Disneyland Monorail Articles
The Majestic History Of Matterhorn Bobsleds
Disneyland Park opened its gates for the first time ever on July 17, 1955. Since that notable date in history, Disneyland has grown, expanded, and renovated countless times making it the enticing vacation point that it is today. For some people, however, Disneyland is not just a vacation spot. The rich history that Disneyland holds along with the captivating attractions within its gates is why we, the ...
A Brief History Of Disneyland, An American Classic
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"The thing will get more beautiful year after year. And it will get better as I find out what the public likes; I can't do that with a picture it's finished and unchangeable before I find out whether the public likes it or not." Walt Disney on Disneyland.
Walt Disney found different reasons to build his seventeen million dollar Magic Kingdom in Anaheim in 1955. The idea had originally stemmed ...
State Investigates 27 Theme-Park Medical Problems
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The state has completed investigations this year into 27 medical problems sustained on Orange County theme park rides, often when visitors were getting on or off the attractions, an Orange County Register analysis found.
Venues with permanent rides are required to submit state reports when visitors have injuries or other issues that require medical attention beyond first aid, under a 2000 state ...
A Few Nuggets About Disneyland As It Turns 56
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Disneyland The Happiest Place on Earth turns 56 on Sunday.
Much has been said and written about the groundbreaking amusement enterprise in Anaheim, Calif. But even after more than five and a half decades in operation, some interesting nuggets can still be unearthed.
For instance, not many people are aware that during the first few years of operation, not only could you visit the park during a ...
First Visit To Disneyland: Unforgettable
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For many years, Disneyland which celebrated its 56th anniversary this past July 17 was a place we thought we might never see. Since 1972, we were "regulars" at Walt Disney World, yet Disneyland was as far away in distance as it was in our travel plans.
We finally broke down and made it to The Happiest Place on Earth in Anaheim, Calif., in late July, 1998, some 43 years after Walt Disney's fabled ...
Storm In A Teacup
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With a boy of his own, Stephen Lacey makes his first visit to the Disneyland of his childhood.
When I was a boy, my idea of Disneyland was pretty sketchy; it was where Mickey and Donald lived. And there was a ride where you sat in a giant spinning teacup.
I knew only one kid who had been, a boy in third class named Brian. He was terribly thin, with bruises all over his body. One day our ...
California vs. Blackpool: General
Earlier in the year, I wrote an article for DLDHistory.com comparing the Alice in Wonderland ride in Disneyland to Alice's Wonderland at Pleasure Beach Blackpool (the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom).
As I have recently come back from a week's vacation in Blackpool (and seeing as my main article this month was shorter than usual) I thought I would compare Anaheim's Disneyland Resort as a ...
All Aboard Disney's Fort Wilderness Railroad
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It's no secret that Walt Disney had a special place in his heart for railroads. Years before Disneyland opened, he built a model railroad in his backyard which he dubbed the Carolwood Pacific Railroad and spent countless hours riding it, tinkering with it and giving his family and friends much-coveted rides.
When Disneyland opened in 1955, the narrow-gauge Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad circled ...
Disneyland On The Cheap
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Sure, tickets to Disneyland are usually pricey. But you don't need a hoard of cash the size of Scrooge McDuck's to have a great time.
They say that money can't buy happiness, but Disney seems to prove that statement false. As the self-proclaimed "Happiest Place on Earth," Disneyland (along with California Adventure) is indeed a lot of fun for the whole family.
But with exorbitant prices on ...
5 Disney Rides Temporarily Close Fantasmic! Show Returns
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Five rides in Disneyland Resort parks will be closed for at least part of March as the park prepares for spring-break crowds.
Four of the rides are set to re-open within the week after undergoing routine maintenance projects: Grizzly River Run in Disney California Adventure and the Mark Twain Riverboat, the Disneyland Monorail and the King Arthur Carrousel in Disneyland.
The Matterhorn Bobsleds ...
Disney Top 10 Innovations Of All Time
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The Walt Disney Company is known for its creativity, innovative thinking and technological advances.
Who, but Walt Disney, could have given us a motion picture like "Snow White," the first full-length animated feature film which was a movie industry first?
Who, but the Walt Disney Company, could have given us Epcot, perhaps the most unique theme park experience in the world?
On a recent ...
California vs. Paris: The Lands of The Future - Part One
This month and next, I shall be comparing the Lands of The Future found in the two Disneyland parks closest to my heart (California and Paris). In California, as per Florida, Tokyo and Hong Kong, this land is called Tomorrowland; in Paris this is called Discoveryland.
For the benefit of these articles, when I say Tomorrowland, I am only referring to the California one; I am also only writing about the ...
Disneyland Memorabilia Is A Fascinating Look Back
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Of the millions and millions of phone numbers that have been in use since Alexander Graham Bell (or Antonio Meucci, if you're so inclined) invented the telephone, a handful of numbers have managed to live on despite the passage of time ... and the introduction of more numbers and area codes.
"PEnnsylvania 6-5000," a hit song by Glenn Miller and his orchestra in the 1940s, comes to mind, as does the ...
Memories From The Mansion
It was August 1969 and I had just turned 9 the month before. Summer was rapidly coming to an end so, as a treat, my Dad let me go with my summer camp group on a day trip to the Magic Kingdom. We were scheduled to leave early the morning of the 12th which was a Tuesday. We would spend the entire day at the park and return early the morning of the 13th. Little did I know that this would be the most ...
Disneyland Monorail Closes After Short Circuit
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Disneyland's Monorail was shut down temporarily Monday after a mechanical problem on busy Presidents Day.
A short circuit caused smoke on one Monorail car, prompting the park to temporarily halt the entire ride midday, said Suzi Brown, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman.
About 10:20 a.m., crews shut off the ride's power while they towed in the troubled car to drop off passengers and then take it to ...
Much Has Changed Much Thankfully Remains The Same
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It had been more than seven years since we last visited the Disneyland Resort.
So much has changed since 2006 ... and, thankfully, so much remains the same at Walt Disney's ground-breaking theme park, known universally as The Happiest Place on Earth.
Disney fans who live on the East Coast and spend the majority of their vacation time in Walt Disney World in Florida have a somewhat skewed view of ...
How Futurist Bob Gurr Shaped Disneyland Past
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In his 27 years as a Disney Imagineer, Bob Gurr was known for doing the impossible: He designed a submarine fleet, the cars of Autopia, and the Monorail that soars above the park on a single beam. With the opening of Tomorrowland in 1955, Gurr shaped a vision of the future (1986 to be exact) that still feels out of reach. Six decades after Gurr began creating ride vehicles for the theme park, director Brad ...
Disneyland Turns 60 Ranking Its Attractions by Land
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Oh, boy! The Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration begins today!
Disneyland Park opened in Anaheim, Calif., on July 17, 1955, and ever since, it has entertained millions of guests from all over the world. That's no small feat!
"It's amazing to contemplate all that Disneyland has come to mean to so many people around the world," Tom Staggs, COO of the Walt Disney Company, recently told the ...
Disneyland 60 Things You Might Not Know About The Magic Kingdom
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TV show named "Gunsmoke" made its debut, and another named "Make Room for Daddy" won two Emmys. Elvis Presley and Pat Boone had young hearts all shook up, and for the first time, they could listen to those crooners and others on a new gadget called a pocket transistor radio. A new car cost $1,900, gasoline was 23 cents a gallon and rents averaged $87 a month..
It was 1955. On July 17 of that year - a ...
5 Disney Ride Ideas That Never Saw The Light of Day
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Disney parks are known for bringing the magic of their movies and making it into a tangible experience for fans across the world. But as much success as Disney has had - magical or otherwise - not all of their ideas have been great enough to make it to fruition.
At one time or another the following five rides were thought to be great ideas before getting shut down. Whether it was for licensing, ...
That Time Disneyland Employed Live Mermaids In 1959 The Park Seemed A Bit More Magical
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After photos of Disneyland's performing mermaids surfaced on the Internet a few years ago, one former sea nymph recalled a peculiar question a park monorail conductor once fielded from an elderly visitor.
"Are they real?" she asked of the mermaids. The conductor responded in the affirmative, to which the visitor mused, "I wonder where they found them. Probably the Sargasso Sea."
Whether the ...
Disneyland Imagineer Shares Memories At MV Historical Association Event
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As Disneyland celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, more than 150 history lovers gathered to celebrate Mountain View's connection to the theme park's early history.
Disneyland's iconic giant spinning teacups, flying elephants and speeding bobsleds were engineered in Mountain View by pioneering amusement park ride manufacturer Arrow Development Co.
At its annual summer barbecue Aug. 2, the ...
10 Scary Legendary Ghost Tales Of Disneyland Haunts
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I recently interviewed a cast member who works inside the Haunted Mansion. She talked about the belief, among Disney employees, that the place is inhabited by more than the Disney-created 999 haunts.
She said female employees talk about ghosts that untie the ribbons in the cast members' hair. She said props move from one side of a room to the other. She said there are behind-the-scenes rooms in the ...
Rare Collecting Disneyland Exhibit And Auction
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Van Eaton Galleries, one of the world's premier animation artwork and collectibles galleries located in Sherman Oaks, California, has announced a rare exhibit and auction, "Collecting Disneyland." The auction will take place Saturday, November 21, 2015 at Van Eaton Galleries located at 13613 Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks, California. Collecting Disneyland is an extraordinary exhibit and auction devoted to ...
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 4
Last time we left off, we were meeting some of the Imagineers who were responsible for the initial creation of Disneyland. We began to see the park take physical shape and learn about the origins of Main Street USA and Sleeping Beauty's Castle. There were roughly 6 months until the opening. The orange and walnut groves that once existed all to themselves were being transformed into a pear-shaped amusement ...
Metal Detectors Installed Toy Guns Banned At Disney Parks
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Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are placing metal detectors at the esplanade area where guests are screened to enter the theme parks, beginning today, and prohibiting and banning toy gun possession and sales inside the park.
The rules were updated on the Disneyland park rules website and specifically mentions that the toy guns include "toy blasters, squirt guns etc."
Handlers with ...
Disney During The Holidays How To Navigate The Parks Like A Pro
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On Christmas day this year, Disneyland in California and the Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Florida hit maximum capacity and closed - forcing the parks to turn away unlucky Mouseketeers and signaling the arrival of peak season.
It's not a rarity for the parks to close temporarily due to overcrowding: it can happen during extremely popular times. And it's not just closing you need to worry about. ...
Dangerous Disneyland Mental Fatigue Part 1
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Disneyland gets sued for injuries and deaths all of the time. Believe me, I get that accidents happen, but most of these tourists are simply victims of their own stupidity. Mild disclaimer: a few of these I've read about on only one site, so I'm not entirely sure they happened. Now, let's get down to business.
Matterhorn, Space, and Thunder Mountains are not most dangerous in that respect, ...
Backstage Chemical Leak At Disneyland Prompts Closure Of Four Attractions
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Four attractions at Disneyland were briefly closed Wednesday after a small chemical leak was discovered coming from the park's water filtration system, authorities said.
Anaheim police and fire departments responded to the park at 1:30 p.m. where a chemical commonly found in pool cleaner was reported leaking from a pump at one of the park's four backstage filtration facilities, said Sgt. Daron Wyatt ...
Dangerous Disneyland Mental Fatigue Part 2
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It wasn't until I was almost finished with the human stupidity portion of this "Dangerous Disney" article that I realized that this should be a two-parter, so that (in addition to keeping it from being too long) some might hopefully regain some faith in humanity. Here is that second part. Again, some of these I've only read about on one site.
I start with the PeopleMover, again. In 1968 a rainstorm ...
How Star Wars Has Taken Over Disneyland
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Officially, Star Wars Land at the Disney Parks is still a few years away, but anyone visiting Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., will notice that Disney's latest franchise has invaded nearly every aspect of the resort.
Disneyland visitors will notice that Star Wars is, literally, everywhere, including in merchandising, food and park attractions.
And the experience begins before one ever enters ...
