Disneyland Park is a theme park located in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division of The Walt Disney Company. Originally, and still often colloquially, called Disneyland, it was dedicated with a televised press preview on July 17, 1955, and opened to the general public on July 18, 1955. Disneyland is the only theme park to be designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney himself. In 1998, the theme park was re-branded "Disneyland Park" to distinguish it from the larger Disneyland Resort complex.
Disneyland has a larger cumulative attendance than any other theme park in the world, with close to 600 million guests since it opened. In 2009, 15.9 million people visited the park, making it the second most visited park in the world that calendar year.
The concept for Disneyland began when Walt Disney was visiting Griffith Park 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. His dream lay dormant for many years.[3] Walt Disney also may have been influenced by his father's memories of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago (his father worked at the Exposition). The Midway Plaisance there included a set of attractions representing various countries from around the world and others representing various periods of man; it also included many rides including the first Ferris wheel, a "sky" ride, a passenger train that circled the perimeter, and a Wild West Show. Another likely influence was Benton Harbor, Michigan's nationally famous House of David's Eden Springs Park. Walt Disney visited the park and ultimately bought one of the older miniature trains originally used there; the colony had the largest miniature railway setup in the world at the time.[4]
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he park is divided into "lands" (themed areas) and well-concealed backstage areas. On entering a land, a guest is completely immersed in a themed environment and is unable to see or hear any other realm. The idea behind this was to develop theatrical "stages" with seamless passages from one land to the next.[5] The public areas occupy approximately 85 acres (34 ha). When the park initially opened, it consisted of five themed areas:
- Main Street, U.S.A., designed to resemble an early 20th-century Midwest town;
- Adventureland, featuring jungle-themed adventures;
- Frontierland, illustrating an American Old West frontier town;
- Fantasyland, bringing to life characters and places from Disney's movies for children;
- Tomorrowland, an optimistic vision of the future.
Since the initial opening, additional areas have been added:
- In 1957, Holidayland, a 9 acres (3.6 ha) recreation area including a circus and baseball diamond, which was closed in late 1961.
- In 1966, New Orleans Square, based on 19th-century New Orleans.
- In 1972, Bear Country, themed around the mountain forests of the American South. It was later renamed Critter Country and themed around Splash Mountain's Song of the South elements.
- In 1993, Mickey's Toontown, themed around the Toontown seen in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Throughout the park are 'Hidden Mickeys', or representations of Mickey Mouse heads inserted subtly into the design of attractions and environmental decor.
An elevated berm supports a narrow gauge railroad that circumnavigates the park. Disney California Adventure Park was added in what used to be a parking lot for Disneyland guests.
Main Street, U.S.A. is patterned after a typical Midwest town of the early 20th century. Walt Disney derived inspiration from his boyhood town of Marceline, Missouri and worked closely with designers and architects to develop the Main Street appeal. It is the first area guests see when they enter the park (if not entering by monorail), and is how guests reach Central Plaza. At the center of The Magic Kingdom and immediately North of Central Plaza stands Sleeping Beauty Castle, which provides entrance to Fantasyland by way of a drawbridge across a moat. Adventureland, Frontierland, and Tomorrowland are arrayed on both sides of the castle.
| “ | 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. | ” |
— Walt E. Disney |
Main Street, U.S.A. is reminiscent of the Victorian period of America with the train station, town square, movie theater, city hall, firehouse complete with a steam-powered pump engine, emporium, shops, arcades, double-decker bus, horse-drawn streetcar, jitneys and other bits of memorabilia. 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. There are many specialty stores on Main Street including: a candy store, jewelry and watch shop, a silhouette station, a store that sells Disney collectable items created by various artists, and a hat shop where you have the option of creating your own ear hat along with a personalized embrodiery. At the far end of Main Street, U.S.A. is Sleeping Beauty Castle, and the Central Plaza (also known as the Hub), which is a portal to most of the themed lands. Several lands are not directly connected to the Central Plaza—namely, New Orleans Square, Critter Country and Mickey's Toontown.
The design of Main Street, U.S.A. uses the technique of forced perspective to create an illusion of height. 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.
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