In the 1950's, Monsanto was far from a household name. It didn't really have to be one since it didn't sell anything directly to consumers. Its customers were generally farmers and corporations who sold things to the public. They didn't seem like ideal sponsors for an attraction at DISNEYLAND.
Yet Monsanto was there from the beginning. Even if they weren't selling things directly to consumers at the time, they could try to convince people to demand items made with Monsanto products or systems. One of the hardest things to sell to the public those days was plastic. Plastic was seen as being cheap, ugly, tacky and worse. If Monsanto were to increase its sales, it needed to convince the public that plastic was the way of the future!
Enter the Monsanto House of the Future! Made entirely out of plastic and man made materials, the house sprang up to the right of Sleeping Beauty Castle where Tinker Bell's Pixie Hollow exists today. The goal was to show guests how scrapping natural fibers and materials in favor of plastic would be the wave of the future.
Guests were invited to go inside the house and take a peek at what the future held in store for them. From automated dish washing to polyester everything.
Walt Disney was a huge believer in the future and really enjoyed the idea of presenting such a futuristic vision to his guests. When his daughter was planning to move to a new house, he encouraged her to take a special tour of the house so that she could get ideas for her new decor. She recalled being less than impressed at the idea of a plastic house.
The house stood until 1967, when it was removed as part of the New Tomorrowland project. Monsanto had moved on, choosing to sponsor the attraction Monsanto's Adventure Through Inner Space.
