Disneyland
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Sleeping Beauty's Castle
Walt Disney wanted regular people to experience the magic and thrill they saw in his movies. But he didn’t want it to be like any normal amusement park. He wanted there to be a theme to it. Most people could not picture what Walt was picturing. They were imagining a noisy, dirty, cheap amusement park that would be just like any other one. They thought it wouldn’t get enough customers and that eventually, they would be in debt. But that is not what Walt had in mind. He had been disappointed in the past at the cheap quality of most amusement parks he used to take his daughters to. Disney wanted to build a park that the whole family could enjoy. Most people mocked him for even thinking about going through with such an impossible project. But Walt refused to listen to their criticisms and went through with his dream.
“As the years went on, Disney continued to think about building a new kind of vacation park. Eventually, he hit upon the idea of basing different sections of the park on themes from some of his popular films. In his mind, he began to visualize the way the place would look. It would be huge, diverse and colorful; it would have imaginative and exciting rides as well as its own transportation systems to ferry visitors from place-to-place; and it would be clean and attractive at all times.” (Mosley, 155)
Disney finally found a flat 160-acre plot of land in Anaheim, just south of Los Angeles, California. The setting was perfect because the land was flat, the climate was pleasantly warm and there was a recently built highway running right next to it. After months and months of building, Disneyland was finally finished. Walt had built a major, old-fashioned railroad running a circle around Disneyland. The railway station marked the entrance with Main Street USA after it. Main Street was the classic American downtown main street with a barber shop, ice cream parlor and several gift shops. At the end of Main Street is the life-size Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. The castle marks the entrance to four sections. The first one is Fantasyland, a magical kid’s world with beloved characters everywhere, such as Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and Peter Pan. Next was Frontierland. Frontierland featured several western attractions and especially the popular character of Davy Crockett. Adventureland was a jungle of thrills and wildlife and nature was presented everywhere. Last is Tommorowland. Tomorrowland was the land of future, based mainly around the first man on the moon, comparing today from yesterday, and what Walt thought America might do in the future. Each exhibit and restaurant was designed specifically for the land it was in. Disneyland’s opening was on July 17, 1955. It was an immediate success. 30 thousand people came just on opening day and 4 million only in the first year. On opening day Walt Disney gave a speech:
"To all that 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 hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world." (Smith, 32)
With the huge profit it earned, Disney built more rides and attractions. But he could only build so far because of all the commercial buildings around them. But this wasn’t a problem for Walt because he had another idea.
“As the years went on, Disney continued to think about building a new kind of vacation park. Eventually, he hit upon the idea of basing different sections of the park on themes from some of his popular films. In his mind, he began to visualize the way the place would look. It would be huge, diverse and colorful; it would have imaginative and exciting rides as well as its own transportation systems to ferry visitors from place-to-place; and it would be clean and attractive at all times.” (Mosley, 155)
Disney finally found a flat 160-acre plot of land in Anaheim, just south of Los Angeles, California. The setting was perfect because the land was flat, the climate was pleasantly warm and there was a recently built highway running right next to it. After months and months of building, Disneyland was finally finished. Walt had built a major, old-fashioned railroad running a circle around Disneyland. The railway station marked the entrance with Main Street USA after it. Main Street was the classic American downtown main street with a barber shop, ice cream parlor and several gift shops. At the end of Main Street is the life-size Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. The castle marks the entrance to four sections. The first one is Fantasyland, a magical kid’s world with beloved characters everywhere, such as Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and Peter Pan. Next was Frontierland. Frontierland featured several western attractions and especially the popular character of Davy Crockett. Adventureland was a jungle of thrills and wildlife and nature was presented everywhere. Last is Tommorowland. Tomorrowland was the land of future, based mainly around the first man on the moon, comparing today from yesterday, and what Walt thought America might do in the future. Each exhibit and restaurant was designed specifically for the land it was in. Disneyland’s opening was on July 17, 1955. It was an immediate success. 30 thousand people came just on opening day and 4 million only in the first year. On opening day Walt Disney gave a speech:
"To all that 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 hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world." (Smith, 32)
With the huge profit it earned, Disney built more rides and attractions. But he could only build so far because of all the commercial buildings around them. But this wasn’t a problem for Walt because he had another idea.