Disneyland is one of the most visited theme parks in the world and was the flagship of the Disney theme park empire. The park is situated in Anaheim, California and the design was supervised by Walt Disney.
The Disneyland theme park opened on July 17, 1955. According to the Just Disney website, it was "one of the hottest days of the summer." Walt Disney spent all of the opening day at the park hosting a Disneyland Live television broadcast. The original park had five themed lands and covered 160 acres of ground. The park cost $17 million to build.
The Disneyland opening day was supposed to be a private preview and few guests were invited. Forged invitations were created for the Disneyland opening and over 28,000 guests actually arrived. The opening day was mayhem, a plumber's strike meant there was no water in the drinking fountains, food was sold out in the restaurants, and snack wagons and a number of rides broke down.
According to the 2009 Theme Index of Global Attractions, Disneyland in California is the second most popular attraction in the world. Figures show that 15,900,000 customers visited the Disneyland park in 2009.
