Happy 50th Birthday, Disneyland!

A Salute to

Updates

30 December 2005 - Happy New Year, almost! I've finally added a report on the 50th Aniversary of Disneyland on July 17, 2005. You can read it here: Disneyland's 50th Aniversary. I hope everyone has a great new year. If you haven't been to Disneyland to check out all the 50th stuff, go before it's gone!

     This is my humble tribute to Disneyland. Below, you will find links to take you on a Grand Circle Tour of the "Happiest Place on Earth" and all of its themed lands. On each page is a little trivia and thoughts on each land's attractions. Also on my site are descriptions of personal experiences with Disneyland and other stuff that I just felt like throwing in. All of the pictures and text are mine. Thanks for coming to my page. Have fun! If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me.

The Grand Circle Tour

     For a general overview and history of Disneyland, hop on board the next available People Mover vehicle (click on the image), sit back, and relax.

Other Pages

• Memories of Disneyland
• Disneyland's 50th Anniversary - July 17, 2005
• Disneyland's 40th Anniversary - July 17, 1995
• Make Your Own Indiana Jones Cobra
• EXPO 98

      One of my earliest experiences at Disneyland is one that I can't even remember. My parents, though, will never let me forget it. I was about three or four years old. My family was shopping in Tinkerbell's Toy Shop in Fantasyland. My mom was at the north entrance (towards Snow White's Scary Adventures). I was with my grandmother near the southern entrance (near the castle). When my grandmother wasn't looking I somehow snuck out the door. After my mother was done browsing, she asked my grandmother where I was. My grandmother said she thought I was with her.

     Understandably, my mother was quite upset. She tells me that her first thought was that I had gone across the drawbridge in front of the castle and had fallen in to the moat. That's where she checked first. When she saw that I wasn't there, she ran down Main Street to Lost Children at City Hall. The hosts located me; I was at the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride. When my mom went to pick me up, she found me in the ticket booth (when there were still tickets) sitting on the lap of the ticket sellers. She says I was there giving C tickets to the guests, quite unworried that I was lost.

Waiting to get in....

     Here are some more of my favorite Disneyland experiences, past and present:

. . . Feeding the ducks off the second level of The Hungry Bear Restaurant. . .
. . . Sitting in the cool darkness of The Blue Bayou Restaurant listening to jazz. . .
. . . Hearing the roar of Space Mountain and the screams of guests, while waiting in line (before the video monitors). . .
. . . Eating at the spacious Space Place. . .
. . . Missing school days to march down Main Street with my high school band then, afterward, hanging with my friends. . .
. . . Being tricked into going on Big Thunder Mountain when I was afraid of roller coasters. . .
. . . Enjoying the kitschy fun of Mission to Mars. . .
. . . Hearing Rufus' snoring from his lair in Bear Country (before he moved to Splash Mountain). . .
. . . Waiting outside The Haunted Mansion because I was scared. . .
. . . Trading Olympic pins in 1984 at Videopolis. . .
. . . Parking at the Sheraton hotel behind the park to watch the fireworks (I always stuck my fingers in my ears). . .
. . . Feeling relieved when the parking lot tram pulled up and there was room to sit down. . .
. . . Driving home on the deserted Interstate 5 at 1:00 AM on summer nights. . .
. . . Falling asleep immediately with my legs aching from walking. . .

Write Me Your Memories

     In honor of my site's renovation, I am introducing a new memory contest. The theme for this competition will be One Last Ride... I'd like participants to write me a story of any length about their favorite Disneyland attraction that does not exist anymore. It can be as old as the Phantom Boats or as recent as the Rocket Rods. And as a thank you for their effort, the top two entrants (by my judgment) will each receive a limited edition Disneyland coin. These coins sold for $6.50 in the park and are no longer available. So go ahead: start writing!

Click here for a picture of the prizes.

How to Reach Me
Form or E-Mail

Disney Books Available from Amazon.com

These are all books that I personally own and recommend for fans of Disneyland.

• Disney's Haunted Mansion : Pop-Up Book by Chuck Murphy, Russell Spina (Illustrator), Tor Lokvig. - Yeah, I know it's a kids book, but the artwork and pop-up tricks are really cool. Check out the Madame Leota hologram.
• More Mouse Tales : A Closer Peek Backstage at Disneyland by David Koenig. - Even more secret backstage info from Koenig.
• One Day at Disney by Pam Brandon, Susan E. Meyer (Editor), Wendy Lefkon (Editor). - A well-done picture book detailing the daily operations of the four Disney parks in California, Florida, Japan, and France. Great photos but has little to offer in terms of information.
• The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2003 by Bob Sehlinger. - I don't own this particular edition, but the Unofficial Guide is always interesting in its objective takes on all Disneyland attractions.
• Walt Disney Imagineering : A Behind the Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real by Imagineers, Wendy Lefkon (Editor). - A great book. There are many pictures and stories about the making of the attractions and the creation of the world of Disneyland.
• Where in Disneyland Park by Scott Wolf. This book shows a picture of an obscure object in Disneyland and has you guess where it is in the park. It will stump you.

Music and Movies

• The Official Album: Disneyland/Walt Disney World

Search: All Products Books Magazines Popular Music Classical Music Video DVD Toys & Games Baby Computer & Video Games Electronics Software Tools & Hardware Outdoor Living Kitchen & Housewares Camera & Photo Wireless Phones Keywords:

Sources

Below are different resources I used to develop the trivia for my site.

Books

• A Brush with Disney : An Artist's Journey by Herbert Dickens Ryman. Available from Amazon.com - An autobiographical book from the famous Disney Imagineer Herb Ryman. He figured heavily in the design of Disneyland and created the first layout of the park for Walt Disney. The book has many beautiful graphics but is light on text.
• Designing Disney's Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance by Karal Ann Marling (Editor). Available from Amazon.com - A comprehensive and scholarly look at the architecture of Disneyland and the other theme parks. The history of the park's early development is especially interesting. It's a nicely illustrated and fascinating work.
• Disney A to Z by Dave Smith. Available from Amazon.com - You can't get a more informative and complete reference guide to all-things-Disney than this.
• Disneyland, Dreams, Traditions, Transitions by Shannon Leonard. Search for it on Amazon.com - This is an official Disney publication so it's light on the text but rich with illustrations.
• Disneyland: Inside Story by Randy Bright. Search for it on Amazon.com - A superior book about Disneyland history. It has great, insightful stories about the park's development and rare photos.
• Disneyland the Nickel Tour : A Postcard Journey Through 40 Years of the Happiest Place on Earth by David Mumford and Bruce Gordon. Available from Amazon.com - The best book on the history of Disneyland. If you only buy one book about Disneyland, this should be it!
• Mouse Tales: A Behind the Ears Look at Disneyland by David Koenig. Available from Amazon.com - A very interesting book for those fascinated with the more "unofficial" side of Disneyland. If you don't mind being disillusioned a little, this is a good book.
• The Ultimate Disney Trivia Book by Kevin Neary and Dave Smith. Available from Amazon.com - Lots of "pointless" trivia, not only about Disneyland.

Other

• Disney Magazine (formerly the Disney News)
• The E-Ticket - This should be the most important magazine for any Disneyland freak out there. It provides interesting trivia, interviews with Disney Imagineers, and comprehensive looks at the old Disneyland attractions and stores; many that aren't around anymore.
• Tony Baxter Lecture. February 3, 1998. Long Beach State University. I went to see Tony Baxter, head Imagineer at Disney, speak at Cal State Long Beach. He focused his talk on the Indiana Jones Adventure, Space Mountain in France, and the new Tomorrowland. He showed films never before seen by the public including a promotional Indy film used to convince corporate executives, with paper cutouts and cheesy effects and later another promo for the new Rocket Rods.
• Walt Disney Treasures - Disneyland USA Available from Amazon.com - A great DVD that has the original televised Opening Ceremony of Disneyland and three other classic Disneyland TV specials.

Disney Links

• Disneyland - The official Disneyland site where you can find park hours, attraction closures, etc.
• Werner's Unofficial Disney Parks Links - The first guy to put a link to my page, and a pretty comprehensive site.
• Disneyland Backstage Pass - A nice new website by a Disney fan, Steven. Go check it out.
• Fantasies Come True - A really nice collectibles store devoted solely to Disney memorabilia. Check them out.
• J & J Travel - Did my page convince you to take a trip to the park? Well, J & J can help get you there!
• Fireflies READY-TO-GO - Tim Carter offers to sell you replicas of the cool fireflies that you see in Pirates of the Caribbean.
• guide2disneyland.com - A nice, budding Disneyland information site. Go check it out.

Non-Disney Links

• Fun Brain - A cool educational site with games for kids.
• CheetahBurner.com - A great utility for burning MP3, data, and ISO files onto CD-R's.

Special Thanks

• Yahoo! Geocities
• Amazon.com

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Disneyland has hosted
hundreds of millions of guests.
I've welcomed over 25,000
since April 15, 1997.

salute_to_disneyland@hotmail.com