Speaking Volumes | Disneyland in California turns 65

Disneyland. A place where people of all ages can go and indulge in child-like wonderment and imagination. On July 17, 1955 Walt Disney’s first theme park opened for a “preview” before officially opening to the public the next day. Inspired by visits to a merry-go-round with his daughters, Disneyland came into existence 65 years ago and has been welcoming happy theme park-goers by the millions ever since.

Walt Disney was already a household name by the 1950s, having delighted audiences with such cinematic joys as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” (1937) and “Cinderella” (1950). Despite Disney’s fame, funding for his envisioned theme park was scarce, so he had to think outside of the box. The struggling network ABC agreed to help finance the project, and thus the television show “Disneyland” was created. The park’s groundbreaking began on July 16, 1954 and cost a total of $17 million to complete, which equates to roughly $160 million today.

Due to its financing, Disneyland was owned jointly by several corporations during the first five years of its operation and Disney rented out Main Street, USA spots to outside companies to ease the initial financial burden. It wasn’t until 1960 that Disney was able to buy out the other owners.

Nearly one year later, the park, which featured twenty different attractions, was ready to open for a limited audience. Despite these parameters, nearly 28,000 people attended the parks preview opening on July 17, 1955 with counterfeit tickets. A combination of extreme heat, a lack of water fountains, and melting asphalt caused the press to dub the day as “Black Sunday”. Disneyland’s opening day was generally deemed as unsuccessful.

However, as the years passed, and the park underwent various updates, Disneyland has become of the most successful and popular theme parks in the entire world. Some of the attractions still present today include the famous “It’s a Small World” ride, “The Haunted Mansion”, “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Jungle Cruise”. These rides can also be found in the other Disney theme parks scattered around the globe. All are located at our nearest Disney theme park, Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.

Walt Disney was a visionary who changed the world of theme parks and entertainment for children (and adults) of all ages. To learn more about his incredible life, read “Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination” by Neal Gabler. For kids, read “I am Walt Disney” by Brad Meltzer.

To learn more about his legacy and theme parks, Manatee Libraries has available on DVD the biopic “Walt Disney: He Made Believe” (2015). Also available on Hoopla is the film “Disneyland: Sunrise to Sunset” (2013). The library also has many travel guides for those planning trips to Disneyland. Ridley Pearson’s series “The Kingdom Keepers” takes place at various Disney theme parks.

Manatee Libraries has over 15,000 digital items available for download and virtual programming for all. For more information, please view our website or call your local branch: www.mymanatee.org/library

Speaking Volumes is written by staff members of the Manatee County Public Library System. Kimberly Barbour is assisistant supervisor at the South Manatee Library.