Диснейленд в сша рассказ на английском

Текст Disneyland / A World of Wonders с переводом.

Disneyland / A World of Wonders
Диснейленд / Мир чудес

Forget all about your real self and enter the world of fantasy at..		Забудь все о своей реальной личности и войди в мир фантастики в…
Disneyland Tokyo		Диснейленд Токио
Go on the Jungle Cruise, explore tiny worlds, go on a water ride at Splash Mountain and eat a home-cooked meal at Grandma Sara’s Kitchen.		Отправляйтесь в круиз по джунглям, исследуйте крошечные миры, отправляйтесь на водную карусель в Сплэш Маунтин и ешьте домашнюю еду на Кухне Бабушки Сары.
Before you return to the real world, make sure:		Перед тем, как вернуться в реальный мир, убедитесь, что:
you have shaken hands with your favourite cartoon characters,		ты поздоровался со своими любимыми героями мультфильмов
you have explored the Haunted Mansion and you’ve come across some ghosts,		ты посетил дом с привидениями и встретили приведений
you have flown with Peter Pan in a pirate ship through the night skies,		ты полетал с Питером Пеном на пиратском корабле по ночному небу,
you have ridden the Toontown rollercoaster,		ты прокатился на американских горках в Тунтауне,
you have gone on a rocket journey in a StarJet.		ты съездил в путешествие на ракете СтарДжет.
A World of Wonders		Мир чудес
✓ Have you ever wished you could travel around the world in minutes?		Вы когда-либо желали проехать вокруг света за несколько минут?
✓ Have you ever dreamt of seeing the world’s most famous landmarks all in one place?		Вы когда-нибудь мечтали увидеть все самые известные достопримечательности мира в одном месте?
Then visit Tobu World Square in Japan, the most unusual theme park you’ve ever seen. See more than 100 tiny models of the world’s most famous buildings, bridges and monuments.		Тогда посетите парк Tobu World Square, самый необычный тематический парк, который вы когда-либо видели. Осмотрите  более 100 крошечных моделей самых знаменитых зданий мира, мостов и памятников.
Take a stroll around the Taj Mahal, the Colosseum, the Great Wall of China and London Bridge.		Прогуляйтесь по мавзолею Таджмахал, по Колизею, Великой Китайской стене и Лондонскому мосту.
When you get tired of sightseeing, enjoy a meal in a restaurant or go souvenir shopping at World Shoppers “Mercado II”.		Когда вы устанете от осмотра достопримечательностей, насладитесь едой в ресторане или отправляйтесь за покупками сувениров в универсам “Mercado II” торговой сети World Shoppers.
Book now! You’ve never seen anything like it!		Заказывайте билет сейчас! Вы ничего подобного не видели!

The History of Disneyland Posted By:
Raman , Date: Sep 1, 2020

By: Shauna Murray

Want to learn more about the history of Disneyland? Read our blog to learn more! Planning a trip to Southern California? Be sure to take a look at all of our available Los Angeles Tours, including our Los Angeles Tours from Anaheim!

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Happiest Place on Earth

For more than 60 years, the “Happiest Place on Earth” has been a little park in southern California called Disneyland. Ok, maybe it’s not so little, but this 160-acre piece of land had humble beginnings as an orange grove before Walt Disney transformed it into an enchanted land that’s had more visitors since it opened than any other theme park in the world.

Originally named “The Mickey Mouse Park,” and then “Disneylandia” before settling on “Disneyland,” Disney purchased 160 acres for the park in Anaheim and started construction in 1954. Disneyland opened on July 17th, 1955 with 18 rides and attractions. Just one year after Disneyland opened its door, 5 million people had visited the park. As of 2019, more than 700 million people have visited Disneyland.

The history of Disneyland is more than six decades-long, and in that time, the park has grown and evolved with the times but has managed to hold on to the magic that beckons people of all ages to visit, and dream of visiting, year after year. Fans of the park will tell you there’s just something about it—something special—that makes it a place unlike any other.

Upon entering the gates of the park, visitors pass through a tunnel and under the famous plaque that reads:

HERE YOU LEAVE TODAY

AND ENTER THE WORLD

OF YESTERDAY, TOMORROW

AND FANTASY

So just how did Disney transform this place from farmland to fantasyland to become one of the most beloved places in the world? Let’s discover the history of Disneyland by taking a trip through yesterday, today, and tomorrow to find out.

What you’ll learn about the history of Disneyland:

• The beginning of Disneyland
• The concept of Disneyland
• The opening of Disneyland
• History of Disneyland highlights

The Beginning

The history of Disneyland stats in the 1940’s. Walt Disney first spoke of creating an amusement park while taking his daughters to ride the carousel at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. As he watched his girls from a park bench, he dreamed of creating a place that families could enjoy together; where children could play and parents could relax.

By the 1940’s, Walt Disney Studios had become well-known for its cartoon characters, including Mickey Mouse, and animated films like Snow White. Disney started receiving letters from fans who wanted to visit the studios; they wanted to do more than just go to the movies, they wanted to be part of an experience. Disney knew the actual studio wouldn’t offer much in terms of entertainment for the public, so he started dreaming up a place for tourists to visit. He spoke of creating a place both children and adults would enjoy, where their favorite characters and films could come to life.

The Concept

In 1948, Disney sent a now-famous memo to the studio production designer, Dick Kelsey, outlining his ideas for “Mickey Mouse Park”. The typical amusement park in those days wasn’t a family-friendly place to visit. They were dirty and disorganized, known for over-serving patrons at the beer stand and for attracting a criminal element. Disney wanted his park to be different.

The original concept was slated to be a small park with a boat ride and a few themed areas on an 8-acre plot across the street from Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, but the project soon outgrew the proposed location. Disney started visiting other parks for inspiration and as his ideas grew and more designers got involved in the planning, it became clear they needed a much bigger space to hold the park they envisioned. They found the space they needed at a cost they could afford 27 miles southeast of Los Angeles, purchasing a 160-acre orchard of orange and walnut trees in Anaheim. The “Mickey Mouse Park” project became “Disneylandia” and finally “Disneyland”. In 1954, construction began on the site. Just one year and 17 million dollars later, Disneyland was ready to open its doors to the public.

The Opening

Although the park inspires happiness and joy, the history of Disneyland has its dark spots.

On Sunday, July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened its gates for the first time with 18 rides and attractions and five lands including Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and Main Street USA. Park admission cost just $1.00, plus tickets for individual attractions. That sounds like quite a deal compared to the $129.00 single day pass in 2020.

July 17^th was meant to be a preview day for invited guests and members of the press before opening to the public the following day. Unfortunately, the event was nothing short of a total disaster.

The dedication ceremonies, which included California Governor Goodwin Knight and Walt Disney’s Hollywood friends Ronald Reagan, Art Linkletter and Robert Cummings were televised live on ABC. The broadcast attracted over 90 million viewers—the largest TV audience in history at the time—which meant all eyes were on Disneyland for what Disney executives would come to call “Black Sunday” and would lead the press to deem Disneyland “Walt’s Folly”.

So, what could possibly have gone wrong in the “Happiest Place on Earth”? In a word: EVERYTHING.

The weather was scorching 101 degrees.

More than half of the 28,000 people in attendance had “invited” themselves by forging tickets or jumping the fence to get in.

Women’s heels were sinking into the freshly-poured asphalt.

Due to a plumbers’ strike, Disney had to choose between working toilets or drinking fountains. He chose the former—which people might have been grateful for—but some thought it was a conspiracy by event sponsor Pepsi to make people buy their beverages.

Traffic was gridlocked on the newly-constructed freeway and celebrity guests like Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds were delayed for their scheduled appearances.

As if that weren’t enough, a gas leak forced operators to close down three of the five “lands” just hours after the park opened.

Ever the optimist, Walt Disney still delivered his official dedication:

“To all who come to this happy place: Welcome! Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”

It seemed like the history of Disneyland would’ve stopped shortly after receiving all of the bad press and criticism from its opening, but Disney learned from its painful mistakes and fixed them. Even today you’ll notice the plethora of restrooms and drinking fountains, assuring no guest will have to be thirsty or uncomfortable. Whatever they did to turn things around must have worked because within seven weeks of opening, one million people had walked through Disneyland’s gates.

The Rest is History

In the years that followed, Disneyland pushed the boundaries of technology and creativity and influenced the design of theme parks, roller coasters and other attractions around the world. To this day it is still the most popular theme park in the world. Here’s a timeline of the Disneyland’s milestones, innovations and firsts:

1956 – Just one year after opening, Disneyland had welcomed 5 million visitors.

1957 – Make that 10 million visitors.

1959 – The Matterhorn Bobsled ride became the first tubular steel coaster ever built. Its design still influences the design of modern roller coasters.

1963 – The Enchanted Tiki Room was the first of its kind to use new Audio-Animatronics technology and have three-dimensional birds, flowers and Tiki gods perform a live show.

1966 – It’s a Small World water ride opened featuring 500 Audio-Animatronics dolls representing cultures around the world. We’ve been trying to get the theme song out of our heads ever since.

1967 – Pirates of the Caribbean made its debut. It remains one of the most popular rides to this day and was the inspiration for the hit blockbuster movies of the same name.

1969 – The Haunted Mansion and its 999 ghosts – always with “room for one more” – started haunting park visitors.

1972 – The Main Street Electrical Parade premiered including more than 500,000 twinkling lights.

1976 – 150 million people had visited Disneyland

1977 – The Space Mountain coaster blasted off in Tomorrowland. Astronauts John Glenn and Alan Shepard were part of its inaugural journey.

1979 – Big Thunder Mountain railroad opened in Frontierland.

1989 – Splash Mountain opened and it’s five-story waterfall drop still has us packing a poncho in our purse.

1993 – Mickey’s Toontown was added as the newest “land”.

1995 – Indiana Jones Adventure invited guests to be part of the action with a thrill ride based on George Lucas’ films.

2001 – Disney California Adventure Park opened to the public, offering a whole new world of rides, restaurants, and attractions modeled after California’s most notable parks and landmarks.

2005 – Disneyland celebrated its 50^th anniversary.

2017 – 708 million people had visited Disneyland.

2019 – The history of Disneyland continues to this day with the much-anticipated Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opening on May 31st. The new addition to Disneyland transports you back to “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.”

2020 – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Disneyland closed in March to mitigate any chance of spreading the virus to its patrons. In the entire history of Disneyland, the park has closed only a few times since 1955. Disneyland closed the day after President John F. Kennedy was shot, and during the terrorist attacks on September 11th. As of September 1st, Disneyland is still closed.

2021 – Disneyland reopened to guests from outside of California for the first time since the pandemic.

To learn more about the history of Disneyland, as well as other Hollywood stories, book our LA Tours From Anaheim Tour!

Disneyland Park

Previously known as Disneyland (1955–1998)
The park’s icon, Sleeping Beauty Castle, in 2019
Location	Disneyland Resort, 1313 Disneyland Drive Anaheim, California, U.S.
Coordinates	33°49′N 117°55′W / 33.81°N 117.92°WCoordinates: 33°49′N 117°55′W / 33.81°N 117.92°W
Status	Operating
Opened	July 17, 1955; 67 years ago[1]
Owner	Disney Parks, Experiences and Products (The Walt Disney Company)
Operated by	Disneyland Resort
Theme	Fairy tales and Disney characters
Slogan	The happiest place on earth
Operating season	Year-round
Website	disneyland.disney.go.com

Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisioned building a tourist attraction adjacent to his studios in Burbank to entertain fans who wished to visit; however, he soon realized that the proposed site was too small for the ideas that he had. After hiring the Stanford Research Institute to perform a feasibility study determining an appropriate site for his project, Disney bought a 160-acre (65 ha) site near Anaheim in 1953. The park was designed by a creative team hand-picked by Walt from internal and outside talent. They founded WED Enterprises, the precursor to today’s Walt Disney Imagineering. Construction began in 1954 and the park was unveiled during a special televised press event on the ABC Television Network on July 17, 1955. Since its opening, Disneyland has undergone expansions and major renovations, including the addition of New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country in 1972, Mickey’s Toontown in 1993, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019.^[2] Additionally, Disney California Adventure Park opened in 2001 on the site of Disneyland’s original parking lot.

Disneyland has a larger cumulative attendance than any other theme park in the world, with 757 million visits since it opened (as of December 2021).^[3] In 2018, the park had approximately 18.6 million visits, making it the second most visited amusement park in the world that year, behind only Magic Kingdom, the very park it inspired.^[4] According to a 2005 Disney report, 65,700 jobs are supported by the Disneyland Resort, including about 20,000 direct Disney employees and 3,800 third-party employees (independent contractors or their employees).^[5] Disney announced «Project Stardust» in 2019, which included major structural renovations to the park to account for higher attendance numbers.^[6]

History

20th century

Origins

The concept for Disneyland began when Walt Disney was visiting Griffith Park in Los Angeles with his daughters Diane and Sharon. While watching them ride the merry-go-round, he came up with the idea of a place where adults and their children could go and have fun together, though his dream lay dormant for many years.^[11][12] The earliest documented draft of Disney’s plans was sent as a memo to studio production designer Dick Kelsey on August 31, 1948, where it was referred to as a «Mickey Mouse Park», based on notes Disney made during his and Ward Kimball’s trip to the Chicago Railroad Fair the same month, with a two-day stop in Henry Ford’s Museum and Greenfield Village, a place with attractions like a Main Street and steamboat rides, which he had visited eight years earlier.^{[13][14][15][16]}

When people wrote letters to Disney to inquire about visiting the Walt Disney Studios, he realized that a functional movie studio had little to offer to visiting fans, and began to foster various ideas about building a site near the Burbank studios for tourists to visit. His ideas evolved to a small play park with a boat ride and other themed areas. The initial park concept, the Mickey Mouse Park, was originally planned for an eight-acre (3.2 ha) plot to the south, across Riverside Drive from the studio. Besides Greenfield Village and the Chicago Railroad Fair, Disney was also inspired by Tivoli Gardens in Denmark, Knott’s Berry Farm, Colonial Williamsburg, the Century of Progress in Chicago, and the New York’s World Fair of 1939.^[17]

His designers began working on concepts, though the project grew much larger than the land could hold.^[18] Disney hired Harrison Price from Stanford Research Institute to identify the proper area in which to position the planned theme park based on expected future growth. Based on Price’s analysis (for which he would be recognized as a Disney Legend in 2003), Disney acquired 160 acres (65 ha) of orange groves and walnut trees in Anaheim, southeast of Los Angeles in neighboring Orange County.^[18][19] The small Burbank site originally considered by Disney is now home to Walt Disney Animation Studios and ABC Studios.

Difficulties in obtaining funding prompted Disney to investigate new methods of fundraising, and he decided to create a show named Disneyland. It was broadcast on then-fledgling ABC. In return, the network agreed to help finance the park. For its first five years of operation, Disneyland was owned by Disneyland, Inc., which was jointly owned by Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney, Western Publishing and ABC.^[20] In addition, Disney rented out many of the shops on Main Street, U.S.A. to outside companies. By 1960, Walt Disney Productions bought out all other shares, but the partnership had already led to a lasting relationship with ABC which would eventually culminate in the Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of ABC in the mid-1990s. Construction began on July 16, 1954, and cost $17 million to complete (equivalent to $138 million in 2021^[21]). The park was opened one year and one day later.^[22] U.S. Route 101 (later Interstate 5) was under construction at the same time just north of the site; in preparation for the traffic Disneyland was expected to bring, two more lanes were added to the freeway before the park was finished.^[19]

Opening day

Disneyland was dedicated at an «International Press Preview» event held on Sunday, July 17, 1955, which was open only to invited guests and the media. Although 28,000 people attended the event, only about half of those were invitees, the rest having purchased counterfeit tickets,^[23] or even sneaked into the park by climbing over the fence.^[24] The following day, it opened to the public, featuring twenty attractions. The Special Sunday events, including the dedication, were televised nationwide and anchored by three of Walt Disney’s friends from Hollywood: Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan.^[25] ABC broadcast the event live, during which many guests tripped over the television camera cables.^{[26][page needed]} In Frontierland, a camera caught Cummings kissing a dancer. When Disney started to read the plaque for Tomorrowland, he read partway then stopped when a technician off-camera said something to him, and after realizing he was on-air, said, «I thought I got a signal»,^{[26][page needed]} and began the dedication from the start. At one point, while in Fantasyland, Linkletter tried to give coverage to Cummings, who was on the pirate ship. He was not ready and tried to give the coverage back to Linkletter, who had lost his microphone. Cummings then did a play-by-play of him trying to find it in front of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.^{[26][page needed]}

Traffic was delayed on the two-lane Harbor Boulevard.^{[26][page needed]} Famous figures who were scheduled to show up every two hours showed up all at once. The temperature was an unusually high 101 °F (38 °C), and because of a local plumbers’ strike, Disney was given a choice of having working drinking fountains or running toilets. He chose the latter, leaving many drinking fountains dry. This generated negative publicity since Pepsi sponsored the park’s opening; disappointed guests believed the inoperable fountains were a cynical way to sell soda, while other vendors ran out of food. The asphalt that had been poured that morning was soft enough to let women’s high-heeled shoes sink into it. Some parents threw their children over the crowd’s shoulders to get them onto rides, such as the King Arthur Carrousel.^[27] In later years, Disney and his 1955 executives referred to July 17, 1955, as «Black Sunday». After the extremely negative press from the preview opening, Walt Disney invited attendees back for a private «second day» to experience Disneyland properly.

At the time, and during the lifetimes of Walt and Roy Disney, July 17 was considered merely a preview, with July 18 the official opening day.^[24] Since then, aided by memories of the television broadcast, the company has adopted July 17 as the official date, the one commemorated every year as Disneyland’s birthday.^[24]

1950s and 1960s

In September 1959, Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev spent thirteen days in the United States, with two requests: to visit Disneyland and to meet John Wayne, Hollywood’s top box-office draw. Due to the Cold War tension and security concerns, he was famously denied an excursion to Disneyland.^[28] The Shah of Iran and Empress Farah were invited to Disneyland by Walt Disney in the early 1960s.^[29] There was moderate controversy over the lack of African American employees. As late as 1963, civil rights activists were pressuring Disneyland to hire black people,^[30] with executives responding that they would «consider» the requests.^{[citation needed]} The park did however hire people of Asian descent, such as Ty Wong and Bob Kuwahara.^[31]

As part of the Casa de Fritos operation at Disneyland, «Doritos» (Spanish for «little golden things») were created at the park to recycle old tortillas that would have been discarded. The Frito-Lay Company saw the popularity of the item and began selling them regionally in 1964, and then nationwide in 1966.^[32]

1970s

On August 6, 1970, an estimated 300+ anti-war Yippies entered Disneyland in a planned protest against the Vietnam War. The protestors held grievances with specific aspects of the theme park itself, such as the Aunt Jemima-themed pancake restaurant in Frontierland and the park’s association with Bank of America, a subject of controversy at the time for its lending to military contractors such as Boeing.^[33] The Yippies were met by an estimated 100 riot police who established lookouts within the park and another 300 on standby just outside of the entrance gates. Around 4:00 p.m., many of the Yippies occupied Tom Sawyer Island, purportedly smoking cannabis and causing cast members to halt park guests from boarding rafts to the island. An hour later, the group of Yippies converged at Main Street, U.S.A. and became confrontational with other park guests and riot police after tearing down patriotic bunting while unfurling Viet Cong and Youth International Party flags. Standby riot police entered and the park was evacuated around 5:00 p.m. when some of the insurgents approached the park’s Bank of America branch, sparking concern that the building could be burned in a similar fashion to the arson of a Bank of America in Isla Vista in February 1970. Police arrested 23 park guests and it was only the second unexpected early closure in park history, the first being in response to the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. The incident was cited as a clash of the park management’s perceived appeal to tradition following the death of Walt Disney and the growing counterculture movement among young people in the United States.^[34][35]

Despite the opening of the more expansive Walt Disney World resort in 1971, Disneyland continued to set attendance records and maintained its status as a major tourist attraction. In 1972, the Bear Country land was opened and the Main Street Electrical Parade was introduced.

Disneyland underwent several changes in preparation for the United States Bicentennial. In 1974, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress was replaced with America Sings, an audio-animatronic theater show featuring the history of American music. America on Parade debuted in 1975 and ran through 1976 in celebration of the bicentennial.

Several of the park’s earliest attractions received major changes or were replaced in the mid-to-late 1970s. The Flight to the Moon attraction was rethemed as Mission to Mars in March 1975, five years after Apollo 11 had successfully landed humans on the moon. Construction of Space Mountain began that same year adjacent to the new Mission to Mars attraction but was delayed by El Niño-related weather complications. The ride opened in 1977 to much acclaim as lines would often stretch all the way to Main Street, U.S.A. The final major change of the decade came in 1977 when the slow-paced Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland was closed and replaced by the similarly-themed Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rollercoaster in 1979.^[36]

1980s

Fantasyland was closed for refurbishment in 1982 and reopened to the public in 1983 as «New Fantasyland.»

On December 5, 1985, to celebrate Disneyland’s 30th year in operation, one million balloons were launched along the streets bordering Disneyland as part of the Skyfest Celebration.^[37]

1990s

In the late 1990s, work began to expand the one-park, one-hotel property. Disneyland Park, the Disneyland Hotel, the site of the original parking lot, and acquired surrounding properties were earmarked to become part of the Disneyland Resort. At that time, the property saw the addition of the Disney California Adventure theme park, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex named Downtown Disney, a remodeled Disneyland Hotel, the construction of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, and the acquisition and re-branding of the Pan Pacific Hotel as Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. The park was renamed «Disneyland Park» to distinguish it from the larger complex under construction. Because the existing parking lot (south of Disneyland) was repurposed by these projects, the six-level, 10,250-space Mickey and Friends parking structure was constructed in the northwest corner. Upon completion in 2000, it was the largest parking structure in the United States.^[38]

The park’s management team during the mid-1990s was a source of controversy among fans and employees. In an effort to boost profits, various changes were begun by then-executives Cynthia Harriss and Paul Pressler. While their initiatives provided a short-term increase in shareholder returns, they drew widespread criticism for their lack of foresight. The retail backgrounds of Harriss and Pressler led to a gradual shift in Disneyland’s focus from attractions to merchandising. Outside consultants McKinsey & Company were brought in to help streamline operations, resulting in many changes and cutbacks. After nearly a decade of deferred maintenance, the original park was showing signs of neglect. Fans of the park decried the perceived decline in customer value and park quality and rallied for the dismissal of the management team.^[39]

21st century

Matt Ouimet, the former president of the Disney Cruise Line, was promoted to assume leadership of the Disneyland Resort in late 2003. Shortly afterward, he selected Greg Emmer as Senior Vice President of Operations. Emmer was a long-time Disney cast member who had worked at Disneyland in his youth prior to moving to Florida and held multiple executive leadership positions at the Walt Disney World Resort. Ouimet quickly set about reversing certain trends, especially concerning cosmetic maintenance and a return to the original infrastructure maintenance schedule, in hopes of restoring Disneyland’s former safety record. Similarly to Disney himself, Ouimet and Emmer could often be seen walking the park during business hours with members of their respective staff, wearing cast member name badges, standing in line for attractions, and welcoming guests’ comments. In July 2006, Ouimet left The Walt Disney Company to become president of Starwood. Soon after, Ed Grier, executive managing director of Walt Disney Attractions Japan, was named president of the resort. In October 2009, Grier announced his retirement, and was replaced by George Kalogridis.

The «Happiest Homecoming on Earth» was an eighteen-month-long celebration (held through 2005 and 2006) of the fiftieth anniversary of Disneyland Park, also celebrating Disneyland’s milestone throughout Disney parks worldwide. In 2004, the park underwent major renovations in preparation, restoring many attractions, notably Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room. Attractions that had been in the park on opening day had one ride vehicle painted gold, and the park was decorated with fifty Golden Mickey Ears. The celebration started on May 5, 2005, and ended on September 30, 2006, and was followed by the «Year of a Million Dreams» celebration, lasting twenty-seven months and ending on December 31, 2008.

Beginning on January 1, 2010, Disney Parks hosted the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day volunteer program, in which Disney encouraged people to volunteer with a participating charity and receive a free Disney Day at either a Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World park. On March 9, 2010, Disney announced that it had reached its goal of one million volunteers and ended the promotion to anyone who had not yet registered and signed up for a specific volunteer situation.

In July 2015, Disneyland celebrated its 60th Diamond Celebration anniversary.^[40] Disneyland Park introduced the Paint the Night parade and Disneyland Forever fireworks show, and Sleeping Beauty Castle is decorated in diamonds with a large «60» logo. The Diamond Celebration concluded in September 2016 and the whole decoration of the anniversary was removed around Halloween 2016.

Disneyland Park, along with Disney California Adventure, Downtown Disney, and the resort hotels, closed indefinitely starting March 14, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.^[41][42] After nearly four months of closure, Downtown Disney reopened on July 9, 2020.^[43] The parks had been scheduled to reopen on Disneyland’s 65th anniversary on July 17, 2020, but due to rising cases in California, the parks’ reopening was once again postponed.^[44][45] It was expected to stay closed until at least December 31, 2020.^[46] In February 2021, Disneyland announced a limited-capacity ticketed event called “A Touch of Disney”, which would offer guests to shop at stores and enjoy eateries around the park from March 18 through April 19, 2021.^[47][48] On March 5, 2021, it was announced by the California Department of Public Health that Disneyland could reopen with capacity restrictions beginning April 1, 2021.^[49][50] The following week, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that the company is planning on officially reopening the park in late April 2021.^[51] Disneyland along with Disney California Adventure officially reopened on April 30, 2021 with limited capacity and social distancing/mask guidelines in effect.^[52][53] The following week, the company announced a plan titled DisneylandForward to expand the park with more rides, restaurants, and shops with The Anaheim City Council expected to receive the development plans for approval by 2023.^[54][55] On June 15, 2021, Disneyland, Disney California Adventure and other theme parks in California were permitted to return to full capacity with most Covid-19 pandemic restrictions lifted per California governor Gavin Newsom’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy phased re-opening. Prior to this, Disneyland was operating at reduced guest capacity since it re-opened on April 30, 2021 after 13 months of closure due to the pandemic.^[56]

Park layout and attractions

Disneyland Park consists of nine themed «lands» and a number of concealed backstage areas, and occupies over 100 acres (40 ha) with the new addition of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway that’s coming to Mickeys Toontown in 2022.^[18] The park opened with Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland, and has since added New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country (now known as Critter Country) in 1972, and Mickey’s Toontown in 1993, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019.^[57] In 1957, Holidayland opened to the public with a nine-acre (3.6 ha) recreation area including a circus and baseball diamond, but was closed in late 1961. It is often referred to as the «lost» land of Disneyland. Throughout the park are «Hidden Mickeys», representations of Mickey Mouse heads inserted subtly into the design of attractions and environmental decor. An elevated berm supports the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge Disneyland Railroad that circumnavigates the park.

• Lands of Disneyland

• 

  Main Street, U.S.A.
  (2010)

• 

  Adventureland
  (themed for a 1950s view of adventure, capitalizing on the post-war Tiki craze)

• 

• 

• 

• 

  Mickey’s Toontown
  (2010)

Main Street, U.S.A.

Main Street, U.S.A. is patterned after a typical Midwest town of the early 20th century, and took much inspiration from Walt Disney’s hometown, Marceline, Missouri.^[58] Main Street, U.S.A. has a train station, town square, movie theater, city hall, firehouse with a steam-powered pump engine, emporium, shops, arcades, double-decker bus, horse-drawn streetcar, and jitneys.^[59] Main Street is also home to the Disney Art Gallery and the Opera House which showcases Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, a show featuring an Audio-Animatronic version of the president. At the far end of Main Street, U.S.A. is Sleeping Beauty Castle, the Partners statue, and the Central Plaza (also known as the Hub), which is a portal to most of the themed lands: the entrance to Fantasyland is by way of a drawbridge across a moat and through the castle.^[60] Adventureland, Frontierland, and Tomorrowland are on both sides of the castle. Several lands are not directly connected to the Central Plaza—namely, New Orleans Square, Critter Country, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Mickey’s Toontown.

The design of Main Street, U.S.A. uses the technique of forced perspective to create an illusion of height.^[61] Buildings along Main Street are built at 3⁄4 scale on the first level, then 5⁄8 on the second story, and 1⁄2 scale on the third—reducing the scale by 1⁄8 each level up.

Adventureland

Adventureland is designed to recreate the feel of an exotic tropical place in a far-off region of the world. «To create a land that would make this dream reality», said Walt Disney, «we pictured ourselves far from civilization, in the remote jungles of Asia and Africa.» Attractions include opening day’s Jungle Cruise, the Indiana Jones Adventure, and Tarzan’s Treehouse, which is a conversion of Swiss Family Treehouse from the Walt Disney film Swiss Family Robinson. Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room which is located at the entrance to Adventureland was the first feature attraction to employ Audio-Animatronics, a computer synchronization of sound and robotics.

New Orleans Square

New Orleans Square is based on 19th-century New Orleans, opened on July 24, 1966.^[62] It is home to Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, with nighttime entertainment Fantasmic!. This area is the home of the private Club 33.

Frontierland

Frontierland recreates the setting of pioneer days along the American frontier. According to Walt Disney, «All of us have cause to be proud of our country’s history, shaped by the pioneering spirit of our forefathers. Our adventures are designed to give you the feeling of having lived, even for a short while, during our country’s pioneer days.»^[63] Frontierland is home to the Pinewood Indians band of animatronic Native Americans, who live on the banks of the Rivers of America. Entertainment and attractions include Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Mark Twain Riverboat, the Sailing Ship Columbia, Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, and Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition. Frontierland is also home to the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, an Old West-style show palace.

Critter Country

Critter Country opened in 1972 as «Bear Country», and was renamed in 1988. Formerly the area was home to Indian Village, where indigenous tribespeople demonstrated their dances and other customs. Today, the main draw of the area is Splash Mountain, a log-flume journey based on the animated segments of Disney’s 1946 film Song of the South. In 2003, a dark ride called The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh replaced the Country Bear Jamboree, which closed in 2001.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is set within the Star Wars universe, in the Black Spire Outpost village on the remote frontier planet of Batuu. Attractions include the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.^[64] The land opened in 2019, replacing Big Thunder Ranch and former backstage areas.^[65][66]

Fantasyland

Fantasyland is the area of Disneyland of which Walt Disney said, «What youngster has not dreamed of flying with Peter Pan over moonlit London, or tumbling into Alice’s nonsensical Wonderland? In Fantasyland, these classic stories of everyone’s youth have become realities for youngsters – of all ages – to participate in.» Fantasyland was originally styled in a medieval European fairground fashion, but its 1983 refurbishment turned it into a Bavarian village. Attractions include several dark rides, the King Arthur Carrousel, and various family attractions. Fantasyland has the most fiber optics in the park; more than half of them are in Peter Pan’s Flight.^[67] Sleeping Beauty’s Castle features a walk-through storytelling of Briar Rose’s adventure as Sleeping Beauty. The attraction opened in 1959, was redesigned in 1972, closed in 1992 for reasons of security and the new installation of pneumatic ram firework shell mortars for «Believe, There’s Magic in the Stars», and reopened 2008 with new renditions and methods of storytelling and the restored work of Eyvind Earle.

Mickey’s Toontown

Mickey’s Toontown opened in 1993 and was partly inspired by the fictional Los Angeles suburb of Toontown in the Touchstone Pictures 1988 release Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Mickey’s Toontown is based on a 1930s cartoon aesthetic and is home to Disney’s most popular cartoon characters. Toontown features two main attractions: Gadget’s Go Coaster and Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin. The «city» is also home to cartoon character’s houses such as the house of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Goofy, as well as Donald Duck’s boat. The 3 ft (914 mm) gauge Jolly Trolley can also be found in this area, though it closed as an attraction in 2003 and is now present only for display purposes. In 2023 Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway will open at Mickey’s Toontown. The new family-friendly dark ride will increase the size of Toontown as well as the size of Disneyland from 99 to 101 acres (40 to 41 ha). The land is currently closed for refurbishment and will open again in 2023.

Tomorrowland

During the 1955 inauguration, Walt Disney dedicated Tomorrowland with these words: «Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the doors of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come. The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future.»

Disneyland producer Ward Kimball had rocket scientists Wernher von Braun, Willy Ley, and Heinz Haber serve as technical consultants during the original design of Tomorrowland.^[68] Initial attractions included Rocket to the Moon, Astro-Jets and Autopia; later, the first incarnation of the Submarine Voyage was added. The area underwent a major transformation in 1967 to become New Tomorrowland, and then again in 1998 when its focus was changed to present a «retro-future» theme reminiscent of the illustrations of Jules Verne.

Current attractions include Space Mountain, Star Wars Launch Bay, Autopia, Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple, the Disneyland Monorail Tomorrowland Station, Astro Orbitor, and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage opened on June 11, 2007, resurrecting the original Submarine Voyage which closed in 1998. Star Tours was closed in July 2010 and replaced with Star Tours–The Adventures Continue in June 2011.

Operations

Backstage

Major buildings backstage include the Frank Gehry-designed Team Disney Anaheim,^[69] where most of the division’s administration currently works, as well as the Old Administration Building, behind Tomorrowland.

Photography is forbidden in these areas, both inside and outside, although some photos have found their way to a variety of web sites. Guests who attempt to explore backstage are warned and often escorted from the property.^[70]

Transportation

Walt Disney had a longtime interest in transportation, and trains in particular. Disney’s passion for the «iron horse» led to him building a miniature live steam backyard railroad—the «Carolwood Pacific Railroad»—on the grounds of his Holmby Hills estate. Throughout all the iterations of Disneyland during the 17 or so years when Disney was conceiving it, one element remained constant: a train encircling the park.^[12] The primary designer for the park transportation vehicles was Bob Gurr who gave himself the title of Director of Special Vehicle Design in 1954.^[71]

Encircling Disneyland and providing a grand circle tour is the Disneyland Railroad (DRR), a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge short-line railway consisting of five oil-fired and steam-powered locomotives, in addition to three passenger trains and one passenger-carrying freight train. Originally known as the Disneyland and Santa Fe Railroad, the DRR was presented by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway until 1974. From 1955 to 1974, the Santa Fe Rail Pass was accepted in lieu of a Disneyland «D» coupon. With a 3 ft (914 mm) gauge, the most common narrow track gauge used in North America, the track runs in a continuous loop around Disneyland through each of its realms. Each 1900s-era train departs Main Street Station on an excursion that includes scheduled station stops at: New Orleans Square Station; Toontown Depot; and Tomorrowland Station. The Grand Circle Tour then concludes with a visit to the «Grand Canyon/Primeval World» dioramas before returning passengers to Main Street, U.S.A.^[72]

One of Disneyland’s signature attractions is its Disneyland Monorail System monorail service, which opened in Tomorrowland in 1959 as the first daily-operating monorail train system in the Western Hemisphere. The monorail guideway has remained almost exactly the same since 1961, aside from small alterations while Indiana Jones Adventure was being built. Five generations of monorail trains have been used in the park since their lightweight construction means they wear out quickly. The most recent operating generation, the Mark VII, was installed in 2008. The monorail shuttles visitors between two stations, one inside the park in Tomorrowland and one in Downtown Disney. It follows a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) route designed to show the park from above. Currently, the Mark VII is running with the colors red, blue and orange. The monorail was originally a loop built with just one station in Tomorrowland. Its track was extended and a second station opened at the Disneyland Hotel in 1961. With the creation of Downtown Disney in 2001, the new destination is Downtown Disney, instead of the Disneyland Hotel. The physical location of the monorail station did not change, but the original station building was demolished as part of the hotel downsizing, and the new station is now separated from the hotel by several Downtown Disney buildings, including ESPN Zone and the Rainforest Café.^[73]

All of the vehicles found on Main Street, U.S.A., grouped together as the Main Street Vehicles attraction, were designed to accurately reflect turn-of-the-century vehicles, including a 3 ft (914 mm) gauge^[74] tramway featuring horse-drawn streetcars, a double-decker bus, a fire engine, and an automobile.^[75] They are available for one-way rides along Main Street, U.S.A. The horse-drawn streetcars are also used by the park entertainment, including The Dapper Dans. The horseless carriages are modeled after cars built in 1903 and are two-cylinder, four-horsepower (3 kW) engines with manual transmission and steering. Walt Disney used to drive the fire engine around the park before it opened, and it has been used to host celebrity guests and in the parades. Most of the original main street vehicles were designed by Bob Gurr.

From the late 1950s to 1968, Los Angeles Airways provided regularly scheduled helicopter passenger service between Disneyland and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and other cities in the area. The helicopters initially operated from Anaheim/Disneyland Heliport, located behind Tomorrowland. Service later moved, in 1960, to a new heliport north of the Disneyland Hotel.^[76] Arriving guests were transported to the Disneyland Hotel via tram. The service ended after two fatal crashes in 1968: The crash in Paramount, California, on May 22, 1968, killed 23 (the worst helicopter accident in aviation history at that time). The second crash in Compton, California, on August 14, 1968, killed 21.^[77]

Effects on commercial aviation

The United States Federal Aviation Administration has declared a zone of prohibited airspace around both Disneyland and some of the surrounding areas at Sleeping Beauty Castle. No aircraft, including recreational and commercial drones, are permitted to fly within this zone; this level is only shared with Walt Disney World, other pieces of critical infrastructure (military bases, Pantex) in the United States and whenever the President of the United States travels outside of Washington, D.C.^[78]

Live entertainment

In addition to the attractions, Disneyland provides live entertainment throughout the park. Most of the mentioned entertainment is not offered daily, but only on selected days of the week, or selected periods of the year.

Many Disney characters can be found throughout the park, greeting visitors, interacting with children, and posing for photos. Some characters have specific areas where they are scheduled to appear, but can be found wandering as well. Some of the rarest are characters like Rabbit (from Winnie-the-Pooh), Max, Mushu, and Agent P.^[79] Periodically through recent decades (and most recently during the summers of 2005 and 2006), Mickey Mouse would climb the Matterhorn attraction several times a day with the support of Minnie, Goofy, and other performers. Other mountain climbers could also be seen on the Matterhorn from time to time. As of March 2007, Mickey and his «toon» friends no longer climb the Matterhorn but the climbing program continues. Every evening at dusk, there is a military-style flag retreat to lower the U.S. Flag by a ceremonial detail of Disneyland’s Security staff. The ceremony is usually held between 4:00 and 5:00 pm, depending on the entertainment being offered on Main Street, U.S.A., to prevent conflicts with crowds and music. Disney does report the time the Flag Retreat is scheduled on its Times Guide, offered at the entrance turnstiles and other locations. The Disneyland Band, which has been part of the park since its opening, plays the role of the Town Band on Main Street, U.S.A. It also breaks out into smaller groups like the Main Street Strawhatters, the Hook and Ladder Co., and the Pearly Band in Fantasyland. However, on March 31, 2015, the Disneyland Resort notified the band members of an «end of run». The reason for doing so is that they would start a new higher energy band. The veteran band members were invited to audition for the new Disneyland band and were told that even if they did not make the new band or audition, they would still play in small groups around the park. This sparked some controversy with supporters of the traditional band.^[80]

Parades

Disneyland has featured a number of different parades traveling down the park’s central Main Street – Fantasyland corridor. There have been daytime and nighttime parades that celebrated Disney films or seasonal holidays with characters, music, and large floats. One of the most popular parades was the Main Street Electrical Parade, which recently ended a limited-time return engagement after an extended run at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. From May 5, 2005, through November 7, 2008, as part of Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, «Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams» was presented, celebrating several Disney films including The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Alice in Wonderland, and Pinocchio. In 2009, «Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams» was replaced by «Celebrate! A Street Party», which premiered on March 27, 2009. Disney did not call «Celebrate! A Street Party» a parade, but rather a «street event.» During the Christmas season, Disneyland presents «A Christmas Fantasy» Parade. «Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams» was replaced by «Mickey’s Soundsational Parade», which debuted on May 27, 2011.^[81] Disneyland debuted a new nighttime parade called «Paint the Night», on May 22, 2015, as part of the park’s 60th anniversary.^[82] For two weeks in 2020 before the closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the parade «Magic Happens» debuted. There was also a virtual parade available for a limited time.^[83] At D23 Expo 2022, it was announced that «Magic Happens» would return to Disneyland in spring 2023.^[84]

Fireworks shows

Elaborate fireworks shows synchronized with Disney songs and often have appearances from Tinker Bell (and other characters) flying in the sky above Sleeping Beauty Castle. Since 2000, presentations have become more elaborate, featuring new pyrotechnics, launch techniques, and story lines. In 2004, Disneyland introduced a new air launch pyrotechnics system, reducing ground-level smoke and noise and decreasing negative environmental impacts. At the time the technology debuted, Disney announced it would donate the patents to a non-profit organization for use throughout the industry.^[85] Projection mapping technology debuted on It’s a Small World with the creation of The Magic, the Memories and You in 2011, and expanded to Main Street and Sleeping Beauty Castle in 2015 with the premiere of Disneyland Forever.

• Regular fireworks shows:
  • 1958–1999; 2015: Fantasy in the Sky
  • 2000–2004: Believe… There’s Magic in the Stars
  • 2004–2005: Imagine… A Fantasy in the Sky
  • 2005–2014; 2017–2019: Remember… Dreams Come True
  • 2009–2014 (summer): Magical: Disney’s New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations
  • 2019 and 2022 (summer): Disneyland Forever
• Seasonal fireworks shows:
  • September–October Halloween Screams
  • Independence Day Week: Disney’s Celebrate America: A 4th of July Concert in the Sky
  • November–January: Believe… In Holiday Magic
• Limited edition fireworks shows
  • 60th Anniversary: Disneyland Forever
  • Pixar Fest: Together Forever
  • Get Your Ears On – A Mickey and Minnie Celebration: Mickey’s Mix Magic
  • Disney100: Wondrous Journeys (Premiering January 27, 2023)

Since 2009, Disneyland has moved to a rotating repertoire of firework spectaculars.

Scheduling of fireworks shows depends on the time of year. During the slower off-season periods, the fireworks are only offered on weekends. During the busier times, Disney offers additional nights. The park offers fireworks nightly during its busy periods, which include Easter/Spring Break, Summer and Christmas time. Disneyland spends about $41,000 per night on the fireworks show. The show is normally offered at 8:45 or 9:30 pm if the park is scheduled to close at 10 pm or later, but shows have started as early as 5:45 pm. A major consideration is the weather and wind, especially at higher altitude, which can force the delay or cancellation of the show. In response to this, alternate versions of the fireworks spectaculars have been created in recent years, solely using the projections and lighting effects. With a few minor exceptions, such as July 4 and New Year’s Eve, shows must finish by 10:00 pm due to the conditions of the permit issued by the City of Anaheim.

In recent years, Disneyland uses smaller and mid-sized fireworks shells and more low-level pyrotechnics on the castle to allow guests to enjoy the fireworks spectaculars even if there is a weather issue such as high wind. This precedent is known as B-show. The first fireworks show to have this format was Believe… In Holiday Magic from the 2018 holiday season.

Attendance

Annual attendance at Disneyland Park (in millions) 1950s Year 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 Attendance 1.0 4.0 4.5 4.6 5.1 1960s Year 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Attendance 5.0 5.3 5.5 5.7 6.0 6.5 6.7 7.8 9.2 9.1 1970s Year 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Attendance 10.0 9.3 9.4 9.8 9.5 9.8 9.8 10.9 11.0 11.1 1980s Year 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Attendance 11.5 11.3 10.4 9.9 9.8 12.0 12.0 13.5 13.0 14.4 1990s Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Attendance 12.9 11.6 11.6 11.4 10.3 14.1 15.0 14.2 13.7 13.5 2000s Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Attendance 13.9 12.3 12.7 12.7 13.3 14.26 14.73 14.87 14.72 15.9 2010s Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Attendance 15.98 16.14 15.96 16.20 16.77 18.28 17.94 18.30 18.66 18.66 2020s Year 2020 2021 Attendance 3.67 8.5 References [86] [87] [88] [89] [90] [91] [92] [93] [94] [95] [96] [97] [98] [99] [100] [101] [102] [103] [104] [105]

Tickets

From Disneyland’s opening day until 1982, the price of the attractions was in addition to the price of park admission.^[106] Guests paid a small admission fee to get into the park, but admission to most of the rides and attractions required guests to purchase tickets, either individually or in a book, that consisted of several coupons, initially labeled «A» through «C».^[107] «A» coupons allowed admission to the smaller rides and attractions such as the Main Street Vehicles, whereas «C» coupons were used for the most common attractions like Peter Pan’s Flight, or the Mad Tea Party. As more thrilling rides were introduced, such as the Disneyland Monorail or the Matterhorn Bobsleds, «D» and then eventually «E» coupons were introduced. Coupons could be combined to equal the equivalent of another ticket (e.g., two «A» tickets equal one «B» ticket). The term E ticket attraction is still used to refer to these most in-demand attractions, even though the coupons themselves are long consigned to history.

Disneyland later featured a «Keys to the Kingdom» booklet of tickets, which consisted of 10 unvalued coupons sold for a single flat rate. These coupons could be used for any attraction regardless of its regular value.

In 1982, Disney dropped the idea for individual ride tickets, replacing them with «passports», charging a single admission price with unlimited access to all attractions, «except shooting galleries».^[108] While this idea was not original to Disney, it had business advantages: in addition to guaranteeing that everyone paid the same entry amount regardless of their length of stay or number of rides ridden, the park no longer had to print ride tickets, provide staff for ticket booths, nor provide staff to collect tickets or monitor attractions for people sneaking on without tickets. Later, Disney introduced other entry options such as multi-day passes, Annual Passes (which allow unlimited entry to the Park for an annual fee), and Southern California residents’ discounts.

In February 2016, Disneyland adopted a demand-based pricing system for single-day admission, charging different prices for «value», «regular», and «peak» days, based on projected attendance. Approximately 30% of days will be designated as «value», mainly weekdays when school is in session, 44% will be designated as «regular», and 26% will be designated as «peak», mostly during holidays and weekends in July.^[109][110] In February 2020, Disneyland switched to a multi-tiered system, initially with 5 pricing tiers, with approximately 64% of days being in Tier 4 and above.^[111] A sixth tier was added in October 2021.^[112]

One-day, one-park, adult admission prices over time^{[113][114][115]}

Date	1981*	June 1982	October 1983	May 1984	January 1985	May 1985
Price US$	$10.75	$12.00	$13.00	$14.00	$15.00	$16.50
Date	March 1986	January 1987	September 1987	December 1988	December 1989	November 1990
Price US$	$17.95	$20.00	$21.50	$23.50	$25.50	$27.50
Date	June 1992	May 1993	May 1994	January 1995	January 1996	March 1997
Price US$	$28.75	$30.00	$31.00	$33.00	$34.00	$36.00
Date	January 1998	January 5, 1999	January 5, 2000	November 6, 2000	March 19, 2002	January 6, 2003
Price US$	$38.00	$39.00	$41.00	$43.00	$45.00	$47.00
Date	March 28, 2004	January 10, 2005	June 20, 2005	January 4, 2006	September 20, 2006	September 21, 2007
Price US$	$49.75	$53.00	$56.00	$59.00	$63.00	$66.00
Date	August 3, 2008	August 2, 2009	August 8, 2010	June 12, 2011	May 20, 2012	June 18, 2013
Price US$	$69.00	$72.00	$76.00	$80.00	$87.00	$92.00
Date	May 18, 2014	February 22, 2015	February 28, 2016	February 12, 2017	February 11, 2018	January 6, 2019
Price US$	$96.00	$99.00	$95/$105/$119	$97/$110/$124	$97/$117/$135	$104/$129/$149
Date	February 11, 2020[111]	October 25, 2021[112]
Price US$	$104/$114/$124/$139/$154	$104/$119/$134/$149/$159/$164

^* Before 1982, passport tickets were available to groups only.^[116]

Closures

Disneyland has had six unscheduled closures:

• In 1963, following the assassination of John F. Kennedy.^[117]
• In 1970, due to an anti-Vietnam riot instigated by the Youth International Party.
• In 1987, on December 16 due to a winter storm.^[118]
• In 1992, on December 7 due to a winter storm.^[119]
• In 2001, after the September 11 attacks.
• In 2020–2021, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and safety protocols, the park closed on March 14, 2020^{[42][120][46]} and reopened on April 30, 2021.^[121]

Additionally, Disneyland has had numerous planned closures:

• In the early years, the park was often scheduled to be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays during the off-season.^[122] This was in conjunction with nearby Knott’s Berry Farm, which closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays to keep costs down for both parks, while offering Orange County visitors a place to go seven days a week.
• On May 4, 2005, for the 50th Anniversary Celebration media event.^[123]
• The park has closed early to accommodate various special events, such as special press events, tour groups, VIP groups, and private parties. It is common for a corporation to rent the entire park for the evening. In such cases, special passes are issued which are valid for admission to all rides and attractions. At the ticket booths and on published schedules, regular guests are notified of the early closures. In the late afternoon, cast members announce that the park is closing, then clear the park of everyone without the special passes. In addition, the park has closed early for inclement weather.

Promotions

Every year in October, Disneyland has a Halloween promotion. During this promotion, or as Disneyland calls it a «party», areas in the park are decorated in a Halloween theme. Space Mountain and the Haunted Mansion are temporarily re-themed as part of the promotion. A Halloween party is offered on selected nights in late September and October for a separate fee, with a special fireworks show that is only shown at the party.

From early November until the beginning of January, the park is decorated for the holidays. Seasonal entertainment includes the Believe… In Holiday Magic firework show and A Christmas Fantasy Parade, while the Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World are temporarily redecorated in a holiday theme. The Sleeping Beauty Castle is snow-capped and decorated with colorful lights during the holidays.

Further reading

• Bright, Randy (1987). Disneyland: Inside Story. Harry N Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-0811-5.
• Dunlop, Beth (1996). Building a Dream: The Art of Disney Architecture. Harry N. Abrams Inc. ISBN 0-8109-3142-7.
• Van Eaton Galleries (February 2015). The Story of Disneyland. Issuu. Retrieved July 22, 2022. auction catalog of circa 800 documents, artifacts, images
• France, Van Arsdale (1991). Window on Main Street. Stabur. ISBN 0-941613-17-8.
• Gordon, Bruce; Mumford, David (1995). Disneyland: The Nickel Tour. Camphor Tree Publishers. ISBN 0-9646059-0-2.
• Koenig, David (1994). Mouse Tales: A Behind-the-Ears Look at Disneyland. Bonaventure Press. ISBN 0-9640605-5-8.
• Koenig, David (1999). More Mouse Tales: A Closer Peek Backstage at Disneyland. Bonaventure Press. ISBN 0-9640605-7-4.
• Marling, Karal Ann, ed. (1997). Designing Disney’s Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance. Flammarion. ISBN 2-08-013639-9.
• Strodder, Chris (2008). The Disneyland Encyclopedia. Santa Monica Press. ISBN 978-1-59580-033-6.

See also

• List of Disney theme park attractions
• List of Disney attractions that were never built
• Incidents at Disneyland Resort
• Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
• Dapper Day
• C. V. Wood
• Beverly Park

Theme parks that were closely themed to Disneyland

• Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park – Mainland Chinese theme park
• Nara Dreamland – Now-defunct Japanese theme park

Theme parks built by former Disneyland employee C. V. Wood

• Freedomland U.S.A.
• Heritage Square in Golden, Colorado
• Pleasure Island

References

Notes

External links

• Official website
• Disneyland at the Roller Coaster DataBase
• Opening Day at Disneyland: Photos from 1955

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This article is about Disneyland in California. For other similarly named Disney parks and resorts see here.

Disneyland Park, originally and more colloquially known as Disneyland, is the first and original Disney theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company. Created by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, Disneyland has become the world’s most famous themed amusement park and one of the most visited sites in the world.

Following a televised first-look of the park along with a pre-opening for the press and VIPs on July 17, 1955, the official and historic public opening of Disneyland occurred on July 18, 1955.

The park features many rides and attractions, dining options, and walkaround characters, including Mickey Mouse and his friends as well as Disney Princesses, characters from the Star Wars and Marvel franchises, and many more.

Concept and Construction

Walt Disney and his brother/business partner Roy were heading a Hollywood film studio before their idea of a theme park formed. Walt Disney’s original concept was of a permanent family fun park minus the «negative element», which he felt traveling carnivals often attracted. While on outings with his daughters Dianne and Sharon, Walt realized there were no parks with activities both parents and children could enjoy together.

Over time, Walt had received numerous letters written by people wanting to visit the Disney Studio lot and to meet their favorite Disney characters. Realizing a functional movie studio had little to offer to visiting fans, he then began to foster ideas of building an area at his Burbank studios for tourists to visit and take pictures with Disney characters set in statue form. His ideas then evolved to a small play park with a boat ride and other themed areas. Over time, Disney’s ideas continued to evolve into a concept for a much larger enterprise; that enterprise became what is known today as Disneyland.

Disneyland was partially inspired by Tivoli Gardens, built-in 1843 in Copenhagen, Denmark and Children’s Fairyland built-in 1950 in Oakland, California. Disney’s original modest plans called for the park to be built on eight acres (32,000 m²) next to the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California as a place where his employees and families could go to relax.

Another influence on the Disneyland concept was Walt’s interest in model trains. Hazel George, a nurse who treated Walt’s chronic pain daily at the studio, suggested in 1948 that he take some vacation time and visit the Chicago Railroad Fair, which he did, along with Ward Kimball, Disney Studios animator, and train enthusiast. Walt’s fascination for trains was also encouraged by another studio animator, Ollie Johnston. Soon, Walt built the Carolwood Pacific, a miniature steam train layout in the back yard of the Disney residence on Carolwood Drive. Walt delighted in giving visitors rides on his miniature train. (See Michael Broggie, Walt Disney’s Railroad Story, 1998.)

Early in development, during the early 1950s, it became clear that more areas would be needed. Difficulties in obtaining funding caused Disney to investigate new ways of raising money. He decided to use television to get the ideas into people’s homes, and so he created a show named Disneyland, which was broadcast on the fledgling American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network. In return, the network agreed to help finance the new park.

On the suggestion of researchers at Stanford Research Institute who correctly envisioned the area’s potential growth, Disney acquired 160 acres (730,000 m²) of orange groves and walnut trees in Anaheim, south of Los Angeles in neighboring Orange County. Construction began on July 18, 1954, and would cost US$17 million to complete. U.S. Highway 101 (later Interstate 5) was under construction at the same time just to the north of the site; in preparation for the traffic which Disneyland was expected to bring, two more lanes were added to the freeway even before the park was finished.

Because of his brother Roy’s distrust of the project, and because of financial considerations, Walt Disney was forced to turn to outside financing for his theme park. For the first five years of its operation, Disneyland was owned by Disneyland, Inc., of which Walt Disney Productions and ABC each owned half. In 1960, Walt Disney Productions bought ABC’s share of the theme park. This would later come full circle in 1999, when the Walt Disney Company, the successor to Walt Disney Productions, merged with Capital Cities-ABC, Inc.

1955: Opening day

Disneyland was opened to the public on Monday, July 18, 1955. A Special Media Preview which included a live TV show on ABC aired on July 17, 1955, the opening ceremonies were televised nationwide and anchored by three of Walt Disney’s friends from Hollywood: Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan.

The media event did not go smoothly. The park was overcrowded as the invitation-only affair was plagued with counterfeit tickets: 11,000 people were invited, but 28,000 showed up. All major roads nearby were congested. The high temperature was over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and a plumbers’ strike left many of the drinking fountains dry. The asphalt that had been poured just the night before was so soft that ladies’ high-heeled shoes sank in. Vendors ran out of food. A gas leak in Fantasyland caused Adventureland, Frontierland, and Fantasyland to close for the afternoon. Parents were throwing children over the shoulders of crowds to get in line for rides such as Dumbo the Flying Elephant. The Mark Twain Riverboat was overloaded, leading to the establishment of a maximum capacity of 300. When Disneyland opened it had only eighteen attractions, fourteen of which still exist to this day.

The park got such bad press for the event that Walt Disney invited members of the press back for a private «second day» to experience the true Disneyland, after which Walt held a party in the Disneyland Hotel for them. Walt and his executives forever referred to the first day as Black Sunday.

Disney Parks Around the World

Despite the problems on an opening day, Disneyland was an enormous success and attracted visitors worldwide in unprecedented volume. Soon, even while they were refining and developing Disneyland, Walt and Roy began planning to expand the concept to other locations.

The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida was built with Walt’s disapproval of the cheap motels and amusements that popped up around Disneyland in mind. It is the single largest privately-owned vacation destination, and the most popular vacation destination in the world, although the yet-to-open Dubai Land in the United Arab Emirates is twice the size. It opened in 1971 under the guidance of Roy O. Disney. Since its opening with one theme park and two hotels, the resort has grown into a four theme park, two water parks, twenty-three hotels, and two shopping complex vacation resorts.

On April 15, 1983, the first international Disney theme park Tokyo Disneyland opened in Japan, which is now part of the Tokyo Disney Resort with a sister theme park Tokyo DisneySea. On April 12, 1992, Disneyland Park (Paris) opened in France, which is now known as Disneyland Paris with the opening of Walt Disney Studios Park. On September 12, 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland opened in Hong Kong followed by Shanghai Disneyland which opened on June 16, 2016, in Shanghai.

1990s Transition: Theme park becomes a resort

In the 1990s, major construction began to transform Disneyland from a theme park into a vacation resort.

The Walt Disney Company purchased areas of land surrounding the resort that was once occupied by low-budget motels and trailer courts.

In 1998, Disneyland Park’s original «Hundred-Acre Parking Lot» was demolished, with the Harbor Blvd. sign coming down a year later. On this land, Disney California Adventure, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, and Downtown Disney opened in 2001.

Most of the resort’s parking today is handled by the Mickey and Friends parking structure. With six levels and 10,250 parking spaces, it is the second-largest parking structure in the world, behind only the structure at the Tokyo Disney Resort. Propane-powered trams bring visitors to the entrance plaza between the two parks. There are also some smaller off-property lots with regular shuttle service to and from the parks and most nearby hotels offer regular shuttle service as well. Many of the motels on Harbor Blvd. are also within walking distance of the resort.

Park Mismanagement

After Disney President Frank Wells died in April 1994, the park’s management team was a tremendous source of contention to many Disneyland fans and employees. Headed by executives Cynthia Harriss and Paul Pressler, each with a retail marketing background, Disneyland’s focus gradually changed from attractions to merchandising. The leaders came under increasing criticism for a host of cost-cutting initiatives and profit-boosting schemes.

Under their direction, few new attractions were built (and those that were tended to be off-the-shelf, poorly reuse existing infrastructure, and often exit into gift shops as a form of aggressive marketing) and many were closed down, most of which could be dusted for Walt’s fingerprints. Several attractions, such as the PeopleMover, Motor Boat Cruise, and Submarine Voyage, were simply closed, with their infrastructure still intact; the empty tracks, canals, and lagoons were stark reminders of better days. Shops that once carried a variety of items themed to their locations now carried general Disney character products. Themed restaurants and shops were closed and replaced by outdoor vending carts which caused crowds to clog walkways. The decision to remodel Tomorrowland, derided by many fans, was attributable to Pressler, as was the closure of a great many popular attractions within the area, mainly the PeopleMover and Submarine Voyage. Dewitt T. Irby, a retired U.S. Army officer hired as facilities manager, was blamed for the destruction of much of the tooling and attraction components in storage in the backstage areas to streamline operations as recommended by outside consultants.

After nearly a decade of deferred maintenance, Walt’s original theme park was showing visible signs of neglect. The paint was peeling off buildings, burnt out light bulbs, which were once replaced before they could burn out, were so numerous as to make the facades they outlined to look like toothless poor relations of their counterparts on reruns of the various Disney TV shows. The shift from attractions to merchandising had essentially turned Disneyland into a shopping mall, and it became more and more clear that Pressler didn’t care about guests or quality, only money. Disney purists such as Internet columnist Al Lutz decried the perceived decline in customer value and park quality in the name of money and railed for the Pressler regime’s dismissal.

Things started coming to a head-on December 24, 1998, when poor training and the wrong type of rope caused a metal cleat to be ripped off Sailing Ship Columbia, striking and killing a guest in line. Two years later, a minimal duty of care caused a guest to die of a brain aneurysm months after riding Indiana Jones Adventure. And in 2001, a tree (one of the park’s original plantings) fell over in Frontierland and injured 29 guests.

In 2003, both Harriss and Pressler stepped down to take over operations of national clothing retailer The Gap. Irby stepped down the following year. Pressler and Harriss were replaced by Matt Ouimet, who immediately went to work fixing Pressler-era additions. This mainly involved re-establishing maintenance schedules and fixing Tomorrowland, which included a new paint scheme and the reopening of the Submarine Voyage with a Finding Nemo theme.

To this day, many tend to misplace blame on Michael Eisner, when in reality, Eisner had little, if any, involvement in any of Pressler and Harriss’ decisions.

Disneyland in the 21st Century

Matt Ouimet, formerly manager of Disney Cruise Line, was promoted to assume leadership of Disneyland. Unlike his predecessors, Ouimet was an amusement park fan and had worked summers in Disneyland in his youth. Praised by Disney fan sites for his success in building the Cruise Line, Ouimet quickly set about reversing negative trends, especially with regards to cosmetic maintenance and a return to the original infrastructure maintenance schedule, in hopes of restoring the good safety record of the past.

Much like Walt Disney himself, Ouimet could often be seen walking the park during business hours with members of his staff. He wore a cast member name tag and welcomed comments from guests. Ouimet left in July 2006 to become President of the Starwood chain of Hotels. He was replaced with Tokyo Disney Resort executive Ed Grier.

Disneyland welcomed its 500-millionth guest in 2004. The park underwent several major renovation projects and celebrated its fiftieth anniversary (see below) with events that started in May 2005. Many classic attractions (often ones neglected during Paul Pressler and Cynthia Harriss’ times as Disneyland Resort Presidents) were restored, probably most notably Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, and Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, which has received a completely rejuvenated soundtrack based on the original forty-year-old music.

Park layout

The park was designed by Walt Disney’s movie studio staff to have five distinctly-themed «lands». Four more lands have been added since the park’s opening. At the center of the park stands Sleeping Beauty Castle. In front of the castle is Plaza Square, the center of Disneyland’s «hub and spokes» organizing scheme. From this central point, the original lands of the park radiate outward. This layout was designed to make Disneyland easy to navigate and to assist in distinguishing one themed area from another. Main Street, USA leads guests directly into Plaza Square from the south. Fantasyland lies to the north of the hub, aligned with the guests’ approach from Main Street, Sleeping Beauty Castle serving as its gateway. Frontierland’s gateway lies due west, symbolizing America’s historic westward expansion. Due east lies the gateway to Tomorrowland and Adventureland’s gateway is somewhat hidden southwest of the hub, consistent with its theme of exploring the unknown and exotic.

To complement the «hub and spokes» layout, Walt wanted to create easily-identified landmarks in each land that would be visible from the hub and draw visitors into each area, setting expectations for each themed experience. He sometimes referred to these landmarks as «weenies» due to their vertical proportions. The original «weenies» include King Arthur Carrousel (Fantasyland), The Mark Twain Riverboat (Frontierland), and the X-1 Rocket (Tomorrowland). The Disneyland Railroad Main Street Station and Sleeping Beauty Castle perform the same scenic organizing function, drawing visitors toward the park entrance and the hub, respectively.

Together, the «hub and spoke» layout, plus the «weenies» help establish a cognitive map in the mind of visitors, making the park’s organization memorable and easily understood.

Main Street, U.S.A.

Main article: Main Street, U.S.A. (Disneyland)

Based on the stereotypical turn-of-the-20th-century city Main Street, Main Street, U.S.A. is home to many shops but is short on attractions in comparison to other lands. Main Street’s attractions include vehicles (the Disneyland Railroad, a horse-drawn trolley, horseless carriages, a fire truck, a double-decker omnibus, etc.), a cinema (which now shows early Mickey Mouse shorts), and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, which moved to Disneyland in 1965 after debuting at the Illinois pavilion of the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Early attractions also included an exhibit of sets from «20,000 Leagues Under the Sea» in the building now occupied by «Lincoln».

To Walt, Main Street, U.S.A. is reminiscent of Marceline, Missouri, as it appeared in 1911, a place he considered his hometown. In design, Main Street, U.S.A. is a reasonably faithful recreation of early Fort Collins, Colorado, the hometown of Harper Goff, Main Street’s designer.

The 1880s-styled shops that line Main Street appear to be full of two-story buildings. In reality, however, they implement a forced perspective to give the illusion that they are full height. The second levels of the buildings are a few feet short of being full size. If the Disneyland architects had made the buildings a full two stories high, they would have looked incongruously tall compared to the castle. Forced perspective is also employed in the relative height of the buildings, with buildings at the south (entrance) end of the street is generally taller than buildings at the north (castle) end, creating an illusion of greater length and making Sleeping Beauty Castle appear larger than it is, though this illusion has been distorted thanks to trees planted during the park’s construction growing to dwarf the castle. Many of the second-story windows are painted with the names of Disney’s friends and supporters who were instrumental in the creation and development of Disneyland.

Walt Disney said, «For those of us who remember the carefree time it recreates, Main Street will bring back happy memories. For younger visitors, it is an adventure in turning back the calendar to the days of grandfather’s youth.» Above the firehouse is Walt Disney’s apartment, fully furnished but off-limits to the public. A lamp is kept burning in the window as a tribute to his memory. A fireman’s pole once served as a quick entrance to the park from the Disney apartment, but the opening into the apartment was closed to keep nosy guests out.

Adventureland

Main article: Adventureland (Disneyland)

Adventureland is designed to be an exotic tropical place in a far-off region of the world. «To create a land that would make this dream reality,» said Walt Disney, «we pictured ourselves far from civilization, in the remote jungles of Asia and Africa.»

Attractions include Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise, and the Indiana Jones Adventure.

Frontierland

Main article: Frontierland (Disneyland)

Frontierland recreates the setting of pioneer days in the American frontier. According to Walt Disney, «All of us have cause to be proud of our country’s history, shaped by the pioneering spirit of our forefathers. Our adventures are designed to give you the feeling of having lived, even for a short while, during our country’s pioneer days.»

Frontierland is home to the Rivers of America, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, the Mark Twain Riverboat, Sailing Ship Columbia, the Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition, and the popular nighttime spectacular, Fantasmic!.

Fantasyland

Main article: Fantasyland (Disneyland)

Walt Disney said, «What youngster has not dreamed of flying with Peter Pan over moonlit London or tumbling into Alice’s nonsensical Wonderland? In Fantasyland, these classic stories of everyone’s youth have become realities for youngsters — of all ages — to participate in.»

Originally styled as a medieval fair, Fantasyland’s refurbishment in 1983 turned the area into a Bavarian village.

Fantasyland is home to attractions such as Snow White’s Enchanted Wish, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Peter Pan’s Flight, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Matterhorn Bobsleds, and It’s a Small World.

Tomorrowland

Main article: Tomorrowland (Disneyland)

In Walt Disney’s words, «Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the doors of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come. The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to allow you to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future.»

Tomorrowland’s showpiece was the TWA Rocket to the Moon, derived from Walt’s historic «Man in Space» set of three television shows in the 1950s. It, in turn, was derived from the first spectacular ride from the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, the trip to the moon ride, which eventually became the anchor ride and namesake for Coney Island’s Luna Park. In the 1970s, the interior of the ride was updated and its destination was changed to Mars.

Another initial exhibit was Monsanto’s House of the Future—a plastic house with four wings cantilevered from a central plinth. This too had its precursors at World’s Fairs, though in those cases they were simply homes with modern conveniences and aimed at housewives.

Walt Disney was never completely satisfied with Tomorrowland. The area underwent a major transformation in 1967 to become «New Tomorrowland» and then again in 1998 when its focus was changed to present a «retro-future» theme reminiscent of the illustrations of Jules Verne. Tomorrowland changed yet again in 2005 with a new blue, silver, white, and gold paint scheme similar to its 1967-1997 paint scheme, but with a small mixture of its 1998 scheme. The only remnants of the 1998 paint scheme left are the PeopleMover/Rocket Rod track over the Autopia area, and the Tomorrowland train station.

Many of the plants in Tomorrowland are edible, based on the belief that all free space will be used for agriculture to feed the future’s huge human population. The landscaping areas are home to fruit trees, vegetable plants, and herbs such as parsley and rosemary. Guests are not, however, encouraged to nibble on the landscaping.

Current attractions include Space Mountain (a roller coaster type ride through the cosmos), Star Tours: The Adventures Continue (a simulator ride based on the Star Wars movies), Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (an interactive Omnimover dark ride), and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (a new version of the classic Submarine Voyage).

New Orleans Square

Main article: New Orleans Square

Meant to capture the flavor and architectural detail of Bourbon Street, New Orleans Square was among the last additions to Disneyland overseen by Walt Disney himself. Opened on July 24, 1966, the area is home to two of the park’s most famous attractions—Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion.

New Orleans Square is also home to a private club and restaurant are known as Club 33, located above the Blue Bayou Restaurant around the corner from the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean. Not open to the general public and rarely mentioned in any of the park’s promotional material, Club 33’s membership costs around $7,500-$10,000 per year with a waiting list several years long. The entrance to the club is a plain blue door, marked only with an address plaque bearing the number «33» immediately to the right of the Blue Bayou. It is the only place in Disneyland where alcoholic beverages are served.

Critter Country

Main article: Critter Country (Disneyland)

Critter Country is a pine-filled woodland inhabited by anthropomorphic forest animals. The two major attractions found in this land are Splash Mountain (a log flume ride based on the animated segments of the 1946 feature film Song of the South) and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (a dark ride featuring Winnie the Pooh and his friends).

The area that Critter Country now occupies was once a part of Frontierland known as the Indian Village.

The Indian Village was torn down and replaced by Bear Country on March 4, 1972, serving as the home of Country Bear Jamboree.

The land was rechristened Critter Country in 1988 in preparation for Splash Mountain’s 1989 opening.

Mickey’s Toontown

Main article: Mickey’s Toontown

Mickey’s Toontown is the wacky and colorful community that Mickey Mouse and the rest of Walt Disney’s classic cartoon stars call home.

Opened on January 24, 1993, and patterned after Toontown in the 1988 feature film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mickey’s Toontown looks like a 1930s Max Fleischer cartoon short come to life. Attractions include Gadget’s Go Coaster and Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Main article: Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (Disneyland)

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is a 14-acre themed area set on a planet in the outer rim of the galaxy of the Star Wars universe which opened to the public on May 31, 2019. Set between the events of Return of the Jedi (4 ABY) and The Force Awakens (34 ABY), Galaxy’s Edge sits north of Frontierland and northwest of Fantasyland on the land formerly occupied by Big Thunder Ranch, along with parts of the Rivers of America and Disneyland Railroad.

Former Areas

Holidayland

Main article: Holidayland

Holidayland was a 9 acre grassy picnic ground located along the western edge of Disneyland, near the area that is now New Orleans Square. Often referred to as the «lost» land of Disneyland, Holidayland had its own admission gate into Disneyland and could hold up to 7,000 guests for large events. It also had playgrounds, horseshoes, baseball field, volleyball, «the world’s largest candy-striped circus tent» (previously used by the short-lived Mickey Mouse Club Circus and Keller’s Jungle Killers attractions) and other activities. Food and concessions were available for purchase including beer, which was not sold on the neighboring premises of Disneyland.

Latest Park Map

The concept of Disneyland as a Multi-Dimensional Cinematic Experience

When Disneyland was originally designed and built, there were no Imagineers, a title coined by Walt Disney to describe the planners, engineers, architects, designers, artists, writers, and composers that now create theme park and resort experiences for guests of Disney’s properties. Consequently, Disneyland was originally designed and built by the same artists and craftsmen who created Disney’s animated and live-action films.

Combined with Walt Disney’s cinematic style of story-telling, Disneyland’s designers created an experience that is analogous to the experience of attending a film, with the film’s characters and settings coming to life in three or more dimensions, complete with the kinetic, tactile, olfactory, and culinary sensory dimensions that films lack. Each land and the park as a whole were designed so that each themed area is free from the intrusions of contradictory theming including intrusions of the «non-themed» everyday world, which was hidden behind a landscaped berm, blocking it from view. This allows Disney storytelling to monopolize the senses and allows guests to imagine themselves experiencing the stories directly, not just hearing them or watching them on a two-dimensional surface.

The cinema analogy begins with the main gate approach. Ticket booths mark the entrance to the park just as they would mark the entrance to the movie theaters of 1955. On opening day attraction posters lined the entrance plaza, just as movie posters punctuate theater lobbies. The floral Mickey Mouse that dominates the entrance plaza’s hill is analogous to the title card that marked the beginning of the mid-century Mickey Mouse short subjects shown before the feature film in many theaters. Visitors leave the entrance plaza and enter the park through two symmetrically-arranged tunnels under the railroad tracks, drawing an analogy to the archways leading into the theater from the lobbies of the day. (Today, the attraction posters are located in the train tunnels.) The tributes to the park’s contributors that occupy the windows of Main Street, U.S.A. bear some resemblance to a film’s opening credits.

Once past Main Street, the visitor becomes the protagonist in a series of cinematic adventures. Originally, Fantasyland’s dark rides consistently failed to portray the main characters of the movies on which they are based (Peter Pan, Snow White, Alice, Mr. Toad) because it was expected that the guests would see themselves experiencing the world in the place of those characters. Each story experience in the park occupies a distinct place just as each scene of a film has a distinct setting. Each set includes a high level of multi-sensory detail, heightening the sensation of being transported to another place and time through effects as subtle and subconscious as music and other ambient sound, the smells of foods, degrees of sunlight and shade, landscaping effects, color, architecture, and even the width, shape, and texture of the paths on which guests walk. The experience is even meant to include the use of story-centric clothing and props available in gift shops (Indiana Jones’ hat, Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, pirate booty, princess dresses).

As one exits the park, the experience is reversed; the cinematic adventures reach their climax (i.e. parades and/or fireworks), then end; the film’s closing credits roll by (Main Street’s windows); guests pass back through the archways (train tunnels), into the lobby (entrance plaza), and back into the everyday world (outside the berm).

This Multi-Dimensional Cinematic Experience has also been used to design most other Disney parks around the world.

Backstage Areas

Areas closed to park visitors are considered in Disneyland lingo «Backstage». There are several points of entry from the outside world to the backstage areas: Ball Gate (at the terminus of Cast Place off Ball Road), Team Disney Anaheim Gate (adjacent to the building), Harbor Gate (off Harbor Boulevard, behind Tomorrowland), and Winston Gate (off Disneyland Drive, behind the Mickey and Friends parking garage).

Berm Road encircles the park from Firehouse Gate (behind the Main Street Fire Station) to Egghouse Gate (adjacent to the Main Street Opera House). The road is so-called because it generally follows outside the path of Disneyland’s earthen berm, although with the addition of Mickey’s Toontown, the road now strays as much as 100 yards from onstage areas at some points. A stretch of the road, wedged between Tomorrowland and Harbor Boulevard, is called Schumaker Road. It has two narrow lanes divided by a double yellow line, runs underneath the Monorail track. Two railroad bridges cross Berm Road: one behind City Hall and the other behind Tomorrowland near Harbor Gate. The speed limit for most parts of Berm Road is 15 miles per hour, although a section cutting through Disneyland’s maintenance shops behind the park’s northwestern corner has a speed limit of 5 miles per hour.

The major buildings backstage include Team Disney Anaheim, where many of the park’s support staff and top-level managers work and the Old Administration Building, behind Tomorrowland and Main Street.

Transportation

Walt Disney had a longtime interest in transportation and railroads in particular. He had built a miniature steam railroad on the grounds of his own home. Therefore several different modes of transport were incorporated into the park. The transportation systems are in some respects intended more as entertainment rides than as a means of transporting guests.

Disneyland Railroad

Main article: Disneyland Railroad

Disneyland incorporates a steam railroad. Originally known as the Disneyland and Santa Fe Railroad, it was sponsored by the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. Laid to three-foot gauge, the most common narrow gauge measurement used in North America, the railroad is laid in a continuous loop around the park. All the Disneyland locomotives burn diesel fuel, which is less polluting (though more expensive) than the coal, wood, or heavy «Bunker C» oil normally used on steam locomotives.

Originally, two trains could operate on the railroad. Passing tracks were incorporated at Main Street & Frontierland, where one train had to wait to allow the other to pass. Later, after another station and train were added, the need for passing tracks was eliminated. The passing track at Main Street was disconnected and now is only used to display a handcar, a gift to Walt. The 1958 edition of the «Grand Canyon/Primeval World» diorama necessitated a change in the rolling stock as well; instead of facing forward, the benches of the new flatcars now faced right so that the diorama could be better enjoyed by the passengers. Five open-air, clerestory-roofed observation cars with forward-facing seats dating from the park’s opening were returned to service in 2004 after undergoing a three-year restoration.

Another detail dating from the park’s opening can be seen from the railroad. As the train passes behind the «it’s a small world» attraction in Fantasyland, it crosses a service road that is protected by two miniature wigwag crossing signals. Santa Fe offered the use of full-scale crossing signals, but Disney declined as they would be out of scale with the trains. These scaled-down replicas were designed and built by the San Bernardino shops of the Santa Fe Railroad as a gift to Disneyland. They operate with automotive windshield wiper motors.

The Walt Disney Company constructed the original two locomotives in its workshops under the supervision of Roger E. Broggie. Patterned after the Lilly Belle, a miniature steam locomotive Broggie had made for Walt’s backyard Carolwood Pacific Railroad, these were also models of classic «Wild West» style American 4-4-0s, but built to a larger three-fifths scale. No. 1 (the C.K. Holliday) was given a big wood-burning ‘balloon’ stack and large, pointed pilot (cowcatcher), while No. 2 (the E.P. Ripley) was given a straight stack and smaller pilot common to East Coast coal-burning locomotives.

Two more locomotives were later acquired from outside sources since this was cheaper than building new ones and since many narrow-gauge lines were closing down and selling their equipment. All three were given extensive renovations before entering service, including new boilers. No. 3 (the Fred Gurley) is a «Forney» locomotive, a type of tank locomotive. As an 1894 product of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, No. 3 is the oldest locomotive in service at any Disney property. No. 4 (the Ernest S. Marsh), another Baldwin product, was acquired the year after the No. 3.

In 2004, Disney purchased the inoperable Maud L locomotive from the Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio, and sent it to a Southern California shop to restore it and transform it into a Disneyland Railroad locomotive. This 1902 Baldwin locomotive is now Disneyland Railroad locomotive #5 and is the first Disneyland Railroad train added since 1959. The train is named after the late Ward Kimball, one of Disney’s Nine Old Men. The locomotive is «Forney» locomotive like the No. 3.

The railroad reopened in March 2005 after undergoing a three-month restoration to bring the roadbed back to gauge in time for the park’s fiftieth anniversary. It was the most prolonged closure of the railroad in park history. Later, on January 11, 2016, the railroad underwent another prolonged closure, this time for a year-and-a-half, so it and the Rivers of America could be rerouted to make room for Star Wars Land. It reopened on July 29, 2017, with a soft opening the prior day.

Monorail

One of Disneyland’s signature attractions is its Alweg monorail system, installed in 1959. The monorail track has remained almost the same since 1961, aside from small alterations while Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney were being built. The monorail shuttles visitors between two stations, one in Disneyland itself (in Tomorrowland) and one outside the park, originally at the Disneyland Hotel, but now, after 2001 remodel, at the Downtown Disney shopping complex. It follows a 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) long route designed to show off the park from above. Three generations of monorail cars have been used in the park since their lightweight construction means they wear out quickly.

As of 2015, three monorail trains, Monorail Red, Monorail Blue, and Monorail Orange, are in regular service. Orange was removed from service in 2004 and shipped to Disney’s engineering department in Burbank for disassembly and study so that new blueprints can be created from it, because Alweg, the company which originally built the monorail trains, has gone out of business. Monorail Blue was removed in 2006 to begin the upgrade process into a Mark VII, followed by Monorail Red in 2007, leaving Monorail Purple as the only monorail. The newly-upgraded Monorail Red entered service on July 3, 2008, following design change issues. Monorail Blue came online in September the same year, at which point Monorail Purple, the last Mark V monorail, was removed from service and scrapped. Monorail Orange was put into service in February 2009.

Disneyland had signed a contract with the Alweg company which required the Alweg name to be displayed on the monorail. This conflicted with the contract with the Santa Fe that only their name could be associated with railroad attractions at the park. This caused a rift between Disneyland and the Santa Fe railroad, and eventually caused the breakdown in their relationship and the removal of Santa Fe sponsorship from the Disneyland Railroad in 1974.

Main Street vehicles

Some vehicles, including a double-decker bus, a horse-drawn streetcar, an old-fashioned fire engine, and 2 old-fashioned automobiles, are available for rides along Main Street, U.S.A. They are only available during the morning and early afternoon, as they cannot be used later in the day due to parades and generally heavy crowds making navigation all but impossible. Also, California state law mandates that horses can only work a maximum of four-hour shifts each day.

The fire engine was built for Walt Disney, who used it to drive around the park and host celebrity guests. The horseless carriages are modeled after cars built-in 1903. They (as well as the fire truck) have two-cylinder, four horsepower (3kW) engines, and manual transmission and steering.

Skyway

Main article: Skyway

The Disneyland Skyway, «the first aerial tramway of its kind in the United States,» was one of the signature attractions at the park. Opened in 1956 by Walt Disney himself, it shuttled passengers between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland 100 feet (30 m) above the ground, giving passengers fantastic views of Sleeping Beauty Castle, the Matterhorn (which it went through), and the Autopia. A distinctive feature was that Disneyland maintained the ‘on-stage/backstage’ illusion to Skyway guests, covering any sites that would be unsuitable to guests that were also hidden to guests on foot.

Due to the enormous impending cost to retrofit the Skyway for earthquake safety and ADA compliance, as well as a cracked rolling battery support in the Matterhorn that would require closing and partially dismantling the mountain to fix, the attraction closed permanently on November 9, 1994, its operating budget reallocated to Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Four years later, Tokyo Disneyland removed their Skyway; finally, in 1999, Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom removed theirs. No Skyways are left at any Disney park (Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland have never had a Skyway attraction).

The Tomorrowland station remained as a maintenance bay for Rocket Rods beginning in 1998, but was removed shortly after the Rocket Rods closed in spring 2001. The Fantasyland station remained standing, until demolished in Summer 2016 to make way for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Live entertainment

In addition to the attractions, Disneyland provides live entertainment throughout the park.

• Disneyland’s Fantasmic! in Frontierland, a popular nighttime show with a live Mickey Mouse, special effects, floating barges, a pirate ship, a forty-five-foot animatronic fire-breathing dragon, fireworks, and a fifty-foot-tall water projector.
• The Disneyland Band, which has been part of the park since its opening. Its members gather in flashy matching uniforms to open and close the park daily, then disburse and change costumes to spend the day playing music appropriate to the various themed lands, such as Dixieland music in New Orleans Square. One currently popular group is the Trash Can Trio, which pops up unexpectedly in random places in the park. The Disneyland Band is traditionally all male.
• The Golden Horseshoe Saloon offers a live stage show with a frontier or old-west feel. The Golden Horseshoe Revue—an old-west Vaudeville type of show starting Slue Foot (or Sluefoot), Sue, and Pecos Bill ran until the mid-1980s when it was replaced by a similar show starring Lily Langtree (or Miss Lily) and Sam the Bartender. Most recently, Billy Hill and the Hillbillies have played their guitars and banjos in a bluegrass-and-comedy show, until Disneyland opted not to renew their contract in 2016, causing the group to move to nearby Knott’s Berry Farm. The original Golden Horseshoe Revue holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-running stage show.
• The Dapper Dans barbershop quartet often sings on Main Street.
• Rod Miller is a ragtime pianist that played at Coke Corner until he retired in 2005.
• Stages throughout the park provide singing and dancing shows.
• Character actors in Frontierland provide small humorous skits with an old-west theme.
• A steel drum band often plays on the roof of the Jungle Cruise in Adventureland.
• Disney cartoon characters (cast members in costume) greet visitors, talk with children, and pose for photos. Characters who wear full-head masks to create their personas never speak; characters who do not need masks, called «face characters—including many of the female characters, such as princesses—have no such restriction. Besides greeting visitors in regular places, they often participate in Disneyland parades.
• Character actors stroll up and down Main Street occasionally, chatting to guests and performing humorous skits with each other. Characters include the town gossip, the mayor, and a host of others.
• Merlin appears in Fantasyland several times a day to help some lucky child pull a sword from an anvil and stone.
• Street Bands will occasionally play in New Orleans Square.

Admission

From Disneyland’s opening until 1982, the price of attractions was in addition to the price of park admission. Park-goers paid a small sum to get into the park, then bought coupons (also called tickets), individually or in booklets, that allowed them access to rides and attractions. The least-expensive «A» tickets gave access to the smaller attractions, while the most-expensive «E» tickets gave access to the newest thrill rides or the most interesting and unusual attractions. This led to the use of the still-popular term «E-ticket ride» to refer to any particularly outstanding, special, or thrilling experience.

In the 1970s, nearby Magic Mountain introduced a one-price admission ticket which allowed free access to all attractions within the park. This model spread rapidly to all other parks, including Disneyland, because its business advantages were obvious: in addition to guaranteeing that everyone paid a large sum even if they stayed for only a few hours and rode only a few rides, the park no longer had to print tickets or ticket books, staff ticket booths, or provide staff to collect tickets or monitor attractions for people sneaking on without tickets.

Fastpass

In 1999, to offset the long waits for the most popular attractions, Disney implemented a new service named FASTPASS. At attractions featuring FASTPASS, a guest can use his park admission ticket to obtain a FASTPASS ticket with a return time later that day (an hour-long window) printed on it. If the guest comes back to the attraction at his return time, he will get to wait in a shorter line and be on the attraction within ten minutes, or often much more quickly. Initially, only a few attractions offered this service, but its popularity ensured its spread to many of the park’s attractions. Regular visitors often note that first-time guests are confused by the system, with some believing that the system costs extra money to use; in reality, the recently-introduced mobile MAXPASS costs money, while the normal FASTPASS continues to be free to all park guests.

Seasonal offerings

Halloween Time

In Mid September the park is dressed up in Halloween Decorations.

Main Street

Pumpkins adorn the Main street Along with a Giant Mickey Mouse Pumpkin in the center of Town Square.

Haunted Mansion Holiday

The Haunted Mansion is transformed into the Haunted Mansion Holiday. Jack Skellington and Friends create an Ex-scream Makeover.

Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy

Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy takes you to a haunted sector where Ghosts will try and get you!

Mickey’s Trick or Treat Party

Come at Night for this exclusive party and dress up as your favorite character. Also, catch a glimpse of Halloween Screams Fireworks Show.

Holidays at the Disneyland Resort

Since the park opened in 1955, Christmas has been celebrated at Disneyland. During the season, which usually runs from mid-November to early January, the park is dressed in festive decorations, the PA system plays Christmas music (much of it still dating back to the 1960s; the current playlist was hand-selected by longtime park announcer Jack Wagner in 1972), special Christmas parades and fireworks shows are run, and it’s a small world, Haunted Mansion, and Jungle Cruise get holiday-themed overlays, known as It’s a Small World Holiday (in which «Jingle Bells» and the attraction’s signature song are sung in different languages, similar to the regular attraction), Haunted Mansion Holiday (themed around The Nightmare Before Christmas), and Jingle Cruise (where the boats gain festive names and Christmas decorations are scattered throughout the jungle, with a backstory that a plane dumped its cargo before crashing).

Disney After Dark

Since 2017, Disneyland has hosted Disney After Dark, an annual event where the Park is open to the public for a full 24 hours. Every year has seen a different theme, often past decades in Disneyland history.

Deaths

In the half-century that Disneyland has been in operation, nine guests and one cast member have died from their visit to the park. A greater number of guests have been injured.

Seven of the deaths were the result of negligence on the guests’ part rather than the park’s.

• On May 15, 1964, 15-year-old Mark Maples of Long Beach, California died after he stood up in the Matterhorn Bobsleds and fell out.
• On June 17, 1966, Thomas Guy Cleveland, 19, of Northridge, California was crushed by the Monorail during a Grad Nite celebration while trying to sneak into the park by climbing its track.
• On August 21, 1967, Ricky Lee Yama, 17, of Hawthorne, California was crushed while jumping between two moving PeopleMover cars.
• On June 22, 1973, Bogden Delaurot, 18, of Brooklyn, New York drowned while trying to carry his little brother swimming across the Rivers of America.
• On July 8, 1974, cast member Deborah Gail Stone, 18, of nearby Santa Ana, California was crushed to death by a revolving wall in the now-closed «America Sings» attraction. She was in the wrong place during a ride intermission; it was unclear whether this was due to inadequate training or a misstep. The attraction was subsequently refitted with breakaway walls.
• On June 7, 1980, Gerardo Gonzales, 18, of San Diego, California was crushed by the PeopleMover while jumping between moving cars.
• On June 4, 1983, Philip Straughan, 18, of Albuquerque, New Mexico drowned in the Rivers of America while trying to pilot a rubber emergency boat from Tom Sawyer’s Island.
• On January 3, 1984, Dolly Regene Young, 48, of Fremont, California unbuckled her seatbelt and was thrown from a Matterhorn Bobsleds car and struck by an oncoming train.
• On December 26, 1998, a metal cleat aboard the sailing ship «Columbia» tore loose, striking three people in the head. Of them, Luan Phi Dawson, 33, of Duvall, Washington, died of a head injury. The normal non-elastic rope (designed to break easily) to tie the boat off was improperly replaced by an elastic rope that stretched and pulled off the cleat. The park received much criticism for this incident due to its policy of restricting outside medical personnel in the park to avoid frightening visitors, as well as for the fact that the cast member in charge of the ship at the time was a novice.
• On September 5, 2003, 22-year-old Marcelo Torres of nearby Gardena, California died after suffering injuries in a derailment of the Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster. The cause of the accident was determined to be improper maintenance. Exactly what happened to Mr. Torres is unknown; he was hit in the chest with a blunt object that fractured his ribs, leading to the laceration of his lungs which caused «severe blood loss,» according to an Orange County coroner’s statement. He died at the scene.

Incidents

After Walt passed away, in August 1970, Disneyland was invaded by several Yippies who planned the stunt as an attack on what they saw as bloated establishment decadence. In their leaflets, they stated they would help «liberate» Minnie Mouse. They raised a Viet Cong flag on Tom Sawyer’s Island, filled the now-closed Adventure Thru Inner Space dark ride with marijuana smoke, and caused the closing of the park for the rest of the day until they were rounded up by police.

With memories of this event in mind, in May 1989, park security personnel were prepared for rumors of an invasion of the park by neo-Nazis, in honor of the birth of an obscure Nazi leader named Gregor Strasser. Although several leaflets were published announcing this, only one car of skinheads was seen in the parking lot before the park opened, and none entered.

Some cast members and visitors have reported seeing ghosts in the park, including those of the people who have died in the park and even Walt Disney himself. Supposedly, there are also actual ghosts in the Haunted Mansion. Some claim to have witnessed Walt Disney’s spirit itself in the Disney Gallery above the Pirates of the Caribbean or the Grand Canyon exhibit on the Railroad line.

In January 2020, a popular Disneyland YouTuber named Fatima Lakhani was banned from the park for an unknown reason, though one user claims that she was banned because she had been harassing characters and even followed one of the cast members in the employee parking lot. The same user also claims to have gotten this information from actresses who play Disney Princesses. It is unconfirmed whether or not this person is telling the truth.

Closures

Disneyland has only been forced to close five times in its history. The first occurrence was due to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, yet urban legends have circulated that Walt Disney refused to lower the American Flag in Town Square in respect — however, Walt and his brother were on the other side of the country surveying land for the future site of Walt Disney World in Florida. The second time came on August 6, 1970, when the Youth International Party (Yippies) staged an anti-Vietnam War riot which, among other things, involved tearing up landscaping, raising their flag at Town Square (as well as a Viet Cong flag on Tom Sawyer Island), threw a lightbulb at a turnstile while guests were leaving, and forced a large-scale deployment of the Anaheim Police Department with riot gear (the park had even considered calling in the National Guard as a last resort). Disneyland closed again during the attacks of September 11, 2001, for two reasons. The first reason was in respect, and the second was that there were plans to target the park, which is now a famous symbol of American culture. However, due to the time difference, the only people in the park were there for Magic Morning, so it was easier for the parks to close. Disneyland, along with Disney California Adventure, and all on-site hotels at the resort, were temporarily closed on March 14, 2020, in part due to the coronavirus outbreak. The temporary closure of the resort was done as part of the guidelines set forth by the Governor of California to prevent the spread of the virus.

A scheduled closure occurred on May 4, 2005, Disneyland was again closed to the public. Though the original stated reason was to put the finishing touches on the 50th Anniversary Celebration, Disneyland also played host to a large media event designed to generate interest in the 50th-anniversary celebration. The celebration began on May 5. The event started with a dedication from Michael Eisner and Art Linkletter, one of the hosts of the original dedication on July 17, 1955 (along with Walt Disney and Bob Cummings) and ended on October 2, 2006.

There have also been cases where the park is opened for part of the day but then closes to the public for several events. Among those were two Major League Baseball All-Star Game Galas (in 1967 and 1989), Elizabeth Taylor’s 60th Birthday Party and a Sweet Sixteen Birthday Party for Miley Cyrus, the star of Disney Channel’s television series, Hannah Montana, on October 5, 2008.

In March 2020, Disney announced the temporary closure of both Disneyland and Disney World due to the coronavirus pandemic.^[1] It was originally scheduled to reopen on March 12, 2021, but was delayed to April 30.

Trivia

• Part of the land now occupied by Disneyland was owned and occupied by the Dominguez family. The Dominguez home once sat in present-day New Orleans Square and was relocated to become one of the park’s first administration buildings. A palm tree that was planted by the Dominguez family on the property still exists today, at the entrance to the Indiana Jones Adventure Fastpass queue. Ron Dominguez, who grew up in the home, was employed at Disneyland early in its history and later became president of Disneyland.
• Disneyland launched the entertainment careers of Steve Martin and the Osmond family.
• «The Golden Horseshoe Revue» played at the Golden Horseshoe Saloon in Frontierland for over 31 years, the longest-running show in history. Wally Boag and Betty Taylor performed in most of that performance.
• The Golden Horseshoe Saloon in Frontierland hosted the 30th wedding anniversary party of Walt and Lillian Disney on July 13, 1955, four days before the park’s opening. On that occasion, Lillian’s gift to Walt was a petrified tree, which remains in Disneyland to this day, on the riverfront a few paces from the Saloon.
• From 1956 to 1972, Frontierland’s Indian Village was home to authentic exhibits of Native American culture. There, Native Americans were honored to demonstrate their traditional music, dance, clothing, and crafts. The Village Trading Post still occupies its original spot, now a gift shop adjacent to the Splash Mountain queue at the entrance to Critter Country.
• Many «hidden Mickeys» are visible in Disneyland—one large circle and two small circles arranged in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head and ears. Some of these are meant to be seen as references to Mickey Mouse as part of the decor. (Example: the blank Mickey head that once occupied the inside of the loop on California Screamin’). Others are deliberately created and concealed—sort of an inside joke created by Imagineers and cast members. (Example: one large plate and two adjacent small plates on the banquet table in the ballroom of the Haunted Mansion).
• Many of the audio-animatronic characters appearing in the «Splash Mountain» attraction in Critter Country once entertained guests in an attraction called «America Sings» in Tomorrowland. Some audio-animatronic geese from «America Sings» were stripped down to their endoskeletons and became droids in the «Star Tours» queue.
• A candidate for mayor in New Orleans once inadvertently used photographs of Disneyland’s New Orleans Square on her campaign website instead of images of the real New Orleans.
• Four of Disneyland’s attractions were relocated to the park after debuting at the 1964 New York World’s Fair: It’s a Small World (created by Disney for Pepsi-Cola’s pavilion), The Carousel of Progress (created by Disney for GE’s pavilion, later moved to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom), Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (created by Disney for the Illinois pavilion), and the Grand Canyon and Primeval World dioramas (created, along with other dioramas, by Disney for Ford’s Magic Skyway attraction, now visible from the Disneyland Railroad).
• In 1998, a television special, The Wiggles Live at Disneyland premiered on Disney Channel Australia while taking place at Disneyland throughout.
• When Disneyland first opened in 1955, the admission fee was only one dollar.
• In the Gravity Falls Season 1 finale «Gideon Rises», Li’l Gideon has plans on knocking down the Mystery Shack and building an amusement park called GideonLand. The logo has the same font as the Disneyland logos.
• On January 11, 2021, Orange County officials announced that Disneyland was set to become a massive COVID-19 vaccination site.^[2]
• It is parodied in the Dinosaurs episode «Variations on a Theme Park» as «WeSaySoLand».

Slogans

«The Happiest Place on Earth»

Gallery

References

• Disneyland the First Quarter Century (1979). Walt Disney Productions.
• Yesterland (http://www.yesterland.com/skyway.html).
• Daily park brochures from Summer 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002

External links

• Disneyland on Wikipedia
• Disneyland Resort website
• FASTPASS® page
• Official Disneyland Facebook Page
• Attendance statistics for Disneyland
• The Disneyland Report: Disneyland and Disney News
• Celebrities at Disneyland
• Deaths at Disneyland
• Walt’s Magic Kingdom: A history of all attractions, shops, and restaurants at Disneyland since 1955
• Once Upon a Time in Anaheim: a site featuring photographic tours of many of the Disneyland Resort’s attractions
• Jungleis101.blogspot.com: a former Disneyland cast member offers insights from the late 1970s and into the 1980s, with an emphasis on Adventureland and, of course, the Jungle Cruise.

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Theme Parks Disneyland • Disney California Adventure Other Attractions Downtown Disney Resorts Disneyland Hotel • Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel • Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

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Main Street, U.S.A. Disneyland Railroad • Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln • The Disney Gallery • Dapper Dans • Main Street Vehicles • Main Street Cinema • Penny Arcade Adventureland Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room • Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye • Jungle Cruise • Adventureland Treehouse (Opening in 2023) Frontierland Big Thunder Mountain Railroad • Mark Twain Riverboat • Golden Horseshoe Saloon • Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island • Sailing Ship Columbia Fantasyland Sleeping Beauty Castle • Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough • Alice in Wonderland • Casey Jr. Circus Train • Dumbo the Flying Elephant • Fantasyland Theater (Tale of the Lion King) • It’s a Small World • King Arthur Carrousel • Mad Tea Party • Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride • Peter Pan’s Flight • Pinocchio’s Daring Journey • Snow White’s Enchanted Wish • Pixie Hollow • Sword in the Stone • Royal Hall • Matterhorn Bobsleds • Storybook Land Canal Boats Seasonal: It’s a Small World Holiday Tomorrowland Astro Orbitor • Autopia • Space Mountain • Star Tours: The Adventures Continue • Disneyland Monorail System • Push the Talking Trash Can • Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters • Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage • Star Wars Launch Bay (Reopening in 2023) Seasonal: Hyperspace Mountain New Orleans Square The Haunted Mansion • Pirates of the Caribbean Seasonal: Haunted Mansion Holiday Critter Country Splash Mountain • Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (Opening in 2024) • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh • Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes Mickey’s Toontown (Reopening in March 8, 2023) Gadget’s Go Coaster (Reopening in March 8, 2023) • Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin (Reopening in March 8, 2023) • Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (Opening in January 27, 2023) • Mickey’s House and Meet Mickey (Reopening in March 8, 2023) • Minnie’s House (Reopening in March 8, 2023) • Donald’s Boat (Reopening in March 8, 2023) • Goofy’s Playhouse (Reopening in March 8, 2023) Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run • Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Current Entertainment Magic Happens (Reopening in 2023) • Fantasmic! • Mickey’s Mix Magic Seasonal: A Christmas Fantasy Parade • Disney’s Celebrate America • Halloween Screams • Believe… In Holiday Magic • Fantasy in the Sky: New Year’s Eve Special • Villains Dance Party Former Attractions and Entertainment The Walt Disney Story • Snow White and Her Adventures • Aladdin’s Oasis • Swiss Family Treehouse • Big Thunder Ranch • Mike Fink Keel Boats • Nature’s Wonderland • Mickey Mouse Club Theater • Autopia • Skyway • Ariel’s Grotto • Disney Afternoon Avenue • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea • Rocket Rods • Circle-Vision 360° (America the Beautiful • Wonders of China • American Journeys) • Rocket to the Moon • The World Beneath Us • House of the Future • Submarine Voyage • Flying Saucers • Adventure Thru Inner Space • Carousel of Progress • America Sings • Innoventions • Super Hero HQ • Star Tours • Rocket Jets • Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage • The Magic, the Memories and You • PeopleMover • Starcade • Magic Journeys • Captain EO • Disneyland Forever • Honey, I Shrunk the Audience • Star Wars: Path of the Jedi • The Disney Gallery • Disneyland Dream Suite • Main Street Electrical Parade • Pirates Arcade Museum • Country Bear Playhouse • Toon Park • Light Magic • Paint the Night • America on Parade • Flights of Fantasy Parade • Aladdin’s Royal Caravan • The Lion King Celebration • Hercules Victory Parade • Mulan Parade • Motor Boat Cruise • Mickey and the Magical Map • Viewliner Train of Tomorrow • Snow White’s Scary Adventures • Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Treehouse • Tarzan’s Treehouse Seasonal: Rockin’ Space Mountain • Country Bear Vacation Hoedown • Country Bear Christmas Special • Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams • Pixar Play Parade • Mickey’s Soundsational Parade • Frightfully Fun Parade • The Hunchback of Notre Dame Topsy Turvy Cavalcade • Parade of the Stars • Mickey’s Costume Party Cavalcade • Believe… There’s Magic in the Stars • Fantasy in the Sky • Imagine… A Fantasy in the Sky • Magical: Disney’s New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations • Remember… Dreams Come True • Together Forever: A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular • Jingle Cruise • Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy Resorts Disneyland Hotel

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Books Kingdom Keepers • Kingdom Keepers I: Disney After Dark • Kingdom Keepers II: Disney at Dawn • Kingdom Keepers III: Disney in Shadow • Kingdom Keepers IV: Power Play • Kingdom Keepers V: Shell Game • Kingdom Keepers VI: Dark Passage • Kingdom Keepers VII: The Insider Characters Original Characters: Finn Whitman • Charlene Turner • Terrence Maybeck • Dell Philby • Isabella Angelo • Wayne Kresky • Amanda Lockhart • Jessica Lockhart • Mrs. Whitham • Wanda Alcott • Greg Luowski • Storey Ming • Bess Maybeck • Gladis Philby • Sally Ringwald • Dillard Cole • Hugo Montcliff • Mattie Weaver Disney Characters: Mickey Mouse • Minnie Mouse • Goofy • Donald Duck • Daisy Duck • Pluto • Chip and Dale • Ariel • Violet Parr • Mulan • King Triton • Megara • Stitch • Remy • Django • Rajah • Prince Phillip • Elsa • Rapunzel • Timon • Pumbaa • Tigger • Lilo • Winnie the Pooh • Piglet Overtakers: Maleficent • Chernabog • The Evil Queen • Cruella De Vil • Claude Frollo • Ursula • Jafar • Shan Yu • Jack Sparrow • Tia Dalma • Gaston • Prince John • Horned King • Big Bad Wolf • J. Worthington Foulfellow • Gideon • Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed • Diablo • Magic Brooms • Green Army Men • Blackbeard • Shere Khan • Si and Am • Hopper • Flotsam and Jetsam • Judge Doom • Madame Leota • Sabor • The Headless Horseman • Stormtroopers • Scar • Zira Locations Magic Kingdom • Epcot • Disney’s Hollywood Studios • Disney’s Animal Kingdom • Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon • DisneyQuest • Cinderella Castle • Escher’s Keep • It’s a Small World • Splash Mountain • The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad • Camp Minnie-Mickey • Expedition Everest • Fantasmic! • Voyage of the Little Mermaid • Disney Dream • Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge • Soarin’ • Mission: SPACE • Test Track • Wonders of Life • Morocco Pavilion • China Pavilion • France Pavilion • Norway Pavilion • Mexico Pavilion • Disneyland • Jungle Cruise • The Sorcerer’s Hat • Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye • Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters • The Haunted Mansion • Casey Jr. Circus Train • Mickey’s Toontown • Matterhorn • The Disney Gallery