Disneyland

Welcome to Disneyland

Once upon a time Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto played a big part in my life. Every Sunday night at 6pm, dressed in my striped pyjama’s, I would sit too close to the TV to watch Disneyland and I still know all the words to “When you wish upon a star”.

 I was also influenced by re-runs (no I am not that old) of other cutting edge shows. Could I run away to McHales Island? Could I be Eddy and live with the Munsters? Could I swap my less than perfect parents for the Cleaver parents in “Leave it to Beaver” and was “lost in Space” real or not?

 Now back to Disneyland…..

Mickey and Minnie and Pluto were all there, looking a bit faded in the 105 degree heat. I walked past a larger than life Walt Disney in search of the magic that I did not quite find. 

Thousands of parents had brought their children to share the magic of their own youth but I actually heard a child, in an American accent, say “Who is Mickey Mouse?” 

I walked through the park feeling a bit the same. The Park is an anacronyism of a wonderful time lost and perhaps best left in ones’ memory. Tomorrowland looked a bit like Yesterdayland and the Star Wars ride was showing it’s 30 year old theme.

For lunch, we sat in Main Street and ate a turkey leg that needed two hands to hold, measuring some 40cm long. It looked larger than most childrens’ legs which probably made it more appetising.  Isn’t genetic modification of food products wonderful, and it only cost $10. 

One can still have fun, does he look happy?

I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble but the park needs an update and some consideration of how to amuse the “big kids” who visit. No, I am not jaded but the $80 entry fee promised more than I thought I got.   

The day was a bit hot and sweaty and the rides a bit dated but I got to tick the bucket list and still managed to have a fun day.

A bit of history……

 In 1923, a man called Walt Disney went to seek his fortune in a small village called “Hollywoodland” He was an animator. In the early 1920’s Walt created “Oswald the Rabbit” and it became very successful as cartoon shorts in theatres. A young financially challenged Walt had licenced Oswald to Universal Studios for distribution rights so when things went sour over money, Walt walked away and Universal Studios kept Oswald. This run-in with Universal Studios would play itself out again when in 1990 Universal opened up a theme park to compete with Disneyland, but that’s another story. 

That experience was the foundation of Disney’s insistence that he would never again license any of his creative property, especially his replacement for Oswald – Mickey Mouse. In1927, Walt created Mickey Mouse, and the 1928 release of the film "Steamboat Willie" made both the mouse and the man famous. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Disney made many successful animated films and he decided to share his animation by building a theme park called “Disneyland”, America's first.

The idea of a theme park was likened to sideshow carnivals that had a bad reputation for attracting riffraff to town so no-one would lend Walt money for his grand venture. Disney decided to use television to fund his venture, and created a TV show named “Disneyland” that was broadcast on the then-fledgling ABC television network. In return, the network agreed to help finance the new park. 

Interestingly, Walt had named his park "Disneylandia" and it was the marketing gurus at ABC TV that convinced him to change the name to Disneyland, a bit like Hollywoodland.

The park opened in 1955, and had 18 attractions distributed over five lands, Adventureland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, Tomorrowland and Main Street USA.  Disneyland received 1 million guests within the first three months of operation.  

Tomorrow we visit the competition, Universal Studios. I am not sure we will get thru the whole day.