Naysayers thought moviemaker Walt Disney was crazy when he turned 160 acres of Anaheim farmland into a theme park based on his animated features. Half a century later, the Southern California cultural landmark has added a second theme park next door and spawned offspring in Florida, Paris, Tokyo and soon Hong Kong. A look at how Disneyland has changed since opening day on July 17, 1955:
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Disneyland: From orange groves to Magic Kingdom
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Then: 1955
Admission: $1 adults, 50 cents for children 12 and under
Employees: 900 to 1,000
Opening day attendance: 28,154
Cost to build Disneyland: $17 million
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Now: 2005
Admission: $53 adults, $43 for children 12 and under
Employees: 20,000
Total attendance: More than 500 million
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Opening day attractions (Date in parentheses indicates year closed)
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Frontierland
Mark Twain Riverboat
Golden Horseshoe Revue
Mule Pack (1973)
Stage Coach (1959)
Opened later in 1955:
Conestoga Wagons (1959)
Mike Fink Keel Boats (1997)
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Adventureland
Jungle Cruise
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Fantasyland
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Peter Pan's Flight
Snow White's Adventures
King Arthur Carousel
Mad Tea Party
Canal Boats of the World became Storybook Land Canal Boats in 1956.
Opened later in 1955:
Casey Jr. Circus Train
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Mickey Mouse Club Theater (1981)
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Main Street, U.S.A.
Disneyland Railroad
Main Street Cinema
Horse-drawn streetcars
Horse-drawn fire wagon (1960)
Opened later in 1955:
Main Street Shooting Gallery (1962)
Horse-drawn surreys (1960)
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Tomorrowland
Autopia
Circarama U.S.A., 360-degree movie became Circle-Vision in 1967 (1992)
Space Station X-1 satellite simulator (1960)
Monsanto Hall of Chemistry (1966)
Opened later in 1955:
Rocket to the Moon launch simulator became Flight to the Moon and then Mission to Mars (1992)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea movie set (1967)
Phantom Boats (1955)
"The World Beneath Us" movie (1960)
Aluminum Hall of Fame (1960)
Color Gallery exhibit (1963)
Flight Circle model airplane demonstration (1966)
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Current attractions added since 1955 (Date in parentheses indicates year opened)
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Frontierland
Sailing Ship Columbia (1958)
