Walt Disney's Impact On American Youth

Words: 477
Pages: 2

“In the first ten years that Walt Disney World was open, nearly a quarter of Americans had visited” (Adams 96). Disney’s animations and theme parks changed how Americans were entertained by creating and enhancing new and improved forms of entertainment. He, Walt Disney, also impacted American youth, giving them reasons to rebel. Walt Disney became a leader in family entertainment by changing the way in which families across America spent their free time and money, while simultaneously changing how American youth acted, giving the word ‘teenager’ a new meaning.

Americans had more time for entertainment
Americans had more free time to relax and to entertain themselves.
Americans in the mid 20th century were living in a time of convenience. Therefore, they had more time to enjoy life.
The movie industry blossomed as well, as LeRoy reports
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In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the dwarves represent people.
Walt Disney and his various forms of entertainment changed Americans and how they spent their free time. More and more people visited his parks and watched his animations and bought his souvenirs. Amusement parks in the 1900’s were places where people could relax and let loose (LeRoy 139).
Disneyland’s combination of advanced technologies at the atmosphere of a simpler time made it an ideal vacation spot.
The whole setup of the park makes it its own little world, separate from everything else, separate from the stressful lives of people at the end of the Great Depression.
The ‘Imagineers,’ Walt’s name for the designers of Disneyland, designed the lines so that they would keep moving, which is appealing to the mass public.
Because of the steep admission prices, the general economic class was the same, giving the visitors familiarity, and were able to mingle with other people in the same