迪士尼乐园发展史

周晨曲

世界上第一个迪士尼乐园于1955年在加利福尼亚州开放。人们一般认为迪士尼乐园虽不是主题公园的鼻祖，却是连锁规模最大的一个。

Walt Disney once said， “It was all started by a mouse.” But in reality， Disneyland started with a problem. Watching his daughters on the carousel（旋转木马） in Griffith Park， he wondered， “Why isn't there some sort of amusement experience that the entire family can enjoy together？”

In the early 1950s， Disney came up with a great idea： to build a park that was safe and inviting for families while also allowing people to meet their cartoon characters and ride their trains. When Disney decided that he would be building a place that told a story， he knew that he would need people and technology to help create the magic and tell the stories. In 1952， Disney raised and set aside money to create WED Enterprises， standing for Walter Elias Disney. WED Enterprises would include all of the people and technology he had chosen to create his theme park. It consisted of the best from his studio， together with carpenters， engineers， and scientists who would help him create his dream.

Disney's vision was that he would tell the story and his workers would create the technology that would bring it to life. Disney himself loved technology， seeing it as a canvas（画布）， on which he could tell a magical story. For example， when he wanted to have a boat ride that went through the rivers of the world， with visitors seeing real animals， zoologists told him that this was impossible. So instead， Disney decided to have his team create robotic animals to live in his “Jungle Cruise”.

To build his park， Disney raised money by convincing consumer product companies to sponsor the park. The money provided from the sponsorships was very important as the park cost more than $17.5 million to complete， almost double the original predictions.

Walt Disney once said， “Disneyland is not just another amusement park. It's unique， and I want it kept that way.” The purpose of Disneyland isn't to amaze. Yes， it does those things， but its purpose is to tell a story. That is the key factor that other parks cannot copy.

Reading check

1. What plays an important role in Disney's theme park building？

A. Consumer. B. Drawing. C. Weather. D. Technology.

2. Which of the following words can best describe Walt Disney？

A. Humorous. B. Ambitious.

C. Dutiful. D. Generous.

3. What's the purpose of Disneyland？

A. To amaze people. B. To educate people.

C. To tell a story. D. To admire nature.

Langage Study

熟詞生义

In 1952， Disney raised and set aside money to create WED Enterprises， standing for Walter Elias Disney. 1952年，迪士尼筹集并拨出资金创建了WED企业，WED代表沃尔特·伊利亚斯·迪士尼。

raise v. 筹集资金