My Disney Class

In today’s episode, Howie and Ryan are taking a look at one of Walt’s famous failures. Today we are looking at Holidayland which at one time could be found at Disneyland.  Holidayland was a nine-acre grassy picnic ground located along the western edge of Disneyland.  It opened on June 16th, 1957. Holidayland had its own gate and could hold up to 7,000 guests, for large events like corporate parties, family reunions, etc.  The land had playgrounds, horseshoe pits, a baseball field, volleyball nets, a circus tent, and many other family type activities.  It also had food and concession stands, which included the sale of beer.

 

Holidayland closed in 1961 due to its lack of shade, nighttime lighting, lack of restrooms, and overindulgence of alcohol by guests.  According to Milt Albright, Holidayland’s manager, “It wasn’t any one thing that killed Holidayland. It was just the combined effect of a whole lot of things.” Today, Holidayland is gone and has become a parking lot for cast members. The Haunted Mansion stans where the circus tent was and Pirates of the Caribbean occupy the land where the baseball field was.

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So how does Walt’s failure in Holidayland tie to education?  Ryan and Howie will discuss how education has started to embrace this idea of failure with both students and as professionals.  Our friend Jeffrey Barnes said it best when he said, “Being right keeps you in place. Being wrong forces you to explore.”  We end this episode by looking at why we need to take risks as educators to go beyond our normal strategies and lessons to make something magical in the classroom for our students.