On this day in 1909, Disneyland landscape architect Ruth Shellhorn was born in Los Angeles. Ruth was a pioneer in her field and, as one of the few women involved with the design of the Disneyland, made a significant contribution to the landscape and pedestrian pathway designs of the park in 1955.
On this day in 1910, Morgan “Bill” Evans was born in Santa Monica, California. As Disney Imagineering Legend Marty Sklar describes him, “Bill defined Disney theme park landscaping.”
Disney has just announced that a new original “pop history” docuseries focused on Disney Parks attractions will be debuting Friday, July 16th on Disney+. Behind the Attraction is a 10-episode, hourlong series produced by Seven Bucks Production (co-founded by part-time Jungle Cruise skipper Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) in partnership with Brian Volk-Weiss, the creator behind the hit Netflix pop-culture docuseries “The Toys That Made Us.”
A recent Orange County Register article highlighted a number of enhancements made to the Haunted Mansion attraction while the park was closed during the pandemic. In addition to a few improvements inside the mansion, the pet cemetery outside also received some thematic upgrades.
Today is the birthday of Disney Legend Harper Goff. A number of beloved Disneyland attractions, including the Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and Golden Horseshoe Saloon, first appeared as concept art drawn by Goff. As one of Disney’s very first Imagineers, Goff began working on the Disneyland project even before it was called Disneyland or any land in Anaheim was acquired.
One of Walt Disney’s many challenges in building Disneyland was taking an orange grove and landscaping themed lands in a way that made it appear like they’ve been there for a long time. The man in charge of that unenviable task was Disney Legend Bill Evans.
