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's Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland is fondly remembered by the men who ran it. Before there was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a roller coaster that hustles about, there was a battery-powered mine train that rolled along in that same stretch of Disneyland, an attraction that its former operators fondly remember. Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland was the first major attraction ...

A wonderland of delights such as the World may never have seen before is rising out of the orange groves in this sunny suburb of Los Angeles. It is Disneyland, a 17 million dollar paradise for children. When the gates are opened on July 19, customers will see an amusement built on the scale of a World's Fair. The fantastic world of Disney films will be transformed into three dimensional reality. ...

Disneyland is now past the half-way point in a spring construction program that will add 1 1/2 million dollars in new rides and amusements to Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom in Anaheim. Major areas of activity are Frontierland and the Tom Sawyer Island in the Rivers of America. More than $250,000 is being spent to make the island a "playland out of a youngster's dream." On the island -- named for and ...

When Walt Disney completed the $2,000,000 expansion program at Disneyland this summer, it was estimated by park officials that the capacity had increased by 100,000 rides per day. Completion of Disneyland"s first expansion program came this past month with the opening of the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train Ride in Frontierland. The Rainbow Caverns ride was the last and most costly of the new ...

The day after Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955, many newspapers had a field day with the myriad of problems the park had, such as gas leaks, failing plumbing and a lack of drinking fountains. Some called it Walt's Folly and more. But that didn't seem to matter to the public because when the park opened its gates the next day, there was a long line of people waiting to get in - and the lines never ...

It was the '60s, a decade of change. And just like society, Disneyland would change too - in dramatic fashion. 1960 Just like previous years, Walt Disney was constantly tinkering with Disneyland as the decade started. The first year of the decade, he added more scenes to the Rainbow Ridge Mine Train, and changed its name to the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland. The mules got a new name, ...

The mine train that used to sit by the edge of the Rivers of America at Disneyland has found a new home. The train's engine and two cars will be restored by the Carolwood Foundation, then put on display at Walt's Barn in Griffith Park, under the terms of an agreement with the Walt Disney Company. Larry Boone, vice president of the foundation made the announcement at the foundation's annual ...

A rare original 1954 Disneyland prospectus has sold at auction for $10,600 - that's five times the original estimate. The item, a 14-page book of documents and images used to educate potential investors as to what they might expect at the park when it opened the following year, was just one of many unique lots for sale at Remembering Disneyland, a highly-anticipated sale of over 800 rare and original ...

Since its opening in 1955, Disneyland has seen a number of rides and attractions come and go. And while some of the rides were replaced with newer and better thrills, some are sorely missed. Up ahead, we take a look at some of the most beloved Disneyland attractions that no longer exist. 1. Submarine Voyage In 1959, Disneyland introduced one of its first E ticket rides (aka, more advanced or ...

This is written in Mexico, my home in recent years. I've just returned from a visit to the United States, and am now once more enjoying the taste of unfrozen orange juice and fresh fish, conversations lasting four or five hours in which all sorts of cabbages and kings are discussed, meetings with friends where no one asks if I watched TV last night to see Mickey Rooney do Oedipus Rex on the Benign ...

Here's the deal with Disneyland. The two women ahead of me in line were Elizabeth and Lexi, twins fromWinnetka, Ill. Elizabeth is a communications and political science major at the University of Southern California. Lexi is a philosophy major atYale. They knew the words to ''We Can Fly,'' a song from Walt Disney's ''PeterPan.'' It's the song the chorus sings when Wendy, John and Michael,powered by ...

It's a wonderful, leisurely time of year to visit Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom! Anytime is a "good time" to visit Walt Disney unique Magic Kingdom - just ask the 12 million adults and 4 million children who've already been here! But with the Fall season, there is particular appeal and a still different enchantment about Disneyland, where guests find themselves "worlds away from today" - leaving ...

Disneyland Guided Tour - a personally conducted visit to all the realms within the Magic Kingdom - starts its second season, beginning September 14. When it was introduced last Fall, the Tour enthusiastically received by thousands of Disneyland visitors. Their comments ranged from "wonderful" to "thoroughly enjoyable" And almost unanimously, those interviewed in Disneyland Public Opinion polls said ...

Whenever you travel in Southern California (and throughout the Southwest) the Old West is still very much alive. You'll find the Old West in the chain of missions built by the Spanish Franciscan Padres in the 18th century, stretching from the Mexican border to Northern California at Knott's Berry Farm, where you can pan for "gold" or wander down the Main Street of Ghost Town... and at Disneyland ...

Disneyland's newest exhibit, Frontierland s Mineral Hall, is giving many of the Park's guests their first exposure of the wonders of to Black Light, the Ultra Violet rays that are found at the low end or invisible end of the light spectrum. The free exhibit gives dramatic evidence of the uses of Ultra Violet light in home, industry medicine, food processing and even crime detection. The many ...

Disneyland was Walt Disney's baby, a dream he nurtured for years which eventually turned into a flat-out obsession ... an obsession that had as many skeptics as it had bank creditors demanding that Disney make good on all the loans he needed to make his pie-in-the-sky come true. Tomorrow, The Happiest Place on Earth celebrates its 55th anniversary. Five and a half decades after the world's first ...

PERSPECTIVE My youngest son's first roller coaster was Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. He had just turned four, proudly towered an inch or so over the 40-inch minimum, and jumped on with a wide smile. He loved it - as much for the excitement of the ride itself as for the realization that he had now passed an initiation of sorts, from toddler-hood to full-blown boyhood. While he may ...

Hop aboard the horse-drawn trolley (or if you prefer a surrey, a double-decked bus, a "horseless carriage" or fire wagon) and let's begin a tour through Disneyland with a jaunt down 1900 Main Street. To our right as we leave Town Square is the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad Station, where passenger and freight trains depart for a trip around Disneyland. Facing the square are a bank, in ...

An upcoming auction featuring hundreds of Disneyland items expected to fetch as much as $600,000 apiece will give Disneyana enthusiasts a chance to add a bit of the Anaheim theme park 's history to their personal memorabilia collections. Heritage Auctions in Beverly Hills will hold the Disneyland Signature Auction: The Rummell Collection on Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22. ...

Rocket to the Moon closed and inspired several futuristic flight rides were equally unsuccessful. Rocket to the Moon was a Disneyland opening day attraction in 1955 that placed guests in a giant rocket ship, or moonliner, standing in Tomorrowland. The futuristic simulation ride was sponsored by the now defunct airline TWA (Trans World Airline). Guests sat in a circle with screens ...

I was not born when Disneyland first opened in 1955, or even during what was billed as its second opening in 1959. The fact is, I didn 't visit Disneyland until its 25th anniversary in 1980. By then, many early attractions were already gone: the Phantom Boats, Rainbow Caverns Mine Train, the Flying Saucers, Space Station X-1, Rocket to the Moon, and so many others. The one bygone attraction that stands out ...