27 Nostalgic Disneyland Photos and Facts You Probably Didn't Know

Isabella Penn

May 10, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

When we think of Disneyland today, we often think of this massive park with tons of attractions, crowded with people and extremely overpriced food. But that doesn't stop anyone from going to the park. No matter your age, it's a truly magical place to live out some of your favorite childhood movies in real life, complete with incredible rides and life-size replicas of some of the iconic features from Disney movies. But it didn't all start out that way. In fact, Disneyland only took a year to build, had 18 attractions, and wasn't an immediate success in its first year open to the public. Walt Disney had to make a lot of tweaks to the park before building the empire it is today. And when Walt was alive, you could actually see him walking around the park and interacting with customers. There are also a few other famous people who worked at Disneyland back in the day, but we won't spoil all of the good facts for you. Keep scrolling to see 30 nostalgic photos of Disneyland in its early days, as well as learn some cool facts about the park that you probably didn't know. And when you're done, round off your internet binge with A Magic Castle Full of 30 Hilarious Disney Memes to Fill Your Heart With Joy.

01
Before deciding to construct Disneyland in an orange grove of Anaheim, there were more than 70 sites proposed to Walt.

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02
From groundbreaking on July 16, 1954 to opening day on July 17, 1955, Disneyland was built in just one year.

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03
Ronald Reagan introduced Walt Disney at the dedication of Disneyland.

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04
On opening day Disneyland had only 18 attractions.

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05
Disneyland was not an immediate success. On opening day, the weather was very hot, there were traffic jams around the park, and invitations were counterfeited so the guest count was much higher than anticipated.

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Rides broke down and the live TV broadcast had many technical glitches. While that first day was rough and critics voiced their complains, it didn't stop the crowds. In its first year the park welcomed approximately 3.6 million visitors.
06
Walt enjoyed spending time with the guests. In fact, he loved it so much he would often stand in line with them.

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07
Walt Disney was inspired to build Disneyland after taking his daughters to ride the merry-go-round at L.A.’s Griffith Park. The actual bench he sat on when he came up with the idea is on display at Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln on Main Street.

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08
Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle is the only Disney park castle with a real functioning drawbridge. The drawbridge has been used twice: once on opening day and the second for the opening of the remodeled Fantasyland.

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09
The Disney family crest is on Sleeping Beauty Castle; it’s located above the drawbridge.

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10
Disneyland's address is 1313 Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, CA. M being the 13th letter in the alphabet, MM, Mickey Mouse.

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11
The huge Mickey Mouse flower portrait at the entrance of Disneyland gets new flowers 8-9 times a year.

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12
Contrary to popular belief, the golden spike that is located on the ground just after walking through Sleeping Beauty Castle is not the exact center of the park. Rather, it was used to center the castle to Main Street, U.S.A.

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13
When Walt was still alive, he could sometimes be seen selling popcorn at a particular popcorn cart on Main Street.

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14
Disneyland’s King Arthur Carousel is older than the park itself. It was built in 1922 for the Sunnyside Beach Park in Toronto.

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15
The Matterhorn was the first tubular steel roller coaster in the world.

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16
Yes, the urban rumors are true, there is a basketball court inside the Matterhorn.

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17
When the park first opened the Penny Arcade had a shooting gallery that used real bullets. It was quickly taken out.

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18
The shop with the little patio on Main Street actually used to be a shop called Intimate apparel. Yes, you could buy bras inside Disneyland. It was also known as The Wizard of Bras. The shop only lasted six months.

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19
There was also a small Tobacco shop.

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20
In the early 1960s, Steve Martin worked at the Magic Shop. He came back to host the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, and even worked a shift.

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21
John Lasseter, co-founder of Pixar and Cheif Creative Officer of all things Animation at Disney worked as a Jungle Cruise Skipper in the 1970s, he too, returned at the 50th Anniversary and worked a shift.

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22
The first Hidden Mickeys began as jokes among the Imagineers. They would hide pictures of Mickey Mouse while designing an attraction.

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23
Snow White’s Scary Adventures features the voice of Adriana Castelotti, the original Snow White.

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24
Originally the ride was called Snow White's Adventures, however parents complained about their children getting scared.

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25
Disneyland used to have ticket books, guests paid a small General Admission fee to enter the Park, then purchased books with tickets to enjoy the attractions.

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Tickets were labeled "A" through "E" and corresponded to set attractions. "E" tickets corresponded to the most popular and thrilling rides, which is why you might sometimes hear an attraction like Space Mountain referred to as an "E ticket attraction."
26
The mushroom outside of Alice in Wonderland was the original ticket booth, from when Disneyland used to be on a ticket-per-attraction basis.

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27
A time capsule was buried on July 17, 1995 — which was the 40th anniversary of Disneyland — in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. It will be unearthed on July 17, 2035, which is the 80th anniversary of Disneyland.

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27 Nostalgic Disneyland Photos and Facts You Probably Didn't Know

Before deciding to construct Disneyland in an orange grove of Anaheim, there were more than 70 sites proposed to Walt.

From groundbreaking on July 16, 1954 to opening day on July 17, 1955, Disneyland was built in just one year.

Ronald Reagan introduced Walt Disney at the dedication of Disneyland.

On opening day Disneyland had only 18 attractions.

Disneyland was not an immediate success. On opening day, the weather was very hot, there were traffic jams around the park, and invitations were counterfeited so the guest count was much higher than anticipated.

Walt enjoyed spending time with the guests. In fact, he loved it so much he would often stand in line with them.

Walt Disney was inspired to build Disneyland after taking his daughters to ride the merry-go-round at L.A.’s Griffith Park. The actual bench he sat on when he came up with the idea is on display at Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln on Main Street.

Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle is the only Disney park castle with a real functioning drawbridge. The drawbridge has been used twice: once on opening day and the second for the opening of the remodeled Fantasyland.

The Disney family crest is on Sleeping Beauty Castle; it’s located above the drawbridge.

Disneyland's address is 1313 Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, CA. M being the 13th letter in the alphabet, MM, Mickey Mouse.

The huge Mickey Mouse flower portrait at the entrance of Disneyland gets new flowers 8-9 times a year.

Contrary to popular belief, the golden spike that is located on the ground just after walking through Sleeping Beauty Castle is not the exact center of the park. Rather, it was used to center the castle to Main Street, U.S.A.

When Walt was still alive, he could sometimes be seen selling popcorn at a particular popcorn cart on Main Street.

Disneyland’s King Arthur Carousel is older than the park itself. It was built in 1922 for the Sunnyside Beach Park in Toronto.

The Matterhorn was the first tubular steel roller coaster in the world.

Yes, the urban rumors are true, there is a basketball court inside the Matterhorn.

When the park first opened the Penny Arcade had a shooting gallery that used real bullets. It was quickly taken out.

The shop with the little patio on Main Street actually used to be a shop called Intimate apparel. Yes, you could buy bras inside Disneyland. It was also known as The Wizard of Bras. The shop only lasted six months.

There was also a small Tobacco shop.

In the early 1960s, Steve Martin worked at the Magic Shop. He came back to host the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, and even worked a shift.

John Lasseter, co-founder of Pixar and Cheif Creative Officer of all things Animation at Disney worked as a Jungle Cruise Skipper in the 1970s, he too, returned at the 50th Anniversary and worked a shift.

The first Hidden Mickeys began as jokes among the Imagineers. They would hide pictures of Mickey Mouse while designing an attraction.

Snow White’s Scary Adventures features the voice of Adriana Castelotti, the original Snow White.

Originally the ride was called Snow White's Adventures, however parents complained about their children getting scared.

Disneyland used to have ticket books, guests paid a small General Admission fee to enter the Park, then purchased books with tickets to enjoy the attractions.

The mushroom outside of Alice in Wonderland was the original ticket booth, from when Disneyland used to be on a ticket-per-attraction basis.

A time capsule was buried on July 17, 1995 — which was the 40th anniversary of Disneyland — in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. It will be unearthed on July 17, 2035, which is the 80th anniversary of Disneyland.

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