Disneyland

I

Directly from Santa Monica, we headed to our final destination, Anaheim. Anaheim (pronounced /ˈænəhaɪm/) is a city in Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 336,265, making it the most populous city in Orange County and the 10th most populous city in California.^[14]Anaheim is the second largest city in Orange County in terms of land area (after Irvine) and is known for its theme parks, sports teams, and convention center. After we reached the hotel, it was about 10:00, so we decided to go to sleep, so we could go to Disneyland the next day. The next day, pretty early in the morning, we went to Disneyland, which was about 30 mins. away from our hotel. Disneyland Park, originally Disneyland, is the first of two theme parksbuilt at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, opened on July 17, 1955. It is the only theme park designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. It was originally the only attraction on the property; its name was changed to Disneyland Park to distinguish it from the expanding complex in the 1990s. Walter Elias “Walt” Disney (/ˈdɪzni/;^[3] December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) was an American entrepreneur, cartoonist, animator, voice actor, and film producer. He was a prominent figure within the American animation industry and throughout the world, and is regarded as a cultural icon,^[4]known for his influence and contributions to entertainment during the 20th century. As a Hollywood business mogul, he and his brother Roy O. Disney co -founded The Walt Disney Company.^[5]As an animator and entrepreneur, Disney was particularly noted as a filmmaker and a popular showman, as well as an innovator in animation and theme park design. He and his staff created numerous famous fictional characters including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. Disney himself was the original voice for Mickey. During his lifetime, he won 22 Academy Awards and received four honorary Academy Awards from a total of 59 nominations, including a record of four in one year,^[6] giving him more Oscar awards and nominations than any other individual in history. Disney also won seven Emmy Awards and gave his name to the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in the US, as well as the international resorts Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Shanghai Disney Resort.We watched a few parades, including a Christmas miracle, etc., and then we went on a bunch of rides. The “Happiest Homecoming on Earth” was an eighteen-month-long celebration (held through 2005 and 2006) of the fiftieth anniversary of the Disneyland Park, also celebrating Disneyland’s milestone throughout Disney parks worldwide. In 2004, the park underwent major renovations in preparation, restoring many classic attractions, notably Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room. Attractions that had been in the park on opening day had one ride vehicle painted gold, and the park was decorated with fifty Golden Mickey Ears. The celebration started on May 5, 2005 and ended on September 30, 2006, and was followed by the “Year of a Million Dreams” celebration, lasting twenty-seven months and ending on December 31, 2008. Disneyland Park consists of eight themed “lands” and a number of concealed backstage areas, and occupies approximately 85 acres (34 ha).^[12] The park opened with Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland, and has since added New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country (later Critter Country) in 1972, and Mickey’s Toontown in 1993. In 1957, Holidayland, opened to the public with a 9 acres (3.6 ha) recreation area including a circus and baseball diamond, but was closed in late 1961. It is often referred to as the “lost” land of Disneyland. Throughout the park are ‘Hidden Mickeys‘, representations of Mickey Mouse heads inserted subtly into the design of attractions and environmental decor. An elevated berm supports the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge Disneyland Railroad that circumnavigates the park. A new 14-acre land to be constructed at the park, Star Wars Land, was announced on August 15, 2015, at the 2015 D23 Expo by Disney CEO Bob Iger.^[26]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 Swiss Family Treehouse 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 is based on 19th-century New Orleans, opened on July 24, 1966. It is very popular with Disneyland guests, as it is home to some of the park’s most popular attractions: Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, with nighttime entertainment in Fantasmic!. This area is the home of the famous club 33. Frontier land 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 the comedic troupe “Billy Hill and the Hillbillies” entertainsCritter 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 attraction is still open in Walt Disney World‘s Magic Kingdom.Fantasyland is the area of Disneyland of which Walt Disney said, “What youngster has not dreamed of flying with Peter Panover 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 Carousel, and various family attractions. Fantasyland has the most fiber optics in the park; more than half of them are in Peter Pan’s Flight.^[27] Sleeping Beauty’s Castle features a walk-through story telling of Briar Rose’s adventure as Sleeping Beauty. The attraction opened in 1959, was redesigned in 1972, 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”, and reopened 2008 with new renditions and methods of storytelling and the restored work. Mickey’s Toontown opened in 1993 and was partly inspired by the fictional Los Angeles suburb of Toontown in the Touchstone Pictures‘ 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 Coasterand 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. The 3 ft (914 mm) gauge Jolly Trolley can also be found in this area, though it closed as an attraction in 2003 and is now present only for display purposes.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.^[28] 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 MonorailTomorrowland Station, 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 2010. Disneyland has a larger cumulative attendance than any other theme park in the world, with over 650 million guests since it opened. In 2013, the park hosted approximately 16.2 million guests, making it the third most visited park in the world that calendar year.^[2][3] According to a March 2005 Disney Company report, 65,700 jobs are supported by the Disneyland Resort, including about 20,000 direct Disney employees and 3,800 third-party employees (independent contractors or their employees).^[4   After all of that, we went on many rides, some of which are, Matterhorn, it’s a small  world, Indiana Jones, hyperspace mountain, and many others. These rides were very thrilling and exciting for us. Towards the end of the visit, we saw 2 more parades, and a very beautiful and famous, firework show, that is special to Disneyland. After enjoying the shows, we went on our final two rides, which were the amazing Matterhorn, and the Indiana Jones Adventure. After all, this was a very magical experience for all of us, and we enjoyed it very much. Because of our daughters family, we had such a good experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives