“To all who come to this happy place – welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here, age relives fond memories of the past and here the youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the 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 plaque that hangs over the entrance tunnel to Disneyland, written by Walt himself.
THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM
Walt Disney was constantly looking forward to new ideas. As a pioneer in the field of animation, many of his artistic and technological contributions to animated film include the first cartoon with sound (“Steamboat Willie”), the first Technicolor cartoon (“Flowers and Trees”), the first combination of animation and live action (not Space Jam… but the Alice comedies), the first full-length feature animated film (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), the revolutionary production of Fantasia, blending classical music and animation, and the creation of the multi-plane camera that added depth to hand-drawn cartoons. He created Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella, and Lady and the Tramp. But beyond even his most classic and recognizable characters, none of his dreams quite compared to the tangible and ever-changing idea of Disneyland.
As Walt watched his two daughters ride a merry-go-round in Griffith Park, he thought to himself about the possibility of creating a place where children and parents could have fun together. His idea grew from the empty lot beside the studio to a grassy area across the street to a forty acre plot to a 160-acre tract of orange groves, carefully selected due to its proximity to the Santa Ana Freeway. He hired amusement park and logistics specialists, who all said that the ideal theme park should have multiple entrances and no barrier around the park. He ignored them. Instead, his world of fantasy would be perfectly secluded from the outside world.
Animator-turned-Imagineer Herb Ryman’s first drawing of Disneyland, based on what was described to him by Walt Disney over a three-day weekend at the studio.
Animator Herb Ryman drew the initial plans for the so-called “Disneyland” and construction began after Walt’s brother and business partner, Roy, financed a deal with the ABC television network, dividing ownership of the park in exchange for television programming that ultimately became The Disneyland Show, The Mickey Mouse Club, and The Davy Crockett Show. Construction began in July of 1954, starting with a bulldozer that would remove orange trees with a red ribbon and keep trees with a green one. The operator was colorblind. The Rivers of America in Frontierland would not stay filled with water. The Jungle Cruise in Adventureland soon became populated with robotic animals because Walt’s initial idea of real animals was deemed too improbable. Power lines surrounding the park were taken down and buried underground, even as construction costs soared. Walt Disney cashed in his life insurance policy and sold his ranch in northern California to help pay for the park. As Opening Day neared, a plumbers’ strike plagued construction as designers debated whether to build water fountains or bathrooms with the remaining manpower. Aggravated by the debate, Walt famously shouted, “We can have people drink Pepsi, but we can’t have people pissing in the street!” They built bathrooms. Within one year of groundbreaking, Disneyland was complete, boasting roughly 60 acres of five different lands containing 17 unprecedented attractions.
Disneyland Park on Opening Day (July 17, 1955). Although the final park did not perfectly recreate Herb Ryman’s original drawing, there are many similarities: the railroad surrounding the park, the “hub and spoke” design found at the park’s center, the Rivers of America in Frontierland. Some notable differences include Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at the front of Fantasyland instead of the back and Adventureland’s presence on the western, not eastern, side of the park.
BLACK TUESDAY – JULY 17, 1955
Opening Day itself was a near disaster, even beyond the lack of water fountains. Some smart fellow counterfeited over 20,000 tickets, increasing the day’s attendance to roughly 31,000 people. The asphalt on Main Street was still wet on the hottest day of the year, so many ladies’ shoes sunk into the soft pavement; they were given moccasins from Frontierland to wear instead. A gas leak in Fantasyland shut down the area for the day, while most of Tomorrowland was either freshly painted that morning or still had bunting over the doors as there were no exhibits or indoor attractions ready for opening. The Mark Twain riverboat in Frontierland almost capsized from the over-abundance of people. Critics complained about the shortage of food (due to the high attendance) and the lack of water fountains (at least there were bathrooms). At the end of the day, 38 of the 40 Autopia cars in Tomorrowland had broken down. But despite all of this, Walt Disney delivered his Opening Day address (the one at the top of this page that I typed from memory) with a tear in his eye and a lump in his throat. His dream was finally realized.
Critics were adamant that the park would fail by Christmas, but the park welcomed its one millionth guess after just six weeks of operation. Once the workers had ironed out the kinks, new attractions began to open and various events, such as the ever-popular Grad Nite, swept the nation with excitement. From cleanliness to friendliness, Walt Disney’s original Magic Kingdom was identified in national media as the ultimate representation of American hospitality, design, and innovation. By the end of the decade, the park boasted three massive new attractions: the Matterhorn, the world’s first steel rollercoaster, the Submarine Voyage, which held the record for the world’s eighth-largest submarine fleet (a fact that both intrigued and concerned Russian premier Nikita Khrushchev), and the Monorail, the first transportation system of its kind which gave its initial public run to Vice President Richard Nixon (interestingly enough, this was the first run of the train system in which the vehicle did NOT catch on fire). The growth of Disneyland and Imagineering (then known as WED Enterprises) was on a steady path under the creative leadership of Walt himself.
Disneyland 1959 – The crown jewel of new attractions: the Matterhorn, the Monorail, and the Submarine Voyage, with a collective price tag of roughly $4 million.
THE END OF AN ERA
As Disneyland rolled into the 1960’s, the park experienced revolutionary technological developments that would forever define the theme park industry. The Enchanted Tiki Room, which debuted in 1963, featured the first use of Audio-Animatronic figures, robotic creatures that seamlessly blended animated movement and sound. Walt Disney encouraged new projects for the New York World’s Fair that challenged Imagineers’ storytelling and technical capabilities: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, sponsored by the State of Illinois, used an animatronic Abe that many fair-goers swore was an actor on stage; Magic Skyway, presented by Ford Motor Company, transported guests in time-traveling brand new Fords back to the age of the dinosaurs; the Carousel of Progress highlighted General Electric and the developments of man’s connection to technology in a rotating theater; and “it’s a small world,” presented by Pepsi-Cola and UNICEF, brought the children of the world together in artistic and musical harmony. Each of these attractions found their way to Disneyland after the fair’s closure.
Walt Disney with the latest product of his imagination – The Enchanted Tiki Room
Walt’s final projects in the park included the creation of New Orleans Square, a quaint replication of the Mississippi Delta complete with jazz ensembles, wrought-iron railings, French perfume shops, and Creole dining. This land was created simultaneously with two of the most famous theme park attractions of all time: Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. The first, opened in 1967, gave a whole new dimension to immersive storytelling by creating humorous scenes that combined effective Audio-Animatronics figures with fascinating special effects (including a fire special effect that was so realistic, the local fire chief thought the building was burning during a pre-opening safety inspection). The Haunted Mansion, which made its grand debut in 1969 after sitting as an empty, Southern mansion for six years, also gave new life (or death?) to theme park storytelling by incorporating both humor and horror into the storyline. Unfortunately, both of these attractions opened after Walt Disney’s death on December 15, 1966, but are still attached to him as the last projects he supervised. The following decade saw very little growth at Disneyland, with the exception of Tomorrowland’s Space Mountain, partly due to the creation and construction of Walt Disney World in Florida. Regardless, Imagineering and Disneyland Park lost their greatest creative source and inspirational leader, a loss that would take some time to recover from.
One of Imagineer Marc Davis’ numerous drawings for scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean.
AN IMAGINEERING RENAISSANCE
After the slow 1970’s, Imagineering gathered new talent that would bring attention away from its sister Floridian counterpart. Imagineer Tony Baxter spearheaded many of the unique creations that the park is known for today. Fantasyland was finally given the proper treatment that Walt couldn’t afford back in the fifties: the entire land was overlaid with a storybook setting that featured replications of Old London Town for Peter Pan’s Flight, Toad Cottage for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and a new attraction featuring Pinocchio. Baxter also expanded the western half of the park with Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, two new thrill rides that helped Disneyland compete with neighboring theme parks for the teenage population’s attendance. In partnering with Lucasfilm, Baxter helped renovate Tomorrowland with Star Tours, a new kind of ride that featured a motion simulator that would transport guests to the reaches of the Star Wars universe. The 80’s set Disneyland on a path for growth that would continue throughout the 90’s with the creation of Mickey’s Toontown, the nighttime spectacular Fantasmic!, and the Indiana Jones Adventure and well into the 2000’s with Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. This year, the park celebrated it’s 60th anniversary on July 17th by commemorating the years of tradition and change that defined the image of the park.
Imagineer Tony Baxter (left) working on a model of Splash Mountain.
SIXTY YEARS STRONG…. AND STILL GOING
Disneyland is as culturally relevant today as it was when the park opened. It has withstood the test of time and preserved its unique sense of character and comfort that other theme parks have abandoned for the sake of thrills and dollars. The greatest aspect of Disneyland is its timelessness: in the scaled-down storefronts of bakeries and ice cream parlors on Main Street, in the drifting silence of the Mark Twain riverboat, in the sloped and slanted cottages and castles of Fantasyland. Disneyland is remarkably preserved from its opening, thanks in great deal to the generalized themeing of its lands (Universal Studios, in contrast, centers each of its lands on a particular film franchise that could very well fall out of popularity as time goes on… this idea will be further explored with Star Wars Land in upcoming posts so stay tuned). Yet when one goes to Disneyland, there is a sense of familiarity that is cross-generational and multicultural, an experience that transcends many of the boundaries that define us and confine us to certain populations. But here, everyone is a kid. Walt always said that Disneyland would never be completed as long as there’s imagination left in the world. As the park enters its seventh decade, there is strong reassurance that the park will continue to thrive, from its humble and almost impossible beginnings, as a paragon of creativity, patriotism, innovation, and imagination.
Sleeping Beauty Castle, decked out with diamonds for the park’s 60th anniversary.
Thank you for reading this… assuming you made it this far. I know this post was incredibly long, but the oldest of the Disney parks has a long history to tell. You should see what I left out! Hopefully the pictures helped. But each week, we will explore a new park and journey together into the history and legacy of each unique creation. Any questions about the park? Feel free to ask and I will get back to you! Thanks again and we’ll see ya real soon!
nrl5140 says
Hello Nick! I really enjoyed reading this post. It was interesting because I really knew nothing about the start of Disneyland, I had no idea that the park had so many problems on the first day. I have never been to Disneyland and this blog makes me want to experience it.
Alison Paige Kuznitz says
I loved all of this information, especially the small anecdotes that made me feel very engaged with the blog post: the part about the worker who was colorblind, you mentioning the quote at the top of the blog was transcribed from memory. I can’t wait to see which park you choose to write about for next week!