July 17: Opening of Disneyland (1955)
Prayer Idea
Pray for people who design, build, and work at amusement parks.
History Note
Dyrehavsbakken in Denmark claims to be the world’s oldest operating amusement park. Established in 1583 at a natural spring, the site attracted visitors along with entertainers and hawkers.
Pleasure gardens became popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. These were often royal gardens opened to the public. Vauxhall Gardens in London hosted acrobatic acts, firework displays, and musical performances.
As early as the 1600s, people in Russia were building ice slides up to 80 feet tall. These were a precursor to the roller coaster, which developed in the 1800s. Merry-go-rounds powered by steam appeared in the 19th century, along with the Ferris Wheel in 1897.
Walt Disney (1901-1966) loved to draw and paint as a child. After serving as an ambulance driver in Europe during World War I, he started working in an art studio in Kansas City. There he met an artist named Ub Iwerks.
Disney and Iwerks started their own company in 1922. They made short animated advertising films and cartoons. Their first business failed, and they started again in California with Walt’s brother Roy Disney. They gained success in 1928 with an animated film about a mouse named Mickey.
After releasing more short cartoons, the company released the feature-length animated movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. Disney also moved into live-action films and television programs.
In the early 1950s, Walt Disney began creating Disneyland, a theme park in southern California. The American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) agreed to provide part of the funding for the project in exchange for the rights to a weekly Disney television program and a share of park profits.
Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955. ABC filmed the opening ceremonies, which were intended to be for a limited number of invited guests only. However, public interest led to thousands of additional people showing up and making their way into the park.
Before his death in 1966, Walt Disney started work on another theme park in Florida, Disney World. Disney-themed parks are now also open in Paris, France; Tokyo, Japan; and Shanghai and Hong Kong, China.
This 1954 photo shows Walt Disney (center) discussing plans for Disneyland with officials from Orange County, California. Photo from the Orange County Archives' Willard Smith Collection.
Learn More
This clip shows footage from the CBS station in San Diego about the opening of Disneyland.
Please Note: People are shown dressed in stereotypical American Indian costumes.
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