How Counterfeiters Nearly Ruined Opening Day At Disneyland
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When ABC television host Art Linkletter greeted viewers from Disneyland on July 17, 1955, he marveled that 15,000 happy visitors were in attendance. Beaming and resplendent in his suit, Linkletter was unaware of the seven-mile gridlock backing up the Santa Ana Freeway, that children who had been trapped in cars for hours were relieving their overtaxed bladders in the parking lot, or that Disney die-hards ...
How Did Walt Disney Vision Of A Futuristic Metropolis Become A Quaint Symbol Of A Bygone Era
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When Disneyland opened its doors in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955, the word astronaut was not yet a household term. But a bright white rocketship towered over Tomorrowland (and, in fact, the entire park), poised to blast off into soon-to-be explored galaxies. Behind it stood a geometric space station, red letters over the entrance labeling it "Rocket To The Moon," with two large spherical theatres ...
How Disney Makes It's Employees Feel Warm And Fuzy
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Over the past few weeks, parade workers at Disneyland Paris have been protesting that their pay is inadequate to their labors, thereby combining an American tradition--dressing up in silly costumes--with a French one: going on strike. Senior executives at Disney may or may not be persuaded by the strikers' wage demands, but they will almost certainly be sympathetic to reports of the discomforts of wearing ...
How Disney Parks Use Halloween To Update Their Classic Attractions
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Candy! Costumes! Calacas! Halloween has always been a fan-favorite holiday. Without much in the way of religion or tradition to take priority, this is a day of pure fun. A time for kids to indulge in way too much sugar, and for adults to dress up in otherwise-socially-unacceptable costumes before hitting the town.
It's also a time of year that theme parks are increasingly using as excuses to step up ...
How Disneyland Accommodates Food Allergies
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If you have children with food allergies, Disneyland is truly a magical place.
My son Andrew has severe food allergies and this often means he isn't able to eat out at restaurants, travel on vacations or feel like he is included. Our normal plan when we go out to eat as a family is to pack Andrew's meals and bring them to the restaurant. When Andrew was younger this never seemed to bother him much. We ...
How Disneyland And Disney World Are Quietly Prepping To Remove Splash Mountain From The Park
Back in 2020, Disney revealed plans to give its popular Splash Mountain attraction a complete re-theme, replacing the Song of the South story with one that would act as a sort of sequel to The Princess and the Frog. Nearly two years have now passed since the announcement, and thus far neither ride has closed for this update and no timeline has been presented letting us know when it is expected to happen. ...
How Disneyland Brought Indiana Jones To Life In Its Iconic Ride
Disneyland 's Indiana Jones Adventure ride gets its moment in the spotlight as part of documentary series Behind the Attraction season two, now streaming on Disney+.
io9 had a fun Disney Adult chat with Behind the Attraction creator and producer Brian Volk-Weiss and immediately landed on a mutual love for Indiana Jones Adventure. We had to know why it didn 't make season one and Volk-Weiss ...
How Disneyland Changed Rise Of The Resistance Because Of The Pandemic
Riding Rise of the Resistance has changed now that Disneyland has removed experiences to make the wildly popular Star Wars attraction shorter, installed safety measures to keep riders socially distanced and tweaked the virtual queue system to spread out demand.
Disneyland was forced to modify the Rise of the Resistance attraction in Star Wars: Galaxy 's Edge under state COVID-19 health and ...
How Disneyland Decorates The Resort For The Holidays Each Year
The Disneyland Resort 's holiday season kicks off Friday, Nov. 11, so Resort Enhancement Area Manager Dawn Pipal-Keehne and her team of 60 cast members are busy this week transforming the parks.
This year is Pipal-Keehne 's 25th decorating the Anaheim parks (she and her team also decorate Aulani, A Disney Report & Spa in Hawaii). Among their seasonal duties are assembling the 60-foot-tall ...
How Disneyland Gave Me A Sense Of Home When I Moved To A New City
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I recently moved to Los Angeles from New York. It was a move I planned on doing for a long time. I wanted to stay in the entertainment industry, but New York just wasn't for me. I wanted sunshine, space and Disneyland. I'm a Disney person.
I grew up an hour away from Walt Disney World in Florida, so my family would go all the time. It was like a second home. Some people say the magic gets lost the ...
How Disneyland Gave My Son The Golden Gift Of Patience
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"Mom, pleeeeeease can we play? Can we do something fun? This is so boooring. Monday is soooooo boring," my 6-year-old whined to me as I sat at my desk.
Nine times out of ten, I would have called in the circus and pulled out my "let me entertain you" hat. Instead of letting him be bored and then sitting with my own guilt about having to work, steam broccoli, fold laundry, and basically not be the ...
How Disneyland Helps Show The Difference Between Fiction And Fake
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When lazy writers want to dismiss something as fake, they often compare it to Disneyland. The implication is that theme parks are fake places - artificial creations that are not as worthy as something authentic and real.
I always wonder if such writers are as dismissive of Broadway shows, novels or motion pictures. Those are all works of fiction, as are most theme park attractions, but those ...
How Disneyland Hides Eyesores In Plain Sight With Go Away Green
Disneyland is all about immersion: stepping into a jungle adventure, getting lost in the alleyways of old New Orleans, escaping to a far-flung planet in the “Star Wars” universe. But as beautifully detailed as these lands are, some things just can 't be avoided. Like hand rails and power outlets.
For these legal and logistical necessities, Disneyland came up with its own paint colors, ...
How Disneyland Installs The Holiday Version Of Its A Small World
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As the Halloween season was winding down, Disneyland's famous canal boat ride, "It's a Small World," closes and goes through a transformation.
Inside the ride, a crew of 24 people is busy at work turning it into a holiday version complete with scenic Christmas trees, festive decorations and lights, lots of lights. On the outside another 11-person crew is working at night, when the park is closed, ...
How Disneyland Is Like Apple
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My family went to Disneyland over the Christmas holidays. The drive from San Francisco took most of a day. The park was packed to the rafters, with wait times of over an hour on many rides. My next credit card bill will probably give me a heart attack.
And you know what? We loved it. We'll almost definitely go back.
The reason? Disneyland feels like one of the few affordable splurges left in ...
How Disneyland Is Taking Cues From Uber And Apple To Make Sure Everybody Enjoys Their Vacation More
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On my last visit to Disneyland, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the Happiest Place on Earth finally has an official app for iPhone and Android.
The Disneyland app is a game changer for people who want to make the most out of their vacation: Not only does it tell you current wait times for every single ride in both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure; you can use it to book dinner ...
How Disneyland Keeps Boba Fett From Bumping Into Kylo Ren In Galaxys Edge And Why It Matters
The introduction of the Mandalorian, Baby Yoda and other new Star Wars characters in Galaxy 's Edge means for the first time Disneyland will be telling more than one story in Black Spire Outpost along the vast timeline of the epic science fiction saga.
The Star Wars: Galaxy 's Edge themed land at the Anaheim theme park was always envisioned as a big canvas for telling many different Star Wars ...
How Disneyland Made Snow White Ride Less Scary And More Happily Ever After
Walt Disney Imagineering 's Dave Caranci remembers feeling a mix of trepidation and excitement about riding the Snow White dark ride in Fantasyland for the first time as a 5-year-old visiting Disneyland with his family.
“The first time I rode it was in the early ‘70s and it scared me to death,” said Caranci, Imagineering 's manager of creative development. “It was always one of those that you ...
How Disneyland Refurbished Everything On Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
Even something as simple as buying seaweed for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is a daunting challenge when you 're talking about the major overhaul of a Disneyland underwater attraction that stretches for acres under Tomorrowland and Fantasyland.
“It 's a lot of seaweed,” Walt Disney Imagineering Art Director Michael Dobrzycki said. “It 's like going to the store and saying, ‘We want all ...
How Disneyland Stayed Dry For Almost 65 Years
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In 2019 Disneyland made headline news around the world with one simple change: For the first time in the Southern California park 's 64-year history, it would serve alcoholic beverages to the general public.
Disneyland 's prohibition was part of the original design, a mandate by none other than its creator, Walt Disney. A year following the park 's opening, Walt made his case for going ...
How Disneyland Will Enforce The 4 Hour Reservation Window For Star Wars Galaxys Edge
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Disneyland expects that four hours will be enough time for most visitors to explore Star Wars: Galaxy 's Edge during the initial reservation-only period and that scoundrels who overstay their welcome will be dealt with by a squadron of stormtroopers.
Disneyland will restrict visitors with free Star Wars: Galaxy 's Edge reservations to a 4-hour time limit during an initial “soft opening” period ...
How Disneyland Workers Dress The Part
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Employees at the Disneyland Resort are known as "cast members," and just like those playing roles in a movie or a play, they wear costumes to look the part.
The costumes can be that of a butler or a maid for Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, or a bellhop at Disney California Adventure's Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
The resort provides the employees with their costumes in fact, they can get a ...
How Disneylands Trash Inspired Doritos And Created A Multi Billion Dollar Enterprise
Practically synonymous with the Super Bowl and ubiquitous in delis and grocery stores the world over, Doritos are beloved for their 100-plus flavors, all of which leave that signature dust all over your fingers. But what many people don 't know is that early versions of the tortilla chips were actually unflavored - and the idea for them was born from Disneyland 's trash.
In 1955, just a few ...
How Disneylands Weather Station Helps Save Water And Keep 1000 Floral Beds Blooming
Keeping Disneyland 's 17,000 trees green and 1,000 floral beds blooming takes a mammoth effort by the Anaheim theme park 's horticulture team that 's focused on reducing water consumption during Southern California 's latest drought.
Constant readings from Disneyland 's weather station in the Toy Story parking lot combined with a sophisticated irrigation control system have allowed the ...
How Does Disneyland Cover Up Construction Work For Sleeping Beauty Castle Or Small World
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Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle looks a bit odd.
So does "It's a Small World."
Both of Disneyland's iconic attractions are under renovation, and Disney hides a lot of the work going on.
But the theme park still wants guests to see the castle and the clock-themed attraction with the unforgettable song, so both structures are shielded from view - by massive reproductions.
Sleeping ...
How Eddie Murphys Movie The Haunted Mansion Could Change A Popular Attraction
Nothing came of it, but there was an idea to change the attraction “Haunted Mansion” to match the Eddie Murphy movie.
Most of the attractions at Disneyland or Walt Disney World are based on popular movies. Some of the others, such as Pirates of the Caribbean, became films themselves, which, in turn, inspired the renewal of the wave itself. It turns out that once Disney briefly considered doing ...
How Fakers with Wheelchairs Ruined Disneyland Disabled Line
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Sue Ann pulled up her knee-high rainbow socks, made one quick yank at her polyester skirt to make sure it was no longer wedged into the waistband of her briefs, and announced herself ready for Disneyland. Though elderly, short, squat, and assigned male at birth, Sue Ann (a pseudonym) looks fetching in her ever-askew blond wig. The gal's got moxie. She's a 4'6" American Girl Doll, except with regular ...
How Fantasmic Disaster Was Handled By Behind The Attraction
When Behind the Attraction Season 2 debuts on Disney Plus on November 1, one of the best episodes is the final one, dedicated to the epic Nighttime Spectaculars at Disney Parks. From fireworks to parades, there are some incredible shows when the sun goes down. But despite the fact that Behind the Attraction is a show dedicated to current, and not former, park attractions there is a key element from the ...
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 ...
How Galaxys Edge Fits Into The Star Wars Universe
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A new book from Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Imagineering explains how the Star Wars planet at the heart of the Galaxy 's Edge themed land in Disneyland fits into the vast universe of a galaxy far, far away.
The new “Traveler 's Guide to Batuu” serves as an in-world travel guide to the Black Spire Outpost village on the Star Wars planet of Batuu, the setting for the 14-acre lands at Disneyland in ...
How Haunted Mansion Popularized The Haunted House And Changed Halloween Forever
Think of Halloween 's most basic elements: candy, costumes, spooky parties and haunted houses designed to scare you for fun. But what if those haunted houses didn 't exist? It turns out we have Walt Disney to thank for revolutionizing modern Halloween entertainment. And it all started with Disneyland 's Haunted Mansion.
Scary stories have existed for as long as people have been telling ...
