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"To all who come to this happy place - welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, dreams and the hard facts that have created America. with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world." Walter E. Disney, July 17, 1955
Disneyland Park is a theme park at the Disneyland Resort at Anaheim in California. An estimated 515 million visitors have visited the park since it opened on July 17, 1955. The park, designed by Walt Disney's movie studio staff, have eight distinctly-themed "lands".
MAIN STREET, USA is home to many shops but is the only land in all of Disneyland without a permanent ride. Walt Disney said, "For those of us who remember the carefree time it recreates, Main Street will bring back happy memories.
ADVENTURELAND, designed to be an exotic tropical place in a far-off region, has attractions like "Temple of the Forbidden Eye" in Indiana Jones Adventure, the Jungle Cruise, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room and "Tarzan's Treehouse."
FRONTIERLAND, which recreates the setting of pioneer days along the American frontier, is home to the Pinewood Indians band of animatronics 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.
FANTASYLAND recreates the bedtime stories everyone has grown up with like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. Fantasyland attractions include several dark rides, the King Arthur Carrousel and various children's rides.
TOMORROWLAND's attractions have been designed to give visitors an opportunity to participate in adventures that "are a living blueprint of our future." Initial rides included the rocket to the moon; later, a large fleet of submarines was added. Current rides include the popular Space Mountain and Star Tours, among others.
NEW ORLEANS SQUARE The Haunted Mansion is patterned after a Southern plantation home. Opened in 1966, it is meant to capture the flavor and architectural detail of New Orleans's Bourbon Street. This area contains two of the most popular Disneyland attractions, Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, and a private club and restaurant, Club 33.
CRITTER COUNTRY's 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.
MICKEY'S TOONTOWN opened in 1993 and was patterned after "Toontown" in the Disney/Touchstone Pictures 1988 release Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
BACKSTAGE AREAS 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).
DISNEYLAND RAILROAD Laid to three-foot gauge, the track runs in a continuous loop around the park. The train stops at stations in New Orleans Square, Toontown, Tomorrowland, and Main Street.
DISNEYLAND MONORAIL shuttles visitors between two stations, one inside the park in Tomorrowland and one in Downtown Disney. It follows a 2.5-mile (4 km) long route designed to show off the park from above.
DISNEY CHARACTERS Throughout the park Disney characters greet visitors, talk with children, and pose for photos. Besides greeting visitors in regular places, they often participate in Disneyland parades.
DISNEY PARADES Daytime and night time parades celebrate Disney films or seasonal holidays with characters, music, and large floats. Elaborate fireworks shows featuring Disney songs and an appearance by "Peter Pan" character Tinker Bell.
DISNEYLAND BAND play the role of the Town Band on Main Street, U.S.A. but also break out into smaller groups like the Main Street Merchants Band, the Firehouse Sax Quartet, and a variety of groups in New Orleans Square.
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