In 1986, Walt Disney World distributed this atlas to its employees to show various locations throughout the resort. These locations included existing locations, like the Magic Kingdom, the EPCOT Center, the Fort Wilderness Campground, the Contemporary Resort, Lake Buena Vista Village, and Walt Disney World Village. The atlas also included future locations, like Disney-MGM Studios and Pleasure Island. This map was only distributed to employees, and was not for public use at all, since it showed employee entrances and exits, including a map of the underground tunnels underneath the Magic Kingdom. This map is really fascinating because it is interesting how much the resort has changed and grown over the last thirty years.
Disney World Cast Member Atlas
This map jumped out at me because of its familiarity. I remember seeing very similar maps in books and in classrooms growing up. I could spend hours looking all the brightly colored cartoons, pretending it was a treasure hunt. I certainly did not realize at the time the impact these maps had on my perceptions of other countries, regions, and cultures. After an entire semester looking into the rhetoric of maps, something as innocent as a cartoon children’s map is clearly a platform for a certain idea of the world. As Emily points out, this type of persuasion can be dangerous. The intended audience of this map is impressionable and any stereotype has the potential to shift how children see others. However, this special power works both ways. Maps such as the one above could and should be used to spread positive stereotypes and break down negative ones. Once it is understood that maps can effect the way a children view the world, it is the job of the mapmaker to help shape them for the future.