On July 17, 1955, the gates were opened to a place that would change the world of entertainment forever.  After a full year of construction and over $17 million in costs (over $200 million adjusted for inflation) the happiest place on Earth known as Disneyland was ready to meet the world.  In the 70 years since that day, the theme park industry has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry that has been not just been a boon for tourism and leisure, but also a place to showcase new technological advancements.  Nestled in a Southern Californian suburb called Anaheim, Disneyland may no longer hold the title of the world’s most visited theme park (which is held by Disneyland’s Florida based equivalent Walt Disney World), but it still stands out as a trailblazer and trendsetter in the parks industry.  The Disney company not only looks at the original park as a proving ground for the layouts and implementation of all of the worldwide theme parks they have created, but nearly all other theme parks out there also take a page from the Disneyland textbook.  But, even with all that success, Disneyland was not a success overnight.  It took several years for the park to finally recoup it’s costs, and it almost went under in it’s opening months. The survival of the park is a testament to Walt Disney’s original intent for vision.  In his own words, “As long as there is imagination left in the world, Disneyland will never be finished.”  The park has evolved over the years, replacing outdated attractions with new cutting edge experiences, and in 70 years they have managed to make use of every inch of those 63 original acres of land, and even after all this time they are still not done.  What looked at the time to be Walt Disney’s greatest gamble has turned into his greatest achievement, and perhaps the greatest gift he left for the world in his lifetime.  Of course, beyond just being any old amusement park, Disneyland brought the art of cinema to life, as Walt Disney used his showmanship skills to telling stories in a new way that allowed all of us to visit to actual be a part of the adventure.

Of course Walt Disney didn’t invent the idea of theme parks altogether.  Amusement parks had long been a staple of American culture, dating back to the turn of the century.  The Grand Expositions, including the one held in Chicago in 1893, became these extravagant playgrounds for visitors of all ages, as well as places to demonstrate cutting edge technology.  In the early 20th century, new attractions like the roller coaster started to be become staples of these amusement parks.  While Walt Disney was starting up his fledgling studio in early Hollywood, Californians were frequently going to the beachfront piers, where roller coasters and Ferris wheels were built over the water.  One of the most famous of these, the Santa Monica Pier still operates today, though the original wooden coaster has long been replaced by a newer steel coaster.  Similar parks of that era like Coney Island in New York and Kennywood in Pittsburgh have also withstood the test of time.  But, there were a few specific inspirations that fed into Walt Disney’s imagination when he first conceived of his own park.  One was a trip he made to the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark.  On his trip there, he was stunned by the way that the gardens incorporated it’s rides and attractions around carefully cultivated landscaping; a far cry from the carnival atmosphere of the amusement parks in America.  The second inspiration was Griffith Park in Los Angeles.  The large green space that lies just south of the city of Burbank, where the Disney Studios is located, is nestled on the slopes of Mt. Lee, the mountain that’s home to the Hollywood Sign.  In addition to numerous hiking trails and the Los Angeles Zoo, the park is also home to a now century old carousel.  Walt would frequently bring his two daughters to the park and watch them ride on the carousel.  Walt stated in interviews that while he was happy to see his daughters having fun in the park, he also found that he was bored just sitting on a nearby bench watching them have all the fun.  This prompted him to dream of a place where both the kids and the adults could have fun together.  Now, what Walt was dreaming of making was not impossible to make a reality; but was he the right person to do it.  He was a movie maker; what did he know about how to build theme park?  But as the world would soon learn, theme parks had a lot to learn from him.

At first, Walt Disney looked to build the park in the strip of land between his Burbank studio and the nearby Los Angeles River.  However, it became very evident right away that the land itself would’ve been too small for what Walt Disney had in mind.  Instead, Disney looked across the entire Los Angeles metro area for a plot of land big enough for his park.  He found that piece of land 40 miles away in Anaheim, where an orange grove was being put up for sale by the Dominguez family that owned and operated it for many years.  The grove was just in the right spot, with the construction of what would be the Santa Ana Freeway passing just north of the property.  The land was also big enough for future expansion and a colossal parking lot.  Though it undoubtedly made Walt’s brother Roy nervous, given that he was in charge of all the company’s finances, he nevertheless did what he could to make his brother’s dreams a reality.  The Dominguez farm was purchased and Walt was ready to build.  But he needed something to help get the banks behind his proposal.  Thankfully, being in charge of an animation studio was a great benefit to Walt because he had some of the greatest artists in the world on his staff.  In 1953, he selected one of his artists named Herb Ryman to draft up a rough concept of what this park would look like.  While there are some key differences, it is astounding just how much Ryman’s early concept actually translated into the park we see today.  It’s an ingenious design.  The park is shaped much like a wheel, with one entry lane (which would become Main Street U.S.A.) that leads guests into a central hub and then the spokes of the wheel would be lanes extending from that hub out into all the other sections of the park; or as they would be called Lands.  And at the north end of the hub, a Castle that would be the centerpiece of the park.  The overview map that Herb Ryman drew up would be the blueprint for everything that followed.  While Disney was busy getting things ready for the construction of his park, he realized that things were quickly going to outgrow his operations at the Burbank studio.  So, he set up shop for a new department of his company in nearby Glendale that would solely be devoted to the design and development of his theme park.  This new department would be called WED Enterprises, but over the years we’ve come to know it by it’s newer name, Walt Disney Imagineering.

Construction began in earnest in the Summer of 1954.  Not a moment was wasted as Disney was hoping to have the gates open the following summer.  For the residents of Anaheim that would pass by, they were seeing strange sights as they were seeing things like castle turrets and space rockets appearing in the skyline.  But while construction moved at a frantic pace, Walt Disney needed to ensure that there were going to be people lined up to see his new park.  It just so happened at the same time that he was approached by ABC television to consider producing something for this new medium called television.  They certainly hit Walt at the right time, since he was eager to get the word out about his park.  What came about from this new deal was that Disney would produce a weekly anthology series that broadcast new and classic productions from the Disney studios.  And while Disney was filling that airtime, he could also bring awareness to the public of his park project.  This was one of the first ever examples of cross promotion ever on television.  But, Disney didn’t just treat this show like an hour long advertisement.  Each program would be made under the highest quality standards that Walt himself would approve.  In addition, he would be personally involved, acting as the host of the show himself.  Naturally, he would name this show Disneyland, and it would themed around the different lands that he was planning for his park.  Episodes themed around Fantasyland would be where classic Disney cartoons and feature films would be broadcast as part of the show.  Adventureland would present nature documentaries, including Oscar winning ones that Walt had previously produced.  Frontierland would present new original stories based on historical legends and tall tales, including the story of Davy Crockett which in itself became a cultural phenomenon when it first broadcast.  And Tomorrowland would be a showcase for scientific explorations, including shows that presented ideas about how to get us to the moon.  The show premiered in October 1954 and was a huge success.  Over the years it would go by many different names in it’s long run including The Wonderful World of Color and Walt Disney Presents.  But, the original title of Disneyland did the trick, because by the time the Summer of 1955 rolled around, people were already aware of the name Disneyland, and the many lands it housed.  Towards the end of the first season. Walt finally used his opportunity to showcase what was in store for Disneyland, and the world was ready to finally see it.

The park opened to the world on July 17, 1955, with a nationwide live broadcast to celebrate the occasion, hosted by Art Linklater and future president Ronald Reagan.  In the Town Square of Main Street, Walt delivered his address to officially open the park to guests, declaring, “To all who come to this Happy place, welcome.  Disneyland is your land.”  From then on, the park earned it’s nickname as the happiest place on Earth.  But, it wasn’t all happy at the beginning.  Opening day saw the park overwhelmed by guests, many of whom got in with counterfeit tickets.  There were also a lot of parts of the park that remained unfinished, including spots where the cement pavement hadn’t quite dried.  But, Disney was able to get over the hump of it’s bumpy opening, and in a couple of years Disneyland was one of Southern California’s biggest tourist destinations.  In 1959, Disneyland saw it’s first of many upgrades, with an overhaul of it’s East end that saw the introduction of iconic attractions like the Monorail and the world’s first tubular steel coaster, Matterhorn Mountain.  But Walt Disney wanted to do more than just have Disneyland be an amusement park like so many others across America.  He wanted to use the park to experiment with new technologies that not only would enhance guests’ experience, but would also be useful in the movie making process as well.  A big opportunity came when WED Enterprises was given a commission to develop attractions for the 1964 New York World’s Fair.  This not only gave a huge boost to the budget for WED, but it also granted them a perfect testing ground for a new experimental technology they were developing; Audio-Animatronics.  These Audio-Animatronics gave the Disney Imagineers the chance to program robotic figures with incredible lifelike movement, and have their movements programed onto an automated computer system that ran on audio cues.  The audio-animatronic characters were a huge leap forward in theme park engineering, and after the World’s Fair concluded, Walt brought the attractions home and implemented them into Disneyland.  They included the shows Carousel of Progress and Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln, as well as a true icon with the catchiest of theme songs, It’s a Small World.  But Walt Disney had even bigger plans.  An expansion of the park’s west side themed to the city of New Orleans was being planned, which would included two massive rides that heavily featured the audio-animatronic technology; Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion.  And then there was his most ambitious plan yet for a “Florida Project.”  But sadly, in December 1966, Walt Disney passed away after a losing battle against cancer.

By the time of Walt’s death, there was no doubt in the world that Disneyland was a resounding success.  And the theme park industry was never going to be the same ever again.  Walt’s brother Roy guided the company through the years immediately after his passing and saw his final dream become a reality when Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Florida in October 1971.  Shortly after that Roy himself would be gone.  But Disney’s Imagineering never stopped working through all the changes, and since then the Disney company has opened four more resorts around the world, located in Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai respectively.  Disney World has also seen 3 more theme parks added to it’s sprawling property, including Epcot, the Disney Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.  Meanwhile, Disneyland itself gained a sister park built in what used to be the parking lot called Disney’s California Adventure, opened in 2001.  But, the Disneyland effect would be felt industry wide.  Amusement parks like those wooden pier beachfront attractions fell out of style, especially in California with the Santa Monica Pier being a rare survivor.  Now parks had to be carefully planned and themed, offering not just a place for cheap thrills, but rather a true escape from the outside world.  A great example of this was just up the road from Disneyland.  Boysenberry farmer Walter Knott saw his little farm grow in popularity over the years, especially after his wife Cordelia’s Chicken Dinner restaurant became a huge draw for the community.  To accommodate the crowds, he built a themed western town attraction next to the restaurant which he called Ghost Town.  After several years, Ghost Town expanded to include rides, including a mine train and log flume, designed by some former Imagineers from Disney.  Further expansions added more and more rides, and soon there was no berry farm left, but instead a theme park in it’s place.  But the name still stayed and today Knott’s Berry Farm has become a beloved theme park in it’s own right.  But the interesting thing about Disneyland’s influence is that more movie studios didn’t jump into the theme park industry like Walt did; instead choosing to license out their IP rather than build a park itself.  The exception though was Universal.  Universal, which long had drawn tourists to it’s studio lot for tours, expanded out and created a theme park of it’s own adjacent to the studio in Hollywood.  It’s also been a catch all for all the IP properties not held by Disney, including Harry Potter (Warner Brothers) Transformers (Paramount) and The Simpsons (formerly Fox and now ironically held today by Disney).  In the theme park industry, Universal has become second only to Disney and are continuing to grow; even in Disney’s back yard nearby in Orlando.

But one thing that Universal’s competition with Disney has managed to do is to increase the presence of IP based themed attractions across the theme park industry; which has been both a good and bad thing.  One thing that unfortunately has been sacrificed over time is the way that theme parks could create their own unique stories; ones that didn’t have to be based on a familiar movie or television show.  But, in recent years, theme parks have increasingly latched themselves onto characters that already have a built in familiarity in order to spotlight their new rides and attractions.  Disney of course drew upon it’s own vast library of titles to inspire new attractions; including one unfortunate case where they used one of their most controversial movies, Song of the South (1946) as the inspiration for one of their most popular rides; Splash Mountain.  And while their new park technology was advancing even further, the studio executives were more comfortable trying the tech out on brands with built in recognition rather than giving it to original ideas.  Disney even sought outside their company for potential brands to take a chance on their new tech.  One of those interested parties was filmmaker George Lucas, who was very interested in a flight simulator concept being devised for the park.  He believed that it was a perfect way to bring his Star Wars universe to life by having guests feel like they are really flying through space.  In 1987, Star Tours officially brought George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise to life at Disneyland.  A few years later, Lucas would collaborate with Disney again on an enhanced motion vehicle concept that would of course be developed for an Indiana Jones ride in Adventureland.  The worlds crafted by George Lucas seemed to perfectly fit within Disneyland, and after Disney gained control of Lucasfilm in 2012, it wasn’t long before an entire land was designed to fully immerse guests into the world of Star Wars, which became Galaxy’s Edge, opened in 2019.  Other sectors of the Disney company have also been given lands of their own in Disney Parks, including Marvel and Pixar.  But there has been a decline over time for attractions that stand on their own independent of IP influence.  Even the stuff that was developed as original ideas for Disney theme parks have inspired their own movies, such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and Jungle Cruise.  Over time, parks have become less worlds of their own and more living advertisements for the sake of corporate synergy.

But there is no denying that Disneyland is more than just any theme park.  There is an aura about the place that still endures even after all the changes it’s gone through over time.  You can still feel the love and care that went into every wall, every pathway, and every little surprise around the corner.  It’s a place for all of the senses.  The way the texture of the faux rock work feels on your skin as you place your hand on it while waiting in line for Big Thunder Mountain.  The sound of the Mark Twain’s bell and whistle echoing throughout the park.  The smell of popcorn wafting in the air from the carts along the pathways.  The taste of churro or a Dole Whip on a hot summer day.  And of course all of the sights that our fondest memories are built on.  This is what sets Disneyland apart.  It’s the one and only park with Walt Disney’s personal touch.  And though many parts of it was recreated in parks around the world, you can definitely tell that Walt’s inspirations were what made this park special to him.  His favorite hobby was building model trains, and what else would be encircling the park than a full sized steam locomotive.  There of course is a carousel at the center of Fantasyland, just like the one Walt took his girls to in Griffith Park.  And if you look above the fire station in Main Street, as well as above the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean, you’ll see secret apartments that Walt built just for himself when he would pay a personal visit.  Though the man is long gone, his influence still reigns over both the Disney parks as well as theme parks around the world.  And the world is better for it.  Theme parks are escapes, and the better the illusion the better the fun.  Walt Disney and his Imagineers used their know how from the world of film-making to improve the theme park experience, from set design influencing the architecture of the parks to using visual effects tricks like animatronics to make the rides all that more immersive.  It helped that many of Walt’s favorite film artists managed to transition so seamlessly into working on projects for Disneyland, like Mary Blair, Marc Davis and of course the songwriting team of the Sherman Brothers.  70 years and still going strong, Disneyland truly has earned that title of the happiest place on Earth.  Though there are many like it, Disneyland is still the gold standard on which all other theme parks today are judged by.  It’s both a place for cutting edge advancement, but also a shrine to a much simpler time.  You can still see much of the original park still standing there today, including the iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle that still sits in the heart of it all.  As a long time guest myself, having gone there almost every year since I was little, it still hasn’t lost it’s aura for me.  Above it’s entrance a plaque reads, “Here you leave today and enter the worlds of Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy.”  For me and many others, Disneyland is the closest place we can get to seeing the impossible become possible.