How a man who loved trains built the Happiest Place on Earth
Lateral Saturdays - Hobbies that turn into amusement parks
Where do you get the idea for a project as ambitious as building Disneyland?
Well, maybe it doesn’t start with a size and scope as large as a fully decked-out amusement park.
Maybe it starts out looking much more like a fervent love of trains and a dedication to train sets.
The fandom around trains is a passionate one that doesn’t get much press.
It is, however, a long tradition — as long as they’ve been able to motorize model trains.
The Railway of the Prince Imperial was the first model railway to be documented, built way back in 1859 by the Emperor Napoleon III for his son.
It was constructed in a private park, the Château de Saint-Cloud.
When you have both the hobby and the means, you can give it all the space it needs to breathe.
What I did not realize, though, was that the Man Behind The Mouse, Walt Disney himself, had a dedication to trains.
It starts with him piddling around at home.
Then it moves to buying a different house to give himself space to build an even bigger track in the backyard.
Then the trains start showing up around Disney’s studios.
Still more and more elaborately.
And then, at last, Walt has the dream realized: he wants entire amusement park built out of this.
A place for folks to come and visit.
Enter Disneyland.
The podcast that first introduced me to this obsession of Disney’s that I didn’t know about was How To Take Over The World by Ben Wilson.
You can listen to part 1 here and part 2 here
It’s a sad part of life that we can’t chase every whimsey that floats our way.
But knowing when to chase the quirky little passions you have — that can have incredible results.
And sometimes you end up there without realizing that was your destination.
You were just laying down tracks to a place you weren’t anticipating.
I have so many passions, hobbies, interests, you name it that I get distracted easily an it’s hard for me to stay focused and finish a project completely! I admire Disney for his determination to carry out his dreams and plans to completion.