Fish And Fantasy.

March 19, 2013

It has been a week since the opening of Disneyland’s newest fantasy experience called Fantasy Faire. It’s pretty much an extension of Fantasyland – from the story the architecture and environment tell all the way down to the animated stories that have been re-told through the attractions at Fantasyland.

The combination of work between Disney Imagineers and Disney animators was essential to creating Disney’s animated stories into reality in its theme parks even to today. The concept isn’t new because when the original Fantasyland was created at Disneyland, people like Ken Anderson, who was an animator and an architect working for the company at the time had the ability to combine both fields of work.

Not a typical name you’d hear today, but he was just a regular guy. And he liked to fish…hence the image depicted in his Main Street window.

Continuing on in our series giving detail to the various Main Street USA windows, we move on to Mr. Anderson who was the not-so-normal “jack of all trades” and worked to take the fantasy world of Walt Disney’s animated films and bring them into our real world.

Disneyland Park Vice President Jon Storbeck describes Ken and his part to create Fantasyland below. –

In the early 1950’s, Walt recruited Anderson to work on a new project – one that was secret at the time. Anderson joined WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering) and he became one of the first to work on Disneyland. In 1954, he was the primary designer of Fantasyland. He worked on Peter Pan’s Flight, Snow White’s Adventuresand Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. After Disneyland opened, Anderson remained involved in Fantasyland while working on “Sleeping Beauty” at the Walt Disney Studio. Anderson oversaw the Storybook Land Canal Boats attraction, and in 1957 he worked on the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough.

Little did Ken know that he’d start a chain reaction that would ultimately lead and influence a team to create an extension of Fantasyland that brings Disney’s fantasy and fairy tales to a new generation.

You can read more about Ken and his other contributions to Disneyland and The Walt Disney Company here.

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(via Disney Parks Blog)

We hope you’re enjoying all these Main Street USA window history lessons! We’re certainly learning and appreciating all these people’s lifetime of work in creating the Disney magic. Be sure to read the rest of the lessons on the previous windows by clicking HERE.

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