Ray Kroc's crazy scheme to bring down Walt Disney — and destroy Stoney Point, Chatsworth and much of the San Fernando Valley

McDonald's magnate Ray Kroc enjoys a burger — back when unit sales were still tallied in millions

I must be spending too much time at home with nothing better to do, because I found myself thinking the other day about the time Ray Kroc, the man who built the McDonald's empire, got interested in the Iverson Movie Ranch.

He makes a few billion selling hamburgers and suddenly he's Confucius

Back in the late 1960s, Kroc was fixin' to buy up the Iverson Ranch along with all the land within a stone's throw — and after getting rich by creating the Age of Fast Food, Ray could throw a pretty impressive stone.

Ray Kroc means business — we know he does because he said "hell"

Ray got it in his head that it would be a good idea to transform the northwest San Fernando Valley into a massive theme park. And no, this is not a "crock" — sorry, I couldn't help myself. But this really happened.

Details about the plan were erased from history as thoroughly as the head honchos at McDonald's could manage, but a few tidbits survived. I heard the idea started out as a "Jetsons"-like space age theme park, but as it moved further along in the planning process, it transformed into a Wild West park.

Ray Kroc, left, and Walt Disney when the two men served in Ambulance Company A in France

Kroc's apparent reasons for the cockamamie scheme are even crazier than the plan itself — and involve his old World War I comrade Walt Disney.

Legend has it that Kroc had a vendetta against Disney ever since plans to install McDonald's outlets in Disneyland fell through in a dispute over the price of French fries. Ray supposedly backed out because Walt wanted a 5-cent cut on each bag sold.

McDonald's has a recurring cowboy fantasy

Kroc was hoping that "Western World," as the Chatsworth project came to be known among insiders at McDonald's, would put a crimp in Disneyland's profit margins — and maybe gain him some long overdue respect, as he saw it, from his fellow tycoon and no-longer-pal Walt Disney.

Feasibility study for Ray Kroc's crazy theme park project

Kroc took it as far as having a feasibility study done on the project in 1968 — a real one, although I have to represent it here with my own goofy version. The weird thing is mine might actually be more realistic.

Illustration — not the actual McDonald's Board of Directors

The McDonald's Board of Directors, meanwhile, was freaking out, concerned that Ray might just be crazy enough to bankrupt the company with his "Western World" scheme.

Chatsworth's Stoney Point

The details of the feasibility study are pretty dry, but my favorite part is the suggestion they came up with for Stoney Point, Chatsworth's most famous landmark.

Lawry's Prime Rib Restaurant, ca. 1968: Not as famous as McDonald's, but it's an actual thing

I'll quote from the feasibility study, which says of Stoney Point: "This rock formation would serve as an excellent base for a quality restaurant of the Lawry's Prime Rib class." I did not make this up!

View of the Valley from the top of Stoney Point looking southwest

The Ray Kroc feasibility study goes on to say: "Such a restaurant in this location will command a sweeping view of the entire San Fernando Valley." WILL command. They were clearly planning to do this.

Mockup of Stoney Point with a Lawry's Prime Rib Restaurant on top of it

To give readers an idea of what Stoney Point might look like with a Lawry's restaurant on top of it, I went ahead and did a mockup. Lacking PhotoShop skills, I banged out this work of art using scissors and tape.

"Noah's Ark" (1928)

It reminds me of when they dropped Noah's Ark onto the top of the Garden of the Gods back in 1928. They did a better job for the movie than I did with my Stoney Point mockup, but I think my picture might be funnier.

The original Lawry's Prime Rib back in 1938

I found it curious that the reference point for the feasibility study was the "Lawry's Prime Rib class." I had to look up the restaurant to try to find pictures, and, well, it just struck me as an odd choice.

What do YOU think of when you hear "Lawry's"?

I mean, I had heard of Lawry's before, but mainly for their seasoned salt — which is great on popcorn, by the way ... at least it was in the '70s. Back then we had to add the seasonings ourselves, so we could get creative.

THE flaw in THE Lawry's restaurant name?

I have a pet peeve about naming devices that make too big a deal about the word "THE." I think the name would be less annoying — besides actually making sense — if it were just "Lawry's Prime Rib," minus the "THE."

But they're still insisting on the extraneous "THE" in malls across America, all these decades later.

April Wine album "THE HITS"

One place where the "The" issue especially bugs me is on "Greatest Hits" albums, where a group is considered too important to just have "hits" or "greatest hits" — they have to be THE hits. I mean ... April Wine? Really?

Better use of the "THE"?

But if you were one of the great minds at Lawry's corporate headquarters, wouldn't you rather stick a big "THE" on this product? Even though anyone outside the company could tell them it would be lame.

"Service with a style" at Lawry's The Prime Rib (photo by Lawry's Restaurants Inc.)

The Internet says Lawry's features "service with a style" — plus, Keri Russell wannabes apparently frequent the place. (I will sneak in a subtle reference to "The Americans" anytime there's even the narrowest opening.)

And now I go into my Homer Simpson gurgle ...

I have to admit, that potato looks pretty awesome right about now. Not so much the potato itself, but just get a load of them fixin's. And I do mean a LOAD.

The "Doggie Bag" — one of TWO major services allegedly invented by Lawry's

In case you still don't think Lawry's is a big enough deal to deserve its own mention in a crazy Ray Kroc feasibility study, keep in mind that the restaurant claims to have invented the doggie bag. Oh, and valet service too.

Ray Kroc's hidden agenda?

Part of me thinks the reference to Lawry's in the feasibility study was just a smokescreen, and this is what Ray Kroc really had in mind. It just seems so normal.

McDonald's in Yangshuo, Guangxi Province, China

It wouldn't be the first time McDonald's created "view pollution" by slapping the Golden Arches on a scenic backdrop. (This photo, by the way, is real, and not one of my horrible mockups.)

McDonald's at Egypt's ancient Luxor Temple

In fact, it's a tradition for McDonald's to position itself at landmarks, historic sites and other cool spots across the globe. The Mickey D's peeking out through the ancient columns is in the city of Luxor, Egypt, founded in 1400 BC.

McDonald's at the North Pole

There's even a McDonald's at the North Pole — or at least in the vicinity. The address for this one is 352 N. Santa Claus Lane in North Pole, Alaska. (Technically the city isn't right at the North Pole.)

"UFO"-style McDonald's in Roswell, N.M.

McDonald's also has a "cute" habit of building customized beef emporiums to capitalize on whatever the locality is famous for — this one in Roswell, N.M., is designed sort of like a UFO.

The United Kingdom Hotel in Melbourne: Built in 1938 and later converted into a McDonald's

The burger chain angered some residents of greater Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, when it decided that the historic United Kingdom Hotel, seen here in 1977, would be a good place to peddle fast food.

The new, more McBurgery, United Kingdom Hotel

The neon sign on top of the building is just one of the many "improvements" that irk the locals. For what it's worth, the old hotel remains on the Victorian Heritage Register.

McDonald's in communist Hanoi

Of course, the McDonald's experience can be quite different in other parts of the world. This photo captures the grand opening of the new McDonald's in downtown Hanoi in 2017.

McDonald's on the Moon?

And apparently it doesn't end there — McDonald's even planted its flag on the moon, according to this shot. I'm going to presume this is a mockup, but as you can probably tell by the upgraded quality, it's not one of mine.

Speaking of my bad mockups, I took another look at that Mickey D's craft project, and ... I suppose it's no accident that something that looks like the wrapper from one of those 15-cent hamburgers snuck into the shot.

Fun with parabolas: Fight the real "Arch"-enemy!

Maybe this would be a more appropriate way to highlight the particulate matter fluttering about near the base of Stoney Point — at least in an alternate universe that, lucky for all of us, never came to pass.

"The Grapes of Wrath" (1940): The Joad family views Stoney Point and the West Valley

Imagine how different things might have been when the migrant Joad family arrived in California in "The Grapes of Wrath" and got their first look at the lush farmland and the promise of work in the fields ...

... If there'd been a freakin' McDonald's sitting on top of Stoney Point. Or even a Lawry's. OK, I promise that's the last of my bad cut-and-paste jobs.

118 Freeway through the northern San Fernando Valley: enough traffic, even without "Western World"

Fortunately for everyone involved — especially Chatsworth residents, rock climbers and anyone who drives the 118 Freeway, cooler heads eventually prevailed at McDonald's, and the Board of Directors was able to talk Ray Kroc out of his "Western World" delusions.

Real estate listing: Stoney Point for sale for $280,000 (ca. 1974)

Maybe the weirdest thing about all this is that it almost happened. Even after the Ray Kroc threat subsided, Stoney Point was still for sale in the 1970s — and dirt cheap.

Stoney Point "sheltered the home of the first American Homesteader"

If you can read the text of the real estate listing — you may want to click on the image to enlarge it — the sales pitch contains some colorful tidbits, including talking about how Stoney Point supposedly had a hand in the birth of "the first blue eyed American child" in the San Fernando Valley.

Roads, parking lot, delivery trucks, cable car ride

After celebrating the rock formation's historical importance, the listing goes on to note how roads could be built on the thing "for deliveries by trucks." It also suggests installing a cable car ride from the parking lot, to "add to the charm of the site as well as give that 'away from it all' feeling." They had it all figured out!

Stoney Point — rescued by activists and the City of L.A.

The "Stoney Point Scare" officially ended in 1982, when the property became a park. The City of Los Angeles purchased the 22-acre parcel for $250,000, culminating a seven-year battle spearheaded by the Sierra Club, the Santa Susana Park Association and other local activist groups.

Rock climbing at Stoney Point (Climbing magazine)

Today Stoney Point is open to the public — at least in non-pandemic times — and has become a mecca for rock climbers and more casual hikers. Thank goodness people stepped up and made this happen.



I don't know why, but I find this promo clip for the Lawry's restaurant in Singapore endlessly entertaining, right down to the jazzy "Greensleeves" soundtrack toward the end. The whole thing is a guilty pleasure — enjoy!