Smithsonian Magazine on MSN

Walt Disney visited a Ford factory in 1948. What he witnessed there laid the groundwork for what would become Disneyland

On August 23, 1948, Walt Disney arrived in Detroit with a colleague, the animator Ward Kimball. The pair had spent the past four days traveling to the Chicago Railroad Fair, an exposition ...

In 1948, what Walt Disney saw at a Ford factory changed the way Disneyland was designed

Walt Disney's 1948 visit to the Ford River Rouge plant profoundly influenced Disneyland's design. He observed the factory's ...