ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the development and significance of Victorian Saratoga Springs and considers what aspects of that tradition survived in the original setting and were "restored" in a Disneyified remake. Early in the nineteenth century, Saratoga Springs became the model spa town of the American Northeast with easy access to New York City, promising health restoration with its many mineral springs. Disney created only a hollowed out version of Saratoga Springs, reducing it to a pastiche of architectural accents while reproducing the standard Disney family formula of comfortable modern lodgings, pools, sports, and restaurants. Key to the success of Saratoga was the branding of the water for distribution as far away as Europe, and to New York City's first soda fountain in 1819. Although Saratoga Springs had no sublime or romantic scenery to recommend it, it offered urbanites a rural setting and wholesome small-town aura without slums or industry.
