Disneyland park in Anaheim is distinguished from Disneyland Resort in that it just entails the park itself. The resort also includes another park, Disney's California Adventure, as well as a shopping district and several hotels. The park remains the primary draw of Disneyland Resort. Disney's first theme park is still the one by which all others are measured. For over 50 years, it has welcomed visitors from all over the world to its confines and the company considers it "a tribute to the philosophy and life" of founder, Walt Disney.
Construction in Disneyland park began in 1954 in the orange groves of Anaheim. The site stood a short drive south of Disney's Burbank studios and the then-rural landscape provided ample room for the park. Walt Disney envisioned it as an attraction along the lines of World's Fairs, but unlike those parks, it could remain open year-round thanks to the warm California weather. Disneyland opened to the public on July 18, 1955--hampered by a disastrous preview for the press the day before, but quickly recovering to become a huge success for the company.
Disneyland park is divided into five distinct areas: Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. Each contains rides and attractions with a unified theme--Fantasyland, for example, has rides based around Disney's animated fairy tale adaptations, while Tomorrowland contains rocket ships and other "high tech" attractions. In addition, several smaller areas have been added over the years: New Orleans Square (which holds two of the park's most beloved rides, the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean), Critter Country and Mickey's Toontown. A railroad train encircles the entire park and Disneyland's famed monorail system zips back and forth between it and the nearby Downtown Disney shopping district.
Disneyland remains distinct from many other amusement parks because of its attention to detail and emphasis on imagination. The rides themselves are immersive experiences, creating entire worlds out of animatronics and classical stage illusions. Many of the details require multiple trips to fully appreciate. For example a ghostly bride in the Haunted Mansion also appears earlier in the ride as a "merry widow" in a mystically stretching portrait. The rides thus become more than simple roller coasters, taking on the features of miniature, all-encompassing stories.
In the early decades of Disneyland's history, visitors had to purchase tickets for individual rides, on top of the basic admission to get in. The tickets were labeled "A" through "E," denoting how desirable the ride was. The A ticket rides were small and mild, while E ticket rides were considered the most popular in the park. Disney abandoned the notion in 1982, switching to a single all-encompassing admission, but the term "E ticket" has since entered popular lexicon as any exciting or desirable event.
Disneyland prides itself on staying open 365 days a year, though it sometimes closes early for special events and it used to remained closed on Mondays and Tuesdays during the off season (January through March, and September through November). Three times in its history, it has made unscheduled closures: after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, after the events of September 11, 2001, and in 1970 after being targeted for a protest by the Youth International Party. The "Yippees" infiltrated the park and caused such a ruckus with pranks and demonstrations that the park had no choice but to close.
