1955 : Disneyland opens
Disneyland, Walt Disney's metropolis of nostalgia, fantasy, and
futurism, opens on July 17, 1955. The $17 million theme park was built
on 160 acres of former orange groves in Anaheim, California, and soon
brought in staggering profits. Today, Disneyland hosts more than 14
million visitors a year, who spend close to $3 billion.
Walt Disney, born in Chicago in 1901, worked as a commercial artist
before setting up a small studio in Los Angeles to produce animated
cartoons. In 1928, his short film Steamboat Willy, starring the
character "Mickey Mouse," was a national sensation. It was the first
animated film to use sound, and Disney provided the voice for Mickey.
From there on, Disney cartoons were in heavy demand, but the company
struggled financially because of Disney's insistence on ever-improving
artistic and technical quality. His first feature-length cartoon, Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938), took three years to complete and
was a great commercial success.
Snow White was followed by other feature-length classics for children,
such as Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942). Fantasia
(1940), which coordinated animated segments with famous classical
music pieces, was an artistic and technical achievement. In Song of
the South (1946), Disney combined live actors with animated figures,
and beginning with Treasure Island in 1950 the company added
live-action movies to its repertoire. Disney was also one of the first
movie studios to produce film directly for television, and its Zorro
and Davy Crockett series were very popular with children.
In the early 1950s, Walt Disney began designing a huge amusement park
to be built near Los Angeles. He intended Disneyland to have
educational as well as amusement value and to entertain adults and
their children. Land was bought in the farming community of Anaheim,
about 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles, and construction began in
1954. In the summer of 1955, special invitations were sent out for the
opening of Disneyland on July 17. Unfortunately, the pass was
counterfeited and thousands of uninvited people were admitted into
Disneyland on opening day. The park was not ready for the public: food
and drink ran out, a women's high-heel shoe got stuck in the wet
asphalt of Main Street USA, and the Mark Twain Steamboat nearly
capsized from too many passengers.
Disneyland soon recovered, however, and attractions such as the
Castle, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Snow White's Adventures, Space Station
X-1, Jungle Cruise, and Stage Coach drew countless children and their
parents. Special events and the continual building of new
state-of-the-art attractions encouraged them to visit again. In 1965,
work began on an even bigger Disney theme park and resort near
Orlando, Florida. Walt Disney died in 1966, and Walt Disney World was
opened in his honor on October 1, 1971. Epcot Center, Disney-MGM
Studios, and Animal Kingdom were later added to Walt Disney World, and
it remains Florida's premier tourist attraction. In 1983, Disneyland
Tokyo opened in Japan, and in 1992 Disneyland Paris--or
"EuroDisney"--opened to a mixed reaction in Marne-la-Vallee. The
newest Disneyland, in Hong Kong, opened its doors in September 2005.
history.com/tdih.do
1938 : "Wrong Way" Corrigan crosses the Atlantic
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5184
1975 : Superpowers meet in space
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5185
1996 : Flight 800 explodes over Long Island
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5186
##########################################
Disneyland, Walt Disney's metropolis of nostalgia, fantasy, and
futurism, opens on July 17, 1955. The $17 million theme park was built
on 160 acres of former orange groves in Anaheim, California, and soon
brought in staggering profits. Today, Disneyland hosts more than 14
million visitors a year, who spend close to $3 billion.
Walt Disney, born in Chicago in 1901, worked as a commercial artist
before setting up a small studio in Los Angeles to produce animated
cartoons. In 1928, his short film Steamboat Willy, starring the
character "Mickey Mouse," was a national sensation. It was the first
animated film to use sound, and Disney provided the voice for Mickey.
From there on, Disney cartoons were in heavy demand, but the company
struggled financially because of Disney's insistence on ever-improving
artistic and technical quality. His first feature-length cartoon, Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938), took three years to complete and
was a great commercial success.
Snow White was followed by other feature-length classics for children,
such as Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942). Fantasia
(1940), which coordinated animated segments with famous classical
music pieces, was an artistic and technical achievement. In Song of
the South (1946), Disney combined live actors with animated figures,
and beginning with Treasure Island in 1950 the company added
live-action movies to its repertoire. Disney was also one of the first
movie studios to produce film directly for television, and its Zorro
and Davy Crockett series were very popular with children.
In the early 1950s, Walt Disney began designing a huge amusement park
to be built near Los Angeles. He intended Disneyland to have
educational as well as amusement value and to entertain adults and
their children. Land was bought in the farming community of Anaheim,
about 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles, and construction began in
1954. In the summer of 1955, special invitations were sent out for the
opening of Disneyland on July 17. Unfortunately, the pass was
counterfeited and thousands of uninvited people were admitted into
Disneyland on opening day. The park was not ready for the public: food
and drink ran out, a women's high-heel shoe got stuck in the wet
asphalt of Main Street USA, and the Mark Twain Steamboat nearly
capsized from too many passengers.
Disneyland soon recovered, however, and attractions such as the
Castle, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Snow White's Adventures, Space Station
X-1, Jungle Cruise, and Stage Coach drew countless children and their
parents. Special events and the continual building of new
state-of-the-art attractions encouraged them to visit again. In 1965,
work began on an even bigger Disney theme park and resort near
Orlando, Florida. Walt Disney died in 1966, and Walt Disney World was
opened in his honor on October 1, 1971. Epcot Center, Disney-MGM
Studios, and Animal Kingdom were later added to Walt Disney World, and
it remains Florida's premier tourist attraction. In 1983, Disneyland
Tokyo opened in Japan, and in 1992 Disneyland Paris--or
"EuroDisney"--opened to a mixed reaction in Marne-la-Vallee. The
newest Disneyland, in Hong Kong, opened its doors in September 2005.
history.com/tdih.do
1938 : "Wrong Way" Corrigan crosses the Atlantic
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5184
1975 : Superpowers meet in space
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5185
1996 : Flight 800 explodes over Long Island
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5186
##########################################
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