Event Recap: D23 Goes to the World's Fair
As a part of recent travels to New York City, I was able to venture to Flushing Meadows Park and the Queens Museum as a part of D23 Goes to the World’s Fair.
The event, held within the Queens Museum, allowed D23 members the opportunity to explore the grounds (where the 1964 World’s Fair was held), tour the World’s Fair anniversary exhibit, and view a special episode of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color highlighting Disney’s experiences that were present during the fair.
Check-in occurred inside The Queen’s Museum, which was cited as the only remaining structure from the 1939 World’s Fair. Also nearby is the remnants of the New York State pavilion from the 1964’s fair, which might be well known for Universal Orlando park goers experiencing Men In Black: Alien Attack.
After an early check-in, we received our event gift (a reusable cup with the Tower of the Four Winds printed on the side) and were given free time to wander around the museum. Of course, the reason why we all were there was for a historical look at the 1964 World’s Fair, so off to the main exhibit I went.
The exhibit covered the building, marketing, and key takeaways from the two year event.
A key part of the event was marketing car culture and the benefits of being on the road. Of course, as detailed below, the allure of cars also led to an environmental disaster we’re still trying to solve to this day. Disney joined in the car spectacular, being the driving force behind Ford’s Magic Skyway pavilion.
Elsewhere in the exhibit were historical photographs and maps, alongside a remarkable model of the fairgrounds during the celebration. (I made sure to look at other pavilions Disney worked on, including Pepsi (it’s a small world) and Illinois (Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln).
Further along in the room, the way gender and race were presented (and protested) during the event brought to light some interesting details, including how racial inequality protesting helped the enactment of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Clips for Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color played near the back of the exhibit alongside some great photography from the event. (I’m a sucker for the 1960s era Alice and White Rabbit meet and greet.)
On the second floor of the museum, rows of cases showed off numerous souvenirs that visitors could take home from the fair, along with models, cups, signs, and pins.
After our free time, we were brought upstairs to view an episode of Wonderful World of Color that aired in May of 1964. Throughout the episode, Walt Disney shared a look at the history of the World’s Fair (comedically, of course) and shared a look at all four attractions he was spearheading for the event.
The presentation of the episode lasted an hour (and included original commercials, which was a treat, alongside a horrifying look at the following episode of World of Color that many could deem as animal abuse!), and after, we were once again free to enjoy the museum and park grounds.
It was a sweet look at a key piece of Disney’s history. Now…bring back the Tower of the Four Winds.