How Disney Built America

Walt Disney overcomes immense obstacles to create the first Theme Park, where instead of thrill rides, he gives the visitor an immersive journey into a story, like the experience of being inside a movie.

Amidst financial troubles, Disney hires an ingenious marketing whiz who helps them figure out how to bring their beloved characters off the screen and into the hands of millions. Mickey becomes the first celebrity face to grace a cereal box and from there, the licensing of Disney products becomes a lucrative industry and the gold standard for multimedia corporations all over the world.

Against all odds, Disney turns 27,000 acres of muddy Florida swampland into the world's largest and most visited Theme Park. It began in secret as "Project X," and after being dogged by personal tragedy and construction delays, when Walt Disney World finally opens it's a triumph of imagination, technology, and a dream.

For nearly 70 years, Disney has pushed the boundaries of art and science through the work of a team of dreamers, designers, and builders known as the Imagineers. This is the story of how, since their earliest days with Walt himself, Imagineers have turned the impossible into reality--creating thrilling mass entertainment experiences and changing the world in the process.