys and New York accents who were bringing their kids to see the show they first saw in 1964-65, just as my Connecticut mother had done years earlier for me. The Northeast and Midwest no longer constitute the majority of the American population, but it still has a large and wealthy, as well as nostalgic, population that visits Walt Disney World regularly. This large market was built from the base population that went to the World's Fair, and has allowed Disney to profit immensely from its Florida property. I’m glad the World’s Fair made the list. Anyone living in the Northeast or the Midwest knows what is means when someone says they are “going to Florida;” it means they are going to Disney. The World’s Fair showed Disney’s entertainment worked on the East Coast; in fact about 70 million people went to the Fair in its two seasons, mostly to see Mr. Lincoln, It’s a Small World, General Electric’s (based in Fairfield, CT) Carousel of Progress, and mostly, Ford’s Magic Skyway. On my last trip to Disney World in September 2007, the Carousel of Progress was filled with 40 somethings in Yankees jerseys and New York accents who were bringing their kids to see the show they first saw in 1964-65, just as my Connecticut mother had done years earlier for me. The Northeast and Midwest no longer constitute the majority of the American population, but it still has a large and wealthy, as well as nostalgic, population that visits Walt Disney World regularly. This large market was built from the base population that went to the World’s Fair, and has allowed Disney to profit immensely from its Florida property.

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