Disneyland in Anaheim has become the gold standard by which all other theme parks are judged. It remains the second-most visited tourist destination in the world--just behind the Magic Kingdom park in Orlando, which is directly patterned after it--and over 500 million visitors have passed through its gates since it opened. The secret to its magic lies in the care and attention to detail given to its various attractions, and in the thorough steps taken to provide a safe and inviting atmosphere.
Walt Disney first conceived of Disneyland as a sort of permanent World's Fair, where parents and children could come together and experience "the magic of dreams." He selected the little town of Anaheim for its location--surrounded by orange groves and just a short trip down the road from Disney's Burbank studios. The park opened on July 18, 1955, following a disastrous sneak preview to the press on the 17th (soaring temperatures and huge crowds, combined with numerous ride breakdowns and a lack of functioning drinking fountains, made the park environment quite hellish). Despite its initial stumble, the park proved a huge success, prompting Disney to expand the number of rides and eventually design a new version of the park--Walt Disney World--in Florida.
Disney's official address is 1313 South Harbor Blvd, at the intersection of South Disneyland Dr. and West Ball Rd. The numbers in the address are significant and deliberate. "M" is the 13th letter in the alphabet, giving the street numbers a moniker of "MM" for Mickey Mouse. Formal parking can be found on South Disneyland Drive, in a large structure known as Mickey and Friends Parking. The original parking lot was transformed into another theme park (Disney's California Adventure) and the Downtown Disney shopping center, which contains stores catering to locals. The Mickey and Friends Parking Lot caters to all three entities.
Disneyland itself is divided into five separate "lands," each containing rides and attractions with a specific theme. The front gates open onto Main Street U.S.A., a series of shops matching the nostalgic imagery of turn-of-the-century towns. Adventureland contains rides reflecting exotic or tropical locales, such as the famous Jungle Cruise or the Indiana Jones ride. Fantasyland holds rides based on Disney's classic movies like Snow White and Peter Pan. Frontierland is intended to match the Old West, with attractions like the Big Thunder Railroad and Tom Sawyer's Island. Tomorrowland is a vision of the future with rides like Space Mountain and a "Star Wars" virtual reality ride called Star Tours. In addition, a few "extra" territories have been placed between the five lands. New Orleans Square, next to Frontierland, holds the famous Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean rides .Critter Country, just next door, holds rides such as Splash Mountain and Winnie the Pooh. Finally, Mickey's Toon Town, just off of Fantasyland, is patterned after the cartoon world of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."
Disney operates a trio of hotels catering specifically to Disneyland visitors. The original Disneyland Hotel has been around in some form or another since 1955. Two new hotels were added during the expansion of the late 1990s/early 2000s: Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, and Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. In addition, Anaheim contains countless hotels catering to Disneyland visitors, but which are not officially affiliated with the park. Some of them are directly across the street, and others offer shuttle service to Disneyland.
Disneyland's hours vary by time of year and days of the week. Summer nights and weekends entail extended hours, and can include fireworks displays and nighttime parades. In addition, certain promotions such as their "Magic Morning" promotions allow those with specific tickets to enter the park early, before the crowds have time to build up. Generally speaking, weekdays and off-season hours (January thought March and September through November) are shorter than weekend, summer and Christmas hours, in light of the smaller crowds during those times.
