By Robert Vaux
Disneyland in California began as a way to accommodate tourists hoping to visit the Disney Studios in Burbank. A world's-fair-style park, with rides and attractions matching Disney's classic characters, made for an ideal alternative to the stodgy, uninteresting movie studio. It became a labor of love for Walt Disney, who initially struggled to find funding for it. Its success proved all of his doubters wrong.
First Day
The park officially opened on July 18, 1955, though a preview for the press took place the day before. Disney executives called the preview "Black Sunday" because of all of the things that went wrong that day.
E-Tickets
For the first few decades of its existence, Disneyland sold booklets of individual passes for its rides--the famous "E-Tickets" were the passes for the best rides. They discontinued the practice in 1982 in favor of an all-encompassing single admission.
The Tiki Room
Though it remains a small ride, the Enchanted Tiki Room represented a milestone when it opened in 1963. It was the first ride to use animatronic robots, setting the stage for the likes of Pirates of the Caribbean.
FastPasses
FastPasses first appeared in 1999, allowing visitors to put off their trips on a popular ride in exchange for an extremely short wait in line later.
Closures
Disneyland has closed unexpectedly only three times in its history: upon the death of President John F. Kennedy, after the events of 9/11 and in response to a mischief-making protest by the "Yippees" in 1970.
About the Author:
Robert Vaux has been a professional writer and editor since 1995. He has traveled throughout Europe and North America as well as parts of North Africa. Since 2000 he has been a professional movie critic at Flipside Movie Emporium, the Sci-Fi Movie Page and Mania.com. Vaux has a Master of Arts in English literature from Syracuse University.
