Walt Disney\u2019s vision of creating a getaway for families revolutionized the amusement park industry with immersive attractions featuring robotic figures and holographs, and shows and characters appealing to children.<\/p>\n
The park\u2019s emphasis on storytelling and attention to detail is still evident today in theme parks across the world.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t![\"To](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/RH1_7649.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
To commemorate the Disneyland Resort 70th anniversary, The Walt Disney Company Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger shares a few opening remarks with guests at the entrance of Disneyland Park in Anaheim, Calif. on July 17, 2025. During the special moment, guests were surprised with streamers and greetings from Mickey Mouse and friends on the Disneyland Railroad from the Main Street U.S.A. Station. On July 17, 2025, guests get to experience the limited time offerings available for the Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration, as well as the debut of the groundbreaking attraction \u201cWalt Disney \u2013 A Magical Life\u201d and new additions to the Main Street Cinema and \u201cit\u2019s a small world\u201d attraction. (Richard Harbaugh\/Disneyland Resort)<\/p>\n
Disneyland now ranks as the world\u2019s second-most visited theme park, closely behind Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Florida, which opened in 1971. According to the Themed Entertainment Association, Disneyland drew more than 17 million people in 2023, bouncing back from an unprecedented 13-month closure<\/a> during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n The park was built on what was once orange groves in Anaheim, just outside Los Angeles. It opened on July 17, 1955 \u2014 a year that also saw Ray Kroc start his first McDonald\u2019s restaurant and Jim Henson introduce his original version of Kermit the Frog.<\/p>\n Disneyland\u2019s first day was famously a disaster, all broadcast on a live television special. The park opened just a year after its groundbreaking and simply wasn\u2019t ready for its big day.<\/p>\n Attractions broke down, there weren\u2019t enough restrooms, food and drinks were in short supply, traffic backed up for miles and the shoes of the first guests sank into freshly paved asphalt.<\/p>\n Among the original rides still around today are the Mad Tea Party, Peter Pan\u2019s Flight and Jungle Cruise<\/a>.<\/p>\n The cost to get in that first year was $1 for adults and 50 cents for children, although tickets for most rides were an additional 10 to 50 cents.<\/p>\n Today, a one-day ticket starts at more than $100 and on some days can double that.<\/p>\n Over the years, the park has hosted U.S. presidents, kings and queens, and countless celebrities. A few even got their start at Disneyland \u2014 actor Kevin Costner was a skipper on the Jungle Cruise and comedian Steve Martin worked at a magic shop where he learned about being a performer.<\/p>\n The Walt Disney Co. now has six resorts with a dozen theme parks worldwide. The parks have become one of its most successful and important business segments<\/a>.<\/p>\n The resort in Anaheim now includes Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney, a shopping and entertainment district.<\/p>\n While Disneyland still features many of the touches Walt Disney oversaw himself, the original park is ever-evolving, sometimes to the dismay of its loyal fans.<\/a><\/p>\n Some of the moves<\/a> have been made to keep up with a changing society<\/a>, while others have been made to introduce more thrilling attractions <\/a>with the latest technology to keep up with competitors.Just last year, Disney received approval to expand its Southern California theme parks<\/a>. A new parking structure and transit hub are the first steps in its plans to open more space for new attractions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Disneyland turns 70: A year of magic and memories The summerlong festivities in southern California include the opening…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":70683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[20680,1582,276,43995,2961,224,5337],"class_list":{"0":"post-70682","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-anaheim","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-disneyland","12":"tag-la","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-losangeles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114870229583551423","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}