The Importance of the 1939 New York World’s Fair
Studying the history of theme parks and amusement parks and you quickly come to see how important the World’s Fairs were . The 1939 and 1964 New York World’s Fairs are especially important to Disney fans for a multitude of reasons.
We know that Walt visited the Chicago Railroad Fair in 1948 with Ward Kimball, which influenced Disneyland heavily. We also know that he visited the San Francisco World’s Fair in 1939 (the real World’s Fair for 1939, but that’s another story) and we assume he visited the 1939 New York World’s Fair. I had reached out to noted animation historian Michael Barrier, but he couldn’t confirm that Walt visited the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
Regardless, the World’s Fairs had a tremendous influence on amusement parks, Disneyland, and EPCOT Center.
Video about the 1939 New York World’s Fair
I ran across a video on YouTube about different recollections of visiting the 1939 World’s Fair. It was eye-opening to hear firsthand how the fair influenced and changed the world.
On the heals of the Great Depression and before World War II, the Fair offered a vision of the future that set the stage for Future World at EPCOT Center.
