After visiting many amusement parks with his daughters, Walt Disney dreamed of a theme park where the entire family could enjoy themselves. The result of his dream is Disneyland, also known as Disneyland Park, at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Started in the year 1955, the original Disneyland covered 160 acres, took one year to build, and cost around USD 17 million (at that time). Today, it is part of Disneyland Resort that covers around 500 acres of land and is the second most-visited theme park in the world.
Spurred by the success of Disneyland, Walt Disney dreamed of a bigger theme park, and this time the result was the creation of Disney World at Bay Lake, Florida. Spread over 30,080 acres, it’s the largest and most-visited theme park in the world with 17.5 million annual visitors. Apart from the U.S., Disney’s overseas operation began, after the company noted that many Japanese tourists visited the two theme park in the U.S. Tokyo Disney Resort was opened in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan in 1983, it initially opened as Tokyo Disney Resort, but in the year 2001, it expanded to Tokyo DisneySea.
Disneyland Paris, or Euro Disney Resort, opened in the year 1992. It covers almost 4,940 acres, and is the second theme park to open outside the United States. Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005, it’s the second Disney resort in Asia, it is located at Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
Coming back to Disneyland Park, it has several themed attractions like New Orleans Square, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Frontierland, Mickey’s Toontown, Main Street, U.S.A., and, Adventureland. Also, it sports various rides, shops, boutiques, and of course, restaurants. Here are 30 more fun facts about this Magical Kingdom that will enable you to get a lot more out of your visit.
The construction of Pirates of the Caribbean ride was the last one to be supervised by Walt Disney.
The buildings on Main Street U.S.A. are illuminated by more than 10,000 bulbs.
In 2012, Disney reported three cases of babies being born at Disneyland.
Disney donates all the coins thrown by the guests near It’s a Small World to a non profit resort, “Give Kids the World”, for children suffering from serious illnesses.
If you are a sucker for chewing gums, make sure you carry your own pack of gum, because they don’t sell any gums in Disneyland, that’s the reason you don’t see them stuck on any rides or sidewalks.
There is a hidden suite inside beautiful Cindrella’s castle, which apparently can’t be booked, but sometimes, Disney use it for private events. Imagine living in one such suite!!!
Want to get married in front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle? Disney allows regular guests to get married inside the park, before or after the park closes.
Cast members in Disneyland give you a special badge if it’s your birthday, they may even sing for you.
At Disneyland, pay for one cup of coffee and refill your next two-three cups for free, but only if you save your cup. Just show your empty cup and coffee-starved face to any restaurant or stand, and you get free coffee!!
Apparently, many people love to scatter their loved-ones ashes in Disneyland, for reasons unknown. It started with the Pirates of Caribbean ride, when one woman emptied her urn, the ride had to be stopped to clean the ashes. So, refrain from doing that!
Cast members are expected to be smiling and happy all the time, but members working near the Haunted Mansion, and Tower of Terror rides are supposed to put up a straight and spooky face, to give scary vibes while visitors wait in line.
If you are a VIP guest at Disneyland, you will get a chance to step inside the most extravagant Lilly Belle Pullman car. This car will take you on a tour inside the park, furnished with antiques and glass windows. Many times, tickets are given to regular guests as well.
If you invite Mickey and Minnie Mouse to your wedding, they will send you an autographed photo, and a ‘Just Married’ badge too. If you invite Cindrella and Prince Charming, you will receive an autographed congratulatory certificate.
If the conductor at Main Street station permits, you sit on the Disneyland Railroad’s tender seat in the next train.
Test Track is known to be the fastest ride ever in Disneyland, with a speed of 65 mph.
You may notice a weird booth kind of a thing, near Casey Junior Circus Train, It’s a Small World. These are actual ticket booths that were used in 1955, when the park was newly opened. Back then, ride charges were not covered in the ticket price, so booths were installed in several places.
There is a Disneyland Baby Center for mothers who want to change their baby’s diaper or nurse them. They even have products for sale, a microwave, and a television that broadcasts cartoon movies for kids.
Searching for an ATM? Ask for “A Talking Mouse”, they will give you directions towards the ATM. In Disneyland, an ATM is known as a talking mouse.
If you scream “Andy’s Coming” in front of the Toy Story characters, they will leave everything, and lie down on the road, just like in the movies. However, officials say that they have stopped this practice for safety purposes, instead the characters just freeze at their place.
Disneyland is a musical place, where the music never stops, even when the rides have stopped, the music continues, some say because it is very expensive to switch off the music and start it again the next day.
You don’t have to buy a new balloon if your balloon pops, you can show your popped balloon to any balloon vendor, and they will replace it with a new one.
A combination of cloths, lights, and fans can provide an illusion of a place burning down in Disneyland. They use these elements to portray fire effects at the Pirates ride.
Just like her shoes, Cindrella’s castle is made of fiberglass, though it actually looks like stone.
During nighttime, near the Haunted Mansion, if you stare at the window for a while, you will notice a light pass by followed by 2-3 shadows.
On opening, Disneyland had only 18 attractions, now the number has increased to more than 60.
On the 40th anniversary of Disneyland (July 17, 1995), a time capsule was believed to be buried right in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, it will be unearthed on July 17, 2035, which will mark the 80th anniversary of Disneyland.
When it was newly opened, ticket rates were priced at USD 3.50, now they are USD 99.
After the 9/11 incident, no aircraft is allowed within a three-mile radius near the park by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The King Arthur Carrousel contains 68 horses, no two are similar and all are hand crafted.
In the 1950s, Steve Martin used to work in Disneyland, he used to sell Guidebooks and later started working at the Magic Shop.It’s called the happiest place on Earth, and a single day is far to short to cover the entire Disneyland. Walt Disney has truly created something unique and entertaining for everybody.
