A Brief History of Disneyland

When most people hear the word Disney, they often think of Disneyland. Although Walt Disney has had some marvelous ideas, one of his best is Disneyland. More thought was put into the construction of Disneyland than was put into Mickey Mouse himself. All of the hard work surely paid off, as over fifty years later, Disneyland still stands strong, with several versions of the park placed across the globe. Disneyland is the home to millions of Disney fans around the world.

Walt Disney and his crew of twelve-hundred men slaved over the creation of Disneyland. This team consisted of engineers, painters, and bricklayers, among many others. In total, about seventeen million dollars was put towards the creation of the “fabulous playground.” Three-hundred thousand out of the seventeen million dollars was spent on land alone. Although the original park took up almost half of the land owned by Disney for this project, the rest was put aside for future expansions, as Disney never wants to “finish” Disneyland. He sees room for never-ending expansions and constant park changes (Muir).

Disneyland, which opened in 1955, is sectioned off into eight different sub-lands: Maine Street USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, New Orleans Square (added in 1966), Critter Country (added in 1972), and Mickey’s Toontown (added in 1993) (“Disneyland Park”). In addition to the eight sub-lands within Disneyland, the Disney Company built another theme-pack on property in 2001 called Disney California Adventure Park. This park focuses on California’s history and culture, whereas Disneyland’s primary focus is on Walt Disney’s creations. Both parks are, however, opened three-hundred and sixty-five days per year (“Disneyland Park”).

Each area of Disneyland contains fully-functional buildings. On Main Street, USA., there is a photo shop, ice cream parlor, penny arcade, bakery, drug store, music store, and even a butcher shop. The butcher shop, however, contained candy replicas of popular meat products. This is done in an attempt to create the illusion that Main Street is a typical small town that connects all other areas of the fantasy-filled park (Muir).

When the park first opened, admission to Disneyland was one dollar for an adult and fifty-cents for a child. Each ride varied in cost from fifteen cents to twenty-five cents. The Mark Twain boat, however, cost fifty cents (Muir). Today, the park costs ninety-seven dollars with all rides and attractions included.

The admission price increase over the years has not stopped anyone from enjoying the wonders of Disneyland, as millions of people visit from around the world each year (“Disneyland Park”). The theme park can fit around sixty-thousand people a day along with 12,175 cars (Muir). In 2013, Disneyland was the third most visited theme park in the world. In that same year, Disneyland saw about sixteen million visitors.

As previously mentioned, the home of Sleeping Beauty’s castle is opened 365 per year (“Disneyland Park”). Disneyland has only been closed for four unplanned days since the opening of the park. These four days include: the day after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, an anti-Vietnam protest, after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States (“Disneyland”).

Disneyland is designed to appeal to people of all ages. It is commonly referred to as “a place for people to find happiness and knowledge” (Muir). Due to the fact that Disneyland must remain appropriate for both adults and young children, Disney made the choice to ban alcohol from the park. Although the company knew just how much of a huge profit could be made off of alcohol sales, Disney himself said, “A lot of adults will come here, but Disneyland is primarily for children and I don’t think kids and liquor mix” (Muir). As of February of 2017, alcohol can be found in every park.

The attractions within the Disneyland park were made to reflect classic Disney movies (“Disneyland Park”). Some Disney films that had an attraction when the park first opened include: Peter Pan, Snow White, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, Dumbo, and more. The Carousel of Progress is a Disneyland attraction that does not reflect a film. The Carousel of Progress is an attraction that consists of auditorium-style seating that rotates around a rounded stage. The purpose of this attraction is to celebrate technology and how it has impacted human lives. However, people often mistake the purpose of the attraction as a way to show just how technology can control the human race (Allen).

Disneyland has not only had a positive impact on the millions of park-goers, but also on the Anaheim area itself. The reason Disney chose Anaheim to be the home of Disneyland is because it was known, at the time, as a very fast-growing town within the United States of America. With the addition of a 650-room hotel within city limits, Disneyland not only helps boost their profits, but also those of the businesses around them. Not to mention the new jobs Disneyland will bring to the community being over one-thousand open positions (Muir).

Disneyland truly is a huge piece of United States history to millions of Disney fans across the globe. Walt Disney made a great decision with the creation of Disneyland. Although more time and effort was put into the creation of Disneyland, it all paid off. It all started with a thought, and spiraled into one of the most iconic aspects of today’s society.

Works Cited

Allan, David. “Disneyland: Another Kind of Reality.” European Journal of

American Culture. Vol. 33 Issue 1 (March 2014): 33-47.

“Disneyland” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland> 4 April 2017

“Disneyland Park.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia 2014 ed.

Muir, Florable. “Disneyland opens in 1955.” Daily News. 10 July 1955.