In 1959, Nikita Khrushchev embarked on a ground breaking mission to visit the United States during a tense period of the Cold War. The Soviet leader met with President Eisenhower and even attended a star-studded lunch in Hollywood on September 19th. However, the visit turned sour over a somewhat unusual set of circumstances. Khrushchev was furious that he would not be allowed to visit Disneyland. 
Since that time, high ranking foreign dignitaries coming to the United States, particularly “third world” leaders the United States hoped would lean toward democracy, have routinely been taken on a tour of the Magic Kingdom as part of the American experience. Famous guests have include The King of Nepal Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev in 1960, Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961, The Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1962, Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie in 1967, Romanian president Nicolae Ceausescu in 1970, and Emperor or Japan Hirohito in 1975 among others.
Why did Disneyland become such a routine element of American foreign policy during the Cold War? Was America trying to portray the benefits of consumerism, an open public sphere, or just a better Tomorrow Land?
