Two months ago, I was warned that my article for the July issue would be about my first memories of Disneyland. I knew from the outset how hard this would be. If I had been asked about my first visit to Florida's Magic Kingdom this would be easy. It was November 18th 1988, which was Mickey's 60th birthday. I could write reams about my memories: the parades; my first trip on a monorail; finding ...

Changes at Disneyland in the 1980s started slow, then ended in a splash down a mountain. During the first couple years of the decade, Disney Imagineers were busy with the design and building of Epcot Center (as it was called then) at Walt Disney World. But they were also planning a project for Disneyland - rebuilding Fantasyland. 1980-83 In early 1982, most of Fantasyland was behind a ...

The Country Bear Jamboree, a 17-minute show made up of more than 20 audio-animatronic bears, originally opened as an "E" ticket ride in Walt Disney World Florida, as one of the premier attractions for the park's opening in 1971. Just one short year later, it opened here in our very own Anaheim Disneyland, in Bear Country to be exact, on March 24, 1972. It's been there ever since. The original Jamboree ...

Disneyland is well-known for its "Imagineers," the people who combine imagination and engineering to create the spectacular. Their most amazing work, of course, is seen in commercials for the "Happiest Place on Earth." Ever notice how Disneyland isn't crowded in the commercials? With some serious Imagineering, and a few actors, the most-crowded place on Earth looks like a park where you can stretch ...