Walt Disney
dreamed for decades about opening the ultimate entertainment venue, but it wasn’t until the early 1950s that his handpicked team began to bring his vision to life. Together, artists, architects, and engineers transformed a dusty tract of orange groves about an hour south of Los Angeles into one of the world’s
most beloved destinations
.
Today, there are Disney resorts from Paris to Shanghai, but the original Disneyland in
Anaheim, California
, which has been visited by more than
800 million people
to-date, remains
one of America’s most popular attractions
. From the day it opened on July 17, 1955, Disneyland brought history and fairy tales to life, the future into the present, and exciting cultures and galaxies unknown to our imaginations.
This
bountiful visual history
draws on
Disney’s vast historical collections, private archives, and the golden age of photojournalism
to provide unique access to the concept, development, launch, and enjoyment of this sun-drenched oasis of fun and fantasy.
Disneyland
documents Walt’s
earliest inspirations and ideas
; the park’s extraordinary feats of
design and engineering
; its
grand opening
; each of its
immersive “lands”
from Main Street, U.S.A., to Tomorrowland; and the park’s evolution through the six decades since it opened. It is a
treasure trove of original Disney documentation
and expertise, with award-winning writer Chris Nichols drawing on his extensive knowledge of both Disneyland and Southern California history to reveal the
fascinating tale of “the happiest place on Earth.”