After traveling to the island via raft, guests are free to explore the boyhood playground of Tom Sawyer and his pals. The island features attractions such as Injun Joe's Cave, Teeter-Totter Rock, Merry-Go-Round Rock, Barrel Bridge, and a fort.
Cursed History Of Problematic Fantasmic Dragon That Burst Into Flames
Dateline: April 25, 2023
Status: Current
Source: whittierdailynews.com
The Disneyland dragon that burst into a towering inferno during “Fantasmic” has a troubled history stretching back more than a decade to the cursed debut of the 45-foot-tall audio-animatronic beast nicknamed after Murphy 's Law.
The “Fantasmic” dragon that caught fire during a performance of the nighttime spectacular over the weekend was an embarrassing
What Is Next For Fantasmic Dragon After Major Fire
Dateline: April 24, 2023
Status: Current
Source: SFGate
During the grand finale of Disneyland 's “Fantasmic” show, the Maleficent dragon appears from seemingly nowhere, towering over Sorcerer Mickey, who defeats the evil sorceress with the power of imagination.
But on April 22, it wasn 't Mickey who defeated the dragon: It was a pyrotechnic malfunction that quickly engulfed the prop in flames, causing a major
Dragon At Disneylands Fantasmic Performance Catches Fire
Dateline: April 23, 2023
Status: Current
Source: New York Times
At least six workers were treated for smoke inhalation after the fire on Saturday night at the California theme park, but no one was seriously hurt, officials said.
When a fire-breathing dragon caught fire at Disneyland on Saturday night, some spectators thought it was part of the show.
But the prop being engulfed in flames was accidental,
The Much Missed Restaurant Disneyland Tore Down To Build Star Wars Galaxys Edge
Dateline: April 16, 2023
Status: Current
Source: SFGate
Ask any longtime Disneyland fan which food they miss the most, and you 'll likely get one of two answers: They 'll say the McDonald 's Fry Wagon, or they 'll say Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue. When it closed, so went the only family-style table service restaurant at the resort. Nowhere on Disneyland property has offered anywhere close to the all-you-can-eat model for
Why A Dining Package Is A No Brain Way To See The Parks Shows
Dateline: April 7, 2023
Status: Current
Source: SFGate
Disneyland visitors are often overwhelmed with entertainment choices, and the planning involved to secure a spot for these spectacular shows. To make matters worse, the number of Disneyland Resort guests has grown exponentially in recent years and crowds seem willing to wait hours for prime viewing. Between the two all-new nighttime spectaculars, the classic
Visiting Without The Kids Here Are Some Attractions To Ride
Dateline: January 1, 2023
Status: Current
Source: newsbreak.com
Adult-only Disney days are something I regularly look forward to! There 's nothing better than strolling through with my favorite person, coffee in hand enjoying the sights and sounds of the Parks. If you are planning an adult-only Disney day, here are the best rides at Disneyland without the kids.
1. Buzz Astro
Challenge your partner to see
Baymax To Fly Over Castle During New Fireworks Show
Dateline: December 22, 2022
Status: Current
Source: sbsun.com
A massive Baymax figure in winged armor from “Big Hero 6” will fly over Sleeping Beauty Castle during the new “Wondrous Journeys” fireworks show coming to Disneyland for the Disney100 anniversary celebrating a century of Disney animation.
Baymax will soar high above the Disneyland castle during the new nighttime spectacular in a thrilling moment of
Disneyland Has Never Been More Expensive Here Are Some Cheaper Ways To Visit
Dateline: July 3, 2022
Status: Current
Source: SFGate
Planning a trip to Disneyland has never been more expensive. Ticket prices are way up and inflation and eye-watering gas prices have made every aspect of a vacation pricier. Taking a family of four to Disneyland will never be “cheap,” but there are little ways to trim your budget to make it slightly easier to manage. We 've gathered some of our favorite tips and
23 Rides That Have Shut Down And The Surprising Reasons Why
Dateline: July 1, 2022
Status: Current
Source: insider.com
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).
Yippie Invasion And Other Acts Of Activism In The Happiest Place On Earth
Dateline: June 7, 2022
Status: Current
Source: kcet.org
"A People 's Guide to Orange County" is an alternative tour guide that documents sites of oppression, resistance, struggle and transformation in Orange County, California. The following series of stories explores moments of resistance and social activism despite Orange County's reputation for its conservatism.
"The happiest place on earth" has been a space
Can You Teach An Old Theme Park New Tricks
Dateline: April 9, 2022
Status: Current
Source: SFGate
As much as it might be nice to think otherwise, we 're all basically creatures of habit. We choose the same foods over and over, drive the same routes to the same places, sit in the same spots even when there are other options.
It 's no different at Disneyland. Those of us who visit the park frequently tend to fall into the same patterns every time. Maybe we
Pirates Of The Caribbean Closes Till Summer 2022
Dateline: March 14, 2022
Status: Current
Source: parksavers.com
Starting today the New Orleans attraction at Disneyland Park will close until summer of 2022. Guests viewing the app can see the “Closed for Refurbishment” with the following statement, “Pirates of the Caribbean will be closed for refurbishment beginning March 14, 2022 and is expected to reopen early summer 2022.”
Disney has stated that the attraction is
12 Essential Tips For Enjoying Disneyland On A Rainy Day
Dateline: December 23, 2021
Status: Current
Source: Orange County Register
A day at Disneyland is usually fun in the sun thanks to Southern California 's reputation for year-round sunshine - unless you happen to show up at the theme park on one of the two dozen days when it rains each year on average in Anaheim.
A series of storms headed for Southern California are expected to bring showers to the region over the next two weeks,
Canoe Down The Rivers Of America
Dateline: October 10, 2021
Status: Current
Source: thekingdominsider.com
Insiders, did you know you could canoe down the Rivers of America at Disneyland Resort? If not, or if you did and have yet to experience it, you are in for a treat! Davy Crockett 's Explorer Canoes gives you the chance to paddle down the most famous river at Disneyland on a grand oar-venture all the way around Pirate 's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island. This attraction is a
We Are Going To Liberate Minnie Mouse The Day Yippies Invaded And Shut Down The Park
Dateline: January 15, 2021
Status: Current
Source: SFGate
Before the pandemic shuttered Disneyland in March, there had only been a few days that the park had unplanned closures: the day after John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, after the Northridge earthquake in 1994, and after 9/11. But there was another day, in 1970, when Disneyland was overtaken by protesters, whose number and fury - about Minnie Mouse and miniskirts -
How 50 Attractions Could Change When The Parks Reopen
Dateline: August 1, 2020
Status: Current
Source: Orange County Register
Virtually every Disneyland ride and attraction will change in some way to accommodate the new normal of COVID-19 health and safety protocols when the Anaheim theme parks reopen following an extended coronavirus closure.
Visitors returning to Disneyland will find social distancing measures stretching from attraction queues to the rides themselves with
Halt Construction During Coronavirus Closure
Dateline: March 23, 2020
Status: Current
Source: Orange County Register
Disney has halted construction on the Avengers Campus themed land at Disney California Adventure and Mickey and Minnie 's Runaway Railway dark ride at Disneyland during the coronavirus closures of the Anaheim theme parks.
In line with direction from government and health officials, the temporary closure of Disneyland Resort includes construction sites, Disney
These Are The Best Places To Eat Right Now
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Dateline: October 4, 2019
Status: Archive
Source: thrillist.com
A while back we ranked every single place to eat inside Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. But times have drastically changed in the Southern California House of Mouse thanks to the addition of Star Wars Galaxy 's Edge, and it will continue to morph with the just-announced Avengers Campus. And that means that the food items, too, have changed.
Did You Know
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Dateline: September 18, 2019
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
1. The Elliot float in the “Main Street Electrical Parade” is the tallest in the parade.
FALSE: The clock tower in the “Cinderella” sequence of the parade is the tallest float at 18½ feet. Elliot measures 16 feet tall.
2. The Super Hero-themed land coming to Disney California Adventure park will be called Avengers Campus.
TRUE:
Being A Tour Guide In The 60s Led To Many Surprises
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Dateline: September 17, 2019
Status: Archive
Source: Orange Coast Magazine
In 1964, I was a freshman at USC and worked as a Disneyland tour guide on breaks. Park visitors could spend $5 then for a half-day guided tour rather than $3.95 for a book of ride tickets. Those attending a tour would cluster around a girl in a red plaid skirt and blue velvet cap who held her riding crop high so you never lost sight of her and who could walk backward
Haunted Mansion 50th Anniversary Celebration Inside Special Event
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Dateline: August 16, 2019
Status: Archive
Source: SlashFilm
I couldn 't have been older than six or seven years old when I first stepped foot inside The Haunted Mansion. Even at that young age I was already attracted to scary stuff, so on my first trip to Disneyland, I was drawn more to the creepy house in the middle of New Orleans Square than I was to the flying Dumbos or spinning tea cups.
I 'm not one of those
My Sordid Disneyland Past Confessions Of A Magic Kingdom Popcorn Man
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Dateline: May 31, 2019
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Times
I really want to not care about Galaxy 's Edge. All the hype, all the lines, all the money.
The last time I was in Disneyland I couldn 't wait to leave. It was so crowded. I felt so old. I am a baby boomer, the real kind. I quit the football team after I read the Beats, protested Vietnam, fled to San Francisco. I lived next door to the Grateful Dead in the
Rare Walt Disney 20000 Leagues Under The Sea Personal Presentation Nautilus To Be Auctioned
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Dateline: April 27, 2019
Status: Archive
Source: PR NewsWire
700 Items to Auction in One Day
Van Eaton Galleries has announced The Art of Entertainment, a pop culture & Disneyland auction taking place May 4, 2019 beginning at 10:00 a.m. PT at Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks, California. A striking item included in the collection is a very rare, one-of-a-kind original presentation Nautilus used by Walt Disney in 1954 to
20 Best Places To Rest With Kids
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Dateline: January 27, 2019
Status: Archive
Source: travelpulse.com
Disneyland is a magical place filled with excitement and a ton of things to do. After walking around all day, your feet and your kids' feet will most likely start to hurt, and everyone is going to need a little break from the warm California weather. But where to go? There are plenty of places across Disneyland and Disney California Adventure for a break-places like
12 Essential Tips For Enjoying Disneyland In The Rain
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Dateline: January 16, 2019
Status: Archive
Source: Pasadena Star-News
A day at Disneyland is usually fun in the sun thanks to Southern California's reputation for year-round sunshine - unless you happen to show up at the theme park on one of the 23 days when it rains each year on average in Anaheim.
This will go down as one of the rainiest weeks of the year in Anaheim, with the forecast calling for showers stretching into the weekend.
24 Surprising Things About Disneyland We Did Not Know But Should
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Dateline: December 2, 2018
Status: Archive
Source: thetravel.com
Disneyland is said to be the "Happiest Place on Earth." For one day (or several depending on your trip schedule) people of all ages from toddlers to seniors can have fun, let loose and become a kid again. It's a place filled with magic, music, your favourite characters and rides to fit whatever you're in the mood for.
It opened its doors on July 17, 1955, and was the
Walt Disneys First Ever Map Of Disneyland Revealed
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Dateline: March 23, 2018
Status: Archive
Source: Readers Digest
Back when Disney products were to be watched, not experienced, Walt Disney had a vision: a theme park that felt like stepping into a magical new place. Now, we can finally witness Walt's first dream.
Before construction could start, Walt needed funding. He and his friend Herb Ryman put their heads together and mapped out their dream for the Disneyland that was still
8 Things From Disneyland’s Past That Need To Come Back
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Dateline: January 16, 2018
Status: Archive
Source: Mercury News
With Disneyland kicking off its retro-inspired "After Dark" event this week, here are eight things from Disneyland's past that I wish I could see return to the park someday.
Helicopter rides from the airport - Yes, you once could fly in a helicopter from LAX straight to the Disneyland Hotel, soaring above Southern California's notoriously traffic-choked freeways.
12 Fun Things You May Not Know About Disneyland
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Dateline: December 26, 2017
Status: Archive
Source: Mercury News
Test your Disney trivia mojo here. How many of these items do you already know?
1. King Arthur Carousel. The lead horse on the iconic Fantasyland carousel is named Jingles. Walt Disney wanted all horses on the carousel, and he wanted them all to be leaping, so when a classic carousel was purchased, it was supplemented with other horses and those that had straight
Here Is Everything We Know So Far About New Star Wars Attraction
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Dateline: October 20, 2017
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Magazine
It's no secret that the 2019 opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is perhaps the most anticipated expansion in Disney history. But until Disneyland's Comic-Con-like D23 convention, little was known about it. Galaxy's Edge (don't call it Star Wars Land) is supposed to represent a remote outpost never seen in any Star Wars film. Yet between its Tatooine and Naboo-inspired
Do Not Tell Mickey The Yippies Are Coming Sunglasses After Dark The Untold Yippie Project Comes To New York City Stage
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Dateline: August 8, 2017
Status: Archive
Source: Huffington Post
Who were the "Yippies"? They were the self-proclaimed "radical offspring of the hippie movement": members of the Youth International Party, which was formed in 1967. With their rule-breaking fashion sensibility, progressive ideas, and unapologetic affinity for drugs and free love, they became a scapegoat for the so-called "Establishment"- an insult to good, clean,
Disneyland Return Railroad And River Attractions
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Dateline: July 30, 2017
Status: Archive
Source: NBC Los Angeles
The building of a space port in a galaxy that happens to be located far, far away doesn't normally prevent an earthbound train from traveling the route it has run along for decades. The port is somewhere deep in the cosmos, light years from this planet, while the train tracks? They've been placed on terra firma, and the engine that toot-toots along them will never be
Fantasmic Drops Old Favorites For New Stars
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Dateline: July 25, 2017
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Times
Disneyland faced a daunting challenge with the remake of the 25-year-old "Fantasmic" nighttime spectacular: How do you update a beloved modern classic without alienating its die-hard fans?
The Anaheim theme park has succeeded with a retooled show that largely hews to the original story line with just a sprinkling of new characters and technological flourishes.
Disney Parks Want Us To Escape Reality But Real-World Conflicts Are Sometimes Unavoidable
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Dateline: July 13, 2017
Status: Archive
Source: americamagazine.org
On June 29, Disney announced that as part of its ongoing renovation of old attractions, it would be removing the "wench auction" scene from its popular Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
Many people online have expressed outrage. "Never have any of these wonderful scenes ever made me think of negative things!" wrote one fan on the Disney Parks Blog. Another posted, "I
Big Thunder Trail Reopens With New Features
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Dateline: June 8, 2017
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
It is now easier to get from Frontierland to Fantasyland at Disneyland, or vice-versa.
The theme park on Thursday, June 8, reopened its Big Thunder Trail that connects the two lands to the public, after being closed since early 2016. The trail was shut down so it could be revised, with new rock work, and themed decorations related to Disneyland's construction of the
Water Flows Back Into Rivers Of America At Disneyland
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Dateline: May 7, 2017
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Disneyland workers opened the valves and started filling the northern portion of the Rivers of America in Frontierland with water Friday.
That portion of the waterway was dammed off and drained early in 2016 as part of the "Star Wars" land project. The route for the river was also changed to allow more room for the new land, which opens in 2019.
Disneyland
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 10
Dateline: January 9, 2017
Status: Current
Source: MickeyMousePark.com
"I know it's here somewhere"
I'm not sure if that's exactly what was said upon first sight of where the Rivers of America used to be, but I'm sure it was something similar. Maybe with a little more salt. A lot of the excavation for the layout of the park revolved around removing existing trees and vegetation, digging out what would be the basin for the riverbed that
Back To The Old West
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Dateline: November 19, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: MickeyMousePark.com
If it was in the West, it's here. The Mark Twain Riverboat docks at the aptly named Mark Twain Landing in Frontierland.
The first train ride, apart from the Disneyland Railroad, was the Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland, opening in 1960; the Mine Train closed in 1977, and Big Thunder Mountain opened two years later. The two rides could not be more different. The
Halloween Season Is Also Refurbishment Season At Disneyland
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Dateline: September 27, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
The Jack O'Lanterns have taken over Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland as the Halloween season is in full force. But along with Halloween comes the other major part of autumn at Disneyland, refurbishments.
Scrims were up on a variety of shops and attractions throughout the parks and Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort.
Even the Downtown Disney parking area
Rivers Of Fun
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Dateline: September 17, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: MickeyMousePark.com
The Rivers of America is as old as Disneyland, with the Mark Twain Riverboat as its only attraction (with the dry docks for refurbishments), though Mike Fink Keel Boats would open in December that same year. The Rivers and all green waters in the park are interconnected underground, allowing the water to naturally filter and de-stagnate the way a lake would. They act as a
Disneyland And Imagineering Part 8
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Dateline: August 16, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: MickeyMousePark.com
Picture this
You're an artistic designer;
You're scheduled to attend a design meeting for a project you drew the design that "greenlighted" the project you're currently working on;
Deadlines are rapidly approaching;
And in walks your boss
He looks concerned -- something between worried and extremely serious;
He opens the meeting and begins
Progress On Star Wars Land And A New Starbucks Opens At Downtown Disney
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Dateline: August 2, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
The forces of the Empire and Rebellion are still working on "Star Wars" land at Disneyland as a variety of retaining walls and other concrete foundations began appearing in the construction zone.
Meanwhile, Disney announced the formal start of construction for the new parking structure that will be built east of Harbor Boulevard, near the Santa Ana Freeway. It will
Whats Up At Disneyland Tall Walls Hide Work On Star Wars Land And 400 Disney Emojis Released
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Dateline: July 19, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Tall walls were going up in the area under construction for "Star Wars" land at Disneyland during the week leading up to the park's 61st anniversary on July 17.
While Bothan spies were attempting to find out what the walls are all about, they were able to secure a copy of an artist's concept painting of what the new land will look like and put a copy of it on a fence
This Is How Disneyland Changed In The 2000s
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Dateline: July 17, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
The new century started out with few changes inside Disneyland, as the company was focused on big changes outside the park, but things would liven up as the century progressed.
2000
Parking at Disneyland changed with the opening of the Mickey & Friends parking structure on the land that was a strawberry farm for decades. The more than 10,000-space structure was
This Is How Disneyland Changed From 1956 To 1959
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Dateline: July 14, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
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
This Is How Disneyland Looked In The 1970s
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Dateline: July 14, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
The seventies at Disneyland started with an invasion, then went into space, and ended with a wild ride in the frontier.
Unfortunately for Disneyland, the riots that had been happening in cities across America during the latter half of the sixties and some of the protesters turned their attention to Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom. On Aug. 6, 1970, the Yippies (an
Inspiration For Disneyland Rides Came From Towns Across America
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Dateline: June 9, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Did you know that you could find Disneyland in Colorado? And in Arizona, Texas, Missouri and Louisiana?
I was driving my daughter back from college last week and we found a little bit of Walt Disney World in Wyoming, too. Real-life landmarks around the nation have inspired many of the sights familiar to Disney theme park fans. If you know where to look, you can put
Disneyland Begins Draining Rivers Of America As Prep For Star Wars Land Continues
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Dateline: March 9, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
The water was lower by about four feet in the northern half of the Rivers of America at Disneyland Wednesday afternoon, as the park started to drain it so it could start work on re-routing the river and more.
The water is being recycled, according to Suzi Brown, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman.
"All the resort's water is sent to the Orange County Water District
As Disneyland Prepares For Star Wars Land It Is Saving Trees That Could Be In The Way
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Dateline: February 5, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Since the preparation for "Star Wars" land started at Disneyland, the sound of chainsaws can be heard around the northern end of Disneyland's Rivers of America, and when they are silent, the sounds of workers digging with shovels take over.
The chainsaws are removing trees in the way of the new land where the work started in January. The shovels are digging up trees
Disneyland Has Stopped Offering 13 Minutes Of Tranquility
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Dateline: January 22, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: Boing Boing
People going to amusement parks in the post World War II boom times of the early 1950s were looking for fast, not slow; they wanted to be thrilled, not dropped into a peaceful and pastoral setting. But that's just what Walt Disney gave them in The Rivers of America. From the moment Walt Disney began to think about what would eventually become "Disneyland," he conceived of
Peek Into Disneyland's Dead Man’s Grotto
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Dateline: January 21, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: Boing Boing
Among the attractions that will vanish for at least 18 months during the construction of the new land devoted to Star Wars, there's a good chance that at least one, located on Tom Sawyer Island, might not return: Dead Man's Grotto.
After the enormous (and unexpected) success of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, the folks at Walt Disney Imagineering began
Getting To Disneyland Star Wars Land Needs To Be Magical
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Dateline: January 9, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
As the final scheduled day for the Rivers of America attractions at Disneyland comes to an end, it marks the closing of Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, the Mark Twain Riverboat, Sailing Ship Columbia and Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes and "Fantasmic!" for more than a year. Also included in the closures is the Disneyland Railroad.
All of this is so that Disney can
Dangerous Disneyland Mental Fatigue Part 1
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Dateline: January 6, 2016
Status: Archive
Source: MickeyMousePark.com
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
Disneyland To Close Some Attractions To Build Star Wars Land
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Dateline: December 26, 2015
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Times
To make way for "Star Wars," Disneyland is about to launch its largest expansion ever, which means shutting down a significant chunk of the Anaheim theme park.
In January, 10 attractions and eateries will close - some temporarily, some permanently - only a few months after the resort hiked the price of annual passes as much as 31%. This spring, Disneyland's biggest
58 Ways Star Wars Land Is Changing Disneyland
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Dateline: November 5, 2015
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Magazine
The Walt Disney Company recently announced that an entirely new land based on the Star Wars universe would be coming to Disneyland, likely in 2019. The 14-acre mini universe will feature two major new rides and other attractions including a restaurant based on the Mos Eisley cantina in the films. I'm not a big Star Wars aficionado, but I hear that the designers working on
Neat Facts About Disneyland Rivers Of America
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Dateline: October 25, 2015
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Disneyland fans have just a couple more months to enjoy Frontierland's Rivers of America before Disney closes it, and all its related attractions, for more than a year to make way for the construction of Star Wars Land.
So let's honor Disneyland's Rivers of America with some fun facts that you might not know about this section of the park.
On a personal note,
10 Scary Legendary Ghost Tales Of Disneyland Haunts
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Dateline: October 19, 2015
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
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
Why Star Wars Land Is Being Added To Disneyland
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Dateline: October 18, 2015
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Star Wars Land won't open at Disneyland for several years, but construction will start bringing changes to the park soon after the New Year. The changes Star Wars Land is bringing to Disneyland reflect much more than the addition of a wildly popular entertainment franchise to a wildly popular theme park; they represent a cultural shift that is affecting theme parks across
Disneyland Ride Review Full Steam Ahead On The Mark Twain
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Dateline: October 16, 2015
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Engine room, full speed ahead. The bell clangs and the steam whistle blows as you embark on a journey aboard the Mark Twain Riverboat, one of Disneyland's opening day attractions still around. It will take you on a journey on the Rivers of America in Frontierland, nearly identical to the one visitors to the park encountered in 1955.
As the steam-powered paddle
8 More Unanswered Questions About Star Wars Land
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Dateline: October 1, 2015
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Times
Disney raised even more questions with the recent announcement of plans to temporarily close the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island and the Disneyland Railroad to allow for construction of Star Wars Land.
Here's what we know so far: The new 14-acre land will feature two attractions set in a remote frontier town on the outer rim of the "Star Wars" galaxy. While no
What It Takes To Run Mark Twain Riverboat
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Dateline: September 24, 2015
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
A few years ago, The Orange County Register was allowed to spend some time with the crew on board the Mark Twain Riverboat.
Many of the attractions at Disneyland are operated with the push of a button, but the Mark Twain Riverboat is not one of them.
Just like the locomotives of the Disneyland Railroad, the Mark Twain needs steam to power its paddlewheel and a
Disneyland 60 Things You Might Not Know About The Magic Kingdom
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Dateline: July 17, 2015
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Times
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
Growing Up In Disneyland
Dateline: July 12, 2015
Status: Current
Source: MickeyMousePark.com
Don DeFore's Silver Banjo Barbecue Restaurant in Frontierland
Disneyland fans who have enjoyed the park numerous times might say they too "grew up in Disneyland." But my family's story is a bit different. Our Mom loved to quote us kids saying, "gee, do we have to go to Disneyland again? Such was the case in the early years of the Park when Dad owned a restaurant in
Fair Or Foul Disneyland's Fantasmic Moving To Fastpass System Means No More Saving Spots
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Dateline: December 10, 2014
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
A manhole cover between New Orleans Square and the Rivers of America marks the spot.
Once or twice a week around 6 p.m., Janey Ellis and her husband, Patrick Arlt, both 26 of Orange, set down a "Nightmare Before Christmas" blanket near this manhole along the banks of the Rivers of America at Disneyland.
They grab to-go dinners from a nearby restaurant, sit
What Was Disneyland Like In 1968
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Dateline: October 22, 2014
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Magazine
While Disneyland is technically and geographically not even in Los Angeles County, it has been a big part of the L.A. lifestyle dating back to the 1950s. A fine pictorial map created by Sam McKim in 1968 shows the Magic Kingdom during a year when the park as most vintage Angelenos know it was in place and making indelible memories.
Baby Boomers can mark stages of
World War II Veteran's Wife Was Disney's Secretary During 1950s
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Dateline: January 9, 2014
Status: Archive
Source: Desert Sun
When my colleague Denise Goolsby was interviewing a World War II veteran not long ago, she couldn't wait to tell me that his wife, Dorothy Wrigley, had been Walt Disney's secretary for five years during the 1950s. She was there for the development, building and opening of Disneyland - and so much more.
Being able to sit down with her and talk about Walt and the
Disneyland For Dads
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Dateline: April 29, 2013
Status: Archive
Source: Metro World
In the land of Disney, princess always reigned supreme. However, though Sleeping Beauty's Castle, the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and those ever-popular princesses may get a lot of the attention, Disneyland and California Adventure offer a pixie dust-less world for the guys in your life too - all in time for Father's Day in June.
Cars Land
Route 66 comes to life
Have A Relaxing Disneyland Staycation
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Dateline: April 5, 2013
Status: Archive
Source: CBS
Disneyland used to be a "one and done" visit a one-day rush through Disneyland with a pit stop at California Adventure for a couple of favorite rides and then home. That's almost impossible to do now as the new-and-improved California Adventure with Cars Land is a destination itself and Disneyland continues to add new attractions and shows. These days, stay a night or
California vs. Paris: Rivers of America
Dateline: February 9, 2013
Status: Current
Source: MickeyMousePark.com
I learned something today.
My comparison article for January 2013 was always going to be about the Rivers of America in Anaheim's Disneyland Park, and its counterpart in Disneyland Paris.
However, until perhaps five minutes ago, I had assumed that the Paris equivalent was also called Rivers of America. Turns out, it's the Rivers of the Far West.
Whilst it
Disneyland Day Every Day For This Couple
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Dateline: December 31, 2012
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
At 8 a.m. today, Tonya Mickesh and Jeff Reitz were to go through the entrance turnstiles to Disneyland for the 366th day in a row. It's a journey that's seen them spend 24 hours in the park for the 24-hour Leap Day, watch baby ducks grow up, and go from unemployed to full-time jobs while becoming nationally known as the "everyday Disneyland couple."
"It was a way
California vs. Paris: Frontierland
Dateline: November 7, 2012
Status: Current
Source: MickeyMousePark.com
Looking back at the articles I have written comparing the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris) I realize that the only Land in the Paris version of Disneyland Park which I haven't covered in any detail yet is Frontierland. [The only elements of this Land I have looked at, to date, are Tom Sawyer Island and the Railroad].
With regards to Anaheim,
12 Unique And Magical Memories To Be Made At Disneyland
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Dateline: August 8, 2012
Status: Archive
Source: Babble.com
When visiting Disney, many families head straight for the E-ticket rides, from Space Mountain to the Matterhorn to Dumbo. But in doing so they not only spend a whole lot of time in long lines, but they miss out on so many magical moments and memories that can be made at the "happiest place on earth.' Though these attractions are less popular, they are just as special and
A Few Nuggets About Disneyland As It Turns 56
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Dateline: July 15, 2011
Status: Archive
Source: silive.com
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
As Disneyland Turns 56, Walt Disney's Daughter Reminisces
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Dateline: July 14, 2011
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Imagine growing up in a family surrounded by cartoon characters, a miniature steam train, Academy Awards and theme parks.
Diane Disney Miller did. Her dad was Walt Disney.
"He was always fun to be with him to walk around with him was fun," Miller said.
While their father was a workaholic, one day a week was her and sister Sharon's day.
"He would
A Brief History Of Disneyland, An American Classic
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Dateline: July 5, 2011
Status: Archive
Source: breitbart.com
"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.
Disneyland Prepares For The Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Premiere
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Dateline: May 6, 2011
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Times
A 3-D screen on Tom Sawyer Island, food for 2,000 people, musical acts it takes a seaworthy crew.
For the last few weeks, after Disneyland has closed its gates for the night, a team of workers, including eight divers, has labored through into the morning in Frontierland and New Orleans Square, ferrying building materials to Tom Sawyer Island and sinking support
Pirates Premiere Has Disneyland Scurrying Many Scallywags Expected
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Dateline: May 4, 2011
Status: Archive
Source: Examiner
If you plan on going to Disneyland, then plan on massive crowds this week. On Tuesday the final preparations for what is expected to be the biggest premiere yet are currently under way with the completion of the giant screen. The Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is taking sail at the Disneyland Resort and scallywags from cities (and islands) far away are planning to attend the
22,000 Expected At Disneyland 'Pirates' Premiere
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Dateline: May 4, 2011
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Disneyland plans to set up 20,000 bleacher seats for fans who want to watch celebrity arrivals, including possibly Johnny Depp, for the "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" premiere Saturday.
Another 2,000 invited guests, stars and ticket holders only are allowed to watch the "Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides" premiere along the Rivers of America.
Fans can
14 Venues, Show Temporarily Close In Disney Parks
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Dateline: May 2, 2011
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Disneyland Resort parks have 14 venues and one show that are temporarily closed during May, mostly for major makeovers or special events.
Many of the projects are ending this month as the two parks -- Disneyland and Disney California Adventure -- prepare for the summer season.
Along Disneyland's Rivers of America, four attractions and the Fantasmic! Show are
Disneyland Closes Attractions For Pirates Premiere
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Dateline: April 28, 2011
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Disneyland this week temporarily closed five attractions as the park prepares for next week's celebrity-studded premiere of the upcoming "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" movie.
Crews are building a screen and seating along Rivers of America for the outdoor viewing May 7 of "Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides" for celebrities, invited guests and ticket holders.
Date Line Disney 74
Dateline: February 1, 2011
Status: Current
Source: MickeyMousePark.com
Hello friends, I'm back for another personal look at Disneyland from my distorted perspective, Dateline 1974. Yes the days of bell bottom jeans, bun hugger pants and tight 501's. Tight? (You mean you guys wore your pants tight back then?) Yes son "tight" not loose and down not to our knees like you guys do today. Wow, totally gross Dad. Without argument, I just chalk it
Graveyards At Disneyland Weird Finds At The Happiest Place On Earth
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Dateline: December 7, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: AOL News
You may be distracted by the holiday lights and decorations at Disneyland this time of year, but if you look closely, lots of weird secrets are waiting to be discovered all over the iconic amusement park.
Strodder told AOL News that one of his weirdest discoveries while researching Disneyland was finding out just how many graveyards are actually scattered throughout the
Disney Receives Award For Saving Water
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Dateline: November 2, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
The Disneyland Resort will receive an award for reducing storm-water runoff during a ceremony Tuesday (today).
The California Stormwater Quality Association plans to honor Disney during its sixth-annual awards luncheon in Rancho Mirage. Disney is among five recipients of the award and the only one from Orange County.
The resort created a program to cut down on
Marvelous Mechanized Magic Kingdom
Dateline: October 1, 2010
Status: Current
Source: MickeyMousePark.com
About five or six months ago I received an e-mail from the 1313 Club & Ape Pen Publishing Informing me of an event to take place at the Disneyland Hotel. The event, "The Marvelous Mechanized Magic Kingdom" was to feature the talents and stories of current and former employees and imagineers as they worked for Walt over the years. The 1313 Club and Ape Pen are both are
Preteen Activities At Disneyland
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Dateline: September 30, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: helium.com
Preteens are a little easier to handle at Disneyland, but sometimes not much. They are not really babies anymore, but not quite ready to let go of all the "baby" activities. This can make them a great age to take to Disneyland. They are big enough to go on most of the roller coasters, yet still young enough to enjoy everything else.
To start off your day with a
Disneyland At 55 Still A Marvel In Southern California
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Dateline: September 25, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: sandiego.com
Disneyland, which celebrated its 55th birthday in July, drew more than 1,300 rabid devotees to a two-day, sometimes irreverant, sometimes reverential convention starting Friday at the Disneyland Hotel.
Being a Disney fan, I was there, feverishly taking notes in the dark as "Disney Legends," men and women who made Disneyland what it is today, pop singers and
Disneyland Resumes Sales Of Wooden Toy Guns
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Dateline: August 10, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Disneyland recently began selling wooden toy guns again, about nine years after pulling them off of store shelves.
Disney officials decided to resume sales of the toy guns, which are now orange and green, because of customers' requests, said Betsy Sanchez, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman.
Disneyland had continued selling plastic guns, including space-like and
Happy Birthday, Disneyland
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Dateline: July 16, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: silive.com
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
An Ode To A Bygone Disneyland
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Dateline: July 10, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Times
"I'm not Disney-obsessed, but I never discount the effect it had on me as a child," says the pop-culture humorist and author, best known for blending comedy and commentary in shows based on other people's family and vacation slides. "It helped make me a visual person in terms of recognizing motifs and themes. I like to say I studied at the Disneyland School of Style."
Disneyland Offering Plenty Of Old West Fun for Summer Visitors
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Dateline: June 1, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: oldwestnewwest.com
Take a bit of the Old West, mix in a hair-raising thrill ride or two, and what do you get? A great way to have fun on this year's family summer vacation.
For 2010 Disneyland offers great combinations of fun rides and touches of Western heritage for the family.
Here's a quick run down of what's going on at the park for this summer season.
Disneyland
Behind-The-Scenes Look At Disneyland's New River
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Dateline: May 6, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Disneyland's main waterway has always been called the Rivers of America, but it wasn't clear what the name meant.
"We've never even named the rivers," said Kim Irvine, art director of Walt Disney Imagineering.
For the first time, the body of water around Tom Sawyer Island will have distinct sections designed to look like four U.S. river regions: the Mississippi,
Disneyland Begins Refilling Rivers Monday
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Dateline: May 3, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Disneyland started refilling the Rivers of America Monday that has been empty for four months by using a unique water-recycling process.
Crews turned on the water shortly after 9 a.m., said Betsy Sanchez, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman.
Disney emptied the waterway surrounding Tom Sawyer Island starting Jan. 4 for a rehabilitation and upgrade project. The
After Dark The Dirty Work At Disneyland Begins
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Dateline: May 2, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Times
A crew of 600 custodians, painters, gardeners and decorators works 365 nights a year to ensure that the 85-acre park meets Walt Disney's squeaky-clean ideals.
When the last Jungle Cruise boat docks for the night and lights fade to black on Sleeping Beauty's Castle, the real work begins.
At lush Pixie Hollow, gardeners don miner's headlamps as they begin
Guess What's At Bottom Of Disneyland River
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Dateline: April 30, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Disneyland last drained its Rivers of America seven years ago, so workers found a lot of accumulated stuff when it emptied the green-dyed waterway in January.
But the most unusual item by far was a computer tower, said Dan Chambers, a project manager at Disneyland. Workers are unsure how the plastic box for plugs and discs got in the water path around Tom Sawyer
8 Great Tips For Enjoying Disneyland, Despite The Crowds
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Dateline: April 5, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: SWRNN.com
For Southern Californians and thousands of lucky Southwest Riverside residents Disneyland is a conveniently close source of fun and fantasy. But, with well over 14 million guests visiting the park each year, the masses have a way of overwhelming even the most die-hard Disney fans.
So, you're going to Disneyland. For millions across the world, it is the happiest
Disney Drains River Changes Shows This Week
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Dateline: January 4, 2010
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
With the holiday season ending Sunday, the Disneyland Resort is closing attractions and switching shows for the slower season starting this week.
Today, Disneyland plans to begin draining the Rivers of America for the first time since 2003 for refurbishment.
All river attractions will be closed until May: Mark Twain Riverboat, Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island,
Disneyland's River Set To Be Drained
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Dateline: December 9, 2009
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Right after the holiday season, visitors to Disneyland will find a dry Rivers of America.
That's right, dry.
The river is scheduled to be drained beginning Jan. 4 and won't be filled up again until May, according to officials with the theme park.
While the river is drained, many Disney fans would like to see something done to add some new life to the Rivers
Fantasmic!
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Dateline: October 15, 2009
Status: Archive
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Part of the fun of a trip to Disneyland is watching its version of "Fantasmic!" At Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, "Fantasmic!" plays in a specially built theater, but at Disneyland it just takes place in the middle of the park. Guests watch from Frontierland across the Rivers of America. The show is staged on Tom Sawyer's Island.
Yes, that leads to some odd
Top 5 Most Avoidable Disneyland Deaths
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Dateline: August 20, 2009
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Alright, fine: So it's a little morbid, but since the park's grand opening in 1955, a few hiccups have happened during Disneyland's reign as the Happiest Place on Earth-nine of them, to be exact. Which, statistically speaking, isn't all that bad. We guess.
All but one of the fatalities to take place within Disneyland property lines can be attributed to guest
Memorable Meeting With Man Behind The Mouse
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Dateline: August 17, 2009
Status: Archive
Source: bakersfield.com
For a kid growing up in the '50s, "The Mickey Mouse Club" was required TV viewing. Even as an adult, whenever anyone sings "M-I-C-K-E-Y" it's hard for me to resist finishing the chorus. Come on, you know you want to.
I grew up in a small town near Sonora in the Mother Lode country, and every Christmas vacation we traveled to Los Angeles to stay with relatives.
Disneyland Still A Blast, For All Ages
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Dateline: July 22, 2009
Status: Archive
Source: Free Lance-Star
A spectacular fireworks show still lights up the sky over the Fantasyland castle every night at Disneyland in California.
THE DISNEY "cast members" (known more commonly as park employees) were directing one-way pedestrian traffic around the Disneyland square as if it were rush hour on Interstate 95.
In the distance, the banner over Fantasyland's castle waved
Kodak's Photo Spots At Disneyland: Perfect Memory Pictures
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Dateline: June 21, 2009
Status: Archive
Source: Examiner
Click! Your perfect picture memory is only a shot away when you go to the Disneyland Park.
While you probably will take a least 100 pictures of the kids on attractions, standing next to characters and the vacation pose that's the kids smiling ear to ear, but there are special spots for a traditional pictures.
These spots are called 'Kodak's Photo Spots.' Located
Club 33 The Best Place To Enjoy A Mint Julep At Disneyland
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Dateline: May 24, 2009
Status: Archive
Source: Examiner
One of Disneyland's worst-kept secrets is the existence of a private club located in the heart of New Orleans Square. Named Club 33, this exclusive restaurant is located behind a small door adjacent to the Blue Bayou Restaurant, not far from the exit of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
Even though Disneyland's New Orleans Square recently spruced up its popular mint
Family Memories Are Worth The Expense Of Disneyland
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Dateline: April 3, 2009
Status: Archive
Source: The Canadian Press
One of things I remember most about my childhood excursion to the Happiest Place on Earth was the agonizingly long drive.
My dad hated to fly, so we all piled into a big blue van and spent several days cruising U.S. highways as we made our way to Disneyland.
To say my dad gets a little stressed in big-city traffic is to say Moses went on a little camping trip.
Disneyland Most Dizzying In Anaheim
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Dateline: December 14, 2008
Status: Archive
Source: nydailynews.com
"Are you in good health?" asks Olivia, my 9-year-old niece. We're waiting in line for the Hollywood Tower of Terror, which she says is the scariest ride at Disney's California Adventure, the theme park that opened next door to Disneyland in 2001.
"I like to think I am," I respond.
"Do you barf easily?"
"No, not really. I recently had a nine-year no-barf
Disneyland California - Always Something New
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Dateline: November 10, 2008
Status: Archive
Source: bellaonline.com
It's been over 30 years since I took my six year old son to Disneyland in Anaheim, California and over 20 years since my last visit. So, when I began thinking about how fun it would be to take my granddaughter there, I had some catching up to do.
For starters, the Disneyland® Resort is now two theme parks in one, Disneyland Park® and Disneyland's California
Im Going to Disneyland
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Dateline: June 16, 2008
Status: Archive
Source: Huffington Post
My wife and I went to Disneyland. Since becoming an adult, this was the first time I was ever there without kids or a joint. No strollers, no giant diaper bags, no getting home and realizing we had left somebody. Also, we had never seen the adjacent California Adventure so we wanted to go before it eventually shuts down or is completely rethought.
We figured: go
The DL On Disneyland
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Dateline: March 4, 2008
Status: Archive
Source: dailynexus.com
After visiting Disney's California Adventure the previous day, head into the park when it opens at eight for shorter lines at those rides you are dying to get on. Sure, the newest ride in the park the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is interesting, but check out some less appreciated aspects of the park. After you have braved the two-hour line (at least) at Nemo, remember
My First Long-Awaited Much Anticipated Wonderful Trip To Disneyland
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Dateline: March 2, 2008
Status: Archive
Source: Deseret Morning News
I had never been to Disneyland. When I was growing up, we watched "The Wonderful World of Disney" TV show and thought it looked like a magical place, but the idea of piling all seven of us into the 1953 Plymouth and heading for California was not something that occurred to us.
I didn't even know anyone who lived in California, and in those days our few vacations were
22 Years And Still Jazzed About Disneyland Gig
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Dateline: January 10, 2008
Status: Archive
Source: Arizona Republic
For 22 years, a group of Arizona State University graduates have held squatters' rights to one of the choicest pieces of real estate on Planet Earth.
The spot: At the bend of the river in Disneyland's New Orleans Square, just across from the Fantasmic! extravaganza on Tom Sawyer's Island.
The grads: The Side Street Strutters, one of American's great Dixieland
Lessons Learned In Disneyland
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Dateline: May 29, 2007
Status: Archive
Source: azcentral.com
We're Disneyland freaks. We love the Matterhorn; Mickey-shaped, chocolate-covered ice cream; and mouse ears with our names embroidered on the back. At least twice a year, we make the trek to the Happiest Place on Earth.
As veteran visitors, we think we know just about everything there is to know about Disneyland. Still, every trip we take note of new lessons. From
Today's Tom Sawyer
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Dateline: May 24, 2007
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Let the lads and lasses loot, plunder and pillage to their hearts' content at Disneyland - if they can get past some scurvy scallywags ready to defend their precious spoils.
Now that facets of old Tom Sawyer Island have gotten the heave-ho, the attraction reopens today with a redesigned "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme meant to boost the aging interactive playground
From Disneyland To The Movies And Back Again
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Dateline: May 22, 2007
Status: Archive
Source: PR NewsWire
A longtime favorite Disneyland Resort attraction is reopening May 25 with new swashbuckling adventures as Captain Jack Sparrow and his gaggle of mates take over Tom Sawyer Island and turn it into their own "Pirate's Lair." The pirates will loot and carouse as they attempt to recruit island guests into their brotherhood of freedom and greed at Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer
Disneyland Transformed For Pirates Premiere
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Dateline: May 21, 2007
Status: Archive
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Teens bursting into tears at the anticipation of seeing Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush conducting interviews with a monkey on his shoulders, and fans chanting "Jer-ry! Jer-ry!" were some of the images seen and heard on the 1,000-foot long red carpet that stretched along Main Street, USA, at Disneyland in Anaheim Saturday at Walt Disney Pictures' premiere of "Pirates of the
Pirates Premieres at Disneyland
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Dateline: May 20, 2007
Status: Archive
Source: ABC
Disneyland closed early Saturday night for the private world premiere of "Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End."
The films in the trilogy are based on one of Disneyland's most popular attractions.
The park will close to regular guests at 5 p.m. to make way for the red carpet, which will stretch down Main Street USA to Frontierland, where the film will be
Live The Pirates Fantasy At Disneyland
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Dateline: May 18, 2007
Status: Archive
Source: Pasadena Star-News
First came the ride. Then came the movie. Then the movie found its way into the ride.
Now pirates will be taking over another part of Disneyland when Pirate's Lair at Tom Sawyer Island opens Friday. All those pirates - including Jack Sparrow, ladies - who have been milling around New Orleans Square singing sea chanties, posing for pictures and insulting tourists as
Only Pinocchio Nose For Sure
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Dateline: May 10, 2007
Status: Archive
Source: The Independent
We weren't even in the park yet when the perjury began.
Giddy with the excitement that only a day at the Magic Kingdom can conjure, my friend told Disneyland's parking attendant that she had given him a $50 bill rather than a $20 - just to watch him squirm.
I apologized to the unfortunately dressed, overweight gentleman and told my friend that she simply
Twenty-Five American Workers Escape The Daily Grind To Live Out Their Dream Job For A Day At Disneyland
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Dateline: April 17, 2007
Status: Archive
Source: PR NewsWire
After nearly 1 million votes, America is sending 25 of their favorite Dream "Job" finalists to Disneyland Resort in June. The most popular videos included a Princess-in-Waiting, who received more than 70,000 votes and a Haunted Mansion Butler/Maid who received nearly 50,000 votes.
Each winner will live out their ultimate Disney Dream "Job" in one of the five
For Sale: Pirates Premiere
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Dateline: April 12, 2007
Status: Archive
Source: USA Today
If you've stashed away a pirate's booty of $1,500, you can book passage to Disneyland's May 19 world premiere for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
Disneyland, the host for all three Pirates premieres, is selling tickets to the public in hopes of raising more than $3 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Twelve hundred tickets will be available, starting today,
Pirates Of The Caribbean Sails Stronger Than Ever After 40 Years
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Dateline: March 19, 2007
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Francis X. Atencio remembers riding with Walt Disney through the dark swamp in Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride before it opened - from haunted caverns to a pirate galleon to a ransacked Caribbean seaport.
He turned to Disney and apologized as they drifted past a bustling marketplace scene, where a pirate auctioned off a woman to a crowd of rowdy
Pirates Invade Tom Sawyer Island
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Dateline: January 27, 2007
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Disneyland officials are saying "Aye!" to pirates, but "Arrr!" to looting Tom Sawyer Island.
Officials announced Friday that live pirate characters and games will become part of Tom Sawyer Island, the classic Disneyland playground designed by Walt Disney himself.
Disney officials also announced plans to open the Toy Story Mania! ride next year in Disney's
Pixar Rides Coming To Disney Theme Parks
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Dateline: January 5, 2007
Status: Archive
Source: contactmusic.com
There was no mention of the much-rumored plan to turn Tom Sawyer's Island into a Pirates of the Caribbean Island, but the Walt Disney Company did outline a number of planned additions to its theme parks that will be based on movies produced by Pixar. Among them will be the "Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage" that will return one of Disneyland's oldest rides to the Anaheim
Landscape Contractor's Talents In Bloom For Disneyland Holiday Opening
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Dateline: November 14, 2006
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
David Bishop is oblivious to the eight live reindeer prancing in the Big Thunder Ranch corral.
Bishop, a lifelong Fullerton, Calif. resident, and his crew worked from 2-7 a.m. Nov. 10 plugging hundreds of red poinsettias and cyclamen into the Frontierland gardens for the 8 a.m. opening of Disneyland's holiday season.
"We had to wait until workers strung all the
Pirates' Sets Sail At Disneyland
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Dateline: June 25, 2006
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
By 5:30 a.m., Shelley Thompson and Caitlin Bruffey were already on a mission at Disneyland - to see Johnny Depp.
The 17-year-old Orange girls, sporting yellow T-shirts stating: "Captain Jack is Back," camped out all day on a blanket along the red carpet for the world premiere of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequel at Disneyland. The park opened early, at 6:30 a.m.,
50 Years Of Disneyland
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Dateline: January 31, 2006
Status: Archive
Source: boxofficemojo.com
Disneyland spokesman Tim O'Day, hired as a parade performer in 1976 and knowledgeable about virtually every Disneyland detail, is practically the grand marshal of the theme park's rich history, including its integration to motion pictures. The co-author of Disneyland: Then, Now and Forever talked with Box Office Mojo about the Happiest Place on Earth.
Box Office
Disneyland From A to Z
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Dateline: January 31, 2006
Status: Archive
Source: boxofficemojo.com
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
Disneyland Marks 50 Years Of Magic
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Dateline: November 26, 2005
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Times
To build his dream theme park a half-century ago, Walt Disney borrowed against his life-insurance policy and cashed in property, including a vacation home in Palm Springs, to pay the $17 million construction bill.When the theme park opened July 17, 1955, on a sweltering day, toilets clogged, the food ran out and women's high heels sank into wet asphalt. Disney officials
50 Things You Didn't Know About Disneyland
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Dateline: November 23, 2005
Status: Archive
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
In honor of Disneyland's 50th anniversary, we present 50 cool, obscure and simply odd things you probably didn't know about the self-proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth. Many were culled from Mouse Tales by David Koenig (Bonaventure, $19.95). Some were provided by Disney archivist Dave Smith, and others came from 101 Things You Never Knew About Disneyland by former park
Disney's Technology Grows Up
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Dateline: October 31, 2005
Status: Archive
Source: Wired News
At the Turtle Talk With Crush exhibit at Disney's California Adventure theme park, Crush the sea turtle makes a cameo like those at the start of most Disney rides. Nothing seems out of the ordinary as the character goes though the script with a cast member, until the Finding Nemo star takes questions from the audience.
"I want to talk to this little dude in the
A Park With A Powerful Spell
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Dateline: July 17, 2005
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Times
Disneyland opened on this day in 1955. For five decades, the Anaheim attraction has worked its magic on our culture and transformed the entertainment industry.
To build his dream theme park in Anaheim a half-century ago, Walt Disney borrowed against his life insurance policy and cashed in property, including a vacation home in Palm Springs, to pay the $17-million
The Big Ooh
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Dateline: July 15, 2005
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Craftsmen must use their hands, heads and hearts to create the rides and inventions that make the park distinctly Disney.
Walt Disney dreamed the idea for Disneyland, but it took an army of innovators to build a place where people could step inside a story.
Disney tapped the best artists and risk-takers in his film studio to transform their two-dimensional
Being Dopey
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Dateline: June 18, 2005
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Times
I just wanted to be Dopey.
While all the other dwarfs clomped around Disneyland in lock-step, Dopey got to dawdle and wander, hamming it up for adoring tourists - especially teenage girls. When it came to the Seven Dwarfs, Dopey was the big draw.
Me? I wore tights and a loincloth, an embarrassing ensemble for a skinny 14-year-old coming of age in the turbulent
1st Disney Park Goes Golden
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Dateline: May 17, 2005
Status: Archive
Source: Sacramento Bee
After half a century, those mad teacups are still spinning, the baby elephants are still flying, the hippos' ears are still wiggling and the cash registers are still jingling.
Disneyland, a place both timeless and frozen in time, hits a milestone this summer when it turns 50 in Anaheim, Calif.
But not everybody sees the self-proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth as
Mouse Memories
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Dateline: May 10, 2005
Status: Archive
Source: Modesto Bee
Disneyland's golden anniversary party began Thursday and will run through Thanksgiving 2006. We asked Bee readers to share memories of the park's early days. Here's what they recalled. Pop on your golden mouse ears and take a trip back in time ...
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My wife and I were married Sept.
Dear Walt, Thanks For The Memories
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Dateline: May 10, 2005
Status: Archive
Source: Seattle Times
From smooching in the tunnels to wide-eyed kids and sobbing adults, our readers have been through it all in Disneyland's 50 years.
We've chosen excerpts from our favorite stories and photos among scores of tales told by readers who've paid countless visits to "The Happiest Place on Earth."
Disney's celebration begins this week and runs for 18 months - some
Discovering Disneyland
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Dateline: May 1, 2005
Status: Archive
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
You have to look quickly, and you have to know exactly where to look. But if you do, you'll catch a pretty cool inside joke at Disneyland.
On the Star Tours ride, just before your runaway Starspeeder exits the space station, keep your eye on the lower right side of the screen: You flash past what looks like a giant electron microscope. Old-timers will recognize it
50 Ways To Love Disneyland
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Dateline: May 1, 2005
Status: Archive
Source: Arizona Republic
Mickey Mouse is planning a blowout as Disneyland Resort in California celebrates its 50th anniversary, starting Thursday.
Sure, it'll be hot, and the lines will be long. But you know you want to go: the Matterhorn; Mickey-shaped, chocolate-covered ice cream; mouse ears with your name embroidered on the back. Arizona is second only to California for the number of
A Disneyland Chronology
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Dateline: April 29, 2005
Status: Archive
Source: Knight-Ridder
Summer 1948: Walt Disney visits the Chicago Railroad Fair, a spectacle that spurs his dream for a "Mickey Mouse Park."
June 1953: Stanford Research Institute is tapped to conduct a survey for a site within metropolitan Los Angeles and accessible by freeway. Search ends with purchase of 160 acres of orange groves in Anaheim.
July 21, 1954: Construction of
Still Magic In The Kingdom
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Dateline: June 6, 2004
Status: Archive
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
Disneyland is a place where a grown man looks perfectly normal wearing Mickey Mouse ears and where a little girl can feel like a princess.
The first true theme park also is a melting pot where an Indian woman in traditional dress poses for a photo in front of the Small World ride featuring children from around the world and where instructions to ride the Winnie
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
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Dateline: July 1, 2003
Status: Archive
Source: Reuters
Johnny Depp joined about 1,500 guests at Disneyland Saturday for the premiere of his new action-adventure film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."
The movie is named after Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean water ride and the premiere was the first ever at the theme park. The film, which opens nationwide July 9, was shown on a giant screen
Pirates Film To Premiere At Disneyland
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Dateline: June 23, 2003
Status: Archive
Source: Associated Press
The stars of the new movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" can shout they're "going to Disneyland." Since the movie was inspired by the Disneyland ride, that's where the premiere will be.
The studio's setting up a huge screen outdoors across the water on Tom Sawyer Island. And, invited guests will watch the film from seats set up in New
Space Mountain Makeover
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Dateline: April 11, 2003
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Space Mountain, one of the most popular rides in Disneyland, closes today for a two-year overhaul that should have it ready to relaunch for the park's 50th anniversary celebration.
After months of speculation that the roller coaster would close in September, after the big summer season, Disney officials opted to close it now to be ready for the summer of 2005.
Disney's Rivers Of America All Dried Up
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Dateline: January 22, 2003
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Register
Many guests are disappointed to find access to Tom Sawyer Island temporarily cut off.
Hard to say what the toaster was doing at the bottom of Disneyland's Rivers of America.
Sure, the cameras, beepers and video recorders make sense. But not the toaster. Or the full bottle of rum. The Rivers of America, which wrap around Tom Sawyer Island and hide underwater
Ratting Out The Mouse Is Disneyland A Haven For Rodents?
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Dateline: October 4, 2002
Status: Archive
Source: Orange County Weekly
The Disney Resort is teeming with rats, according to current and former Disneyland employees reacting to media reports of rodent problems inside the Goofy's Kitchen restaurant at the Disneyland Hotel.
Longtime complaints by Goofy's Kitchen workers about rats, rat feces and mold at the cafeteria-style restaurant were recently chronicled in the Weekly (""Rats and Rat
Disneyland Hanging Up Its Gun Belt
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Dateline: September 3, 2001
Status: Archive
Source: Los Angeles Times
They took away the wench-chasing pirates. Now, they've stopped shooting the hippos.
Disneyland officials, who say they're only keeping up with today's sensibilities, have quietly disarmed the skippers of the Jungle Cruise, raising eyebrows among fans of one of the park's oldest, most cherished attractions.
No more do the wisecracking skippers reach for their
Disneyland In One Day
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Dateline: March 1, 2000
Status: Archive
Source: Disney Magazine
The First Hint that my mission will be daunting: I tell the cast member in Guest Relations the title of the article I'm researching, and she starts to giggle. Disneyland in a day? Who am I kidding? "It might be a little hard," she says, handing me my tickets, "to do it all in a day."
Disneyland has its own special feel, and nostalgia is only part of it. Yes, it's
Frontierlands Keel Boat Ride
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Dateline: March 1, 2000
Status: Archive
Source: E Ticket
Well, howdy there, pioneers and sod-busters ... welcome aboard the ol' Gullywhumper ... Ya know, this here's the boat that ol' Mike Fink used a while back when he took on Davy Crockett for the wildest keel boat race this river has ever seen ... well, we ain't goin' to be doin' no racin ' today, so ya'11 sit back, relax, kick off yer shoes and we'll get a first-hand look
Pirates May Be Pc Now, But Rest Of Disneyland Isn't
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Dateline: January 12, 1997
Status: Archive
Source: Seattle Times
A chubby Aunt Jemima slave woman no longer greets pancake-house patrons.
A cabin fire long blamed on marauding American Indians is now attributed to "carelessness."
And, as of last week, automated pirates at one Disneyland ride no longer pursue terrified maidens.
Finally, it seems, the forces of political correctness have caught up to the aging Anaheim theme
Disney's Fantasy Island
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Dateline: October 1, 1992
Status: Archive
Source: TCI
When Disneyland recently opened its new night spectacular, Fantasmic, the park created a multi-million dollar venue for the future, Bob McTyre, vice president of entertainment explains, "We were inspired by the Illuminations lagoon show at Disney World. Our 'river' surrounding Tom Sawyer Island is smaller than the Florida lagoon, and Fantasmic is different from Disney's
Your Best Day Ever At Disneyland
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Dateline: June 1, 1992
Status: Archive
Source: Sunset
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
Disneyland Through The Years
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Dateline: January 1, 1990
Status: Archive
Source: Disney Channel Magazine
1954-Summer Construction gets under way and Disneyland begins to emerge from the surrounding bean fields and orange groves of Anaheim.
1955-July 17 The opening day ceremonies are beamed coast-to-coast in a TV special. One of the hosts: actor Ronald Wilson Reagan.
1956-October Attendance hits the five million mark; the Skyway, Tom Sawyer Island, Storybook Land
Disneyland: A Parents' Survival Guide
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Dateline: June 1, 1989
Status: Archive
Source: California
Disneyland, a monument to childhood, is also a test of how well you've grown up. Your first visit is guaranteed to be interesting, just as the first time you drive a car, have sex or spend a night by yourself is filled with wonder. But by the tenth or hundredth time you do it, amazement will elude you unless you apply an adult imagination to the experience.
The adults
Grad Drowns On Joyride
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Dateline: June 5, 1983
Status: Archive
Source: Associated Press
A New Mexico high school senior who came to Disneyland for an all-night graduation party apparently drowned when he and a friend took a rubber raft for a "joy ride" on one of the amusement park's waterways.
The body of Phil Straughan, 18, a student at St. Pius X High School in Albuquerque, was pulled from four feet of water in the river near the manmade
Body Pulled From Disneyland River
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Dateline: June 24, 1973
Status: Archive
Source: Independent Press Telegram
The body of an 18-year-old New York tourist was recovered Saturday from a river in Disneyland's Frontierland area, eight hours after he apparently drowned trying to swim the watercourse with his younger brother, police reported.
Anaheim Police identified the victim as Bodgen De Laurot, of Brooklyn. His body was located after a night-long search by
Mississippi Majesty
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Dateline: June 1, 1973
Status: Archive
Source: Vacationland
Not so very long ago, the mighty Mississippi was covered with rafts, keel boats, barges, and a variety of floating paraphernalia. These crafts adorned the river everyday, but the only vessels that made the muddy waters shine were the "Queens of the River," the majestic steamboats with pearly decks that were crowned with two ebony smokestacks
Critics said that
New Fun For The Whole Family At Disneyland
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Dateline: January 1, 1969
Status: Archive
Source: Better Homes & Gardens
Imagine it's 200 years ago and you're a passenger on a small boat picking its way carefully along a dark and treacherous stretch of coastline on the Spanish Main. Suddenly pandemonium breaks loose. The air resounds with the roar of cannons and the crack of muskets. A band of pirates is attacking a town and you're right in the middle! The rogues are everywhere-taunting the
Mark Twain Voyage Reminiscent Of Early America
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Dateline: October 1, 1968
Status: Archive
Source: Disney News
The era of Samuel Clemens' America has been reborn in Disneyland's sternwheel steamboat the Mark Twain.
Because of its massive size, the Mark Twain (108 feet long, 150 tons, designed to carry 350 passengers) was much too large to move through the doors of the giant sound stage of the Disney studio.
The triple-deck paddlewheeler was built
Walt Disney Reveals Just How Disneyland Was Created In Rare Interview
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Dateline: April 1, 1966
Status: Archive
Source: Readers Digest
“Twenty years ago,” Walt said as we drove toward Disneyland, some 25 miles southeast of central Los Angeles, “I was always trying to think of a place to take my two small daughters on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon-a place where I could have fun, too.
“At an amusement park, the only fun provided for a father, besides having his bottom dropped out from under
Walt Disney King Of Fantasy
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Dateline: July 1, 1965
Status: Archive
Source: Palm Springs Life
Walt Disney and friends.
Walt Disney, whose Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck brought laughter to the world and whose Disneyland is a playground for the world's people, calls his home at Smoke Tree Ranch, "my laughing place."
Whimsical, as always, he refers to the Uncle Remus story where Brer Rabbit oh-so-casually mentions his "laughing place" and makes it sound so
African Veldt
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Dateline: September 6, 1964
Status: Archive
Source: Independent Press Telegram
Way down in Jungleland, below the Amazin' Disney line, there's news among the gnus. "The Trapped Safari" is the new headline feature and a bit of bright fun in Disneyland's far-famed Adventureland and the Jungle River Cruise. Jackals, hyenas and buzzards lay siege to a comical hunter and his retinue treed by the wild beasts. Disneyland adventurers drift safely past as
A Fantasy That Paid Off
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Dateline: June 27, 1964
Status: Archive
Source: New York Times Magazine
The place is surrounded by a berm, a high barrow of earth, that insulates it from the external world. There is a single gateway where admission is charged. This, the land of Disney, is more secure than ancient Troy. No Trojan horse will get into Disneyland. Guards at the main gate closely scrutinize all who enter. Not even an unseemly teenager will get past them, much
Magic Worlds Of Walt Disney
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Dateline: August 1, 1963
Status: Archive
Source: National Geographic
Disneyland really started more than 20 years ago, when Walt got the idea for an amusement park that grownups as well as children would enjoy.
"I had all my drawing things laid out at home, and I'd work on plans for the park, as a hobby, at night."
At the time, amusement parks were dying all over the country, "I talked Disneyland but no one could see it," Walt
Dazzled In Disneyland
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Dateline: July 1, 1963
Status: Archive
Source: Holiday
In the third decade of this century America produced a young man of genius. He drew pictures with pen and ink and wash. Like other geniuses, such as Michelangelo, Leonardo and Bernini, he had a mechanical turn of mind; and, by means of all sorts of devices, he made his drawings into motion pictures which were works of art. He drew animals to perfection. With care and his
Whats All This Jazz At Disneyland
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Dateline: September 18, 1960
Status: Archive
Source: Independent Press Telegram
The "saints" are all ready to come marching in-at Disneyland, and when they arrive Saturday, Oct. 1, the most unique combination of Walt Disney pageantry and Dixieland jazz ever presented west of New Orleans will take over the Magic Kingdom.
Called "Dixieland and at Disneyland," the spectacular will mark the first time in the Southland that a show has ever been
Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom
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Dateline: April 1, 1960
Status: Archive
Source: Readers Digest
Twenty years ago," Walt said as we drove toward Disneyland, some 25 miles southeast of central Los Angeles, "I was always trying to think of a place to take my two small daughters on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon - a place where I could have fun, too.
"At an amusement park the only fun provided for a father, besides having his bottom dropped out from under him on the
Queen Of The River Mark Twain
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Dateline: October 1, 1959
Status: Archive
Source: Vacationland
"Queen of the River" that's what they called the paddle-wheel steamboats that plied the muddy waters of the Mississippi between New Orleans and St. Louis a half-century ago.
Ornate and sometimes gaudy, the Mississippi sternwheeler nevertheless was a proud ship of the great inland waterways, casting its own shadow of dignity at every port of call.
All that
Intrepid Kids Of Disneyland
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Dateline: June 28, 1958
Status: Archive
Source: Saturday Evening Post
It was a normal Sunday afternoon at Disneyland. The Gay Nineties show had just broken at the Golden Horseshoe, a make-believe salon located in the Frontierland area. The tourist-packed Mark Twain, a scaled-down reproduction of a nineteenth-century Mississippi river boat, was sailing around Tom Sawyer's Island. Stagecoach passengers were jolting through the Painted Desert,
Disneyland And Las Vegas
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Dateline: June 7, 1958
Status: Archive
Source: Nation
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
Truman Visits Disneyland
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Dateline: November 3, 1957
Status: Archive
Source: Independent Press Telegram
Harry and Bess Truman were just another couple of out-of-season tourist here Saturday.
The former president winked cupped his hands and shouted to his wife over the brassy din of a band playing. "I'm Just Wild About Harry":
"Boy, is this plate a rubberneck's paradise."
Then he set off on a 2 1/2 -hour tour of the park at a pace so brisk that his official
If You Plan To Visit Disneyland
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Dateline: August 1, 1957
Status: Archive
Source: Sunset
The wonderful world of make-believe called Disneyland is now two years old, and it continues to delight Westerners by the thousands-small children, teen-agers, adults alike. What's more, it doesn't lose it's luster in a day's visit, nor in two or three. Possibly it never will for a good many visitors.
We won't try to describe in detail this imaginative combination of
New Attractions Mean More Fun For Disneyland Visitors
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Dateline: June 1, 1957
Status: Archive
Source: Disneyland Holiday
Disneyland has taken another giant step forward in the realm of creative and fascinating new adventures ready for this Summer season.
Foremost amongst the "new" which are now ready for the enjoyment of guests at Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom is. the unveiling of the inside of the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Fantasyland.
Previously a landmark to
Variety Keynotes A Day At The Magic Kingdom
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Dateline: June 1, 1957
Status: Archive
Source: Disneyland Holiday
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.
Small Boy's Dream Come True
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Dateline: January 5, 1957
Status: Archive
Source: Saturday Evening Post
During World War II, Dad's artists designed thousands of insignia for planes, tanks and shoulder patches; over 4000 designs in all. I collected them in scrapbooks, so I ought to know. Uncle Roy figured that each of those insignia cost the studio about twenty-five dollars, and the studio did the work for nothing. That is a pretty big giveaway-$100,000. "How could you turn
Big Disneyland Expansion Since Original Opening
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Dateline: August 24, 1956
Status: Archive
Source: Independent Press Telegram
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
Tom Sawyer Comes To Disneyland
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Dateline: May 13, 1956
Status: Archive
Source: Independent Press Telegram
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
There is little to no elevation change in the caves on Tom Sawyer Island. The reasons for this is because of economic and safety concerns. The caves are simply buildings that were built and then covered with mounds of dirt. The hills that are on the island are a result of covering these "buildings". One of the better examples is the hill that the "rock-like" playground is on. When you stand on this hill you are standing on the ceiling of one of the Tom Sawyer caves. Epoxy-crete (the same compound used for rocks in other attractions) was used in combination with concrete to cover the inside walls of these buildings. If you look carefully you notice that there is lighting and ventilation systems in the caves. Some of the vertical rock outcropping are support pilings or pillars. Disney also uses the elevation of the ceiling, and the closeness of the walls to trick the mind into thinking there is an elevation change in the cave.
Walt Disney drew the original shape of the island
Bill evans designed the landscaping for the island
Vic Greene, Herb Ryman and Claude Coats produced the first designs for the island based on Walt's ideas.
Emile Kuri located some second hand stuffed animals at a museum to install on the remote end of the island
Opening ceremonies were held at noon on June 16, 1956 at the raft landing on the island.
Perva Lou Smith and Chris Winkler (winners of the Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher contest in Hannibal Missouri) with Walt's help christened the raft with a jug of Mississippi River water and planted a box of soil from Jackson's Island (the model for the island frequented by Tom and Huck in Twain's novels) near the foot of the landing pier.
In 1956 the phone extension for Tom Sawyers Island was 381
The island is 800 feet long and varies from 50 to 250 feet wide
Tom Nabbe was the first "Tom Sawyer" character to wonder around the island.
1964 Average time a guest spent on the island was 30 minutes
From WED Disneyland Dictionary 1968
Is a young adventure-seeker's paradise. The island is surrounded by the Rivers Of America. A maze of pathways leads through the forest to "Fort Wilderness" with its log walls and guard posts where marksmen fire through chinks at attacking Indians. They climb through a hollow tree-trunk to "Tom Sawyer's Tree House," wander through the "Old Mill," climb "Castle Rock," explore a cave, or sway on the "Suspension Bridge.
The burning cabin:1970's Gas crises Disneyland turned off the flames. Simulated fire was added. The settler had an arrow through him.
1984: The fire was turned back on. The settler no longer had an arrow through him and was referred to as a moonshiner.
1991: The settler was removed and the flames were referred to be endangering a nest of birds.
2007: flames were turned off
2010: Cabin has been restored to look like Mike Fink lives there with his keel boat tied up in front
2007: Pirates have taken over another part of Disneyland when Pirate's Lair at Tom Sawyer Island opened May 25, 2007. All those pirates — including Jack Sparrow, ladies — who have been milling around New Orleans Square singing sea shanties, posing for pictures and insulting tourists as only pirates can will now be permanently stationed on Tom Sawyer's Island.
