This is a semi-detailed look at the beginning of Disneyland's history, right up until opening day. I've got some great pictures, the likes of which I haven't seen elsewhere on the net. For ease of viewing, click on the link to see the picture described.
Disneyland was a dream come true. The dreamer of this "magical little park" was Mr. Walt E. Disney. Walt wanted to create a kind of family park where kids and parents could have fun together. The original plans for the park were on 8 acres next to the Burbank studios where his employees and families could go to relax. During World War II, the ideas for the park were put on hold. But the dream kept growing. It was soon clear that 8 acres by the studio would not be enough. By the 50's it was clear that the park would need a lot of money and land. Walt and his brother Roy and a few others were the only ones that believed that this park would be a success. Walt once said, "I could never convince the financiers that Disneyland was feasible because dreams offer too little collateral." Walt decided to use television to get the idea of the Magic Kingdom into the people's houses. The show would be called "Disneyland." This brought the idea into reality for Walt and the American people.
Picture: The Land Disneyland was Built OnThe land that now houses Disneyland used to be just 180 acres of orange groves and walnut trees. When the real designing came about, Walt was met with tough questions. How do you make believable wild animals? How do you make a Mississippi paddle ship? How exactly do you go about building a big castle in the middle of Anaheim, California? Disney looked to his movie studio staff for the answers. The design of Disneyland was something never done before. There would be five uniquely different lands.
Main Street, U.S.A. was where Walt wanted to relive the typical turn of the century city Main Street. He said, "For those of us who remember the carefree time it recreates, Main Street will bring back happy memories. For younger visitors, it is an adventure in turning back the calendar to the days of grandfather's youth."
Adventureland was an "exotic tropical place" in a "far-off region of the world." Walt said, "To create a land that would make this dream reality, we pictured ourselves far from civilization, in the remote jungles of Asia and Africa."
Frontierland was made to relive the pioneer days of the American frontier. Walt said, "All of us have cause to be proud of our country's history, shaped by the pioneering spirit of our forefathers. Our adventures are designed to give you the feeling of having lived, even for a short while, during our country's pioneer days."
Picture: Construction of Sleeping Beauty's CastleFantasyland was created with the goal to "make dreams come true" from the lyrics of "When You Wish Upon a Star." Walt said, "What youngster has not dreamed of flying with Peter Pan over moonlit London, or tumbling into Alice's nonsensical Wonderland? In Fantasyland, these classic stories of everyone's youth have become realities for youngsters-of all ages-to participate in."
Tomorrowland is a look at the "marvels of the future." Walt said, "Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the doors of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come. The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future."
Picture: Walt Disney Discussing Disneyland's Plans Construction began on July 21, 1954. Of course, everything would not go as smooth as planned. Orange trees were marked with red paper to be saved and those to be bulldozed were marked with green paper. However, no one knew the bulldozer operator was color-blind. Everyone was so excited to see the water flow into the Rivers of America for the first time. Gladness turned to sadness as they all watched this water sink back into the sandy orange grove soil. After lots of experimentation, clay was brought in to fix this problem. Despite setbacks, progress was being made. Plants were planted ("emptying the nurseries from Santa Barbara to San Diego") and detail was made. If Disney didn't like what his studio designers came up with, he'd do it himself. An example of this is Tom Saywer's Island. He thought his designers had "misunderstood the idea" so Walt took home the plans and the next day had it designed how it is today. Disneyland was completely sealed off from the outside world when a 20 foot earth wall was constructed around the park. This then became the Disneyland Railroad tracks, the one and only original idea from Disney's "magical little park" idea.
Picture: Walt with a Model of the Matterhorn Bit by bit, piece by piece, Disneyland got ready for Opening Day. The staff worked around the clock to get ready. The Mark Twain was being hauled, deck by deck, down the Santa Ana freeway to get to Disneyland on time. Finally, everything seemed to come together. The "magical little park" was really a $17,000,000 "Magic Kingdom." Walt's dream had come true and Disneyland was ready to open.
I got all this information and pictures from Disneyland:The First Quarter Century published by Walt Disney Productions. ©1979 by the Walt Disney Company. I did NOT simply copy the information however. All direct quotes from Walt Disney were from this book. I placed them in "quotes." I arranged it in an original manner to avoid being locked up in prison.