60 Fun Facts About Hard Disneyland

Walt Disney's first documented Disneyland plan was a 1948 memo to which studio production designer?

It followed his trip to the Chicago Railroad Fair and Henry Ford's Greenfield Village.

How large was the original 'Mickey Mouse Park' site planned across from the Burbank studio?

The site is now home to Walt Disney Animation Studios and ABC Studios.

Which two Stanford Research Institute men picked the Anaheim site?

Price was named a Disney Legend in 2003 for the analysis.

Retired Navy rear admiral Joe Fowler was hired to be Disneyland's what?

He was introduced to Walt when Walt said he wanted a paddle steamer in the park.

Besides Walt Disney Productions and Walt himself, which two partners co-owned Disneyland, Inc. in its first five years?

Disney bought out all the other shares by 1960; the ABC tie eventually led to Disney buying ABC in the 1990s.

How much did Disneyland cost to build?

That is about $157 million in 2024 dollars; two extra freeway lanes were added nearby in anticipation of the crowds.

About how many people attended the invitation-only press preview on July 17, 1955?

Only about half were invited; the rest had counterfeit tickets or climbed the fence.

Which of the three hosts was caught kissing a Frontierland dancer during the opening telecast?

Reagan and Linkletter were the other two hosts of ABC's live telecast.

Which developer of Disneyland is NOT commemorated with a window on Main Street?

Friction with Walt led to Wood's dismissal within a year of opening.

Which world leader was denied a visit to Disneyland in 1959 over security concerns?

His two stated wishes for the US trip were to see Disneyland and to meet John Wayne.

The park's single-day attendance record of 82,516 was set in 1969, just after which attraction opened?

The record was set on August 16, 1969.

Which part of the park did some 300 anti-war Yippies occupy during their 1970 protest?

The park was evacuated around 5 p.m., one of only six unscheduled closures in its history.

Which attraction replaced Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress in 1974?

Its Audio-Animatronic animals were later reused in Splash Mountain.

Flight to the Moon was rethemed in 1975 as what?

The change came five years after Apollo 11 made a moon flight less futuristic.

What delayed the construction of Space Mountain, which opened in 1977?

When it opened, queues often stretched all the way to Main Street.

Which two executives' 1990s cost-cutting, retail-focused management drew criticism from fans?

Consultants McKinsey were brought in, and a decade of deferred maintenance followed.

What distinction did the six-level Mickey and Friends car park hold when it opened in 2000?

It has six levels and 10,250 spaces.

What did Disneyland do to one vehicle on each opening-day attraction for the 50th anniversary?

Fifty Golden Mickey Ears also decorated the park during the Happiest Homecoming on Earth.

What did Disneyland's 2010 'Give a Day, Get a Disney Day' programme reward?

It hit its goal of one million volunteers by March 9, 2010, and closed to new sign-ups.

What percentage of Disneyland character performers voted to join Actors' Equity in May 2024?

It was the first time those workers had unionized since 1955.

What was Holidayland, which operated from 1957 to 1961?

It is the only land the park has ever removed entirely.

The first storey of the Main Street buildings is built at what fraction of full size?

The second storey is 5/8 and the third 1/2, shrinking by an eighth each level for forced perspective.

Which real railroad presented the Disneyland Railroad, and lent it its original name, until 1974?

From 1955 to 1974 a Santa Fe Rail Pass could be used instead of a 'D' coupon.

The word 'Retlaw' in the names of Disneyland's first two trains is what?

Retlaw Enterprises was also Walt's private company that owned the railroad and monorail.

Which animator's backyard Grizzly Flats Railroad depot was copied for Frontierland Station?

Kimball also objected, unsuccessfully, to Walt's insistence on seatless cattle cars.

How long is the seamless canvas of the Grand Canyon Diorama seen from the railroad?

Delmer J. Yoakum painted it, and Ferde Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite plays alongside.

Which German company helped Bob Gurr and Walt build the Disneyland monorail?

It opened June 14, 1959, in a Tomorrowland expansion that also brought the Matterhorn and Submarine Voyage.

Which vice-president attended the monorail's opening ceremony in 1959?

The same day saw the Matterhorn and Submarine Voyage open in a big Tomorrowland expansion.

How many generations of monorail trains had Disneyland used by 2008?

Their lightweight construction wears out quickly; the Mark VII arrived in 2008.

From the late 1950s to 1968, guests could arrive at Disneyland by what?

Los Angeles Airways ended the service after two fatal crashes in 1968 killed 44 people.

Walt's stay in Switzerland while filming which movie inspired the Matterhorn Bobsleds?

Arrow Development built it as the world's first tubular steel coaster.

Besides being a ride, what was the Matterhorn structure designed to hide?

Walt first wanted a toboggan run with real snow, which construction chief Joe Fowler vetoed.

What went wrong with the first soundtrack idea for 'it's a small world'?

The Sherman Brothers wrote the replacement, which Time later called the most performed song ever.

Which company sponsored the UNICEF pavilion that housed 'it's a small world' at the 1964 World's Fair?

Rolly Crump's 120-foot spinning Tower of the Four Winds stood at its entrance.

Which artist was responsible for small world's whimsical design and colour styling?

Later updates added Disney characters in a style meant to match her 1960s look.

Besides the Bogart-Hepburn steamer film, which 1955 True-Life Adventure inspired the Jungle Cruise?

Harper Goff's boats were modelled on the steamer in the Bogart film.

Pirates of the Caribbean opened how long after Walt Disney's death?

It was the last attraction he personally oversaw; the Florida copy came in 1973.

Which Imagineer designed the chess-playing skeletons gag for the Magic Kingdom's Pirates?

Xavier Atencio voiced the talking skull and wrote 'Yo Ho'.

Sleeping Beauty Castle appeared in the Walt Disney Pictures logo during which years?

After 2006 it was merged with Cinderella Castle in the logo.

The Enchanted Tiki Room was originally planned as what?

It shares a building with the old Tahitian Terrace and the Plaza Pavilion.

Which airline sponsored the Enchanted Tiki Room for its first 12 years?

Dole took over in 1976 and still provides the Dole Whip sold outside.

Which oil company was Autopia's original sponsor from 1955 to 1970?

Chevron sponsored a rebuilt track from 2000 and Honda supplied quieter engines from 2008.

Which Imagineer led the design of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad?

Disneyland's rockwork mimics the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon rather than Monument Valley.

What is the name of the mining town in Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain?

Florida's version is Tumbleweed and Paris's is Thunder Mesa.

Splash Mountain reused Audio-Animatronic figures from which closed attraction?

Its designer also wanted to draw crowds into the often-empty Bear Country.

How much did Disney announce in 2007 it would spend redesigning California Adventure?

The park had cost $600 million to build; the redo culminated with Cars Land in 2012.

What was Club 33 modelled after?

When it opened in 1967 it was the only place in Disneyland serving alcohol.

The Golden Horseshoe Revue is in the Guinness Book of Records for what?

It ran a record 39,000 times from 1955 to 1986, with Wally Boag as Pecos Bill.

What was the Storybook Land attraction called when it opened in 1955, before its miniatures were ready?

The miniature village technology was not ready, so the tiny buildings arrived the following year.

Indiana Jones Adventure officially premiered on which date in 1995?

A near-twin, Temple of the Crystal Skull, opened at Tokyo DisneySea in 2001.

How does the Indiana Jones ride create the illusion of reversing away from the boulder?

The Enhanced Motion Vehicle sits on a hidden motion base.

Which venue was the first in Disneyland Park to sell alcohol to the general public?

Club 33 had served drinks since 1967, but only to members.

How long is the Rise of the Resistance experience?

It has more than 300 animated objects in one of the largest show buildings Disney has built.

On what date did construction of both Galaxy's Edge lands begin?

Disneyland's version opened May 31, 2019, three months before Florida's.

What did the pre-1982 'Keys to the Kingdom' booklet contain?

Passports with unlimited rides replaced coupons in 1982, 'except shooting galleries'.

On which date did Disneyland first close its gates to new admissions because of crowds?

It was the day of the US Bicentennial; it happened again on December 28, 1984.

On which off-season days did early Disneyland close, coordinating with Knott's Berry Farm?

Knott's closed Wednesdays and Thursdays so Orange County always had one park open.

Which author unveiled a Halloween Tree in Frontierland in 2007?

It honours his 1972 book and returns with the park's Halloween decorations each year.

How much did Disneyland gross in 1968?

By 2024 the park was drawing more than 17 million visitors a year.

By what nickname is Disneyland's chaotic first day of operation on July 17, 1955 remembered?

Rides broke down, restaurants ran dry and the castle doors were left unlocked, earning the day the name 'Black Sunday'.