Welcome to the place where imagination is the destination. For young and old, big and small - it's the happiest place on earth! Come build memories with your family that last a lifetime as you discover the wonder of this magical, fantastical world. When you enter one of the Lands that comprise Disneyland Park, stories come to life around you, immersing you in tales from some of your favorite Disney films...
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. After hiring a consultant to help determine an appropriate site for his project, Walt bought a 160-acre 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 a number of expansions and renovations, including the addition of New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country (now Critter Country) in 1972, and Mickey's Toontown in 1993. Disney California Adventure Park was built on the site of Disneyland's original parking lot and opened in 2001.
The park is divided into "lands" (themed areas) and well-concealed backstage areas. On entering a land, a guest is completely immersed in a themed environment and is unable to see or hear any other realm. The idea behind this was to develop theatrical "stages" with seamless passages from one land to the next. Disneyland has eight themed areas or "lands" that host various shops, restaurants, live entertainment, and attractions. A ninth area (albeit defunct) is Holidayland, a picnic ground which operated between 1957 and 1961 and is often referred to as the "lost" land of Disneyland.
Main Street, U.S.A.
Main Street, U.S.A. is the entrance to Disneyland Park. Stroll down the street where turn-of-the-century architecture and transportation recreate a bygone era. Be sure to board a vintage vehicle for a ride back in time and then marvel at The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Before you leave, don't forget to visit the Emporium, an old-time Victorian general store filled with all kinds of Disney memorabilia.
Main Street, U.S.A. is patterned after a typical Midwest town of the early 20th century. Walt Disney derived inspiration from his boyhood town of Marceline, Missouri and worked closely with designers and architects to develop the Main Street appeal. It is the first area guests see when they enter the park (if not entering by monorail), and is how guests reach Central Plaza. At the center of The Magic Kingdom and immediately North of Central Plaza stands Sleeping Beauty Castle, which provides entrance to Fantasyland by way of a drawbridge across a moat. Adventureland, Frontierland, and Tomorrowland are arrayed on both sides of the castle.
Main Street, U.S.A. is reminiscent of the Victorian period of America with the train station, town square, movie theater, city hall, firehouse complete with a steam-powered pump engine, emporium, shops, arcades, double-decker bus, horse-drawn streetcar, jitneys and other bits of memorabilia. Main Street is also home to the Disney Art Gallery and the Opera House which showcases Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln a show featuring an Audio-Animatronic version of the president. There are many specialty stores on Main Street including: a candy store, jewelry and watch shop, a silhouette station, a store that sells Disney collectable items created by various artists, and a hat shop where you have the option of creating your own ear hat along with a personalized embroidery. At the far end of Main Street, U.S.A. is Sleeping Beauty Castle, and the Central Plaza (also known as the Hub), which is a portal to most of the themed lands. Several lands are not directly connected to the Central Plaza-namely, New Orleans Square, Critter Country and Mickey's Toontown.
The design of Main Street, U.S.A. uses the technique of forced perspective to create an illusion of height. Buildings along Main Street are built at 3/4 scale on the first level, then 5/8 on the second story, and 1/2 scale on the third, reducing the scale by 1/8 each level up.
Adventureland
Chart a course for Adventureland and embark on a bold expedition into excitement and intrigue! Enter a lost temple on Indiana Jones Adventure and delve into dark jungles on The Jungle Cruise. Join your fellow explorers as you boldly seek mystery and imagination.
Adventureland is designed to recreate the feel of an exotic tropical place in a far-off region of the world. "To create a land that would make this dream reality", said Walt Disney, "we pictured ourselves far from civilization, in the remote jungles of Asia and Africa." Attractions include opening day's Jungle Cruise, the "Temple of the Forbidden Eye" in Indiana Jones Adventure, and Tarzan's Treehouse, which is a conversion of the earlier Swiss Family Robinson Tree House from the Walt Disney film, Swiss Family Robinson. Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room which is located at the entrance to Adventureland is the first feature attraction to employ Audio-Animatronics, a computer synchronization of sound and robotics.
New Orleans Square
Welcome to the French Quarter of New Orleans Square where you can celebrate Mardi Gras all year round. Pay your respects to the 999 ghostly residents of the Haunted Mansion and then join the Pirates of the Caribbean on a bayou bateau for a swashbuckling voyage! Raise a mint julep to this land of buried treasure and supernatural secrets, parasols and pirate curses. It's home to swashbucklers and haunts alike!
New Orleans Square is a themed land based on 19th-century New Orleans. It was opened to the public on July 24, 1966. Despite its age, it is still very popular with Disneyland guests, being home to some of the park's most popular attractions: Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, including nighttime entertainment in Fantasmic!.
Frontierland
Frontierland celebrates the trailblazers, settlers and other heroes of the Old West. For big adventure, rumble over the mountain on a runaway railroad car when you ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. And there's a mighty fine show at the Golden Horseshoe Stage. From the Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island to the rippling waters of the Rivers of America, it's a pioneer's paradise.
Frontierland recreates the setting of pioneer days along the American frontier. According to Walt Disney, "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." Frontierland is home to the Pinewood Indians band of animatronic Native Americans, who live on the banks of the Rivers of America. Entertainment and attractions include Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Mark Twain Riverboat, the Sailing Ship Columbia, Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, and Frontierland Shootin' Exposition. Frontierland is also home to the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, an Old West-style show palace, where currently the comedic troupe "Billy Hill and the Hillbillies" entertains guests.
Critter Country
Come play in the deep backwoods of Critter Country. Hear the rumble of railroads and waterfalls, not to mention a chorus of critters singin' "Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah" at Splash Mountain. See one of the most beloved critters when you journey through the Hundred Acre Wood on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It's a hunny of a place to play!
Critter Country opened in 1972 as "Bear Country", and was renamed in 1988. Formerly the area was home to Indian Village, where indigenous tribespeople demonstrated their dances and other customs. Today, the main draw of the area is Splash Mountain, a log-flume journey inspired by the Uncle Remus stories of Joel Chandler Harris and the animated segments of Disney's Academy Award-winning 1946 film, Song of the South. In 2003, a dark ride called The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh replaced the Country Bear Jamboree, which closed in 2001. The Country Bear Jamboree presented shows featuring singing bear characters that were visualized through Disney's electronically controlled and mechanically animated puppets, known as Audio-Animatronics.
Fantasyland
Located beyond Sleeping Beauty Castle, Fantasyland is where you can meet the heroes and villains of your favorite Disney stories. Encounter princesses from the royal realms of Disney films such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Step into their enchanting stories about the triumph of true love. Sing along with a classic song and sail past the pageantry of "it's a small world". Take a spin in a tea cup or fly over London with Peter Pan. Revel in the enchantment that surrounds you!
Fantasyland is the area of Disneyland of which Walt Disney 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." Fantasyland was originally styled in a medieval European fairground fashion, but its 1983 refurbishment turned it into a Bavarian village. Attractions include several dark rides, the King Arthur Carrousel, and various family attractions. Fantasyland has the most fiber optics in the park; more than half of them are in Peter Pan's Flight. Sleeping Beauty's Castle once again features a walk-through story telling of Briar Rose's adventure as Sleeping Beauty. Opened in 1959, changed in 1972, then closed in 1992 for reasons of security and the new installation of pneumatic ram firework shell mortars for "Believe, There's Magic in the Stars". The walkthrough reopened 2008 and it features new renditions and methods of storytelling and the restored work of Eyvind Earle.
Mickey's Toontown
Mickey's Toontown is a miniature interactive metropolis full of topsy turvy architecture and screwy sculptures. For the ultimate taste of Toon mania, hail a wacky taxi for the ride of your life on Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin or brave Gadget's Go Coaster. Or visit the charming houses of Mickey, Minnie and other classic Disney characters. It's where some of your favorite Toons call home.
Mickey's Toontown opened in 1993 and was partly inspired by the fictional Los Angeles suburb of Toontown in the Walt Disney Studios' 1988 release Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Mickey's Toontown is based on a 1930s cartoon aesthetic and is home to Disney's most popular cartoon characters. Toontown features two main attractions: Gadget's Go Coaster and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. The "city" is also home to cartoon character's houses such as the house of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Goofy, as well as Donald Duck's boat.
Tomorrowland
Ready your rockets as you blast into the twin orbits of innovation and exploration at Tomorrowland! Rocket into the outer reaches of darkest space on Space Mountain and battle galactic bad guys in Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. To infinity and beyond!
During the 1955 inauguration Walt Disney dedicated Tomorrowland with these words: "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." Disneyland producer Ward Kimball had rocket scientists Wernher von Braun, Willy Ley, and Heinz Haber serve as technical consultants during the original design of Tomorrowland. Initial attractions included Rocket to the Moon, Astro-Jets and Autopia; later, the first incarnation of the Submarine Voyage was added. The area underwent a major transformation in 1967 to become New Tomorrowland, and then again in 1998 when its focus was changed to present a "retro-future" theme reminiscent of the illustrations of Jules Verne.
Current attractions include Space Mountain, Innoventions, Captain EO Tribute, Autopia, the Disneyland Monorail Tomorrowland Station, the Astro Orbitor and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage opened on June 11, 2007, resurrecting the original Submarine Voyage which closed in 1998. Star Tours was closed in July 2010, and replaced with Star Tours: The Adventures Continue in June 2011.
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