Disneyland first opened its doors in 1955. Over 500 million people have paid the "happiest place on earth" a visit since then. The rides and attractions have changed a great deal over the years. Out of several dozen rides and attractions currently in the park, only 14 were there when it first opened. Walt Disney originally intended for Disneyland to evolve, and it has done just that. The history of the park is inextricably woven into its attractions.
Not every ride at Disneyland was destined to be a classic. When the park originally opened, it contained such less-than-memorable attractions as the Aluminum Hall of Fame and Monsanto Hall of Chemistry. A few features have stood the test of time, however: the only 14 to have been with the park since the beginning. They are the Main Street fire engine, the Main Street Cinema, the Disneyland Railroad, the Jungle Cruise, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, the Snow White ride, the Mad Tea Party, King Arthur's Carousel, the Autopia, the Mark Twain Riverboat, the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, the Casey Jr. circus train, the Peter Pan ride and the Storybookland canal boats.
Disneyland isn't known for its wild roller coasters. However, what it lacks in extreme thrills, it more than makes up for in imagination. The original thrill ride in Disneyland was the Matterhorn bobsled ride; it opened in 1959. It was the first coaster to use tubular railings. Space Mountain followed in 1977 during the same week that "Star Wars" hit movie theaters, and Big Thunder Mountain followed two years later in 1979.
Few people notice the Enchanted Tiki Room these days, tucked into a little corner at the entrance to Adventureland. Its singing birds, flowers and tiki masks seem rather quaint when compared to the likes of the Haunted Mansion and Star Tours. But it constitutes an important milestone in Disneyland attraction history: it was the first feature to use animatronics, the technology which allowed robots to display remarkably lifelike features. Because it worked so well when it opened in 1963, Disneyland proceeded to design other rides with Animatronics, including classics like the Pirates of the Caribbean and Indiana Jones.
In the wake of the monumentally successful "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, it's hard to imagine the ride not being associated with Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow. However, for most of its history, it was completely Jack free. The ride itself opened in 1967 and immediately became a popular favorite. While the movies featured elements from the ride (such as the imprisoned pirates trying to bribe a dog with a bone), Jack was a completely original character. He and his friends were added to the ride in 2006.
A number of Disneyland rides actually originated at the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair--most notably, It's a Small World. So did the great Moments With Mr. Lincoln. There was no Walt Disney World at that point, and Disney felt that the Fair would be an excellent way to introduce Disneyland to the East Coast. The rides transferred to Disneyland after the fair closed.
