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Disneyland in conceptWalt at the Happiest Place on Earth

Though Disneyland didn't open until 1955, Walt was already thinking about such a place in the early 1940s, when he'd take his young daughters out for an afternoon of fun. While they were riding on the merry-go-round at Griffith Park or visiting a local fair or amusement park, Walt would wonder whether there wasn't a better way to entertain children: a place that would be clean and safe and could entertain both children and parents. To be sure, typical amusement parks in the 1940s were less than hospitable places. They featured a predictable set of rides, unpleasant smells, trash on the streets, and an overabundance of men speaking a bit too loudly, after one beer too many. Just before the Second World War, Walt considered building a small park of his own across the street from the studio. He thought about including pony rides, a train, and statues of his popular characters. Though the idea never got off the ground, it grew and grew in Walt's mind. Eventually, he became convinced that his dreams couldn't be contained on land in and around the studio.

Main StreetSleeping Beauty's Castle

He explored, questioned, and developed his plans. He was particularly excited by a visit to the beautiful Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. The prices there were fair, and the place was sparkling clean. But when he talked to American amusement-park executives, they told him that he was crazy. He wanted to charge admission. They said that would never work. Walt didn't want to have a Ferris wheel. They said that was a must. Walt didn't want to serve liquor. They said he'd go bankrupt. They, of course, were all wrong. He hired the Stanford Research Institute to help him figure out where the park should be located; eventually they settled on Anaheim, California. When Roy was ready to go to New York to try to raise funds for the new venture, Walt needed a detailed piece of concept art for him to take along. So on a Saturday morning in September 1953, Walt asked Herb Ryman, a talented artist and friend, to join him at the studio and create such a thing over the weekend. Ryman demurred: "You're crazy," he said. "Nobody in the world can do it." But of course, the two men did.

The MonorailWalt and friends

As the park was being built, Walt was a constant presence. Attractions were added, cut, and changed on a regular basis. Models were built so Walt could visualize them adequately. "The first scheme you had Walt would completely tear apart," said Marvin Davis, an original Disneyland designer who mapped out 129 different plans for the entryway to the park. "Eventually, you would come up with something better. He wanted to see every idea that you could possibly have before he settled on something. His instincts in this brand-new field were amazing. For example, he decided to keep the castle relatively small -- only about 77 feet above the moat. Writes Disney archivist Dave Smith, "He recalled that the tyrants in Europe built huge, imposing castles in order to intimidate the peasants. Walt wanted his castle to be friendly, so it was built on a smaller scale." When Walt first pictured the Jungle Cruise, he was stuck on the idea of using live animals. But cooler heads prevailed here. Feeding the animals, making sure they made a showing even on hot days, and dealing with the ever-present possibility of them wandering off were insurmountable. So, mechanical elephants and hippos were used.

Autopia

Opening day appeared to be a grand success to people who watched the spectacle on television. But behind the scenes things were less than smooth. The heat of the day melted the recently laid asphalt, and women's high heels stuck in the stuff. Counterfeit tickets had been distributed and the park was overcrowded. There weren't enough trash cans. Rides broke down. But Walt -- and his park -- soon recovered from the difficulties of opening day, and Disneyland was hailed as a grand success. And of course Walt wanted to make it better. "A live picture, once you wrap it up and turn it over to Technicolor . . . it's gone" he said. While with Disneyland, "The thing will get more beautiful each year. And as I find out what the public likes, I can change it." Before 1955 was over, Dumbo Flying Elephants, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and the Mike Fink Keel Boats were added. The next year, Storybook Land and Tom Sawyer Island opened. And in 1959, over $7 million was spent on Submarine Village, the 14-story Matterhorn bobsled ride and the Disneyland Monorail. It was the first daily operating monorail in the country.

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