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 ...

When New Orleans Square opened in July of 1966, the mayor of New Orleans, Victor Schiro, participated in the dedication. Schiro announced that Disney was an honorary citizen of the real city and joked that adding the Square cost as much as the original Louisiana Purchase. The dedication was Walt's last public appearance before his death that December. There are two actual rides in the New Orleans ...

Where in Disneyland was Walt's private apartment? Did he have a favorite horse on King Arthur Carrousel? Is there really a basketball court in the Matterhorn? For the ultimate scoop on Walt's life and his thinking behind the creation of Disneyland, nothing beats the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour. Now is an especially appropriate time to take the walk as we approach the one hundredth anniversary of ...

Enjoy a Mickey Mouse flapjack for breakfast, then hit Splash Mountain early. Eat lunch at the Big Thunder Ranch. Top off your day at Disneyland by watching fireworks from a little know vantage point. Those are some of the tips we picked up after visiting Disneyland five times last season. We learned how to tackle the park during its busiest time-summer. We discovered how to cut hours from time spent ...

Every now and then, as you're digging around trying to find some old tax papers in all those boxes crammed into your garage, you'll stumble across some forgotten but potent artifact from your childhood. It could be the teddy bear you carried everywhere when you were 5; it could be the Star Wars lunch box that mysteriously vanished when you were 6; it could be some Popsicle-stick dragon you made when you ...

Famed robot statesman Mr. Lincoln will be pulled out of mothballs and put back on stage at the Main Street Opera House in Disneyland sometime later this year. The attraction will reopen in celebration of the 200th anniversary year of Abraham Lincoln's birth - he was born on Feb. 12, 1809. "The Disneyland Story, featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln," will be a new version of the show with the ...

Despite persistent Internet rumors to the contrary, "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" will return in late 2009 to a renovated Disneyland Opera House with an "all-new" audio-animatronic show. Disneyland is billing Lincoln's return as a 200th anniversary celebration of the 16th president's birth, which passed two weeks ago. Lincoln's resurrection is sure to please Disneyland purists who bemoaned the ...

The early 1980's were a very dramatic time for Disneyland. The company had recently survived the Saul Steinberg corporate raid event, and they had recently created the two new movie divisions that would allow Disney to produce R-rated movies and such to a non-Disney focused market. Michael Eisner and Frank Wells had just come on board and the energy that followed was like a mounting tidal wave that washed ...

Disney art fans will have a new place to see displays and buy merchandise after a two-year absence at Disneyland. The Disney Gallery is set to re-open Friday at the former Bank of Main Street building near Disneyland's entrance. The gallery had sat above the Pirates of the Caribbean ride until 2007 when it was closed for construction of the Disneyland Dream Suite. The gallery opened in 1987 to ...

On Friday, Oct. 2, Disneyland opened the doors to its long-awaited new Disney Gallery, which has been relocated from the site of Walt Disney's intended apartment above the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction to the old Bank of Main Street building near the entrance to Main Street, U.S.A. The original Disney Gallery, which was both a showcase for special exhibits and a showroom for purchasing exclusive ...

You know, being a ghost stuck at Disneyland doesn't sound all that bad. It's better than haunting some family in Texas, right? Like any place with a rich history, Disneyland's got its fair share of urban legends and myths surrounding it--take the cryogenically frozen head of Unky Walt for an example--but cast members and guests alike have reported over the years certain encounters with certain ghouls ...

Thousands of people came on Saturday, September 10, 2005 to The Disney Gallery in New Orleans Square at Disneyland to see Thomas Kinkade's newest release, "Disneyland 50th Anniversary," and to have their limited edition pieces signed by Thomas Kinkade. Mr. Kinkade spent the afternoon in the park to celebrate the release of this new image and meet with collectors. As part of his visit to Southern ...

A recent four-night stay at Disneyland proves that this rich, glorious theme park, celebrating its 50th anniversary from now until 2007, is best enjoyed as a planned excursion, not as a whim. Begin with Birnbaum's, an indispensable annual paperback that's available for around twelve dollars. The goal-oriented guide should be read by every visitor to insure unit cohesion. It answers detailed ...

Designers and construction crews at Disneyland are completing a project that Walt Disney himself started more than 40 years ago -- a private living suite tucked into the theme park. The Walt Disney Co. announced the project Monday, saying theme park guests will be able to win an overnight stay in the suite beginning next year. Disney dreamed up the spacious suite in the 1960s and designed it ...

You don't always have to wish upon a star to make your dreams come true if your dream is to take a kip in Walt Disney's apartment. Disney has just announced that one of the major prizes in its Year of a Million Dreams competition is a sleepover in Walt's apartment in New Orleans Square at Disneyland. The apartment was one of Walt's dreams and he was working on bringing it to reality when he died ...

A recent visit to the Disneyland Hotel with my children inevitably led me to the adjacent world-famous Disleyland and Disney California Adventure theme parks, which now offer a plethora of perks for the luxe-minded family vacationer. When even an extraordinary day at Disneyland just won't do, consider these elite experience options: Disneyland VIP Tour Services Perfect for those ...

When Disneyland opened in 1955 it was unlike anything the world had ever seen before. It was not simply an amusement park, but a theme park, an intricately designed experience, and one that continued to evolve over the years to come. As we celebrate Women 's History Month, it 's a good time to take a look at some of the women who made Disneyland the place that it was, and who helped it turn into the place ...

Last weekend, I spent an evening above New Orleans Square at a destination known to few. While many visitors may be familiar with the members-only establishment named Club 33, most guests are unaware of the neighboring dining space known as 21 Royal and its significance. I 've seen a handful of articles and videos that approach the subject, but I believe I 'm the first writer to experience it firsthand . ...