Qualla: Disney's America https://qualla.com/disney-s-america en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:16 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/b/u/disney-s-america-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Disney's America https://qualla.com/disney-s-america Disney's America: Introduction https://qualla.com/disney-s-america/ Photo credit Orange County Archives from Orange County, California, United States of America, CC BY 2.0. Michael Eisner expected to be carried on people's shoulders. When Walt Disney Company CEO announced Disney's America on November 11, 1993, a $650 million history-themed park planned for the rolling countryside near Haymarket, Virginia, he envisioned 19,000 new jobs, 30,000 daily visitors, and a place where Americans could "get high on history." Instead, he walked into one of the fiercest land-use battles in Virginia's modern history, a collision between the world's most powerful entertainment company and an unlikely coalition of Pulitzer Prize-winning historians, Civil War preservationists, and exurban homeowners who simply did not want the traffic. Less than a year later, Disney surrendered.

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Image: Orange County Archives from Orange County, California, United States of America | CC BY 2.0

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/b/u/disney-s-america-wp/dqbu-disneys-america-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Disney's America: The Mouse Comes to Manassas Country https://qualla.com/disney-s-america/ Photo credit Orange County Archives from Orange County, California, United States of America, CC BY 2.0. The proposed site sat just thirty-five miles from Washington, D.C., in Prince William County, near the hallowed ground of the Manassas battlefield where two major Civil War engagements were fought. Disney chose northern Virginia for its proximity to millions of tourists already v...

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Image: Orange County Archives from Orange County, California, United States of America | CC BY 2.0

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/b/u/disney-s-america-wp/dqbu-disneys-america-the-mouse-comes-to-manassas-country.mp3 0:06 2 full Disney's America: A Learned Rebellion https://qualla.com/disney-s-america/ Photo credit Orange County Archives from Orange County, California, United States of America, CC BY 2.0. Opposition crystallized fast. A group called Protect Historic America brought together heavyweight historians who argued that Disney could not be trusted to handle the complexities of slavery, Native American displacement, and war with the nuance they demanded. Eisner pushed back...

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Image: Orange County Archives from Orange County, California, United States of America | CC BY 2.0

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/b/u/disney-s-america-wp/dqbu-disneys-america-a-learned-rebellion.mp3 0:06 3 full Disney's America: Surrender at Haymarket https://qualla.com/disney-s-america/ Photo credit Orange County Archives from Orange County, California, United States of America, CC BY 2.0. In mid-September 1994, three thousand protesters rallied in Washington against the park. Despite political backing from Virginia's governor and legislature, which had approved subsidies for the project, Disney concluded it could win official approval but never public acceptance, ...

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Image: Orange County Archives from Orange County, California, United States of America | CC BY 2.0

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/b/u/disney-s-america-wp/dqbu-disneys-america-surrender-at-haymarket.mp3 0:06 4 full Disney's America: Ghost Rides https://qualla.com/disney-s-america/ Photo credit Orange County Archives from Orange County, California, United States of America, CC BY 2.0. Disney's America died in Virginia, but its ideas lived on elsewhere. The Lewis and Clark raft ride became Grizzly River Run at Disney California Adventure. The State Fair roller coaster evolved into California Screamin'. The Victory Field aviation area inspired Soarin', the hang-...

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Image: Orange County Archives from Orange County, California, United States of America | CC BY 2.0

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/b/u/disney-s-america-wp/dqbu-disneys-america-ghost-rides.mp3 0:06 5 full