Disneyland and Disney World

DISNEYLAND HISTORY

Walt Disney opened his Disneyland theme park on July 17, 1955.  He got his idea and inspiration when he visited the "Tivoli"-park in Denmark.

The $17 million theme park was built on 160 acres of former orange groves in Anaheim, California,. Today, Disneyland hosts more than 14 million visitors a year, who spend close to $3 billion.

It is the only theme park designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney.

In 1955, the admission for an adult ticket to Disneyland cost $1, which was then only double the price of a movie ticket.

Disneyland had 18 attractions on its opening day.

Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland Anaheim. By Tuxyso / Wikimedia Commons, 

The opening day was an "International Press Preview" event held on Sunday, July 17, 1955, which was open only to invited guests and the media. It was a disaster: Asphalt poured that morning melted in the unusually high 38 °C (101 °F), weather, a plumbers' strike forced Disney to choose running toilets over water fountains, vendors ran out of food and rides were hijacked. Disney and his 1955 executives referred to July 17, 1955, as "Black Sunday".

Within a week of Disneyland opening, operator error resulted in the caboose of the Disneyland Railroad crashing and derailing. During the ensuing commotion, the brakeman at fault "quietly left the scene of the accident, exited the park, and was not seen again".

Walt Disney had a private apartment at the fire station at Disneyland. A lamp glowing in the window symbolized his presence in the park.

Richard Scherrer, an engineer listed  on the patent for Lockheed’s F-117 stealth aircraft, moonlighted in the 1950s to design some of the rides at Disneyland, including Dumbo the Flying Elephant.

The Disneyland ALWEG Monorail opened on June 14, 1959 as a sightseeing attraction in Tomorrowland in Disneyland. It was the first daily operating monorail system in the Western Hemisphere.

The Enchanted Tiki Room opened in 1963. The attraction featured the first use of audio animatronics, something that would be common to many future Disney attractions.

Mark Maples became the first person to be killed on a ride in Disneyland in 1964. He stood up while riding the Matterhorn Bobsleds and was thrown to his death.

Before settling on Florida, Disney World was originally considered being built near Niagara Falls. However, after Walt Disney visited the location, he realised it was way too cold.

Walt Disney created multiple fake companies (like M.T. Lott Real Estate) to buy Florida land in the 1960s. This let him acquire what is now Disney World while avoiding suspicion and keeping prices low. The stores on Main Street shop windows are the names of those original companies.

Walt Disney World opened near Orlando, Florida on October 1, 1971.

Cinderella Castle Magic Kingdom Panorama. By Flickr user: Michael Gray 

A 1-day adult ticket to Disneyland was $12 in 1982.

When the original Star Tours debuted at Disneyland in 1987, it was the first major motion simulator attraction at a theme park.

Hurricane Floyd was among the largest Atlantic hurricanes of its strength ever recorded, in terms of gale-force diameter. It was forecast to strike Florida, causing Walt Disney World in Florida to close for a full day for the first time in its history, on September 15, 1999. In the end Hurricane Floyd turned away from Florida and instead wreaked havoc on The Bahamas.

There is an urban legend about Walt Disney's body being cryonically frozen and buried beneath the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland.

Before hitting it big in the acting business Kevin Costner worked as a skipper on the ride, the Jungle Cruise, at Disneyland in California.

Irlo Bronson sold the land that is present-day Walt Disney World in Florida for about US$100 per acre.

Disney World is 20 times larger than Disneyland.

Disneyland Paris, the first Walt Disney Park in Europe, opened in the Paris suburb of Marne-la-Vallée in 1992.

Disney's Animal Kingdom opened at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, in 1998.

Disney California Adventure Park opened to the public as part of the Disneyland Resort in  California in 2001.

Disney World once considered building a fifth theme park dedicated to villains, called "The Dark Kingdom". The idea was opened up the idea to fans in 2010, with a mixed response.

Canadian Lindsay Nemeth visited each Disney park around the globe, earning the record for the fastest time to go to all Disney theme parks. In December 2017, Lindsay visited within 75 hr 6 min Disneyland, California,  Disneyland & Disney California Adventure, Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios & Animal Kingdom, Disneyland Paris, Disneyland & Walt Disney Studios, Shanghai Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
Tokyo Disney Resort, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. She took at least one ride, and got two signed witness statements at each resort.

FUN DISNEYLAND FACTS

Doritos were created at Disneyland in an attempt to use up old tortillas that would otherwise be thrown out.

Disneyland doesn't sell chewing gum. That's because Walt Disney didn't want guests inconvenienced by stepping on gum in the park.

Disney World is essentially its own city with its own government. The company has the authority to open schools, create its own criminal justice system, and open a nuclear power plant on its land in Florida; powers that are typically reserved for city and county governments.

Disney World is second only to the US military when it comes to purchasing explosives in the United States.

Walt Disney World is 40 square miles, making it the same size as San Francisco and twice the size of Manhattan.

Everyone that works at Disneyland is called a cast member not an employee.

Disneyland uses more than 100,000 lightbulbs to outline the buildings on Main Street, U.S.A.

The jungle in Disneyland's Jungle Cruise is now its own fully functioning ecosystem and no longer requires landscaping.

Every night after closing, Disneyland releases 200 cats into the park to help keep the rodent population under control.

Chickens are used to see where mosquitoes are in Walt Disney World. Disney strategically places groups of chickens around the park and regularly test them for mosquito borne viruses to see where mosquitoes are in the park. As a result there are almost no mosquitoes in Disney World even though it is in a swampy territory abundant with bugs.

Of all the photographs taken in the United States, 3% of them are taken at Disneyland or Walt Disney World.

Disney uses code names in the park. Rude visitors are called 'Treasured Guests.' Illegally spreading ashes is called 'White Powder Alert.' Vomit is called 'Protein Spill.' Kids peeing in the pool is called 'Code Winnie.'

Walt Disney had a secret apartment built in Disneyland so he could watch the crowds in his theme park.

There is a private club at Disneyland called Club 33. It is the only place in the park where alcohol is served.

Despite being on opposite ends of the country, Disneyland and Disney World are both located in Orange County.