Walt Disney wanted to create a family amusement park that was fun for both parents and kids, inspired by letters from fans. Disneyland Park opened in Anaheim, California, after fundraising and a TV show. The opening day was chaotic, but Disney invited the press to return for a private day, and Disneyland has since expanded to other locations.
When Walt Disney took his daughters out, he realized there was nowhere for families to go that had activities that were fun for both parents and kids. He wanted to create a family amusement park that had none of the negative connotations of the traveling amusement parks or carnivals of the time. When Disney started thinking about what he could offer in terms of family entertainment, he was inspired by letters from fans who had met their favorite characters at the Disney studio.
Disney began considering a park of sorts near its Burbank studios. He envisioned Disney character statues, a boat ride, and a few other themed areas around a park. Originally called “Mickey Mouse Park,” the ideas took off, inspired by amusement parks in Copenhagen, Denmark, Dearborn, Michigan, and Oakland, California. The Disney park opened on a much grander scale than previously imagined, becoming Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California.
As plans for Disneyland grew from an eight-acre park for employees and their families to the 160 acres Disney eventually bought, new fundraising ideas were needed. By creating a show called Disneyland that was shown on the new American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network, Disney brought the idea to the living rooms of America. It was a good deal for him, as he promoted his park and got ABC’s help to finance it, in exchange for the show.
However, more financial assistance was needed and Disney found additional investors, including Western Publishing. Until 1960, Disneyland was effectively owned by Disneyland, Inc., with shares owned by ABC, Western Publishing, and Walt Disney Productions. Eventually, Walt Disney Productions acquired all of the shares in Disneyland, Inc., but not without a grudge between Disney and ABC.
Opening day at Disneyland wasn’t the roaring success we might imagine. A large amount of counterfeit tickets made the park overly crowded, traffic was congested, the day was 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius), and the new asphalt was so soft that women wearing high heels sank into the ground. Also, and not welcomed by the crowds who had braved the summer heat, a plumbers’ strike meant that the drinking fountains were without water and the hungry crowds were unable to buy food when the vendors ran out completely. Finally, a gas leak caused three lands: Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Adventureland to be closed for the afternoon.
After seeing the bad press caused by the terrible opening day, Disney invited the press to return for a private day to experience Disneyland the way they intended to experience it, even throwing a private party in the Disneyland Hotel for members of the press. The original bad press was overcome, and by 2 a.m. on July 18, 1955, the public began queuing to purchase tickets.
Since then, Disneyland has enjoyed unprecedented success, expanding its original park to the Disney Resort complex, which includes the Downtown Disney District and Disney’s California Adventure Park, and spreading to other locations, including Walt Disney World in Florida, Euro Disney in France, Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan and Hong Kong Disneyland in Hong Kong.
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