Disneyland

:This article is about Disneyland in California, an American-based theme park. For other Disney parks and attractions see Walt Disney Parks and Resorts or Category:Disney parks and attractions. For the television series originally titled Disneyland, see Walt Disney anthology series.

Park layout

The park was designed by Walt Disney's movie studio staff to have five distinctly-themed "lands". Three more lands have been added since the park's opening.

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At the center of the park stands Sleeping Beauty Castle.

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Main Street, U.S.A.

Based on the stereotypical turn-of-the-20th-century city Main Street, specifically Disney's boyhood home of Marceline, Missouri, Main Street, U.S.A. is home to many shops but is the only land in all of Disneyland without a permanent ride.

Related Topics:
Main Street - Marceline, Missouri - Main Street, U.S.A.

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The 1880s-styled shops that line Main Street appear to be full two-story buildings. In reality, however, they implement forced perspective to give the illusion that they are full height. The second levels of the buildings are a few feet short of being full size. If the Disneyland architects had made the buildings a full two stories high, they would have looked incongruously tall compared to the castle.

Related Topics:
Forced perspective - Architect

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Walt Disney said, "For those of us who remember the carefree time it recreates, Main Street will bring back happy memories. For younger visitors, it is an adventure in turning back the calendar to the days of grandfather's youth." Above the firehouse is Walt Disney's personal apartment, fully furnished but off-limits to the public. A lamp is kept burning in the window as a tribute to his memory.

Related Topics:
Firehouse - Apartment

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Adventureland

Adventureland is designed to be 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 the "Temple of the Forbidden Eye" in Indiana Jones Adventure, the Jungle Cruise, the Enchanted Tiki Room and "Tarzan's Treehouse." (The Tarzan Treehouse is an adaptation of the earlier Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse)

Related Topics:
Adventureland - Jungle - Asia - Africa - Indiana Jones Adventure - Jungle Cruise - Enchanted Tiki Room

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Frontierland

Frontierland 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 Fantasmic!, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mark Twain Riverboat, and Sailing Ship Columbia. Frontierland is also home to the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, a show palace straight out of the Old West. Currently the comedic troupe "Billy Hill and the Hillbillies" entertain guests on a daily basis.

Related Topics:
Frontierland - Pioneer - American frontier - Pinewood Indians - Rivers of America - Fantasmic! - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Mark Twain - Riverboat - Sailing Ship Columbia - Golden Horseshoe Saloon

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Fantasyland

Walt Disney said, "What youngster has not dreamed of flying with Peter Pan over 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."

Related Topics:
Peter Pan - London - Wonderland - Fantasyland

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Fantasyland was originally styled in a fairground fashion, but its 1983 refurbishment turned it into a Bavarian village.

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King Arthur Carrousel

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Walt Disney felt that no park was complete without a carousel. Therefore, an 1875 Dentzel park model carousel which had operated since 1922 at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, Ontario was taken from Sunnyside and moved to Disneyland just before the park opened in 1955.

Related Topics:
Carousel - 1875 - 1922 - Toronto, Ontario

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The carousel has been significantly altered since then. The original chariots were removed and used as cars on the "Casey Jr. Circus Train" attraction. A Wurlitzer #157 band organ is on the carousel, but does not operate. Motifs from The Sword In The Stone were used in 1955 to replace elements of the carousel. Original inner rounding boards were replaced with mirrors, and the jester and princess head shields on the outer rounding boards have been extensively altered also.

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The carousel has seventy-two horses, carved in Germany in the late 19th century. Some of the horses were taken from a Stein and Goldstein carousel and another carousel in 1955 to add a fourth row, completely made of jumpers and operated by a custom-built crankshaft. Standers on the original three rows were converted to jumpers in 1955. Because of the overwhelming popularity of the carousel's single white horse, all horses have been painted white since 1976.

Related Topics:
Germany - 19th century - 1976

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King Arthur Carrousel (sic) reopened in February 2003 after extensive renovations. These renovations included a new computerized operating system that stops the carousel in the same spot every time, and the replacement of about half of the mirrors with scenes from Sleeping Beauty.

Related Topics:
King Arthur Carrousel - 2003

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King Arthur Carrousel is a major attraction in Fantasyland, and was featured during the finale number, When You Wish Upon A Star, in a Sing Along Songs videocassette featuring Disneyland Park.

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Tomorrowland

In Walt Disney's 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."

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Tomorrowland's showpiece was his TWA Rocket to the Moon, derived from his historic "Man in Space" set of three television shows in the 1950s. It in turn was derived from the first spectacular ride from the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, the trip to the moon ride which eventually became the anchor ride and namesake for Coney Island's Luna Park. In the 1970s, the interior of the ride was updated, and its destination was changed to Mars, with a name change to Mission to Mars.

Related Topics:
Tomorrowland - TWA - Mission to Mars

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Disneyland producer Ward Kimball had Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, Willy Ley, and Heinz Haber as technical consultants during the original design of Tomorrowland.http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/vonbraun/disney_article.html

Related Topics:
Rocket scientist - Wernher von Braun

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Another initial exhibit was Monsanto's "House of Tomorrow," a plastic house with four wings cantilevered from a central plinth. This too had its precursors at World's Fairs, though in those cases they were simply homes with modern conveniences and aimed at housewives.

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Walt Disney was never completely satisfied with Tomorrowland. 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. Tomorrowland changed yet again in 2005, with a new blue, silver, white, and gold paint scheme, similar to its 1967-1997 paint scheme, but with a small mixture with its 1998 scheme. Space Mountain returned to its classic white look during this repaint of Tomorrowland.

Related Topics:
Jules Verne - 2005 - Space Mountain

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Current attractions include the popular Space Mountain, which opened in 1977, closed in 2003 and reopened in 2005 with rebuilt track and new effects; and Star Tours, a futuristic Star Wars ride created as a collaboration between George Lucas and Disney Imagineers.

Related Topics:
Space Mountain - Star Tours - Futuristic - Star Wars - George Lucas - Imagineer

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Just opened in 2005 is Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, which first appeared at the Magic Kingdom in Florida. The Submarine Voyage, which closed in 1998, will reopen in 2007 with a Finding Nemo theme.

Related Topics:
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters - Magic Kingdom - Submarine Voyage - 1998 - 2007 - Finding Nemo

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New Orleans Square

New Orleans Square was among the last additions to Disneyland overseen by Walt Disney himself. Opened in 1966, it is meant to capture the flavor and architectural detail of New Orleans's Bourbon Street.

Related Topics:
New Orleans Square - 1966 - New Orleans - Bourbon Street

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New Orleans Square is also home to a private club and restaurant, Club 33, located above the "Blue Bayou Restaurant" around the corner from the entrance to the Pirates of the Caribbean. Not open to the general public and rarely mentioned in any of the park's promotional material, Club 33's membership costs around $7,500-$10,000 per year with a waiting list several years long. The entrance to the club is a plain blue door, marked only with an address plaque bearing the number "33", immediately to the right of the Blue Bayou. It is the only place in Disneyland where alcoholic beverages are served.

Related Topics:
Club 33 - Blue Bayou Restaurant - Pirates of the Caribbean

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Morse Code can be heard at the train station in New Orleans Square. The transmission is the first two sentences from Walt Disney's opening day speech on July 17 1955. "To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future."

Related Topics:
Morse Code - July 17 - 1955

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Critter Country

Critter Country opened in 1972 as "Bear Country," and was renamed in 1988. Its main draw is Splash Mountain, a log flume attraction themed after the animated segments of Disney's 1946 movie Song of the South. In 2003, a dark ride called The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh replaced the long-running Country Bear Jamboree, a show featuring singing Audio-Animatronic bears.

Related Topics:
Critter Country - Splash Mountain - Song of the South - Dark ride - The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - Country Bear Jamboree - Audio-Animatronic

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Mickey's Toontown

Mickey's Toontown opened in 1993 and patterned after "Toontown" in the Disney/Touchstone Pictures 1988 release Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mickey's Toontown looks like a 1930s Max Fleischer cartoon short come to life. The land is built like the town where Disney characters live and work, and Mickey's Toontown Fair at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World is built like a country home where the characters vacation.

Related Topics:
Mickey's Toontown - Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Max Fleischer - Mickey's Toontown Fair - Magic Kingdom - Walt Disney World

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Backstage Areas

Areas closed to park visitors are considered in Disneyland lingo "backstage". There are several points of entry from the outside world to the backstage areas: Ball Gate (at the terminus of Cast Place off Ball Road), TDA Gate (adjacent to the Team Disney Anaheim building), Harbor Gate (off Harbor Boulevard, behind Tomorrowland), and Winston Gate (off Disneyland Drive, behind the Mickey and Friends parking garage).

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Berm Road encircles the park from Firehouse Gate (behind the Main Street Fire Station) to Egghouse Gate (adjacent to the Main Street Opera House). The road is so called because it generally follows outside the path of Disneyland's earthen berm, although with the addition of Mickey's Toowntown, the road now strays as much as 100 yards from onstage areas at some points. A stretch of the road, wedged between Tomorrowland and Harbor Boulevard, is called Schumaker Road. It has two narrow lanes divided by a double yellow line, runs underneath the Monorail track. There are also two railroad bridges that cross Berm Road: one behind City Hall and the other behind Tomorrowland near Harbor Gate. The speed limit for most parts of Berm Road is 15 miles per hour, although a section cutting through Disneyland's maintenance shops behind the park's northwestern corner has a speed limit of 5 miles per hour.

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The major buildings backstage include "Team Disney Anaheim", where many of the park's support staff and top-level managers work; and the "Old Administration Building", behind Tomorrowland and Main Street.

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