While Disneyland may have been the passion project of one slightly obsessive guy with a dream, it took dozens of like-minded creative people and hundreds of workers to make that dream a reality. While the vast majority of those people were men, this was 1955 after all, a not insignificant number of them were women, and just in time for Women’s History Month, a new tour has been added at Disneyland that celebrates these incredible ladies.
The New Women Who Make The Magic Guided Tour Celebrates The Women Who Made Disneyland
I’ve written about several of the wonderful women who not only helped make Disneyland the place it is today, but who helped make it happen at all. From Disney Legends like Harriett Burns and Mary Blair, to women who should be Disney Legends, like Ruth Shellhorn, many notable women are set to be given the spotlight in this new tour.
Shellhorn was a landscape architect who was brought onto the Disneyland project only months before it was scheduled to open. She developed the pedestrian traffic plan for the entire park and helped Main Street U.S.A. and the four adjacent lands connect, allowing them to each be separate locations, while still feeling like part of the same park.
Harriett Burns is the first lady of Walt Disney Imagineering, as the first woman hired to work for the fledgling organization. She’s credited with designing the first models of Sleeping Beauty Castle, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, and several other key Disneyland attractions.
The tour will also celebrate two generations of female Imagineers with Leota Toombs and Kim Irvine. Toombs worked on several of the attractions that were part of Disney’s contribution to the 1964-65 World’s Fair, before they were moved to Disneyland. She’s also the face of the fortune teller in the crystal ball in the Haunted Mansion, named Madame Leota in her honor. Her daughter, Kim Irvine, would go on to work for Imagineering as well and become the face of Madame Leota during Haunted Mansion Holiday.
Mary Blair’s contributions to Disneyland are two-fold. She worked for many years at Walt Disney Animation, creating the look of many of the films that would go on to be represented in the park. Later, she would return to Disney to help design It’s a Small World, one of the most popular theme park attractions ever made.
Disneyland Tours Are A Great Way To See The Classic Park In A Fresh Way
Guided Tours are often overlooked as offerings at Disneyland, but for the guest who has seen and done it all before, they offer a new way to look at the park, and frequently offer access to locations that aren’t usually available to guests.
While I’m sure this tour began in March specifically to coincide with Women’s History Month, I hope it isn’t a limited-time offering. These women are worthy of long-term recognition
The Women Who Make the Magic Guided Tour is available for a $110 per person (Disneyland tickets and reservations are also required).