"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."Walter E. Disney, July 17, 1955
Concept and construction
Walt Disney and his brother Roy already headed one of Hollywood's more successful studios founded in 1923, long before the idea of a park even began to form. Walt's original concept was of a permanent family fun park without the negative element which traveling carnivals often attracted. He developed the idea during his many outings with his daughters Diane and Sharon, when he realized that there were no parks with activities that parents and children could enjoy together.
While many people had written letters to Walt Disney about visiting the Disney Studio lot and meeting their favorite Disney character, Walt realized that a functional movie studio had little to offer to the visiting fan. He then began to foster ideas of building a site at or near his Burbank studios for tourists to visit and perhaps 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. Walt's initial concept, his "Mickey Mouse Park," grew bigger and bigger into a concept for a larger enterprise which was to become Disneyland.
Early in development, during the early 1950s, it became clear that more area 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. [1][2] Construction began on July 18, 1954 and would cost USD$17 million to complete. U.S. Route 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 financial considerations, Walt Disney was forced to turn to outside financing for his theme park. He first turned to long-time licensee Western Publishing which invested in the park. ABC as part of the deal to broadcast the Disneyland television show also became an investor. For the first five years of its operation, Disneyland was owned by Disneyland, Inc., of which Walt Disney Productions, Western Publishing and ABC each owned shares. After the park was a clear success Western acceeded to a request to sell its share in the enterprise back to Disney. But ABC refused the same request initially, feeling the profit potential of the park was too lucrative to sell. It wasn't until 1960 that Walt Disney Productions acquired ABC's share of the theme park. Disney's displeasure at ABC's actions partly motivated the Walt Disney anthology series moving to NBC in 1961.
1955: Opening day
File:Disneyland aerial view in 1956.jpgAn aerial view of Disneyland in 1956. The entire route of the Disneyland Railroad is clearly visible as it encircles the park.
Disneyland Park was opened to the public on Monday, July 18, 1955. However, a special "International Press Preview" event was held on Sunday, July 17, 1955 which was only open to invited guests and the media. 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.
The event did not go smoothly. The park was overcrowded as the by-invitation-only affair was plagued with counterfeit tickets. All major roads nearby were congested. The summer temperature was over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and a plumbers' strike left many of the park's 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 their children over the shoulders of crowds to get them onto rides such as the Dumbo Flying Elephants.
The park got such bad press for the event day 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 1955 executives forever referred to the first day as "Black Sunday," although July 17 is currently acknowledged by Disney as the official opening day. On July 17 every year, cast members wear pin badges stating how many years it has been since July 17, 1955. For example, in 2004 they wore the slogan "The magic began 49 years ago today." But for the first ten years or so, Disney did officially state that opening day was on July 18th, including in the park's own publications.
On Monday, July 18 crowds started to gather in line as early as 2 a.m., and the first person to buy a ticket and enter the park was David MacPherson. Walt Disney decided to have a photo taken with two children, Michael Schwartner and Christine Vess instead, and the photo of the three always carries a caption along the lines of "Walt Disney with the first two guests of Disneyland." MacPherson, Schwartner and Vess all received lifetime passes to every single Disney-owned park in the world.
Disneylands around the world
Plaque at the entrance that embodies the intended spirit of Disneyland by Walt Disney: to leave reality and enter fantasy
Despite the problems on the opening day, Disneyland was clearly an enormous success. It attracted visitors worldwide in unprecedented volume. Soon, even as they refined and developed Disneyland, Walt and Roy were also planning an expansion of the concept to other locations.
The Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida was built with Walt's hatred of the cheap motels and amusements that popped up around Disneyland in mind. It is the largest private-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. Walt Disney World 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 four theme parks, two water parks, twenty-three hotels and a retail, dining and entertainment district.
In 1983 the first international Disney theme park opened: Tokyo Disneyland Park in Japan. Tokyo Disneyland Park is now part of the Tokyo Disney Resort, and has a sister theme park Tokyo DisneySea. Tokyo Disneyland Park and Tokyo DisneySea are owned by a Japanese corporation, Oriental Land Company. The Walt Disney Company receives royalties based on revenues and maintains creative control.
In the 1990s, major construction began to transform Disneyland from a theme park into a vacation resort. The Walt Disney Company purchased land surrounding the park that was once the site of low-budget motels and trailer courts and -- on the site of Disneyland's original "Hundred-Acre Parking Lot" -- Disney's California Adventure Park and Downtown Disney opened in 2001. The Grand Californian Hotel, patterned after the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th century, extends into Disney's California Adventure Park and allows paying guests to enter that park through the hotel itself.
Most of the resort's parking today is handled by the six-level "Mickey and Friends" parking garage. With six levels and 10,250 parking spaces, it was for a short time the largest parking structure in the world. Propane-powered trams bring visitors to the entrance plaza between the two parks. There are three other Disney-owned parking lots in the Resort. The Timon Parking Lot entrance is right at the intersection of Harbor Blvd. and Disney Way. The other lot, the Pumbaa Lot, sits across Harbor Blvd. at Disney Way. The Pinnochio lot sits just north of the Disneyland Hotel. There are also some smaller, off-property lots with regular shuttle service to the parks, and most nearby hotels offer regular shuttle service as well.
The park's management team of the mid-1990s 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 many were closed down. 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 some fans, was attributable to Pressler, as was the closure of a great many popular attractions within the area. 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 in an effort to streamline operations as recommended by outside consultants.
After nearly a decade of deferred maintenance, Walt Disney's original theme park was showing visible signs of neglect. Paint was peeling off buildings and roofs were literally disintegrating from age, especially the thatched roofs in Fantasyland and Adventureland. Light bulbs, which were once replaced before they burned out, not only were run to burnout but were so numerous as to make the facades they outlined look almost toothless. Fans of the park decried the perceived decline in customer value and park quality and rallied for the dismissal of the management team.
Disneyland in the 21st century
In 2003, both Harriss and Pressler stepped down to take over operations of national clothing retailer The Gap. Irby stepped down the following year.
Matt Ouimet, formerly the 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 is a long-time Disney cast member who had worked at Disneyland in his youth prior to moving to Florida and holding multiple executive leadership positions at the Walt Disney World Resort. Praised by Disney fan sites for his success at Disney 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 and Emmer can often be seen walking the park during business hours with members of their staff. They wear cast member name badges, queue in line for attractions and welcome comments from guests.
Disneyland Park hosted its 500-millionth guest in 2004.
Fiftieth anniversary
In 2004, the park undertook a number of major renovation projects in preparation for its fiftieth anniversary celebration. Many classic attractions (often ones neglected during Paul Pressler and Cynthia Harriss' times as Disneyland Resort President) have been restored, probably most notably Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, and Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, which has received a complete restoration of its 40-year-old soundtrack.
The actual anniversary day (July 17) was an event marked more by the fans' enthusiasm than by the company's recognition. The first people began to line up at 3 p.m. the day before. Overnight, park management opened the gates of Disney's California Adventure Park simply to house the thousands of people who showed up over the course of the night. A second line formed outside the security checkpoints as thousands more arrived in the final hours before the park opened. Disneyland Park opened at 7:00 a.m., although it took several hours to admit the crowds that showed up that morning.
At 10:00 a.m., Diane Disney Miller reread her father's original dedication speech in a ceremony with Art Linkletter, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, CEO-elect Robert Iger, and CEO Michael Eisner. Later that day, a recording of Walt Disney's original dedication speech was replayed throughout the park, exactly 50 years to the minute from when it was originally delivered. No other special events had been planned for the day, making for a much smaller celebration than the media blowout of May 5. There were also complimentary golden Mickey ears that were specifically made for July 17, along with cupcakes for the guests. Many of the people who had waited overnight left after the rededication. Although the gates had been temporarily closed in the morning, it was done only to control crowds which were flooding Main Street for the morning ceremony. The park never reached capacity that day.
The park is divided into public areas, consisting of themed lands, and the well-concealed "backstage" area, which normally only cast members can enter. The themed lands and other public areas occupy 85 acres (344,000 m²).
The themed lands branch out in many directions from the "Central Plaza" end of Main Street, similar to the way spokes on a wheel lead away from a wheel's hub. At the center of the park stands Sleeping Beauty Castle.
The park was designed by Walt Disney's movie studio staff to have five distinctly-themed "lands". Three more lands have been added since the park's opening.
Based on the stereotypical turn-of-the-20th-century city Main Street, specifically Disney's boyhood home of Marceline, Missouri, Main Street, U.S.A. is home to many shops but is the only land in all of Disneyland without a permanent ride. 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."
This land 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 the "Temple of the Forbidden Eye" in Indiana Jones Adventure, the Jungle Cruise, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room and "Tarzan's Treehouse." (The Tarzan Treehouse is an adaptation of the earlier Swiss Family Treehouse from the Walt Disney film, Swiss Family Robinson).
This land 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." 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 Fantasmic!, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mark TwainRiverboat, and Sailing Ship Columbia. Frontierland is also home to the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, a show palace straight out of the Old West. Currently the comedic troupe "Billy Hill and the Hillbillies" entertain guests on a daily basis.
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 fairground fashion, but its 1983 refurbishment turned it into a Bavarian village. Attractions include several dark rides, the King Arthur Carrousel (spelled this way by Disney), and various children's rides.
View of the "new" Tomorrowland as seen from 1998-2005 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 give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future."
Disneyland producer Ward Kimball had Rocket scientistWernher von Braun, Willy Ley, and Heinz Haber as technical consultants during the original design of Tomorrowland.[3] Initial rides included the rocket to the moon; later, a large fleet of submarines 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 rides include the popular Space Mountain and Star Tours, among others.
The Haunted Mansion is patterned after a Southern plantation home.
New Orleans Square was among the last additions to Disneyland overseen by Walt Disney himself. Opened in 1966, it is meant to capture the flavor and architectural detail of New Orleans's Bourbon Street. This area contains two of the most popular Disneyland attractions, Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, and a private club and restaurant, Club 33.
Critter Country opened in 1972 as "Bear Country," and was renamed in 1988. Formerly the area was home to the Indian Village with actual Native Americans entertaining guests. Today, its main draw is Splash Mountain, a log flume attraction themed after the animated segments of Disney's 1946 movie Song of the South. In 2003, a dark ride called The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh replaced the long-running Country Bear Jamboree, a show featuring singing Audio-Animatronic bears.
Toontown opened in 1993 and was patterned after "Toontown" in the Disney/Touchstone Pictures 1988 release Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Mickey's Toontown looks like a 1930s Max Fleischer cartoon short come to life. The land is built like the town where Disney characters live.
Backstage areas
In Disneyland lingo, areas closed to park visitors are considered "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), TDA Gate (adjacent to the Team Disney Anaheim 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 Toowntown, 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. There are also two railroad bridges that 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.
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.
"Backstage" also refers to parts of show buildings that are normally not seen by guests. Every attraction contains hidden walkways, service areas, control rooms, and other behind-the-scenes operations. The only way for a guest to see these areas is to have the fortune (or misfortune) to be evacuated from the attraction in the event of a break-down. While these rare break-downs can be tedious, they can also offer illuminating views of the attractions.
By definition, backstage areas are generally off-limits to park guests. This prevents guests from seeing the industrial areas that violate the "magic" of onstage and allows cast members some solace while they work or rest. Cameras are explicitly forbidden in these parts of the park, although a scattering of poor-quality photos has inevitably found its way to a variety of web sites.
Nevertheless, there are a few ways to catch glimpses of backstage areas for those who are so inclined. Musical groups such as marching bands can participate in Magic Music Days, a program that allows musicians to participate in clinics and perform in parades and sit-down concerts. The general backstage areas just north of Toontown are home to locker rooms and two music studios that are frequently used by these groups. If the group will be performing at the Carnation Plaza Gardens venue, they are escorted through backstage areas between Fantasyland and Frontierland. In addition, guests who are simply visiting the resort can see bits of backstage by riding the monorail, riding the Disneyland railroad, being evacuated from broken-down attractions, or being re-routed through the area between Tomorrowland and Main Street during a crowded closing time. Guests who attempt to see backstage in more invasive ways will face consequences from the management.
Transportation
Walt Disney had a longtime interest in transportation, and railroads in particular. He had built a miniature live steambackyard railroad, the "Carolwood Pacific Railroad", on the grounds of his own home. Therefore a number of different modes of transport were incorporated into the park. The transportation systems are in some respects intended more as entertainment or sightseeing rides than as a means of transporting guests, such as the "Casey Junior" train ride.
Disneyland incorporates a steam railroad, the Disneyland Railroad. Originally known as the Disneyland and Santa Fe Railroad, it was sponsored by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway until 1974. Laid to three-foot gauge, the most common narrow gauge measurement used in North America, the track runs in a continuous loop around the park. The train stops at stations in New Orleans Square, Toontown, Tomorrowland, and Main Street. The train passes the "Grand Canyon/Primeval World" diorama in a tunnel between the Tomorrowland and Main Street stations. Between the New Orleans Square station and Toontown, it passes an audioanimatronic scene in Splash Mountain.
Disneyland Monorail
Monorail Blue travels over the currently closed Submarine Voyage lagoon in Tomorrowland.
One of Disneyland's signature attractions is its Alwegmonorail system, installed in 1959. The monorail track has remained almost exactly the same since 1961, aside from small alterations while Disney's California Adventure and Downtown Disney were being built. Four generations of monorail trains have been used in the park, since their lightweight construction means they wear out quickly. The most recent generation, the Mark V, was installed in 1987 when more modern trains built by Ride and Show Entertainment eliminated the old ALWEG Buck Rogers-style trains. The next update will be in 2007, when the Mark VII trains are slated to be installed. The monorail shuttles visitors between two stations, one inside the park in Tomorrowland and one in Downtown Disney. It follows a 2.5 mile (4 km) long route designed to show off the park from above.
As of 2004, three monorail trains, Monorail Red, Monorail Blue, and Monorail Purple, are in regular service. A fourth train, Monorail Orange, was removed from service and shipped to Disney's engineering department in Glendale for disassembly and study so that new blueprints can be created from it, because ALWEG, the company which built the original monorail trains, has gone out of business, and the current trains, built by Ride & Show Entertainment in 1987, use some of the same parts as the ALWEG trains.
Disneyland had a contract with Alweg 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.
Main Street vehicles
A number of vehicles, including a double-decker bus, a horse-drawn streetcar, an old-fashioned fire engine, and an old-fashioned automobile, are available for rides along Main Street, U.S.A.
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 (3 kW) engines and manual transmission and steering.
Skyway
The Disneyland Skyway, "the first aerial tramway of its kind in the United States"1, 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 was built around the Skyway in 1959), 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 handicap accessibility, the attraction closed permanently on November 10, 1994. Four years later, Tokyo Disneyland Park removed their Skyway; finally, in 1999, Walt Disney World Resort's Magic Kingdom Park removed theirs on the exact date that Disneyland removed theirs. No Skyways are left at any Disney park (Disneyland Park in Paris never had a Skyway attraction).
The Tomorrowland station in Disneyland remained and was used as a maintenance bay for Rocket Rods beginning in 1998. It was removed shortly after the Rocket Rods closed in spring 2001.
The Fantasyland station in Disneyland remains but is closed to the public.
Autopia
The Disneyland Autopia opened with the park in 1955, and represented a future look at what would become America's multilane limited-access highways that were still being developed (President Eisenhower had yet to sign the Interstate Highway legislation at the time Disneyland opened).
Robert Gurr designed the original Autopia cars to be reminiscent of Ferraris. In 1967, the cars were redesigned to resemble the popular Chevrolet Corvette. This car design was used through 2000, when the entire ride was rethemed and modernized. The new cars resemble those used in television commercials for Chevron and are in one of these three styles:
Suzy the zippy compact
Sparky the sports car
Dusty, an S.U.V.
Live entertainment
The Parade of the Stars in Disneyland from 2004 (closed in early 2005).
In addition to the attractions, Disneyland provides live entertainment throughout the park. Through the years, this has included:
Throughout the park
Disney characters, who greet visitors, talk with children, and pose for photos. Besides greeting visitors in regular places, they often participate in Disneyland parades.
Main Street
Daytime and nighttime parades that celebrate Disney films or seasonal holidays with characters, music, and large floats. Beginning May 2005, "Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams" is presented, celebrating several of the classic Disney stories including The Lion King, Alice in Wonderland, and Pinocchio.
Elaborate fireworks shows featuring Disney songs and an appearance by "Peter Pan" character Tinker Bell. The Fantasy in the Sky fireworks premiered in the summer of 1956 and lasted through the summer of 1999. 2000 and beyond introduced fireworks presentations that have become more elaborate, featuring new pyrotechnics, launch locations, and storylines, such as the show Believe... There's Magic in the Stars and the current 50th anniversary celebration fireworks presentation Remember... Dreams Come True.
The Disneyland Band, which has been part of the park since its opening. They play the role of the Town Band on Main Street, U.S.A. but also break out into smaller groups like the Main Street Merchants Band, the Firehouse Sax Quartet, and a variety of groups in New Orleans Square. The Disneyland Band was traditionally all male.
Main Street Piano Player playing at Corner Cafe on Main Street. Until late last month Rod Miller had played piano at Disneyland since October 1969.
New Orleans Square
Fantasmic!, a popular nighttime show with Mickey Mouse, special effects, floating barges, fountains, lasers, a pirate ship, a forty-five foot fire-breathing dragon, fireworks, and thirty-foot-tall "mist screens," upon which animated scenes are projected.
Frontierland
The Golden Horseshoe Saloon, offering a live stage show with a frontier or old-west feel. The Golden Horseshoe Revue—an old-west Vaudeville type of show starring 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.
The Laughing Stock Co., providing small humorous skits with an old-west theme.
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 still-popular term "E ticket ride" for 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.
Disneyland 1983 two-day admission ticket; price on the back is $20.
In 1999, in an effort to offset the long waits for the most popular attractions, Disney implemented a new service named FASTPASS[4]. 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 returns to the attraction at his return time, he can 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. The selection of rides offering Fastpass changes over time.
Deaths
Over the half century that Disneyland Park has been in operation, twelve guests and one Cast Member have died inside 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:
In 1966, Thomas Guy Cleveland, 19, of Northridge, California was struck and killed by the Monorail, dragging him 30 to 40 feet down the track, during a Grad Nite celebration while trying to sneak into the park by climbing its track.
In June 1973 - Bogden Delaurot, 18, of Brooklyn, New York, drowned while attempting a swim across the "Rivers of America". Delaurot and his 10-year-old brother were able to stay on the island past closing time, simply by climbing the fence which separated the "burning settler's cabin" from the rest of the island. Once they decided to leave the island, they decided to swim instead of getting in trouble. Since the younger brother was unsure of how to swim, the older brother decided to carry him on his back until they made it to shore. Bogden Delaurot fell victim to the river halfway through. The younger brother was able to stay afloat by "dog paddling" until a ride operator hauled him aboard. His body was not found by searchers until the next morning.
In 1980, Gerrardo Gonzales, 18, of San Diego, California was crushed by the PeopleMover while jumping between moving cars.
In 1981 Guy Cleveland of Northridge, Ohio was hit and dragged by a monorail car.
In 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.
Two of the more recent deaths were ruled by the California Department of Safety and Health (DOSH) to be the result of negligence on the park's part rather than misbehavior by guests:
On December 24, 1998, a heavy metal cleat fastened to the hull of the sailing ship "Columbia" tore loose, striking one cast member and two park guests. Of the guests, Luan Phi Dawson, 33, of Duvall, Washington, died of a head injury. The normal non-elastic rope (designed to break easily) used to tie the boat off was improperly replaced by an elastic rope which stretched and tore the cleat from the ship's wooden hull. 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. This accident, along with an accident that removed some of a child's toes on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, prompted California to pass its Theme Park Safety Law.
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 Railroad roller coaster. The cause of the accident was determined to be improper maintenance and training of employees.
Other deaths include:
In 1974, Cast Member Deborah Gail Stone, 19, of nearby Santa Ana, California was crushed to death between a revolving wall and a stationary platform inside 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. [5]
In 1979, Sherrill Anne Hoffman, ignoring the signs posted outside Space Mountain warning guests with any medical conditions to bypass such tumultuous rides, boarded Space Mountain and started to ride through it. During the ride, she got sick and when her ride vehicle reached the unload area, she couldn't get out of the rocket. Employees told her to stay in her rocket and that rocket would be removed from the track. Unfortunately the attendants didn't understand the instruction, and sent Hoffman's vehicle on another three-minute go-round. By the end of the second trip, she was almost unconscious. She was carried to a bench and then transported in a wheelchair to First Aid. They told her husband not to worry; she only fainted. But then he insisted that she be sent to the hospital after her condition didn't improve. She was taken to the hospital where she remained in a coma for a week and then died. It was later revealed that she had a tumor in her heart. It was possible that the ride removed it. Pieces of it got in her brain and killed her. Her husband tried to sue the park, convinced that the second Space Mountain trip broke the tumor free and that the park declined to properly or quickly care for her. The case was eventually dismissed.
In 1984, Dolly Regene Young, 48, of Fremont, California was thrown from a Matterhorn Bobsleds car and struck by the next oncoming bobsled. Her seatbelt was unbuckled, but since she was riding in the back seat of the sled alone, it is not clear whether she had deliberately unfastened her belt or if it was a result of the seatbelt malfunctioning.
Incidents
In August 1970, Disneyland Park was literally 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, arrange a Black Panther Breakfast at the now-closed Aunt Jemima Pancake House, and attack the Bank of America on Main Street, USA and the attraction "it's a small world", which Bank of America sponsored. They wanted to attack Bank of America because the Bank was financing the Vietnam War, which they opposed. They raised a Viet Cong flag on Tom Sawyer's Island chanting "Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh", filled the now-closed Inner Space dark ride with marijuana smoke and even displayed the Yippie flag (which had on it an image of a marijuana leaf in a red star on a black background).
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 neo-Nazis was seen in the parking lot before the park opened, and none entered. They approached the gates, only to be dismissed at the gates.
Closures
Disneyland Park has only been forced to close twice in its history.
The first occurrence was due to President Kennedy's assassination, yet urban legends have circulated that Walt Disney refused to heed orders from Under Secretary of State George Ball to lower the US Flag in Town Square. This is highly unlikely, though, since Disney and his brother were on the other side of the country surveying land for the future site of the Walt Disney World Resort.
Disneyland Park stayed closed for a short time after the attacks of September 11, 2001, out of respect for the time of national mourning and out of fear of further attacks directed at high-profile targets such as the park.
In Disneyland's early years, the park was often scheduled to be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays during the off-season. They worked 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 7 days a week. ref
A scheduled closure occurred on May 4, 2005. Though the original stated reason was to put the finishing touches on the 50th Anniversary Celebration, Disneyland Park also played host to a large media event designed to generate interest in the 50th anniversary celebration. The celebration began on May 5.
An additional restriction was imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration after September 11, a temporary flight restriction, which forbids civilian and media aircraft from flying over the park. Although called "temporary," this restriction is still in place as of May, 2005, however it has since been weakened, only creating the "No-Fly Zone" when the Terror Alert Level is Orange or higher.
Disneyland in fiction
Disneyland Park, and a learned discussion of its social function, occurs with deliberate incongruity in the closing pages of E. L. Doctorow's novel The Book of Daniel.
In the 1962 movie The Three Stooges in Orbit, Larry, Moe and Curly Joe prevent Martians from attacking Disneyland from a flying submarine.
The 1962 movie 40 Pounds Of Trouble starring Tony Curtis and Suzanne Pleshette culminates in a madcap chase through Disneyland's various realms.
In The Doctor Who serial "The Delta and the Bannermen", Sylvester McCoy's Doctor takes a bus tour supposedly going to Disneyland. This trip goes awry and chaos ensues.
In Kim Stanley Robinson's novel The Gold Coast (set in a dystopian Orange County of 2030), the core characters mention a perverse game where the person who has to wait the longest for the least thrilling ride at Disneyland wins.
In Eric Wilson's young adult novel Disneyland Hostage (which is part of the Canadian mystery series featuring Liz Austen) terrorists take over Disneyland and hold guests hostage on Tom Sawyer's Island.
In the 1996 movie "Escape From L.A.", Snake Plissken and his band of mercenaries ascend onto Disneyland (although not called Disneyland in the film) via hangliders. When seen from above, Snake asks: "Is that what I think it is?" and his cohort, Map-to-the-Stars Eddie replies "Yeah..place kept changing owners. The place in Paris killed them!" a reference to the failure of Disneyland Paris upon its opening. The scene was actually filmed on the same set as the famous Hill Valley Courthouse Square from the Back to the Future trilogy in Universal Studios Hollywood.
In Richard Matheson's novel Bid Time Return. Richard Collier briefly decides to see the Magic Kingdom one last time. He doesn't go.
When John Hughes wrote the screenplay for National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), the storyline originally had Disneyland as the Griswald family's final destination on their cross-country roadtrip. In the film, the family arrives at the park, after several days of bizarre and unpleasant mishaps en route, only to find that it is closed. Disney officials objected to Disneyland being the park in question because it is open 365 days a year and as such that could never happen. Hughes acquiesced and Disneyland was supplanted by the fictitious Wally-World Amusement Park; Wally-World's mascot, Marty Moose, is an obvious parody of Disney's Mickey Mouse. The filming spot was relocated to Disneyland's rival, Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Management
The operations of Disneyland are mostly merged with that of its sister park, Disney's California Adventure (DCA), so both parks, as well as the other Disneyland Resort properties, are managed by one team of senior executives.
Matt Ouimet is the president of the Disneyland Resort. (He reports to Al Weiss, President of Worldwide Operations for Disney Parks and Resorts, who reports to Jay Rasulo, the chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, who in turn reports to Bob Iger, the president and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company.) Ouimet, who previously ran Disney Cruise Line, is assisted by several experienced theme park managers, including Senior Vice President of Operations Greg Emmer and Vice President of Theme Park Operations Jon Storbeck.
On a minute-to-minute basis, the parks are run by duty managers, who are identified by their radio call signs. Disneyland's senior on-the-ground manager at any time is called Theme Park One, a position which rotates among a group of managers in the resort's Theme Park Operations department. (DCA's senior manager is called Theme Park Two.) These managers respond to situtations throughout the park and are empowered to open backstage areas for crowd control purposes, close specific locations, or even close the entire park.
Guest service managers from the park's several business units, including Attractions, Custodial, Foods, Merchandise, and Security, report to Theme Park One, and are given call signs such as Attractions One or Merch One. Various assistant managers, in turn, report to their business unit's duty manager, and carry callsigns such as River One (the manager in charge of the Critter Country and New Orleans Square rides).
References
1Disneyland: The First Quarter Century (1979). Walt Disney Productions.
Daily park brochures from Summer 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2006.
Notes
^ Although most people refer to the park as simply "Disneyland", the official name is "Disneyland Park". United States trademark practice specifies that a trademark such as "Disneyland" is always used as an adjective and never as a noun or verb. Therefore, "Xerox copier" and "Disneyland Park" are correct usage, while "use a Xerox" or "come to Disneyland" are not technically correct.
Books
Bright, Randy (1987). Disneyland: Inside Story. Harry N Abrams. ISBN 0810908115.
France, Van Arsdale (1991). Window on Main Street. Stabur. ISBN 1613178.
Disneyland 1983 two-day admission ticket; price on the back is $20.
