"The park achieved a kind of reality. Like these virtual reality games the children are playing with. I told them we were doing this 40 years ago! Disneyland is virtual reality"
About this Quote
His phrase "a kind of reality" is the tell. Disneyland, in Henchs telling, isnt an escape from the real world so much as a rival version of it, engineered through scale, forced perspective, lighting, sound design, crowd flow, and an invisible labor system that keeps the seams out of sight. The park "achieved" reality the way a film achieves mood: by deleting everything that contradicts the intended story. Thats why the comparison lands. VR promises immersion by adding layers to your vision. Disneyland achieves immersion by controlling everything you can see, hear, smell, and be tempted to buy.
Theres also a territorial subtext: the old guard of experiential design insisting it deserves credit amid a culture that worships Silicon Valley novelty. When he tells children "we were doing this 40 years ago", its playful, but its also a reminder that Disney Imagineering pioneered a psychological technology - attention management - long before it had a startup pitch deck.
Context matters: Hench helped shape Disneys mid-century aesthetic and theme-park language. In an era now obsessed with "the metaverse", his line reads like a warning and a flex: immersion isnt new, and it has always been about power as much as play.
Quote Details
| Topic | Technology |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Hench, John. (2026, January 17). The park achieved a kind of reality. Like these virtual reality games the children are playing with. I told them we were doing this 40 years ago! Disneyland is virtual reality. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-park-achieved-a-kind-of-reality-like-these-80325/
Chicago Style
Hench, John. "The park achieved a kind of reality. Like these virtual reality games the children are playing with. I told them we were doing this 40 years ago! Disneyland is virtual reality." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-park-achieved-a-kind-of-reality-like-these-80325/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The park achieved a kind of reality. Like these virtual reality games the children are playing with. I told them we were doing this 40 years ago! Disneyland is virtual reality." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-park-achieved-a-kind-of-reality-like-these-80325/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
