Disney's Dream Weavers: The Visionaries Who Shaped Disneyland, Freedomland, the New York World's Fair and Walt Disney World-And the Ties That Bind Them Hardcover – May 17, 2025

Disney's Dream Weavers isn't the first book dealing with the expansive world of Disney nor will it be the last. But it is the first book to explore the common thread that winds its way through four very different, yet distinctly connected amusement enterprises - Disneyland in California, the world's first theme park; Freedomland, a short-lived park in New York City in the early 1960s created by Disney outcast C.V. Wood; the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair in Queens, N.Y., which saw the introduction of Disney's cutting-edge Audio- Animatronics technology, and Walt Disney World in Florida, Walt Disney's noble attempt to right the wrongs of America's urban landscape.That common thread starts with the creation of Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., in 1955 and includes C.V. Wood, the park's general manager, who was a key player in bringing Walt Disney's decades-long dream to life. But after Wood left Disney's employ under acrimonious circumstances just a year later, he attempted to imitate his former mentor in grand style by building several parks of his own, including Freedomland, a United States history-themed park in the Bronx. Read more