When Walt Disney opened Disneyland, the original Disney theme park, on July 17, 1955, he said he hoped it would be “a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” He famously observed: “Disneyland will never be completed…as long as there is imagination left in the world.”
Since 1955, the Disneyland Resort has welcomed more than 750 million guests. It has expanded to become an approximately 500-acre, world-class, multi-day, family vacation destination, complete with two renowned Disney theme parks, three hotels and the exciting shopping, dining and entertainment district known as Downtown Disney.
The parks of the Disneyland Resort continue to offer guests more classic characters, more storytelling, more attractions and more of the unique Disney heritage that gives Disney theme parks their special personality.
Disneyland Park – Upon its opening on July 17, 1955, Disneyland introduced a new concept in family entertainment and launched the theme park industry. Disneyland presented 18 major attractions on its Opening Day including the Mad Tea Party, the Jungle Cruise, Autopia and the Mark Twain Riverboat, and it featured five themed lands: Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Frontierland and Main Street, U.S.A. Today, Disneyland is an evolving 85-acre American institution featuring more than 60 adventures and attractions in eight themed lands, having added New Orleans Square in 1966, Critter Country (originally Bear County) in 1972 and Mickey’s Toontown in 1993. Construction on a future Star Wars-themed land begins in 2016. Favorite Disneyland attractions include Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours, “it’s a small world,” Indiana Jones Adventure and the mountain range of thrill rides: Matterhorn Bobsleds, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain. Entertainment is presented throughout the park, with music and stage shows, including “Mickey and the Magical Map.”
Disney California Adventure Park – Since its opening in 2001 with such popular attractions as Soarin’ Over California, California Screamin’ and Grizzly River Run, Disney California Adventure has been bringing adventure and fun to life with Disney storytelling magic. The extremely popular Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror attraction debuted in 2004. With the addition of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street in 2012, the park features more than 35 adventures and attractions plus distinctive entertainment and dining.
New in 2016, a spectacular “Frozen” musical premieres at the Hyperion Theater. The adaptaion of “Frozen,” the Walt Disney Animation Studios blockbuster film, will delight guests of all ages with elaborate costumes and sets, stunning special effects, show-stopping production numbers and some unique theatrical surprises.
Disney California Adventure has grown from its original three themed lands – Golden State, Paradise Pier and Hollywood Pictures Backlot – to a total of eight lands including the 12-acre Cars Land and Buena Vista
Street, “a bug’s land” (which opened in 2002), a renamed Hollywood Land, Grizzly Peak featuring the newly reimagined Grizzly Peak Airfield, Pacific Wharf (all formerly parts of the Golden State area) and Paradise Pier.
Among the newer attractions in Disney California Adventure are Toy Story Mania!, an interactive, ride-through attraction where guests enter into a 4D carnival midway hosted by the “Toy Story” characters;“World of Color,” an award-winning, nighttime water spectacular featuring nearly 1,200 fountains that bring Disney animation to life; and The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, a “dark ride” that transports guests “under the sea” to experience scenes and beloved songs from the Little Mermaid film.
The opening of Cars Land in 2012 added Radiator Springs Racers, a high-octane indoor/outdoor adventure that revs through Radiator Springs and concludes with a high-speed race through the mountains of Ornament Valley, and Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, in which baby tractors swing guests through a Cars Land hoedown. Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters, opening in early 2016, invites guests to climb aboard miniature Italian roadsters, Luigi’s Italian cousins, as they whirl into the traditional dances of their village. Buena Vista Street offers the Red Car Trolley attraction and Carthay Circle Restaurant, one of the premiere dining locations at the Disneyland Resort.
Downtown Disney District –This lively, colorful, admission-free district of exciting restaurants, shops and nightclubs is centrally located between the Disneyland Resort theme parks and hotels. The 20-acre, 300,000 square-foot avenue features approximately 50 distinct venues including AMC Theatres, Anna and Elsa’s Boutique, Catal Restaurant, Earl of Sandwich, ESPN Zone, House of Blues, La Brea Bakery Café, Rainforest Café, Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, Tortilla Jo’s, Build-a-Bear Workshop, Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria, WonderGround Gallery and, of course, the World of Disney store.
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa –1600 S. Disneyland Drive, (714) 635-2300
Featuring 948 rooms and 50 Disney Vacation Club villas, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel is the flagship hotel of the Disneyland Resort. The design of this AAA Four-Diamond, award-winning luxury property is inspired by the turn-of-the-century California Craftsman movement. In 2009 the hotel became home to the first Disney Vacation Club units on the West Coast. It’s also the first hotel in the United States to be built inside a Disney park (Disney California Adventure).
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel offers suites, a large convention facility, swimming pools, Mandara Spa and two restaurants: Storytellers Cafe and the award-winning Napa Rose restaurant. With approximately 35 sommeliers, including several advanced sommeliers, Napa Rose boasts the most certified wine experts under one roof anywhere in the United States.
Disneyland Hotel – 1150 West Magic Way, (714) 778-6600
Significant new enhancements at the iconic Disneyland Hotel were completed in 2012, including re-imagined guest rooms, Disney-themed suites, a new restaurant and bar – Tangaroa Terrace and Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar – and a water play area with Monorail-inspired water slides. Other distinctive restaurants at the hotel include Goofy’s Kitchen and the award-winning Steakhouse 55. This AAA Four-Diamond hotel features 973 rooms, including specially themed Disney character suites, and one of the largest contiguous convention spaces in the Western United States with 136,000 square feet.
Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel – 1717 S. Disneyland Drive, (714) 999-0990
A casually elegant 481-room hotel themed to the colorful “day at the beach” California seaside culture of fun, Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel features the whimsical Disney’s PCH Grill restaurant, a pool deck with cabanas and water slide, and 30,000 square feet of convention and meeting space.
