Photo by Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland Resort

To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.

Walter Elias Disney, July 17 1955

HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY DISNEYLAND!

Disneyland is the concept that Walt Disney came up with after visiting amusement parks with his daughters Dianne and Sharon in the 1930s. He originally thought of putting the park next to his studios in Burbank to entertain fans who wished to visit. However, he realized the site he wanted to use was too small for his needs and ended up with a 160 acre site near Anaheim, California. Construction began in 1954 and the park opened with a special aired event on ABC on July 17, 1955.

Walt came up with the idea after visiting Griffith Park in Los Angeles. He watched his daughters on the carousel having such a wonderful time so he decided that he wanted to make a theme park where children and parents could enjoy rides together.  He discovered funding for the theme park was going to be harder than he originally anticipated. He worked out a plan with the ABC network where he aired a program “Disneyland”. In return, ABC agreed to help fund the park. Walt also hired out the shops on Main Street to outside companies to help raise funds. Construction of Disneyland cost $17 million and only took one (1) year and one (1) day to complete! Before Disneyland could open, Walt had to add two more lanes to Interstate 5 to lead into the theme park.

Since opening in 1955, Disneyland has undergone expansions and renovations to keep current, including additions such as Mickey’s Toontown in 1993 and Disneyland’s California Adventure Park which was built on an old parking lot, which opened in 2001.

Disneyland is open 365 days a year so the magic never ends!

Happy 60th Disneyland Resort – Image by Paul Hiffmayer