Disneyland History Facts: From Dream to Theme Park Icon

Disneyland History Facts: Disneyland theme park is a place of ultimate fantasy, and just like any dream world, lots of Disneyland facts are misconstrued, twisted or inflated beyond measure. Nevertheless, understanding authentic details about the park can enable visitors to appreciate its history, design and creativity better hence make their visit more enjoyable.

Unique Facts About Disneyland: The information below was gathered from reliable sources with verifiable credentials and were correct when this article was written.

• The original Disneyland in Anaheim California was opened on July 17th 1955.
  
• It took only one year to build the whole thing using labor from 2,500 people that cost $17 million dollars.
  
• Anaheim’s Disneyland is the first ever amusement park in which Walt Disney himself directly supervised construction activities.
  
• He got the idea for Disneyland after taking his daughters to Griffith Park in the thirties and forties and watching them ride merry-go-rounds.
  
• An example of such relics is a bench from Griffith Park where Walt Disney dreamed up Disneyland near Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln entrance at the park.
  
• To further get ideas about it he visited parks such as Tivoli Gardens in Denmark, Efteling in Holland and Children’s Fairyland within the US among others.
  
• Disneyland California Adventure now stands where the original parking lot for Disneyland used to be located at.
  
• In 2013, roughly 16.2 million people passed through its gates making Disneyland one of world’s three most visited parks
  
• The earliest documented account of Disney’s plans was written by him in1948 in a message to a production designer; he dubbed his concept “Mickey Mouse Park” at that time
  
• 28,000 people attended on opening day but almost half either bought fake tickets or sneaked into the fairgrounds by hopping over fences around it
  
• During its initial opening there were only 18 attractions out of which 14 are still functioning until today but now they all amount to fifty-one!
  
• On admission’s original opening day in 1955, the cost was just $1 – now it is a whooping $99!
  
• The most popular Disneyland souvenir is the Mickey Mouse ears and since the park opened; more than eighty four million have been sold.
  
• There are about two hundred wild cats at Disneyland, which help to maintain a rodent free environment. They were spayed/neutered before being released back into the park. Feeding stations have been established around the resort for times when they cannot survive solely through hunting rodents.
  
• Carnation café has had one employee since 1956. He is currently Disneyland longest serving cast member.
  
• Over 700 million people have visited Disneyland from its initial opening day until today.
  
• All of the plants in Tomorrowland ride are edible as a sign of human advancement.
  
• At first Pirates of Caribbean had real skeletons that were obtained from UCLA’s medical center, this has changed only leaving one skull on board which is attached to a headboard.
  
• Disneyland employees could not sport mustaches until 2000.