In return, the network agreed to help finance the park. For its first five years of operation, Disneyland was owned by Disneyland, Inc., which was jointly owned by Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney, Western Publishing and ABC. In addition, Disney rented out many of the shops on Main Street, U.S.A. to outside companies. By 1960, Walt Disney Productions bought out all other shares, a partnership which would eventually lead to the Walt Disney Corporation's acquisition of ABC in the mid-1990s. Construction began on July 16, 1954 and cost $17 million to complete (equivalent to $ in ). The park was opened one year and one day later.
Origins
Disneyland
Disneyland | Origins
Construction began on July 16, 1954 1948 1954-55 July 1954
when did jungle book come out in theaters
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1967
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who was the director?
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Wolfgang Reitherman
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and the producer?
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Walt Disney
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what is the movie about?
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It follows Mowgli, a feral child raised in the Indian jungle by wolves, as his friends Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear try to convince him to leave the jungle before the evil tiger Shere Khan arrives.
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how was it received by the public?
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It received positive reviews upon release, undoubtedly influenced by a nostalgic reaction to the death of Walt Disney.
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who was this person ?
user
He was an American entrepreneur, animator, writer, voice actor and film producer.
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where was he born?
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Chicago's Hermosa neighborhood.
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could you mention character created by him?
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Mickey Mouse
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and did he win any awards for this one?
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Yes, "Flowers and Trees" won the Academy Award for best Short Subject (Cartoon) at the 1932 ceremony.
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did he set up any amusement park?
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Yes, Disneyland
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where is this located?
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Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California
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when was it constructed?
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U.S. Route 101 (later Interstate 5) was under construction at the same time just north of the site; in preparation for the traffic Disneyland was expected to bring, two more lanes were added to the freeway before the park was finished.
Disneyland | Origins
After hiring a consultant to help him determine an appropriate site for his project, Disney bought a site near Anaheim in 1953. Construction began in 1954 and the park was unveiled during a special televised press event on the ABC Television Network on July 17, 1955. Since its opening, Disneyland has undergone expansions and major renovations, including the addition of New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country (now Critter Country) in 1972, Mickey's Toontown in 1993, and in 2019. Opened in 2001, Disney California Adventure Park was built on the site of Disneyland's original parking lot.
Disneyland | Introduction
At the time of its construction in the mid 1950s, Disneyland was in a remote area outside Anaheim, California. Walt Disney wanted to build a hotel for Disneyland visitors to stay overnight, since Disneyland was quite a drive from the established population centers of Southern California at the time, but Disney's financial resources were significantly depleted by the construction of the park. Initially he tried to interest his friend Art Linkletter in building the hotel, but Linkletter declined. At the time, Linkletter was hesitant about the prospects of the park (only ruefully years later to walk along the sidewalk in front of the property while telling himself with each step "And that's another million I missed out on").
Disneyland Hotel (California) | Concept and construction
Walt Disney's early concepts for an amusement park called for a "Mickey Mouse Park" located adjacent to the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank (presently the site of the West Coast headquarters of ABC). As new ideas emerged, Walt and his brother Roy realized that the Burbank location would be too small for the project, and hired a consultant from Stanford Research Institute to provide them with information on locations and economic feasibility. The consultant recommended a remote location in Anaheim, adjacent to the then-under-construction Santa Ana Freeway. The consultant correctly predicted that the locationcovered by orange groves at the timewould become the population center of Southern California.
Disneyland Resort | Concept and construction
Disneyland Park, originally Disneyland, is the first of two theme parks built at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, opened on July 17, 1955. It is the only theme park designed and built to completion under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. It was originally the only attraction on the property; its official name was changed to Disneyland Park to distinguish it from the expanding complex in the 1990s. It was the first Disney theme park. Walt Disney came up with the concept of Disneyland after visiting various amusement parks with his daughters in the 1930s and 1940s. He initially envisioned building a tourist attraction adjacent to his studios in Burbank to entertain fans who wished to visit; however, he soon realized that the proposed site was too small.
Disneyland | Introduction
The area surrounding Disneyland became the atmosphere of colorful lights, flashy neon signs, and then-popular Googie architecture that he wanted to avoid (and which years earlier had caused the city of Burbank to deny his initial request to build his project in Burbank). The Anaheim Convention Center was built across the street from Disneyland's original parking lot, and residences were constructed in the area as part of the city's growth in the late 20th century. Eventually, Disneyland was "boxed in", a factor which would later lead Walt Disney to acquire a significantly larger parcel of land for the construction of Walt Disney World.
Disneyland Resort | 1955–1998: one park, one hotel
Construction of the Disneyland theme park began on July 16, 1954, and it opened to the public on July 17, 1955. It has become one of the world's most visited tourist attractions, with over 650 million visitors since its opening. The location was formerly of orange and walnut trees. Hotels and motels began to spread and residential districts soon followed. By the mid-1960s, the city's explosive growth would attract a Major League Baseball team, with the California Angels relocating from Los Angeles to Anaheim in 1966, where they have remained since. In 1980, the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams relocated from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to the Angels' home field, Anaheim Stadium, playing there until their relocation to St.
Anaheim, California | Disneyland and the late 20th century
By 1953, of orchard land in Anaheim in Orange County, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles, were chosen as the location for the planned Disneyland park, and on August 8, Walt Disney drew the triangular route for the future Disneyland Railroad (DRR) on the park's site plan. After financing for Disneyland was secured and all of the parcels of land at the Anaheim site were purchased, construction of the park and its railroad began in August 1954. In order to cut costs, a sponsorship deal was arranged with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF), and when it was finalized on March 29, 1955, the DRR was officially named "Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad".
Disneyland Railroad | Planning and construction
When Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California on July 17, 1955, a temporary location for the store was set up at the end of Main Street, U.S.A., in a striped tent adjacent to the Red Wagon Inn. It offered souvenirs and Disneyana. The permanent location opened on September 15, 1955.
Art Corner | History
The opening of Disneyland in 1955 created the boon of a tourism boom in the Anaheim area. Walt Disney had originally intended to purchase additional land to build accommodations for Disneyland visitors; however, the park's construction drained his financial resources and he was unable to acquire more land. Entrepreneurs eager to capitalize on Disney's success moved in and built hotels, restaurants, and shops around Disneyland and eventually boxed in the Disney property, and turned the area surrounding Disneyland into the boulevards of colorful neon signs that Walt Disney had tried to avoid. The city of Anaheim, eager for tax revenue these hotels would generate, did little to obstruct their construction.
Anaheim Resort | History and development
Since the location was far from Southern California population centers in the 1950s, Walt Disney wanted to build a hotel so that Disneyland visitors traveling long distances could stay overnight. However, the park had depleted his financial resources, so he negotiated a deal with Hollywood producer Jack Wrather in which he would build and operate a hotel called the Disneyland Hotel across the street from Disneyland.
Disneyland Resort | Concept and construction
In return, the network agreed to help finance the park. For its first five years of operation, Disneyland was owned by Disneyland, Inc., which was jointly owned by Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney, Western Publishing and ABC. In addition, Disney rented out many of the shops on Main Street, U.S.A. to outside companies. By 1960, Walt Disney Productions bought out all other shares, a partnership which would eventually lead to the Walt Disney Corporation's acquisition of ABC in the mid-1990s. Construction began on July 16, 1954 and cost $17 million to complete (equivalent to $ in ). The park was opened one year and one day later.
Disneyland | Origins
Disneyland was founded as a single park by Walt Disney and opened on July 17, 1955, in Anaheim, California. Disneyland Hotel opened to the public on October 5, 1955. In 2001, the site expanded significantly and was renamed the Disneyland Resort with the opening of Disney California Adventure Park on February 8, 2001, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa on January 2, 2001, Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel on December 15, 2000, and Downtown Disney on January 12, 2001. Disneyland was re-branded Disneyland Park to distinguish it from the larger resort complex. The resort focuses on Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters and occupies .
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products | Disneyland Resort
Construction of the park began on January 22, 1998. On Main Street, U.S.A., a Disney's California Adventure Preview Center opened in October 1998. The park's construction was accompanied by Downtown Disney and Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, in addition to renovations of the Disneyland Hotel and Disneyland Pacific Hotel.
Disney California Adventure | Concept and creation
Planned construction of the Ventura Freeway across land between the two sites, and rejection by the Burbank City Council of a new amusement park in their city, led Disney to look for a different location to build the park and its narrow-gauge railroad.
Disneyland Railroad | Attraction concept origins
In 1959, Walt Disney Productions began looking for land to house a second resort to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955. Market surveys at the time revealed that only 5% of Disneyland's visitors came from east of the Mississippi River, where 75% of the population of the United States lived. Additionally, Walt Disney disliked the businesses that had sprung up around Disneyland and wanted more control over a larger area of land in the next project. Walt Disney flew over a potential site in Orlando, Florida—one of many—in November 1963. After witnessing the well-developed network of roads and taking the planned construction of both Interstate 4 and Florida's Turnpike into account, with McCoy Air Force Base (later Orlando International Airport) to the east, Disney selected a centrally located site near Bay Lake.
Walt Disney World | Conception
The Stanford Research Institute was hired in April 1953 to determine the best park location and an amusement parks and public attractions analysis for US$32,000 while WED started designing Disneylandia with Bill Martin signing on to do so. By July, Disney directed the institute to look at 100+ acre Southern California location. Also that month, one of the Disney brothers had an initial meeting with American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres's Leonard H. Goldenson about Disneyland financing for Disney Production film inventory. Roy met in August 1953 with the Stanford Research Institute over the Disneylandia location survey's 10 possible location settling on an area along the Santa Ana Freeway in Anaheim.
Disneyland, Inc. | Start up
The construction of the resort itself started in January 2003. The SARS outbreak of 2003 did slow but not stop building and saved HK$1 billion as construction cost dropped. Inspiration Lake, an artificial lake of some 12 hectares, was also created to serve the resort's water irrigation needs. In an effort to avoid cultural friction similar to what happened when Euro Disney Resort opened in France, Disney has taken efforts to make this new park reflect the local culture. Feng shui consultants have helped with the layout of the park and the grounds. Incense was burned when the construction of each building was completed, and one of the main ballrooms is 888 square meters in size, as eight is an auspicious number in Chinese culture, signifying fortune.
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort | Construction
Disneyland, Inc. was incorporated in the State of California in 1951 by Walt Disney. A companion company owned only by Walt Disney originally called Walt Disney, Incorporated then WED Enterprises (WED) was set up in 1952 supposedly only for television production, but was used to design Disneylandia and its attractions. As the board of directors of Walt Disney Productions (WDP) was questionable in its support for the project. In March 1953, WDP board of directors agreed to Walt Disney's personal services contract and WED's contracts for designing and building Disneyland park attractions for cost plus overhead with three board directors resigning.
Disneyland, Inc. | Start up
The original Disneyland Hotel was designed by the firm of Pereira & Luckman and opened on October 5, 1955, nearly three months after Disneyland. Various strikes caused the opening to be postponed from the August date advertised in pre-opening promotional materials, and the hotel only had limited capacity when it initially opened. The hotel originally consisted of just over 100 rooms in 5 two-story guest room complexes (later known as the South Garden Rooms and even later as the Oriental Gardens) that rented for $15 a night with shopping, dining and recreational facilities added in early 1956. In addition, it had a doctor and a dentist on site, as well as a hairdresser and a beauty salon.
Disneyland Hotel (California) | Wrather Corporation ownership: 1955–1988
From 1967 to 1973, the building housed Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. This attraction was moved from Disneyland to its current location in Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in 1973, at the request of its sponsor, General Electric. America Sings occupied the building from the following year until 1988. Audio-Animatronics from the show were used in Disneyland's Splash Mountain. The upper level of the building continued to house the "Tron" SuperSpeed Tunnel segment of the PeopleMover until that attraction eventually closed in 1995. The attraction closed March 31, 2015. The building was redesigned and reopened on November 16, 2015 as the Tomorrowland Expo Center.
Innoventions (Disneyland) | History
Freedomland was conceived and built by C. V. Wood, a Texan who had worked in the planning, construction, and management of Disneyland, which opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955. After Disneyland's opening, Wood's relationship with the Disney brothers became strained because of various disputes, and he was ousted from Disneyland management by early 1956. He soon became involved in the creation of other amusement parks across the United States, under his company Marco Engineering. Wood had devised plans for an American-history theme park as early as 1957, in conjunction with Milton Ted Raynor, who later became president of Freedomland Inc.
Freedomland U.S.A. | Creation
His designers began working on concepts, though the project grew much larger than the land could hold. Disney hired Harrison Price from Stanford Research Institute to gauge the proper area to locate the theme park based on the area's potential growth. Based on Price's analysis (for which he would be recognized as a Disney Legend in 2003), Disney acquired of orange groves and walnut trees in Anaheim, southeast of Los Angeles in neighboring Orange County. The Burbank site originally considered by Disney is now home to Walt Disney Animation Studios and ABC Studios. Difficulties in obtaining funding prompted Disney to investigate new methods of fundraising, and he decided to create a show named "Disneyland." It was broadcast on then-fledgling ABC.
Disneyland | Origins
That summer, Disney executives gathered in Aspen, Colorado for a 3-day retreat, where they came up with the idea for a California-themed park, dubbed Disney's California Adventure Park, to be built on the same site slated for WestCOT. $1.4 billion was budgeted to build the park, a retail district, and hotels.
Disneyland Resort | 1990s: planning an expansion
Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955, with a televised press preview event on ABC. Despite the disastrous event, later dubbed "Black Sunday", during which several rides broke down and other mishaps occurred, Disneyland became a huge success in its first year of operation. The hotel, which opened three months after the park, enjoyed similar success. Walt Disney wanted to build more facilities for Disneyland visitors to stay in Anaheim, but since his financial resources were drained, entrepreneurs established their own hotels in the area surrounding the park and hotel to capitalize on Disneyland's success. To Walt Disney's dismay, the city of Anaheim was lax in restricting their construction, eager for the tax revenue generated by more hotels in the city.
Disneyland Resort | 1955–1998: one park, one hotel
In early 1997, Vacationland was closed and demolished. Then in 1999, a significant portion of the hotel was also demolished, all to make way for Downtown Disney and parking areas for the newly expanding Disneyland Resort. Most buildings east of the Sierra Tower and north of the Marina Tower were demolished, including the original hotel buildings from 1955. The only buildings remaining in these areas are the convention center and parking garage. Recreational facilities were built in the quad between the three towers, previously site of the Water Wonderland, to replace those that were previously located east of the Sierra Tower.
Disneyland Hotel (California) | Resort expansion 1999–2001
On July 17, 1955 at 2 PM, the Disneyland park with Five themed "lands" containing eighteen attractions opened. 15 thousand guests were invited to the opening event, but it is believed that 28 to 33 thousand came to the park. The total construction cost came to $17 million. By 1955, WDP had advanced DLI $2.4 million. WDI also took out its AB-PT guaranteed bank loan for $4.4 million in installment payments with the final payment in April 1962. The loan is secured by Disneyland real and certain personal properties, leasehold and the TV programming contract revenue which if Disneyland defaults AB-PT may purchase the loan.
Disneyland, Inc. | Operational
Disneyland is the original Disney theme park in Anaheim, California. Disneyland may also refer to:
Disneyland (disambiguation) | Introduction
The rail link was constructed by Gammon Construction and completed in April 2005. In preparation for the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland on 12 September, the line started operating on 1 August 2005. The rolling stock is distinctive on account of its Mickey Mouse windows, interior couch seating, and Disneyland figurines displayed in the carriages. On 4 September 2005, the Disneyland Resort line served nearly 40,000 passengers. Peak patronage occurs around 08:00-10:00 and 21:00–23:00 hours, at the parks' respective opening and closing times.
Disneyland Resort line | Construction
The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks (Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure), three hotels, and a shopping, dining, and entertainment district known as Downtown Disney. The resort was developed by Walt Disney in the 1950s. When it opened to guests on July 17, 1955, the property consisted of Disneyland, its 100-acre parking lot (which had 15,167 spaces), and the Disneyland Hotel, owned and operated by Disney's business partner Jack Wrather.
Disneyland Resort | Introduction
In mid-1954, Disney sent his Imagineers to every amusement park in the U.S. to analyze what worked and what pitfalls or problems there were in the various locations and incorporated their findings into his design. Construction work started in July 1954, and Disneyland opened in July 1955; the opening ceremony was broadcast on ABC, which reached 70 million viewers. The park was designed as a series of themed lands, linked by the central Main Street, U.S.A.a replica of the main street in his hometown of Marceline. The connected themed areas were Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. The park also contained the narrow gauge Disneyland Railroad that linked the lands; around the outside of the park was a high berm to separate the park from the outside world.
Walt Disney | Theme parks, television and other interests: 1950–1966
The Disneyland Hotel is a resort hotel located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, owned by the Walt Disney Company and operated through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Opened on October 5, 1955, as a motor inn owned and operated by Jack Wrather under an agreement with Walt Disney, the hotel was the first to officially bear the Disney name. Under Wrather's ownership, the hotel underwent several expansions and renovations over the years before being acquired by Disney in 1988. The hotel was downsized to its present capacity in 1999 as part of the Disneyland Resort expansion.
Disneyland Hotel (California) | Introduction
Disneyland, Inc. (DLI) was a corporation formed to finance, build and run Disneyland park in Anaheim, California.
Disneyland, Inc. | Introduction
Soon, a 160-acre grove of orange trees, the Ball Road subdivision, was purchased for US$879 thousand. An additional 270 acres were purchased for the site by a real estate agent, followed by a separate purchase of 244 more acres.
Disneyland, Inc. | Start up
Prior to Disneyland opening on July 17, 1955, Kilpatrick was sought by Walt Disney to photograph its construction. Being so far from Burbank, Disney had few personnel and structural resources, including a dark room. Kilpatrick offered both his dark room and services to Disney. Taking full opportunity of his press pass to the construction site, Kilpatrick photographed every phase of construction from the first leveling of dirt up through opening day, and beyond. Other photographers had documented the construction but only during short visits just prior to opening day. Delmar Watson visited the park a couple months prior to opening to take photos of the Sleeping Beauty Castle and other landmarks of the park.
Mell Kilpatrick | Disneyland
The Wonder Tower became the Frontier Tower after its completion in 2011, and the Magic Tower became the Fantasy Tower in 2012.
Disneyland Hotel (California) | The Disneyland Hotel Today
With estimates hovering close to $3 billion and the company's significant financial problems with the recently opened Disneyland Resort Paris, the project was scrapped in 1995. CEO Michael Eisner held a three-day executive retreat in Aspen, Colorado to come up with a new idea, and from that meeting of about thirty executives came the idea for a California-themed park. That project became Disney California Adventure, which opened in 2001 on the property that WestCOT was to occupy. The idea of building a resort hotel within a theme park was later realized with Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, which opened in 2001.
WestCOT | History
The initial contract for the construction of Disneyland in Chiba Prefecture was signed in April 1979. Japanese engineers and architects visited California to tour Disneyland and prepare to construct the new park. The construction of the park began a year later and was covered by hundreds of reporters as an indication of the high expectations for the park in the future. The final cost of Tokyo Disneyland was 180 billion yen rather than the projected 100 billion yen. On February 28, 2020, Disney announced a temporary closure of Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea from February 29 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tokyo Disneyland | History
In the 1990s, while Disneyland was undergoing a significant expansion project surrounding the construction of Disney California Adventure Park, the city undertook a project of its own in the area surrounding the Disney property and Anaheim Convention Center. The project included removing the colorful neon signs and replacing them with shorter, more modest signs, as well as widening the arterial streets in the area into tree-lined boulevards. The name "Anaheim Resort" was coined to refer to the area.
Anaheim Resort | History and development
According to the official website of the Republic of the Children, in 1950 Walt Disney visited the park and, surprised by the beauty, was inspired to build Disneyland.
Republic of the Children | Disneyland and the Republic of the Children
The present-day site of Disney California Adventure was acquired by Walt Disney in the 1950s and functioned as the parking lot of Disneyland for over 40 years. After succeeding with the multi-park business model at Walt Disney World in Florida, the Disney company decided to turn Walt Disney's original theme park into a multi-park resort complex as well. In 1991, Disney announced plans to build WestCOT, a west coast version of what was then known as EPCOT Center, on the site of Disneyland's parking lot. The high price tag of the proposed park, as well as the company's financial and public relations problems with the newly opened Euro Disneyland (now Disneyland Paris), led Disney to cancel WestCOT in 1995.
Disney California Adventure | Concept and creation
Frontierland Station was built based on the design of the depot building located on the Grizzly Flats Railroad, a full-size narrow-gauge railroad owned by Disney animator Ward Kimball in his backyard. Besides the depot building, the DRR's functioning water tower was also built at Frontierland Station.
Disneyland Railroad | Planning and construction
Today, none of the original hotel buildings from 1955 remain standing. Very little of the original hotel other than parking areas and service facilities survive, sitting outside of the perimeter created by the three remaining guest room towers. Original signs and other artifacts from several of the stores and restaurants demolished with the Plaza are on display in the hotel's employee cafeteria. ESPN Zone, Rainforest Cafe, and AMC Theatres—all Downtown Disney venues—now occupy much of the former hotel space east of the Sierra Tower. Mickey Mouse theming is employed in many interior furnishings and details. In 2007 the Marina, Sierra, and Bonita Towers were renamed Magic, Dreams, and Wonder, respectively.
Disneyland Hotel (California) | The Disneyland Hotel Today
Michael Eisner, Disney's CEO at the time, signed the first letter of agreement with the French government for the site on 18 December 1985, and the first financial contracts were drawn up during the following spring. The final contract was signed by the leaders of the Walt Disney Company and the French government and territorial collectivities on 24 March 1987. Construction began in August 1988, and in December 1990, an information centre named "Espace Euro Disney" was opened to show the public what was being constructed. Plans for a theme park next to Euro Disneyland based on the entertainment industry, Disney-MGM Studios Europe, quickly went into development, scheduled to open in 1996 with a construction budget of US$2.3 billion.
Disneyland Paris | Seeking a location for a European resort
Federal Aid Highway Acts built the Interstate Highway System so motorists were able to travel to the state. Disneyland opened in 1955, Knott's Berry Farm which had opened in 1920 expanded, SeaWorld opened in 1964, and Universal Studios opened up its studio tour in 1964 which started the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park; these became some of the world's most visited tourist attractions.
California during World War II | Economics and population growth
The Orangewood Album consists of more than 600 original photos of Disneyland construction through opening day. The photos start from the first days of construction in July 1954 and go through to July 1955. The album presents the photographs in a mostly chronological order starting with the first arrival of construction crews to the development site. These are followed by photos showing the first construction of buildings and famous landmarks like Sleeping Beauty Castle, the Main Street Train Station, and the Jungle Cruise, to name a few. Several aerial shots are presented throughout the entire album, documenting the complete construction process.
Orangewood Album | Content
Although Walt Disney had been highly involved in planning the Florida Project, he died before he could see the vision through. After Walt's death, Walt Disney Productions began construction on Magic Kingdom and the entire resort in 1967. The park was built as a larger, improved version of Disneyland Park in California. Magic Kingdom was built over a series of tunnels called utilidors, a portmanteau of "utility" and "corridor", allowing employees (called "cast members") or VIP guests to move through the park out of sight. Because of Florida's high water table, the tunnels could not be put underground, so they were built at the existing grade, meaning the park is built on the second story, giving the Magic Kingdom an elevation of .
Magic Kingdom | Planning
Disney also contacted Hilton and Sheraton Hotels but because they had no idea where Anaheim was at the time, they declined. Disney then sought out and negotiated a deal with Jack Wrather and his business partner Maria Helen Alvarez under which Wrather-Alvarez Productions would own and operate a hotel called the Disneyland Hotel across the street from Disneyland. Jack Wrather was a Texas oil millionaire turned film producer who already owned hotels in Las Vegas and Palm Springs, and co-owned television stations in Tulsa and San Diego with Alvarez.
Disneyland Hotel (California) | Concept and construction
Final assembly of the locomotives and their tenders took place at the Disneyland site in the DRR's new roundhouse, which was built in one week by a construction crew directed by Park Construction Administrator Joe Fowler, a former US Navy rear admiral. The two original DRR trains cost over $240,000 to build, with the two locomotives costing over $40,000 each. Before the opening of Disneyland, a station in the Main Street, U.S.A. section and a station in the Frontierland section were built for the DRR. Main Street, U.S.A. Station, an example of Second Empire-style architecture, was built at the entrance to Disneyland using an original design that incorporated forced perspective elements on its upper levels to make it appear taller.
Disneyland Railroad | Planning and construction
He had no set plan and no blueprint of how it should look; he began from the ground up.
Hamtramck Disneyland | Design and theme
The construction manager was Bovis.
Disneyland Paris | Seeking a location for a European resort
Opened July 17, 1955, the castle is the oldest of all Disney castles. Though it reaches a height of , it was designed by Roland E. Hill to appear taller through a process known as forced perspective; design elements are larger at the foundation and smaller at the turrets. The castle initially featured an empty upper level that was never intended to house an attraction, but Walt Disney was not satisfied with what he viewed as wasted space, and challenged his Imagineers to find some use for the space. Beginning April 29, 1957, the visitors were able to walk through the castle and view several dioramas depicting the story of Sleeping Beauty.
Sleeping Beauty Castle | Disneyland
Eventually, Central Florida was chosen as the ideal location for the project. Commenting on this choice, Walt said, "Here in Florida we've enjoyed something we've never enjoyed at Disneyland: the blessing of size. There's enough land here to hold all the ideas and plans we could possibly imagine." Disney covertly purchased the land in Osceola County and Orange County through various dummy corporations to prevent price gouging. By June 1965, Disney had acquired 27,433 acres—twice the size of Manhattan—for an estimated total of $5.1 million. Dissatisfied with all of the city planning regulations he had to deal with in Anaheim, Disney developed the Reedy Creek Improvement District for the property.
EPCOT (concept) | History
Walt Disney credited the Carolwood Pacific Railroad with inspiring the creation of Disneyland in Anaheim, California. In one early concept for the park, the CPRR was included as an attraction, in which its train would carry passengers past miniature towns and settings. The Casey Jr. Circus Train, a different ridable miniature railroad that travels past miniature scenes of animated Disney films, is one of Disneyland's original attractions. Another early design for the park included a narrow-gauge steam railroad encircling it, a feature which was retained in the park's final design. Disneyland, and the Disneyland Railroad encircling the park, opened on July 17, 1955.
Carolwood Pacific Railroad | Influences
It opened for public use on 1 August 2005, in preparation for the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, which opened on 12 September 2005.
Disneyland Resort station | History
The concept for Disneyland began when Walt Disney was visiting Griffith Park in Los Angeles 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, though his dream lay dormant for many years. He may have also 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.
Disneyland | Origins
In the late 1990s, work began to expand the one-park, one-hotel property. Disneyland Park, the Disneyland Hotel, the site of the original parking lot, and acquired surrounding properties were earmarked to become part of the Disneyland Resort. At that time, the property saw the addition of the Disney California Adventure theme park, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex named Downtown Disney, a remodeled Disneyland Hotel, the construction of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, and the acquisition and re-branding of the Pan Pacific Hotel as Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. The park was renamed "Disneyland Park" to distinguish it from the larger complex under construction.
Disneyland | 1990s
Disney planned but never built a new land called Discovery Bay, which would have contained a reproduction of the Hyperion airship protruding from a recreation of Captain Brieux's hangar. Sections of the design for this land was used in Disneyland Resort Paris' Discoveryland area. Some of the land allocated for Discovery Bay was subsequently occupied by .
The Island at the Top of the World | Disneyland (Anaheim, California)
In order to provide lodging to patrons, it was decided that 5,200 Disney-owned hotel rooms would be built within the complex. In March 1988, Disney and a council of architects (Frank Gehry, Michael Graves, Robert A.M. Stern, Stanley Tigerman, and Robert Venturi) decided on an exclusively American theme in which each hotel would depict a region of the United States. At the time of the opening in April 1992, seven hotels collectively housing 5,800 rooms had been built. An entertainment, shopping, and dining complex based on Walt Disney World's Downtown Disney was designed by Frank Gehry. With its towers of oxidised silver and bronze-coloured stainless steel under a canopy of lights, it opened as "Festival Disney".
Disneyland Paris | Design and construction
The project was initiated in 1987, when Lillian Disney, widow of Walt Disney, donated $50 million. Frank Gehry delivered completed designs in 1991. Construction of the underground parking garage began in 1992 and was completed in 1996. The garage cost had been $110 million, and was paid for by Los Angeles County, which sold bonds to provide the garage under the site of the planned hall. Construction of the concert hall itself stalled from 1994 to 1996 due to lack of fundraising. Additional funds were required since the construction cost of the final project far exceeded the original budget. Plans were revised, and in a cost-saving move the originally designed stone exterior was replaced with a less costly stainless steel skin.
Walt Disney Concert Hall | Construction
The new roundhouse, where the DRR's locomotives and train cars are stored and maintained, was also built to house the storage and maintenance facility for the Disneyland Monorail.
Disneyland Railroad | Changes since 1960
During the days when Anaheim was a rural community surrounded by orange groves, the geographic center of town was at the intersection of Center Street and Los Angeles Street (now Center Street and Anaheim Blvd.) and the central business district was built around the center of town. Prior to the opening of Disneyland, the old business district consisted of establishments such as the SQR Department Store, Chung King Restaurant, and the Pickwick Hotel. Disneyland brought the need for expansion of the Heart of Anaheim. Prior to Walt Disney's death in 1966, The city of Anaheim had plans to construct a forty-story office tower on the other side of Ball Road from Disneyland.
Downtown Anaheim | History
Plans for DisneySea ceased in December 1991, and the WestCOT plan was pursued on the site of the former Disneyland parking lot, now known as Disney California Adventure. Some of the concepts proposed for DisneySea were used for Tokyo DisneySea, which opened in 2001.
DisneySea (California) | Introduction
After Walt's and Roy's deaths in 1966 and 1971, respectively, the Walt Disney Company would go on to achieve success with the multi-park, multi-hotel resort complex business model of Walt Disney World in Florida, which opened in 1971. In the 1990s, Disney decided to turn Disneyland into a similar multi-park, multi-hotel resort destination. In 1991, Disney announced plans to build WestCOT, a theme park based on Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center, on the site of the original Disneyland parking lot. Its estimated cost was US$3 billion, largely due to the cost of land that Disney would need to acquire. With the new Euro Disney Resort, which opened in 1992, becoming a financial and public relations albatross for the company, Disney was unable to finance the project, and cancelled WestCOT in 1995.
Disneyland Resort | 1990s: planning an expansion
When the park opened, there were 500 employees and 33 attractions, many of which were designed and built by Arrow Development Co. which designed and built many of the original attractions at Disneyland. The admission price in 1971 was $5 for adults, and $3.50 for children between the ages of 3 and 12. Because the park was in a relatively remote part of Los Angeles County, the Greyhound bus line provided bus service to and from the park and Los Angeles, as well as from Northern California, and optionally allowed purchase of park admission at the time the bus ticket was purchased.
Six Flags Magic Mountain | History
Frontierland first appeared in Disneyland as one of five original themed lands. Conceived by Walt Disney, the land did not initially contain many attractions, but centered on open expanses of wilderness which could be traversed by guests via stagecoach, pack mules, Conestoga wagon, and walking trails. The Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland opened in 1960, consisting of a sedate train ride around various western landscape dioramas. The Mine Train closed in 1977 to make way for a new attraction; the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which opened in 1979. Disneyland's Frontierland gateway is constructed of ponderosa pine logs. The land's long shoreline along the Rivers of America is considered a prime viewing location for the nighttime Fantasmic! show.
Frontierland | History
Streets previously used to access the hotel by car were regraded and/or outright eliminated, and a new street was built to access the hotel. Tram service from the hotel was also discontinued, leaving the Monorail as the only vehicular mode of transportation from park to hotel. The loss of hotel rooms was offset with the opening of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel in 2001, but many of the restaurants and amenities that existed prior to 1999 were never replaced.
Disneyland Hotel (California) | Resort expansion 1999–2001
The giant orange was a tribute to the orange fields that Disneyland was built on, as well as Orange County, where the Disneyland Resort is located.
Silly Symphony Swings | Previous attraction history
The actual attraction was located on ground level and a new nearly identical theater system was constructed. The sets and "performers" all came right from the Fair exhibit and remained in nearly their original state. There were some slight changes: a new voice was recorded for Mother, "Christmas in the Home of the 1960s" was slightly updated in set design and technology, all references to General Electric's passé "Medallion Home" campaign were dropped, and Father from "The Home of the 1940s" now sat on a bar stool, rather than on the kitchen nook bench. After the show, guests boarded an inclined moving walkway that would take them to the second level of the building.
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress | Disneyland
The Contemporary Resort is one of two resorts located on property when Walt Disney World opened in 1971. The Contemporary Tower, the most prominent of the resort's four stand-alone buildings, was built as an A-frame with outer walls which slope inwards around an inner atrium. This design was a collaboration by Disney, the United States Steel Corporation, and Los Angeles architect Welton Becket. To construct the building, steel frames were erected on-site and modular pre-constructed rooms, designed by California architect Donald Wexler, were lifted into place by crane. Most of Disney's Polynesian Village Resort and the Court of Flags Resort were built the same way, except rooms were stacked instead of slid in.
Disney's Contemporary Resort | History
After the success with the multi-park, multi-hotel business model at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Disney acquired large parcels of land adjacent to Disneyland to apply the same business model in Anaheim. During the expansion, the property was named the Disneyland Resort to encompass the entire complex, while the original theme park was named Disneyland Park. The company purchased the Disneyland Hotel from the Wrather Company and the Pan Pacific Hotel from the Tokyu Group. The Pan Pacific Hotel became Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel in 2000. In 2001 the property saw the addition of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, a second theme park, named Disney California Adventure, and the Downtown Disney shopping, dining, and entertainment district.
Disneyland Resort | Introduction
Pirates of the Caribbean had been under construction at Disneyland as a subterranean walk-through. That design was scrapped as concrete was broken out so similar boats could sail past scenes which (because the original walk-through scene length was not shortened) were now different each voyage, another concept which forever influenced attraction design and popularity.
It's a Small World | 1964 New York World's Fair
Playland was opened in 1955, six weeks before Disneyland in Anaheim. Local Rotary Clubs, acting upon a proposal by Dr. Joe Logan, then-president of the North Fresno Rotary, teamed up to raise money and build the park. That first day, 14,000 ride tickets were sold, at 10 cents each, and the construction debt was repaid within three years. Playland was much smaller in scope and size than Disneyland, however, and because it offered a cheaper alternative, it was capable of drawing in above 250,000 guests in its debut season. Playland was built on the southwest corner of Roeding Park, bordered to the west by California State Route 99.
Playland (Fresno) | Opening and Competition
Cinderella Castle was completed in July 1971, after about 18 months of construction. The castle is tall, as measured from water-level. Most sources quote the height as six feet taller when measuring from the concrete bottom of the moat, which itself is deep at the bridge. Cinderella Castle is more than taller than Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. A set-building trick known as forced perspective makes the castle appear larger than it is. At higher elevations, its proportions to full scale are reduced for elements such as stones, windows, and doors. This castle was the largest Disney theme park castle until the completion of the Enchanted Storybook Castle in Shanghai Disneyland Park.
Cinderella Castle | Magic Kingdom
The Skyway at Disneyland opened on June 23, 1956. It was built by Von Roll, Ltd. based in Bern, Switzerland. It was the first Von Roll Type 101 aerial ropeway in the United States. Walt Disney Imagineering bought the ride from Switzerland. It was a 1947 Vonroll sidechair model. In 1959, a major renovation added The Submarine Voyage, the Disneyland Monorail, the Matterhorn (now a Fantasyland Attraction), and the Motor Boat Cruise, but when the Matterhorn was planned, it was designed to be built in the path of the Skyway. The Skyway closed in late 1957, its tallest tower of 60 feet tall was demolished and Matterhorn Bobsleds was built in its spot.
Skyway (Disney) | Disneyland
Built at Disney Studios. Based on Alweg monorail systems and concepts.
Disneyland Monorail System | Built by Disney Engineers
The original concept for Holidayland was that of a turn-of-the-century town park, with picnic areas, horseshoe pits, a baseball diamond, and perhaps an open field where a circus could come to perform. This original version would be located where the Matterhorn sits today. As Disneyland came together in 1954, it became apparent that there wasn't enough space within the park for Holidayland to become a reality, and the land (now sometimes called "Recreationland") became a picnic and recreation area, with minor seasonal holiday decorations. In November 1955, the Mickey Mouse Club Circus came to Disneyland, in the Fantasyland section of the park.
Holidayland | History
Innoventions was a two-story exhibit in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. It opened on July 3, 1998 as part of the New Tomorrowland, focusing on near-futuristic technologies. The attraction operated for nearly 17 years, closing on March 31, 2015. From 2013 until its closure, its focus mainly shifted to character meet-and-greets featuring superheroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It occupied the Carousel Theater, a round two-story building in which the outer half of the first floor rotates. A similar attraction of the same name existed in Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort until 2019.
Innoventions (Disneyland) | Introduction
Fractured vertebrae and other injuries led him to abandon the sport on the advice of his doctor, who recommended a calmer recreational activity. Starting in late 1947, he developed an interest in model trains after purchasing several Lionel train sets. By 1948, Walt Disney's interest in model trains was evolving into an interest in larger, ridable miniature trains after observing the trains and backyard railroad layouts of several hobbyists, including Disney animator Ollie Johnston. In 1949, after purchasing of vacant land in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, he started construction on a new residence for himself and his family, and on the elaborate gauge ridable miniature Carolwood Pacific Railroad behind it.
Disneyland Railroad | Attraction concept origins
When Imagineers were working on the creation of the European Disney resort, they had to envision a Main Street that would cope with the changing climate of the region of Paris. Although a huge Victorian-style glass roof covering the street could be built as in Tokyo Disneyland, the decision was made to build two covered walkways parallel to Main Street instead. In the very early days of Disneyland in Anaheim, Walt Disney had imagined two streets adjacent to Main Street, respectively named Liberty Street (themed to American values and history) and Edison Square (themed to this inventor's achievements). Although they were never made reality, these ideas became inspiration for both Arcades in Paris.
Liberty Arcade (Disneyland Paris) | Original concept and design
The attraction's original location was directly behind King Arthur Carrousel and Sleeping Beauty Castle. It was given slight modifications in 1972 with ornamental arches connecting the light posts, and again in 1978 with the platform and teacups being repainted. In 1983, the whole attraction was completely remodeled and relocated to its present location near Matterhorn Bobsleds. It also incorporated a few ideas from the original concepts, such as colorful lanterns.
Mad Tea Party | Disneyland
Also during 1956, the Fantasyland Depot, a new station with a Medieval theme and consisting of a covered platform with no station building, was created for the DRR in the Fantasyland section. By the time this new station was added, the DRR's system of having one train assigned to a single station and using sidings to pass trains stopped at stations was abandoned and replaced by the current system where each train stops at every station along the railroad's route. Fantasyland Depot was removed by July 1966 when the "It's a Small World" attraction, originally built for the 1964 New York World's Fair, was installed.
Disneyland Railroad | Additions in the late 1950s
The original Disneyland soft opening and press premiere were scheduled to begin Wednesday, April 29, 1992 and continue through the weekend. By late afternoon, rioting began in Los Angeles following the acquittal of the Los Angeles police officers involved in the Rodney King beating. Promotional materials with the catchphrase "Be Here When the Night Ignites" were quickly pulled from public circulation.
Fantasmic! | Development
Following a visit to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, shortly after its opening, wealthy real estate developer Angus G. Wynne, Jr. decided that his home state of Texas should have a local park for entertainment. Planning for such a place began in 1959, under the leadership of Wynne and the Great Southwest Corporation, along with the backing of various New York City investors. Construction on the park began in August 1960. The name "Six Flags Over Texas" refers to the flags of the six different nations that have governed Texas: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States of America and the Confederate States of America.
Six Flags Over Texas | History
The Woelke-Stoffel House is a two-story Queen Anne style home built in 1896, in Anaheim, Orange County, in Southern California. It was constructed by architects George Franklin Barber and Armstrong Davis Porter. The home is now owned by the City of Anaheim and part of Founders Park, in which sits a collection of historical buildings and acts as a museum. Free public tours are available on the 3rd Saturday of every month. Its location with close proximity to the Disneyland Resort makes it a popular tourist destination in the area. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 8, 2013.
John Woelke House | Introduction
Instead, Disney relocated several of the exhibits to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and subsequently replicated them at other Disney theme parks. Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, which opened with Magic Kingdom in 1971, is essentially the realization of the original concept of an "East Coast Disneyland"; Epcot, which opened in 1982, was designed as a permanent world's fair.
1964 New York World's Fair | Disney influence
While people wrote letters to Disney about visiting the Walt Disney Studios, he realized that a functional movie studio had little to offer to visiting fans, and began to foster ideas of building a site near the Burbank studios for tourists to visit. His ideas evolved to a small play park with a boat ride and other themed areas. The initial concept, the Mickey Mouse Park, started with an plot across Riverside Drive. He started to visit other parks for inspiration and ideas, including Tivoli Gardens in Denmark, Efteling in the Netherlands, and Greenfield Village, Playland, and Children's Fairyland in the United States; and (according to the film director Ken Annakin, in his autobiography 'So You want to be a film director?'), Bekonscot Model Village & Railway, Beaconsfield, England.
Disneyland | Origins
DisneySea was a proposed amusement park designed by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts that was planned to open at the proposed Port Disney complex in Long Beach, California. Port Disney was part of the "Disney Decade" expansion plan in the 1990s as a proposed alternative by WestCOT to add a "second gate" to the Disneyland Resort complex in Anaheim, California. Plans for DisneySea were unveiled July 31, 1990.. Disney distributed a pamphlet detailing plans for the park to locals in September 1991, with a goal of educating attendees "...to gain firsthand experience of how the oceans affect human life as well as the life of the planet".
DisneySea (California) | Introduction
When Disneyland opened in 1955, visitors purchased an admission ticket to the park at the main gate booths and then purchased separate admission inside for each attraction. Less than three months after opening, Disney began selling "Value Books", each of which contained several of each coupon labeled "A" through "C", to supplement the pay-per-ride system. Attractions were then designated as "A", "B", or "C" attractions, and visitors needed to either purchase a specified coupon from a nearby booth or present the discount coupon book with the correct coupon attached. As determined by Disney, "A" attractions were the smallest or least popular, "B" attractions were more popular and/or more advanced, and "C" attractions were the most popular and/or most advanced.
E ticket | Origin
Outside consultants McKinsey & Company were brought in to help streamline operations, resulting in many changes and cutbacks. After nearly a decade of deferred maintenance, the original park was showing signs of neglect. Fans of the park decried the perceived decline in customer value and park quality and rallied for the dismissal of the management team.
Disneyland | 1990s
The Walt Disney Company gradually acquired the land west of the park, notably the Disneyland Hotel in 1989 following Jack Wrather's death in 1984, the Pan Pacific Hotel (now Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel) in 1995, and several properties north of the Disneyland Hotel in the mid to late 1990s.
Disneyland Resort | 1955–1998: one park, one hotel
Following the success of Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida, plans to build a similar theme park in Europe emerged In 1972. Under the leadership of E. Cardon Walker, Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983 in Japan with instant success, forming a catalyst for international expansion. In late 1984 the heads of Disney's theme park division, Dick Nunis and Jim Cora, presented a list of approximately 1,200 possible European locations for the park. Britain, France, Italy and Spain were all considered. However, Britain and Italy were dropped from the list due to both lacking a suitable expanse of flat land.
Disneyland Paris | Seeking a location for a European resort
When Imagineers were working on the creation of the European Disney resort, they had to envision a Main Street that would cope with the changing climate of the region of Paris. Although a huge Victorian-style glass roof covering the street could be built as in Tokyo Disneyland's World Bazaar, the decision was made to build two covered walkways parallel to Main Street instead. In the very early days of Disneyland in Anaheim, Walt Disney had imagined two streets adjacent to Main Street, respectively named Liberty Street (themed to American values and history) and Edison Square (themed to this inventor's achievements).
Discovery Arcade (Disneyland Paris) | Original Concept and Design
Major construction work started on April 8, 2011, targeting a 2016 spring opening. The resort was planned to cover an area of and it was expected to cost (). The project is financed by several large Chinese state-owned enterprises in Shanghai forming a joint venture with the Walt Disney Company. "The first-phase of the project will be to the South of Huanglou Area, an area in Chuansha Town, the southeast suburbs of Shanghai's Pudong area; the second phase will extend further southwest," an urban developer from Shanghai stated. DeSimone Consulting Engineers were the structural engineers behind the construction work. On March 8, 2013, the company announced that the park would open in late 2015.
Shanghai Disneyland Park | Construction
In 1990, the possibility of a West Coast version of Epcot Center was placed in development. This was announced as WestCOT in 1991, to be placed at the Disneyland Resort. On July 31, 1990, a new ocean-themed park and resort, Port Disney, was announced for Long Beach. Port was to have a cruise-ship terminal, five hotels, restaurants, and shopping areas, costing $2 billion to build. On December 12, 1991, Disney selected only one California project to go forward with, Disneyland Resort, which was to include the WestCOT Center, hotels, a shopping mall, and a lake. Port Disney was abandoned in March 1992, and Disney canceled its leases on the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose attractions picked up from the Wrather Corporation.
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products | Walt Disney Attractions
Hollywoodland was combined with the concept of Mickey's Birthdayland, as well as a concept found in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", to form Mickey's Toontown, which opened in 1993 behind Fantasyland at Disneyland. The attractions at Disney-MGM Studios were canceled, but an exact replica of Mickey's Toontown opened at Tokyo Disneyland in 1996. Disneyland Paris features a similar 'Toon Studio' in its Walt Disney Studios Park. Walt Disney World, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Shanghai Disneyland are the only Disney resorts to have neither a Toontown or Toon Studio.
Mickey's Toontown | History and concept
After the success of Disneyland in California, Walt Disney began planning a second park on the East Coast. Disney disliked the businesses that had sprung up around Disneyland, and therefore wanted control of a much larger area of land for the new project. He flew over the Orlando-area site, as well as many other potential sites, in November 1963. Seeing the well-developed network of roads, including the planned Interstate 4 and Florida's Turnpike, with McCoy Air Force Base (later Orlando International Airport) to the east, Disney selected a centrally located site near Bay Lake. Disney used multiple shell companies to buy up land at very low prices from unknowing landowners in the area that would eventually become the district.
Reedy Creek Improvement District | Initial steps
Constructed from 1947 and opening in April 1949, Stage 2 is the second oldest soundstage on the Walt Disney Studios lot, and at , one of the largest in Los Angeles. It was built and financed between a joint agreement between Walt Disney and director Jack Webb, who used the stage for the filming of the television series "Dragnet". In October 1955, Stage 2 began production on the first series of The Mickey Mouse Club. From 1954 to 1955 and prior to the opening of the facilities at Glendale California, WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering) occupied soundstage 2 to build multiple attractions for Disneyland, including the Mark Twain Riverboat.
Walt Disney Studios (Burbank) | The Julie Andrews Stage, Stage 2
The parking structure opened in June 2019 and is now used daily. In August 2015, it was announced that Disneyland Park would receive a 14-acre scheduled to open in 2019. It opened on May 31, 2019. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is home of two attractions, Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run.
Disneyland Resort | 2001–2019: Disneyland Resort complex
Mickey's Toontown opened in Disneyland on January 24, 1993. The area is inspired by "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", and resembles a set from a Max Fleischer cartoon. The buildings are stylized and colorful. There are several attractions involving classic cartoon characters, such as the houses of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and a small children's coaster. There are a few interactive gags. Compared to other Disneyland areas however, there are few large or technically complex rides or shows, and the houses themselves appeal primarily as play areas for small children. On one of the windows above the library in this land, there is a reference to Laugh-O-Gram Studios, the studio that Disney created before the Disney Studios.
Mickey's Toontown | Disneyland