An Evening with Roland Betancourt in conversation with Didier Ghez
June 17 @ 7:00 pm
Author Roland Betancourt will discuss his new book, “Disneyland and the Rise of Automation,” which examines the engineering and technological innovations that helped shape Disneyland during its first three decades of operation.
The book explores how Disney engineers adapted technologies originally developed for industrial manufacturing and military applications into theme park attractions. Betancourt traces the development of systems used in rides and exhibits, including the use of magnetic tape technology in the Enchanted Tiki Room and Programmable Logic Controllers in attractions such as the Matterhorn Bobsleds and Space Mountain. He also examines how these innovations influenced public perceptions of automation during the postwar era and places Disneyland’s technological developments within a broader history of automation, from factory production systems to artificial intelligence.
Betancourt is Chancellor’s Professor in the Department of Art History at the University of California, Irvine, and a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow. His previous books include “Byzantine Intersectionality: Sexuality, Gender, and Race in the Middle Ages” and “Performing the Gospels in Byzantium: Sight, Sound, and Space in the Divine Liturgy.”
The conversation will be moderated by Didier Ghez, president of the Hyperion Historical Alliance and author of numerous books on Disney history, including “Disneyland Paris: From Sketch to Reality, Disney’s Grand Tour,” “The Origins of Walt Disney’s True-Life Adventures,” and the “They Drew as They Pleased series.”