Disneyland’s landscape has changed dramatically since 1955, even excluding the addition of a new park and a Downtown Disney district. Walt’s original Magic Kingdom added three new lands after opening day, with a fourth currently under construction (Star Wars Land). Roller coasters sprouted up across the park. And in each land, Imagineers perfected decor from top to bottom, adding magic and hidden details along the way.
Let’s take a walk through history and see for ourselves how Disneyland has evolved.
1955 – Opening year. Disneyland is surrounded by orange groves and a small parking lot.
1965 – Disneyland turns 10. Notice New Orleans Square slowly coming to fruition, and the new Matterhorn.
1970s – Anaheim continues to grow around Disneyland, and Space Mountain arrives in Tomorrowland.
1987 – Major dirt piles in western Disneyland signal the imminent arrival of Splash Mountain.
1990s – Maps planning for “Westcot” show the massive growth around Disneyland. The project was later scrapped, and construction of Downtown Disney and California Adventure began in the late 90s.
2005 – Disneyland turns 50. The Carnation Plaza Gardens are still open to the west of the castle.
2015 – what a difference 60 years make!
Growing up in Wisconsin during the 50’s I always wanted to go to Disneyland; but my family couldn’t afford to travel that far. Then in 1990, my wife, son, and in-laws motorhomed to Alaska from Florida, and on our way home we stopped at Disneyland. A wonderful experience and I thought the Fort was much nicer than the one at Disney World. To me, the Magic Kingdom at Disney World just isn’t as nice as Disneyland. I understand that the show at The Golden Horseshoe doesn’t play anymore — at least not at Disney World when we went in 2009. Inspired by everything Disney, and especially Disneyland; I created my own Disneyland layout in my home office. I use Marx setups for the Fort, Castle, and Rocket to the Moon. I’ve created a Jungle Cruise, Rivers of America with Tom Sawyer’s Island and his tree house, an On30 Western train running around the Fort, and other scenes. I also have many pictures of Disneyland from Opening Day on July 17, 1955 to December 15, 1966 (the day Walt Disney died). I also created a Gondola spanning Fantasyland to Tomorrowland, and also have a monorail. I may be 75, but still dream of Disneyland’s excitement.
Interesting that originally in 1955 there appears to be a channel connecting the Jungle Cruise and Rivers of America with a bridge leading to the undeveloped New Orleans Square area. Only Main Street, Adventureland and and Fantasyland seem pretty complete in the opening year with no Pirates Of The Caribbean, Matterhorn, It’s A Small World, Submarine Voyage, or Monorail… many of the iconic Disneyland attractions were not even there in 1955!!! The park itself has changed over the years just as much as the surrounding area of Anaheim.
Absolutely! It’s really amazing to see how rural Anaheim was in the beginning.
As a Senior at AUHS in 1953 I saw the changes from Manchester Blvd. to I-5 Freeway. And when Disneyland came I was in the kitchen of Carnation on Main St. on opening day. We were all green so we couldn’t serve as fast as we should, so the day shift didn’t go home at the end of their shift but stayed until closing. Luckily I was on the afternoon shit.
I remember walking over that bridge and down to the Tom Sawyer Island rafts on my first visit to Disneyland in 1959, at age 5, the year the Matterhorn, submarines, and monorail opened.
An aerial view of Disneyland California taken on July 15 1955, three days before gates opened to the public for the first time, left, and the park how it is today almost 60 years on (right)
Although there are many changes to Disney itself, I think he biggest difference is to its surroundings. Wonderful walk through the decades!
Great photos! Lots of change over the years. The Jungle Cruise seems to be one that has endured from the beginning. What are the others?
Thanks, John! There aren’t a lot of originals left from Opening Day. Autopia in theory has been around since 55, but the track has changed and expanded a few times. The carousel and Tea Party have moved too. So other than some of the Fantasyland attractions, the Jungle Cruise, and the Rivers of America, not many attractions have gone unchanged (at least in terms of land area).