So whats the connection between the 2? WDW has 2 New Orleans themed resorts and DL even has a New Orleans themed area in the park.
I even heard a while back that Walt Disney himself back in the 50s/60s wanted to build WDW in New Orleans but when he started looking for land here people jacked up the prices of their land. Thats why when he decided FL was the spot he had the idea to make false companies and have them buy the land so it wouldn't happen again there. Anyone else heard this before?
Just wondering what the connection is if any at all.
Very interesting question... huh.
I think Walt Disney was a person who very much pursued the things he was interested in. He had personal interest in trains, midwestern towns, technology, animals, the writings of Mark Twain, even urban planning... and all of these things crept into Disneyland as elements of the park, which he more or less built as his own personal utopia, a monument to all he held dear in the world. Walt also showed he also had a broader interest in Americana, as well as anything exotic, and few would argue against New Orleans' place as a city that is both an American treasure historically and culturally (the birthplace of jazz, the atmosphere of streetcars and wrought-iron balconies, its cuisine), while simultaneously being one of the most exotic cities within the United States (French, African, and Spanish-influenced culture, with a touch of pirates and voodoo thrown in for good measure). Walt also repeatedly showed an interest in the Old South, particularly through films such as Song of the South, possibly because of the sort of mythos of elegance or gentility that the region had developed, a fantasy which perhaps meshed well with all the other fantasies Disney portrayed. New Orleans could be seen as the sort of cultural epicenter of this idea, and bringing a New Orleans land to Disneyland could be seen as a way to compactly bringing that setting and feel to his park.
And that's just speculation. Some research reveals that he visited the city "to soak up the atmosphere" when preparing for Song of the South (
source), so it's not hard to imagine Walt falling in love with the city then. Harper Goff, one of the leading designers of Disneyland, visited the city for research/Mardi Gras celebrations in 1951 (
source), a mere 4 years before Disneyland opened, so it's easy to see how some Crescent City influence snuck in that way as well.
And don't think that the New Orleans influence just started in the late 60s' with New Orleans Square. Not many people know it, but before New Orleans Square, the area of Frontierland which preceded it was also based on New Orleans, although in a much simpler and less elaborate little district called
New Orleans Street. So this is one element of American culture which was present in Disneyland from the very beginning. Perhaps the connection to Frontierland is revealing - New Orleans was the largest city in the Louisiana Purchase, which many Americans saw as the frontier, and as such, perhaps New Orleans could be seen as the "anchor" to the Wild West, another subject which Walt apparently found interesting. Today, New Orleans Square sits at the crossroads of Frontierland, the Old Southern-themed Critter Country, and Adventureland - perhaps, then, New Orleans was selected for its unique ties to American history, the American South, and as a vibrant port city used to access such far-off places as the Caribbean or Latin America.
As for Port Orleans FQ and Riverside, remember that even though they were originally more separate in their themes as Port Orleans and Dixie Landings, they were designed jointly as part of a single thematic setting, and one very much tied into the New Orleans/Old South atmosphere. I also don't think the connection between New Orleans Square and the Port Orleans was coincidental - the way I see it, Imagineers were very eager to bring over many ideas from Disneyland that didn't make it into the Magic Kingdom, and did so many times (eg, bringing Blue Bayou into Epcot in the form of San Angel Inn, bringing the Primeval World in by way of Universe of Energy, reviving the Liberty Street concept as Liberty Square, etc.). Since the Imagineers turned down New Orleans Square in favor of Liberty Square, I wonder if building the two (arguably more elaborate) Port Orleans resorts were a way of coming to terms with that.
As for all the other New Orleans/Disney connections - the premiere of Hunchback of Notre Dame held in the Superdome, the Princess and the Frog,
the art show that just ended there - I suspect those are just the fruits of such a long and fascinating relationship between the two cities. Disney's been honoring the city for 40+ years - why stop now?
Sorry about the length - just two subjects which I care a lot about...
