History of Disneyland - Page 2

July 17th 1955 is a day that will remain large in America's history as the day Disneyland opened. This first day was not for the general public to enjoy. Instead people from the press, dignitaries and employee family members were invited to join Walt Disney for the opening of his dream; Disneyland Park.

The day Disneyland opened, Art Linkletter and Robert Cummings hosted the live broadcast for ABC television, and Ronald Reagan was there to help Walt Disney open his dream come true. Many sponsors helped finance Disneyland; and because of this their names were put on various attractions, shops and eateries. The cost to open Disneyland on July 17th, 1955 was 17 million dollars.

The most well known quote from opening day is the one from Walt Disney himself: "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, 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."

The lands on opening day were Main Street, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. These lands were nothing like the ones we know and love today. It was Walt Disney's intention that guests leave the outside world behind when they enter Disneyland and join the fantasy and wonder of Disneyland. In fact this is even on a plaque above both tunnels when entering Disneyland: Here you leave today and enter the world of Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy.

Some of the attractions, restaurants and stores on opening day:

Adventureland on opening day, had just one ride: the Jungle Cruise.

There were Stagecoach rides and Pack Mules in Frontierland and the Golden Horseshoe Revue was open. The Mark Twain Riverboat was also in operation on opening day.

Tomorrowland was filled the aforementioned sponsors; such as Monsanto Hall of Chemistry, the Dutch Boy Paint Gallery and Kaiser's Hall of Aluminum Fame. Most of the attractions were actually exhibits.

Fantasyland did open with the King Arthur Carousel, Canal Boats of the World (now known as the Storybook Land Canal Boats), Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Peter Pan's Flight, Sleeping Beauty Castle, Mad Tea Party and Snow White's Adventures.

Main Street U.S.A. did have the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad in addition to many sponsored locations, such as the Upjohn Pharmacy, Bank of America, Carnation Ice Cream Parlor and Gibson Greeting Cards.

Opening day was not what Walt had expected. Forged invitations brought huge crowds to the park. As expected, on opening day Disneyland had many problems; including toilets that didn't work, tar that melted and stole ladies high heals on Main Street, and attractions that were not fully operational. Restaurants ran out of food, water fountains didn't work. Disneyland's opening was called a disaster. The press lambasted Disneyland and Walt and gave it a year to fail.

Before the end of 1955 more attractions were added to Disneyland. In Tomorrowland, Rocket to the Moon opened. In Fantasyland, the Casey Junior Circus Train opened before the end of July. Also opening in 1955 were Autopia, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Mike Fink Keelboats, Tomorrowland Boats (later named the Phantom Boats) and the Mickey Mouse Club Tent were all added.

The most amazing thing that happened at Disneyland in the first 3 months was that on September 8th, 1955, the 1 millionth guest walked through the gates!

Disneyland was predicted to fail based on the opening day fiasco. Only Walt Disney himself and his loyal family expected this dream to succeed. Disneyland was making money by the end of the first year of operation.

We of course know that Disneyland did not fail. In fact, it got bigger than anyone could have ever expected. Over the years, attractions such as the Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones, It's A Small World, and the Matterhorn, to name a few, have been added to Disneyland.

To this day, Disneyland is not yet complete. New attractions are added frequently. If Walt Disney were alive today, even he may be shocked by the success of his little fantasy park in Anaheim.

Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida are the two most well known theme parks in the world. While Disneyland itself was the only park completed before Walt Disney's death, the Disney name will forever be entwined in American, even World history.

Disneyland History - Page 1


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