Disneyland

I t all started on a bench. When his kids were small, Walt Disney – already the

massively successful producer behind early animated classics like "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" – would take them to ride the Merry-Go-Round in Los Angeles' Griffith Park, near his home. It was while he was sitting on a nearby bench, watching his kids play, that he had the idea for

Designed by Melissa Morandy Written by Katheryn Walsh & VisitAnaheim.org Photos provided by Flickr

The Great American Theme Park

his kids play, that he had the idea for Disneyland: a place where kids and parents could enjoy playing and spending time together.

Many years later, in 1953, he asked a consultant to help him find the land for the theme park he envisioned. It would have a Main Street and four separate lands called Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Fantasyland and Frontierland. The consultant suggested a 160-acre parcel of land in Anaheim, which Disney bought for $879,000 in early 1954.

On Sunday, July 17, 1955, the Disneyland gates opened for the first time. Tickets cost $1 for adults and 50 cents for kids, but each of the park's 35 rides also had their own fees. Opening day was rough, thanks to a larger-than-expected crowd and a number of operational hiccups, but the park was running smoothly within a few months. Walt Disney said, “If you can dream, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started by a mouse”.

Disneyland was a hit from the start, and Walt Disney himself oversaw improvements in the park and announced plans to build Disney World in 1965. Dying of lung cancer in 1966, he never got to see it. In 2001, a second park, Disney California Adventure, opened next to Disneyland.

Disney’s California Adventure

When it opened in 2001, the park, located next to Disneyland, featured 22 shows and attractions, 15 restaurants and four distinct “districts.” It had once been the original Disneyland parking lot, but in the mid-1990s, then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner decided it would be a good idea to create an adjacent park that celebrated both the history and culture of California. Construction began in June 1998 and within just three years it was open for business. In its first year, California Adventure welcomed 5 million guests while Disneyland attracted 12.3 million. There were definitely growing pains as both tourists and locals figured out exactly how to “use” the park.

Disney began adding more attractions for kids along with Disney’s Electrical Parade to keep people interested and engaged after dark. Then, six years in, Disney made the bold move to do a major overhaul at the park. In 2007, the work began and within just a year, Toy Story Midway Mania! opened on Paradise Pier. In 2008, World of Color was also introduced on Paradise Bay and then in 2011, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure opened.

Mickey Mouse was created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, an earlier cartoon character created by the Disney studio for Charles Mintz, a film producer who distributed product through Universal Studios. In the spring of 1928 after a disagreement over the budget, Mintz reminded Disney that Universal owned the character. Angrily, Disney refused the deal and returned to produce the final Oswald cartoons he contractually owed Mintz. In the spring of 1928, Disney asked Ub Iwerks to start drawing up new character ideas. Iwerks tried sketches of various animals, such as dogs and cats, a cow, horse and frog but none of these appealed to Disney. Walt Disney got the inspiration for Mickey Mouse from a tame mouse at his desk at Laugh-O-Gram Studio in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1925, Hugh Harman drew some sketches of mice around a photograph of Walt Disney. These inspired Ub Iwerks to create a new mouse character for Disney. "Mortimer Mouse" had been Disney's original name for the character before his wife, Lillian, convinced him to change it, and ultimately Mickey Mouse came to be.

Wikipedia

Mickey Mouse

By 2012, Disney announced that California Adventure would now be divided into eight themed lands, which would include Buena Vista Street, Cars Land, Paradise Pier, Condor Flats, a Bug’s Land, Pacific Wharf, Hollywood Land and Grizzly Peak. 2012’s 12-acre Cars Land was truly a game changer for the park, featuring Radiator Springs Racers. Cars Land was essentially designed as a life-size model and exact replica of the town Radiator Springs from the Cars films (the land also includes several dining and shopping venues).

In 2017, the popular Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride closed and was revamped several months later into Guardians of the Galaxy-Mission: Breakout! More recently, the California Screamin’ roller coaster was closed and is currently being re-themed into a Pixar-themed roller coaster.

In the 17 years since it has opened, California Adventure has been able to roll with the changes, deal with the criticisms and evolve and reinvent itself in very unique ways. In addition to great rides and attractions, today the park also features a vibrant host of holiday festivals along with food and wine festivals. Through it all, California Adventure has managed to grow and thrive into one of the world’s top theme parks.

If you can dream, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started by a mouse

-Walt Disney

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Top: Disney’s California Adventure Bottom: Radiator Springs Racer Ride