Disney's America
Disney's America logo
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| Location | Haymarket, Virginia, United States |
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| Coordinates | 38°49′55″N 77°38′39″W / 38.83194°N 77.64417°WCoordinates: 38°49′55″N 77°38′39″W / 38.83194°N 77.64417°W |
| Theme | American History |
| Owner | The Walt Disney Company |
| Operated by | Walt Disney Parks and Resorts |
| Visitors per annum | 11 million (projected) |
| Status | Canceled |
Disney's America was a planned theme park that was to have been built by The Walt Disney Company in the early 1990s. The park was planned to be built near Haymarket, only 5 miles (8.0 km) from the site of the Manassas National Battlefield Park near Interstate 66 west of Washington, D.C.. Announced in November 1993, the park was to have been dedicated to the history of the United States and was scheduled to open by 1998 with a US$650,000,000 (equivalent to $1,050,300,000 in 2016) planned budget. Amid opposition from citizen's groups, however, the project was canceled in September 1994.
The concept was revived in 1997 as a potential re-theming of Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, when the Knott family offered its amusement park for sale. However, the Knott family refused to sell its park to Disney, largely due to concerns over what Disney would do to the property, and the project was canceled again. Several of the proposed elements of Disney's America were incorporated into Disney's California Adventure, which opened in 2001.
Michael Eisner stated the genesis for Disney's America was sparked by a visit taken by him and other Disney executives to Colonial Williamsburg three to four years before the 1993 announcement. After coming up with the concept, Disney spent two years scouting potential sites near Washington DC. However, officials from Explore Park, a history theme park near Roanoke that opened in 1994, alleged that Disney stole some of the ideas for Disney's America from their park after a 1987 meeting between the officials from the two companies.
At the time it was announced on November 11, 1993, Disney had already purchased or held options on the 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) of land needed for the proposed park. After concept plans for Disney's America were drawn up for the history-based attraction in 1993, it became Michael Eisner's pet project, obtaining the support of outgoing Governor L. Douglas Wilder (D) and incoming Gov. George Allen (R), as well as the Virginia Commission on Population Growth and Development. Wilder said he was "pleased that you [Disney] have come to us," and Allen promised to "kick down any hurdles" that would hold up the park. Wilder, who had learned of the proposed park approximately two weeks before the announcement, elaborated that Disney had not forced Virginia into a bidding war through government concessions to attract the development, in contrast with the first American Legoland park, which was the subject of an ongoing competition between Prince William County and Carlsbad, California. Many local citizens, including the head of the Haymarket Historical Commission, supported the project for economic reasons.
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