Sydney

Numerous telecommunications companies operate in Sydney providing terrestrial and mobile telecommunications services. Window on Main Street by Van Arsdale France. ?: Stabur, 1991. Three companies supply natural gas and electricity to Sydney, they are Energy Australia, AGL and Integral Energy. New York: Harry N Abrams, 1987. ^[16] Historically low water levels in the catchment have led to water use restrictions and the NSW government is investigating alternative water supply options, including grey water recycling and the construction of a seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant at Kurnell.^[17] Sydney Water also collects the wastewater and sewerage produced by the city. Disneyland: Inside Story by Randy Bright. Water in the Sydney catchment is chiefly stored in dams in the Upper Nepean Scheme, the Blue Mountains, Woronora Dam, Warragamba Dam and the Shoalhaven Scheme. Various assistant managers, in turn, report to their business unit's duty manager, and carry callsigns such as River One (the manager in charge of the Critter Country and New Orleans Square rides).

Water storage and supply for Sydney is managed by the Sydney Catchment Authority, which is an agency of the NSW Government that sells bulk water to Sydney Water and other agencies. Guest service managers from the park's several business units, including Attractions, Custodial, Foods, Merchandise, and Security, report to Theme Park One, and are given call signs such as Attractions One or Merch One. RAAF Base Richmond lies to the north-west of the city. (DCA's senior manager is called Theme Park Two.) These managers respond to situtations throughout the park and are empowered to open backstage areas for crowd control purposes, close specific locations, or even close the entire park. There are light aviation airfields at Hoxton Park and Camden. Disneyland's senior on-the-ground manager at any time is called Theme Park One, a position which rotates among a group of managers in the resort's Theme Park Operations department. The smaller Bankstown Airport mainly serves private and general aviation. On a minute-to-minute basis, the parks are run by duty managers, who are identified by their radio call signs.

Kingsford Smith International Airport, located in the suburb of Mascot, is Sydney's main airport, and the oldest continuously operating commercial airport in the world. (He reports to Jay Rasulo, the chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, who in turn reports to Bob Iger, the president and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company.) Ouimet, who previously ran Disney's cruise ship operations, is assisted by several experienced theme park managers, including Senior Vice President of Operations Greg Emmer and Vice President of Theme Park Operations Jon Storbeck. Sydney Ferries, another State government-owned organisation, runs numerous commuter and tourist ferry services on Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River. Matt Ouimet is the president of the Disneyland Resort. In the outer suburbs, service is divided between many private bus companies. The operations of Disneyland are mostly merged with that of its sister park, Disney's California Adventure (DCA), so both parks, as well as the other Disneyland Resort properties, are managed by one team of senior executives. In the city and inner suburbs the state-owned Sydney Buses has a monopoly. In Eric Wilson's young adult novel Disneyland Hostage (which is part of the Canadian mystery series featuring Liz Austen) terrorists take over Disneyland and hold guests hostage on Tom Sawyer's Island.

Most parts of the metropolitan area are served by buses, many of which follow the pre-1963 tram routes. In Kim Stanley Robinson's novel The Gold Coast (set in a dystopian Orange County of 2030), the core characters mention a perverse game where the person who has to wait the longest for the least thrilling ride at Disneyland wins. Sydney was formerly served by an extensive tram network, which was progressively closed in the 1950s and 1960s. This trip goes awry and chaos ensues. There is also a monorail which runs in a loop around the main shopping district and Darling Harbour. In The Doctor Who serial "The Delta and the Bannermen", Sylvester McCoy's Doctor takes a bus tour supposedly going to Disneyland. Sydney has one privately operated light rail line, the Metro Light Rail, running from Central Station to Lilyfield along a former goods train line. The 1962 movie 40 Pounds Of Trouble starring Tony Curtis and Suzanne Pleshette culminates in a madcap chase through Disneyland's various realms.

Public anger resulted in the introduction of a new timetable, the employment of more drivers and a large infrastructure project which is scheduled to be completed by 2010.^[13][14][15]. In the 1962 movie The Three Stooges in Orbit, Larry, Moe and Curly Joe prevent Martians from attacking Disneyland from a flying submarine. In the years following the 2000 Olympics, CityRail's performance declined significantly. Doctorow's novel The Book of Daniel. Trains run as suburban commuter rail services in the outer suburbs, then converge in an underground city loop service in the CBD. L. Sydney trains are run by CityRail, a corporation of the New South Wales State Government. Disneyland Park, and a learned discussion of its social function, occurs with deliberate incongruity in the closing pages of E.

Sydney is also served by extensive train, bus and ferry networks. Although called "temporary," this restriction is still in place as of May, 2005, however it has since been weakened, only creating the "No-Fly Zone" when the Terror Alert Level is Orange or higher. The most important trunk routes in the urban area form the Metroad system. An additional restriction was imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration after September 11, a temporary flight restriction, which forbids civilian and media aircraft from flying over the park. Most transport in Sydney is by automobiles, and there is an extensive network of freeways and tollways (known as motorways) and roads across Sydney. The celebration began on May 5. There are also a number of private hospitals in the city. Though the original stated reason was to put the finishing touches on the 50th Anniversary Celebration, Disneyland Park also played host to a large media event designed to generate interest in the 50th anniversary celebration.

Sydney South West Health, Sydney West Area, Northern Sydney and Central Coast and the South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area each manage a number of hospitals and specialist health facilities. A scheduled closure occurred on May 4, 2005. The Government of New South Wales operates numerous public hospitals, management of these hospitals is coordinated by 4 health services. Disneyland Park stayed closed during the attacks of September 11, 2001, out of respect for the time of national mourning and out of fear of further attacks directed at high-profile targets such as the park. Famous Sydney beaches include Bondi Beach, Manly Beach and Palm Beach. The first occurrence was due to President Kennedy's assassination, yet urban legends have circulated that Walt Disney refused to heed orders from Under Secretary of State George Ball to lower the US Flag in Town Square - although Disney and his brother were on the other side of the country surveying land for the future site of the Walt Disney World Resort. Sydney's beaches are popular recreation and sporting locations with both tourists and locals. Disneyland Park has only been forced to close twice in its history.

The river is used for dinghy sailing and rowing as well as recreational boating, racing small yachts, recreational fishing, and occasional Dragon Boat racing. They approached the gates, only to be dismissed at the gates. Sydney Harbour is famous for its racing yachts, the Boxing Day start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and 18 foot (5.5 m) skiffs. Although several leaflets were published announcing this, only one car of neo-Nazis was seen in the parking lot before the park opened, and none entered. The Sydney Swans play most of their home games on the Sydney Cricket Ground. With memories of this event in mind, in May 1989, park security personnel were prepared for rumors of an invasion of the park by neo-Nazis, in honor of the birth of an obscure Nazi leader named Gregor Strasser. Sydney Football Stadium (also known as Aussie Stadium) is home to such clubs as Sydney Roosters, Sydney FC and the NSW Waratahs, and the neighbouring Sydney Cricket Ground has been home to numerous sports for over a century. They raised a Viet Cong flag on Tom Sawyer's Island chanting "Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh", filled the now-closed Inner Space dark ride with marijuana smoke, displayed the Yippie flag (which had on it an image of a marijuana leaf in a red star on a black background).

Sydney's most famous sports grounds include Sydney Olympic Park which includes Telstra Stadium, home to such events as the NRL grand final, the rugby league State of Origin series and most recently the football (soccer) World Cup qualifier between Australia and Uruguay. They wanted to attack Bank of America because the Bank was supposedly financing the Vietnam War. Sydney hosted the 1938 British Empire Games and the 2000 Summer Olympics. In their leaflets, they stated they would help "liberate" Minnie Mouse, arrange a Black Panther Breakfast at the now-closed Aunt Jemima Pancake House, and attack the Bank of America on Main Street, USA and the attraction it's a small world, which Bank of America sponsored. The New South Wales teams New South Wales Blues - First-class cricket and the New South Wales Waratahs - Super 14 Rugby union team are also based in Sydney. In August 1970, Disneyland Park was literally invaded by several Yippies who planned the stunt as an attack on what they saw as bloated establishment decadence. In addition to the NRL Sydney has teams in most national competitions including the Sydney Swans - AFL, Sydney FC - A-League, Sydney Kings and the West Sydney Razorbacks - National Basketball League, Sydney Blues - Australian Major League Baseball and the Sydney Swifts in Australian Netball's Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Two of the deaths were ruled by CalOSHA to be the result of negligence on the park's part rather than misbehavior by guests:.

George-Illawarra Dragons and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. Seven of the deaths were the result of negligence on the Guests' part rather than the park's:. It is the headquarters of Australian Rugby League and home to 9 of the 15 National Rugby League (NRL) teams, including the Sydney Roosters, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Parramatta Eels, Cronulla Sharks, Wests Tigers, Penrith Panthers, Canterbury Bulldogs, St. A greater number of guests have been injured. Sydney is arguably the major rugby league centre of the world. Over the half century that Disneyland Park has been in operation, nine Guests and one Cast Member have died inside the park. For a full list see here. Initially, only a few attractions offered this service, but its popularity ensured its spread to many of the park's attractions.

There are also a number of community stations broadcasting to a particular language group or local area. If the guest comes back to the attraction at his return time, he will get to wait in a shorter line and be on the attraction within ten minutes, or often much more quickly. Triple J, 2SER and FBi Radio provide a more independent, local and alternative sound. At attractions featuring FASTPASS, a guest can use his park admission ticket to obtain a FASTPASS ticket with a return time later that day (an hour-long window) printed on it. Popular music stations include Triple M, 2Day FM and Nova 96.9. In 1999, in an effort to offset the long waits for the most popular attractions, Disney implemented a new service named FASTPASS [4]. Vega is a new talk radio station on the FM band. This model spread rapidly to all other parks, including Disneyland, because its business advantages were obvious: in addition to guaranteeing that everyone paid a large sum even if they stayed for only a few hours and rode only a few rides, the park no longer had to print tickets or ticket books, staff ticket booths, or provide staff to collect tickets or monitor attractions for people sneaking on without tickets.

The talkback radio genre is dominated by the perennial rivals 2GB and 2UE. In the 1970s, nearby Magic Mountain introduced a one-price admission ticket which allowed free access to all attractions within the park. The local ABC radio station is 702 ABC Sydney (formerly 2BL). This led to the still-popular term "E ticket ride" for any particularly outstanding, special, or thrilling experience. Many AM and FM government, commercial and community radio services broadcast in the Sydney area. The least-expensive "A" tickets gave access to the smaller attractions, while the most-expensive "E" tickets gave access to the newest thrill rides or the most interesting and unusual attractions. Limited digital TV transmissions serve Sydney, including a program guide (Channel 4), ABC news, sport, and weather items (Channel 41), ChannelNSW: Government and Public Information (Channel 45), Australian Christian Channel (Channel 46), MacquarieBank TV (Channel 47), SportsTAB (Channel 48), Expo Home Shopping (Channel 49), and Federal parliamentary broadcasts (audio only). Park-goers paid a small sum to get into the park, then bought coupons (also called tickets), individually or in booklets, that allowed them access to rides and attractions.

Foxtel and Optus both supply pay-TV over their cable services to most parts of the urban area. From Disneyland's opening until 1982, the price of attractions was in addition to the price of park admission. Seven have their studios in suburban Epping as well as a new purpose built studio in the CBD, Nine have their headquarters located in Willoughby, Ten have their studios in a redeveloped section of the inner-city suburb of Pyrmont, the ABC has a large headquarters and production facility in Ultimo and SBS have their studios at Artarmon. Through the years, this has included:. The three commercial television networks (Seven, Nine and Ten), as well as the government networks (ABC and SBS) each have a presence in Sydney. In addition to the attractions, Disneyland provides live entertainment throughout the park. Both papers have tabloid counterparts published on Sunday, The Sun-Herald and the Sunday Telegraph respectively. The new cars resemble those used in television commercials for Chevron and are in one of these three styles:.

The Herald's competitor, The Daily Telegraph, is a populist News Corporation-owned tabloid. This car design was used through 2000, when the entire ride was rethemed and modernized. It is also the oldest extant newspaper in Australia, having been published regularly since 1831. In 1967, the cars were redesigned to resemble the popular Chevrolet Corvette. The Sydney Morning Herald is a centrist broadsheet, and is Sydney's newspaper of record with extensive coverage of domestic and international news, culture and business. Robert Gurr designed the original Autopia cars to be reminiscent of Ferraris. Sydney has two main daily newspapers. The Disneyland Autopia opened with the park in 1955, and represented a future look at what would become America's multilane limited-access highways that were still being developed (President Eisenhower had yet to sign the Interstate Highway legislation at the time Disneyland opened).

Oceanworld, Sydney Aquarium, and Taronga Zoo are popular, as are the Harbour Bridge, Luna Park, the Sydney Mint and Sydney Tower. The Fantasyland station remains. Other attractions include the historic Rocks district and Hyde Park Barracks. It was removed shortly after the Rocket Rods closed in spring 2001. There is a significant gay community which hosts the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras along Oxford Street. The Tomorrowland station remained and was used as a maintenance bay for Rocket Rods beginning in 1998. Sydney is home to several large ethnic communities throughout the greater metropolitan area, with Chinatown as a good example. No Skyways are left at any Disney park (Disneyland Park in Paris never had a Skyway attraction).

The biggest are the Australian Museum (natural history and anthropology), the Powerhouse Museum (science, technology and design), the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Australian National Maritime Museum. Four years later, Tokyo Disneyland Park removed their Skyway; finally, in 1999, Walt Disney World Resort's Magic Kingdom Park removed theirs. Sydney has five large and many smaller museums. Due to the enormous impending cost to retrofit the Skyway for earthquake safety and handicap accessibility, the attraction closed permanently on November 10, 1994. Sydney also has been home to many visual artists, from the lush pastoralism of Lloyd Rees's depictions of Sydney Harbour to Jeffrey Smart's portraits of bleak urban alienation. A distinctive feature was that Disneyland maintained the 'on-stage/backstage' illusion to Skyway guests, covering any sites that would be unsuitable to guests that were also hidden to guests on foot. Kilda to Kings Cross" and "Sydney From A 727", to John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong and songs like "King Street" and "Miracle in Marrickville" to The Mexican Spitfires "Sydney Town" and "Town Hall Steps" among many others. Opened in 1956 by Walt Disney himself, it shuttled passengers between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland 100 feet (30 m) above the ground, giving passengers fantastic views of Sleeping Beauty Castle, the Matterhorn (which was built around the Skyway in 1959), and the Autopia.

Sydney has also been the inspiration for a large number of Australian indie rock and mainstream pop songs, from The Executives' classic 1968 "Summer Hill Road" to Paul Kelly's many songs about Sydney including "From St. The Disneyland Skyway, "the first aerial tramway of its kind in the United States"¹, was one of the signature attractions at the park. Many internationally known Australian rock bands have had their conception in Sydney, which include most notably The Easybeats, AC/DC, Midnight Oil and INXS. They (as well as the fire truck) have two cylinder, four horsepower (3 kW) engines and manual transmission and steering. Other major arts venues include the Sydney Town Hall, City Recital Hall, the State Theatre and the Wharf Theatre. The horseless carriages are modeled after cars built in 1903. Performances are often held in the iconic Sydney Opera House, which contains 5 theatres capable of hosting a wide range of performance styles. The fire engine was built for Walt Disney, who used it to drive around the park and host celebrity guests.

Sydney boasts a full roster of musical, theatrical and artistic activity through the year, from the formal - including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Theatre Company, the Sydney Dance Company, and the Archibald Prize - to festivals, including the Sydney Festival, a celebration of free performances throughout January. A number of vehicles, including a double-decker bus, a horse-drawn streetcar, an old-fashioned fire engine, and an old-fashioned automobile, are available for rides along Main Street, U.S.A. Selective schools are high schools which admit students on the basis of certain criteria, usually academic testing. This caused a rift between Disneyland and the Santa Fe railroad, and eventually caused the breakdown in their relationship and the removal of Santa Fe sponsorship from the Disneyland Railroad. There are four state administered education areas in Sydney, which coordinate 919 schools. This conflicted with the contract with the Santa Fe that only their name could be associated with railroad attractions at the park. Public schools, including pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, and special schools are administered by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training. Disneyland had signed a contract with the Alweg company which required the Alweg name to be displayed on the monorail.

Sydney has numerous public, denominational, and independent schools. A fourth train, Monorail Orange, was removed from service and shipped to Disney's engineering department in Glendale for disassembly and study so that new blueprints can be created from it, because ALWEG, the company which built the original monorail trains, has gone out of business, and the current trains, built by Ride & Show Entertainment in 1987, use some of the same parts as the ALWEG trains did. There are four multi-campus government funded Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes in Sydney which provide vocational training at a tertiary level: the Sydney Institute of Technology, North Sydney Institute of TAFE, Western Sydney Institute of TAFE and South Western Sydney Institute of TAFE. As of 2004, three monorail trains, Monorail Red, Monorail Blue, and Monorail Purple, are in regular service. Other universities which operate secondary campuses in Sydney include the University of Notre Dame Australia and the University of Wollongong. Three generations of monorail cars have been used in the park, since their lightweight construction means they wear out quickly. There are five other public universities operating primarily in Sydney: the University of New South Wales, Macquarie University, the University of Technology, Sydney, the University of Western Sydney, and the Australian Catholic University (two of whose five campuses are in Sydney). It follows a 2.5 mile (4 km) long route designed to show off the park from above.

Sydney is the site of Australia's first University: the University of Sydney was established in Sydney in 1850 and remains one of Australia's most prestigious universities. The monorail shuttles visitors between two stations, one in Disneyland itself (in Tomorrowland) and one outside the park, originally at the Disneyland Hotel but now, after the 2001 remodel, at the Downtown Disney shopping complex. Approximately 67% of Sydney residents describe themselves as Christian, the most common denominations being Catholic and Anglican; about 9% of the population practice a non-Christian religion, the most common being Buddhism and Islam and about 12% are not religious.^[6]. The next update will be around 2006 or 2007. The median age of a Sydney resident is 34, 12% of the population is over 65 years.^[4] 12.3% of Sydney residents have educational attainment equal to at least a bachelor's degree, which is lower than the national average of 19%. The trains themselves have received multiple updates; the most recent was in 1987 when more modern trains built by Ride and Show Entertainment eliminated the old ALWEG Buck Rogers-style trains. Most Sydneysiders are native speakers of English; many have a second language, the most common being Chinese languages, Arabic (including Lebanese), Greek.^[6]. The monorail track has remained almost exactly the same since 1961, aside from small alterations while Disney's California Adventure and Downtown Disney were being built.

The three major sources of immigrants are the United Kingdom, China and New Zealand, significant numbers of immigrants also came from Vietnam, Lebanon, Italy and the Philippines. One of Disneyland's signature attractions is its Alweg monorail system, installed in 1959. As of 2003 there were 4,270,986 people living in Sydney, and a population density of 345.7 persons per square kilometer for the metropolitan area.^[11] Inner Sydney is the most densely populated place in Australia with 4023 persons per square kilometer.^[12] In the 2001 census, the most common self-described ancestries identified for Sydney residents were Australian, English and Irish.^[6] The Census also recorded that 1% of Sydney's population identified as being of indigenous origin and 31.2% were born overseas. It is the most prolonged closure of the railroad in park history. 20th Century Fox has large Sydney studios. The railroad reopened in March 2005 after undergoing a three-month restoration to bring the roadbed back to gauge in time for the park's fiftieth anniversary. The economy of Sydney is large and diverse, the sectors with the largest percentage of employed persons include property and business services, retail, manufacturing and health and community services.^[9] Since the 1980s there has been a de-industrialisation of the Sydney economy, with jobs moving from manufacturing to the services and information sectors, Sydney is now established as the corporate and financial capital of Australia and is also an important financial centre in the Asia-Pacific.^[10] Sydney is home to the Australian Stock Exchange and the Reserve Bank of Australia, all major Australian banks, and many major Australian corporations, it also serves as the regional headquarters for numerous multinational corporations. The train will be named after the late Ward Kimball, one of Disney's Nine Old Men.

As of September 2003, the unemployment rate in Sydney was 5.3%.^[6] As of December 2005, Sydney has the highest median house price of any Australian capital city at $520 000.^[7] According to The Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide cost of living survey, Sydney is the sixteenth most expensive city in the world to live in.^[8]. This 1902 Baldwin loco will be Disneyland Railroad train #5, and will be the first Disneyland Railroad train added since 1959. For example, the boundaries of the City of Sydney LGA have been significantly altered by state governments on at least four occasions since 1945, with advantageous effect to the governing party in the New South Wales Parliament at the time. In 2004, Disney purchased the inoperable Maud L locomotive from the Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio, and sent it to a Southern California shop to restore it and transform it into a Disneyland Railroad locomotive. For this reason, Sydney has always been a focus for the politics of both State and Federal Parliaments. 4 is the oldest locomotive in service at any Disney property. Because a large proportion of New South Wales' population lives in Sydney, state governments have traditionally been reluctant to allow the development of citywide governmental bodies, which would tend to rival the state government. As an 1894 product of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, No.

These include public transport, main roads, traffic control, policing, education above preschool level, and planning of major infrastructure projects. 4 is a "Forney" locomotive, a type of tank locomotive. Most citywide government activities are controlled by the state government. No. The LGAs in Sydney are:. All three were given extensive renovations before entering service, including new boilers. These areas all have elected councils and are responsible for a range of functions delegated to them by the New South Wales State Government. Two more locomotives were later acquired from outside sources, since this was cheaper than building new ones and since many narrow-gauge lines were closing down and selling their equipment.

Local affairs for the rest of the metropolitan area are run by bodies known as local government areas. 2 was given a straight stack and smaller pilot common to East Coast coal-burning locomotives. The Lord Mayor, however, is sometimes treated as a representative of the whole city. 1 was given a big wood-burning 'balloon' stack and a large, pointed pilot (cowcatcher) while No. It is led by the elected Lord Mayor of Sydney and a council. No. The City of Sydney includes the central business area and some adjoining inner suburbs, and has in recent years been expanded through amalgamation with adjoining local government areas (LGAs), such as South Sydney. Patterned after the Lilly Belle, a miniature steam locomotive Broggie had made for Walt's backyard Carolwood Pacific Railroad, these were also models of classic "Wild West" style American 4-4-0s, but built to a larger three-fifths scale.

Today there is no overall governing body for the Sydney metropolitan area. Broggie. Historically, Sydney was governed by Cumberland County (c.1940-1960). The Walt Disney Company constructed the original two locomotives in its own workshops under the supervision of Roger E.
. They operate with automotive windshield wiper motors. As a result, the proportion of white-collar jobs located in the CBD declined from more than 60% at the end of World War II to less than 30% in 2004.^{[citation needed]} The five most significant outer business districts are Parramatta in the central-west, Blacktown in the west, Liverpool in the southwest, Chatswood to the north, and Hurstville in the south. These scaled-down replicas were designed and built by the San Bernardino shops of the Santa Fe Railroad as a gift to Disneyland.

Although the CBD dominated the city's business and cultural life in the early days, other business/cultural districts have developed in a radial pattern since World War II. Santa Fe offered the use of full-scale crossing signals, but Disney declined as they would be out of scale with the trains. George Street is the Sydney CBDs main north-south thoroughfare. As the train passes behind the "it's a small world" attraction in Fantasyland, it crosses a service road that is protected by two miniature wigwag crossing signals. Central Station marks the southern end of the CBD. Another detail dating from the park's opening can be seen from the railroad. The west side is bounded by Darling Harbour, a popular tourist precinct. Five open-air, clerestory-roofed observation cars with forward-facing seats dating from the park's opening were returned to service in 2004 after undergoing a three-year restoration.

The CBD is bounded on the east side by a chain of parkland that extends from Hyde Park through the Domain and Royal Botanic Gardens to Farm Cove on the harbour. The 1958 addition of the "Grand Canyon/Primeval World" diorama necessitated a change in the rolling stock as well; instead of facing forward, the benches of the new flatcars now faced right so that the diorama could be better enjoyed by the passengers. Densely concentrated skyscrapers and other buildings including historic sandstone buildings such as the Sydney Town Hall and Queen Victoria Building are interspersed by several parks such as Wynyard and Hyde Park. The passing track was disconnected and now is only used to display a handcar. Sydney's central business district (CBD) extends southwards for about 2 kilometres (1.25 mi) from Sydney Cove, the point of the first European settlement. Later, for safety reasons and to allow the use of more than two trains, the line was changed so that trains in normal service run in a clockwise direction only. The regions are Eastern Suburbs, Hills District, Inner West, Lower North Shore, Northern Beaches, North Shore, Southern Sydney, South-eastern Sydney, South-western Sydney, Sutherland Shire and Western Sydney. A passing track was incorporated at Main Street station where one train had to wait to allow the other to pass.

However it should be noted that there are many suburbs which are not conveniently covered by any of the following informal regional categories. Originally, two trains could operate on the railroad, running in opposite directions. In addition, there are a number of regional descriptions which are used informally to conveniently describe large sections of the urban area. All the Disneyland locomotives burn diesel fuel, which is less polluting (though more expensive) than the coal, wood, or heavy "Bunker C" oil normally used on steam locomotives. The City of Sydney itself covers a fairly small area comprising the central business district and neighbouring inner-city suburbs. Laid to three-foot gauge, the most common narrow gauge measurement used in North America, the railroad is laid in a continuous loop around the park. The extensive area covered by urban Sydney is formally divided into more than 300 suburbs (for addressing and postal purposes), and formally administered by about 38 separate local government areas (in addition to the extensive responsibilities of the Government of New South Wales and its agencies). Originally known as the Disneyland and Santa Fe Railroad, it was sponsored by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway until 1974.

The city is subject to infrequent severe hail storms and wind storms. Disneyland incorporates a steam railroad, the Disneyland Railroad. Many areas of the city bordering bushland have experienced bushfires, notably in 1994 and 2002 – these tend to occur during the spring and summer. The transportation systems are in some respects intended more as entertainment or sightseeing rides than as a means of transporting guests, such as the "Casey Junior" train ride. Although the city does not suffer from cyclones or significant earthquakes, the El Niño Southern Oscillation plays an important role in determining Sydney's weather patterns: drought and bushfire on the one hand, and storms and flooding on the other, associated with the opposite phases of the oscillation. Therefore a number of different modes of transport were incorporated into the park. The average annual rainfall, with moderate to low variability, is 1217.0 mm, falling on an average 138.0 days a year.^[4][5]. He had built a miniature live steam backyard railroad, the "Carolwood Pacific Railroad", on the grounds of his own home.

Rainfall is fairly evenly divided between summer and winter, but is slight higher during the first half of the year, when easterly winds dominate. Walt Disney had a longtime interest in transportation, and railroads in particular. The lowest recorded minimum is 2.1 °C. The major buildings backstage include "Team Disney Anaheim", where many of the park's support staff and top-level managers work; and the "Old Administration Building", behind Tomorrowland and Main Street. The coldest month is June, with an average range of 8.0 °C - 16.2 °C. The speed limit for most parts of Berm Road is 15 miles per hour, although a section cutting through Disneyland's maintenance shops behind the park's northwestern corner has a speed limit of 5 miles per hour. The winter is mild, with temperatures rarely dropping below 5 °C in coastal areas. There are also two railroad bridges that cross Berm Road: one behind City Hall and the other behind Tomorrowland near Harbor Gate.

The highest recorded temperature is 45.3 °C on 1939-01-14 at the end of a 4 day nationwide heatwave. It has two narrow lanes divided by a double yellow line, runs underneath the Monorail track. The warmest month is January, with an average temperature range on the coast of 18.6 °C - 25.8 °C and an average of 14.6 days a year over 30 °C. A stretch of the road, wedged between Tomorrowland and Harbor Boulevard, is called Schumaker Road. The weather is moderated by proximity to the ocean, and more extreme temperatures are recorded in the inland western suburbs. The road is so called because it generally follows outside the path of Disneyland's earthen berm, although with the addition of Mickey's Toowntown, the road now strays as much as 100 yards from onstage areas at some points. Sydney's climate is temperate, with rainfall spread throughout the year and a warm summer. Berm Road encircles the park from Firehouse Gate (behind the Main Street Fire Station) to Egghouse Gate (adjacent to the Main Street Opera House).

The oldest parts of the city are located in the flat areas; the Hornsby Plateau, known as the North Shore, was slower to develop because of its hilly topography, and was mostly a quiet backwater until the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened in 1932, linking it to the rest of the city. There are several points of entry from the outside world to the backstage areas: Ball Gate (at the terminus of Cast Place off Ball Road), TDA Gate (adjacent to the Team Disney Anaheim building), Harbor Gate (off Harbor Boulevard, behind Tomorrowland), and Winston Gate (off Disneyland Drive, behind the Mickey and Friends parking garage). Sydney occupies two geographical regions: the Cumberland Plain, a relatively flat or rolling region lying to the south and west of the harbour, and the Hornsby Plateau, a plateau north of the harbour, up to 200 metres (656 ft) in elevation, dissected by forested valleys. Areas closed to park visitors are considered in Disneyland lingo "backstage". The metropolitan area (Sydney Statistical Division) is 12,145 km² (4,689 mi²); a significant portion of this area is national park and other unsettled land. The land is built like the town where Disney characters live and work, and Mickey's Toontown Fair at the Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort is built like a county fair with judging tents. Sydney's urban area of 1,687 km² (651 mi²) is similar to that of Greater London, although it has less than half of that city's population. Mickey's Toontown opened in 1993 and patterned after "Toontown" in the Disney/Touchstone Pictures 1988 release Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mickey's Toontown looks like a 1930s Max Fleischer cartoon short come to life.

The city features the largest natural harbour in the world, Port Jackson, and more than 70 harbour and ocean beaches, including the famous Bondi Beach. In 2003, a dark ride called The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh replaced the long-running Country Bear Jamboree, a show featuring singing Audio-Animatronic bears. Sydney is located in a coastal basin between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Blue Mountains to the west. Today, its main draw is Splash Mountain, a log flume attraction themed after the animated segments of Disney's 1946 movie Song of the South.
. Formerly the area was home to the Indian Village with actual Native Americans entertaining guests. Indeed, Sydney has the second highest immigrant population of any major world city, with 45% of the population being either migrants or children of migrants.^{[citation needed]}. Critter Country opened in 1972 as "Bear Country," and was renamed in 1988.

Throughout the 20th century Sydney continued to expand with various new waves of European and (later) Asian immigration, resulting in its highly cosmopolitan atmosphere. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future.". With industrialisation Sydney expanded rapidly, and by the early 20th century it had a population well in excess of one million. "To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Rapid suburban development began in the last quarter of the 19th century with the advent of steam powered tramways and railways. The transmission is the first two sentences from Walt Disney's opening day speech on July 17, 1955. The first of several gold rushes started in 1851, and the port of Sydney has since seen many waves of people arriving from around the world. Morse code can be heard at the train station in New Orleans Square.

The 1830s and 1840s were periods of urban development, including the development of the first suburbs, as the town grew rapidly when ships began arriving from Britain and Ireland with immigrants looking to start a new life in a new country. It is the only place in Disneyland where alcoholic beverages are served. Roads, bridges, wharves and public buildings were constructed by convicts, and by 1822 the town had banks, markets, well-established thoroughfares and an organised constabulary. The entrance to the club is a plain blue door, marked only with an address plaque bearing the number "33", immediately to the right of the Blue Bayou. Macquarie's tenure as Governor of New South Wales was a period when Sydney was improved from its basic beginnings. Not open to the general public and rarely mentioned in any of the park's promotional material, Club 33's membership costs around $7,500-$10,000 per year with a waiting list several years long. By 1820 there were only a few hundred Aborigines and Governor Macquarie had begun initiatives to 'civilise, christianise and educate' the Aborigines by removing them from their clans.^[3]. New Orleans Square is also home to a private club and restaurant, Club 33, located above the "Blue Bayou Restaurant" around the corner from the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean.

In April 1789 a disease, thought to be smallpox decimated the Indigenous population of Sydney; a conservative estimate says that 500 to 1000 Aboriginal people died in the area between Broken and Botany Bay affecting Kuringgai and Darug.^[2] There was violent resistance to British settlement, notably by the warrior Pemulwuy in the area around Botany Bay, and conflicts were common in the area surrounding the Hawkesbury River. The completed ride opened on August 9, 1969. He named it after the British Home Secretary, Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney, in recognition of Sydney's role in issuing the charter authorising Phillip to establish a colony. The exterior of the Haunted Mansion was actually constructed in 1962, but Imagineers took several years to develop the attraction. Phillip founded the colony at Sydney Cove on Port Jackson. Haunted Mansion is an innovative haunted house experience, while Pirates of the Caribbean takes park guests on a boat ride through extensive pirate adventure scenes. Under instruction from the British government, a convict settlement was founded by Arthur Phillip in 1788. This area contains two of the most popular Disneyland attractions: Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.

European interest in Australia arose with the sighting of Botany Bay by Lieutenant James Cook in 1770. Opened in 1966, it is meant to capture the flavor and architectural detail of New Orleans's Bourbon Street. Although urbanisation has destroyed most evidence of these settlements (such as shell middens), there are still rock carvings in several locations. New Orleans Square was among the last additions to Disneyland overseen by Walt Disney himself. Each clan had a territory, the location of that territory determined the resources available. The Submarine Voyage, which closed in 1998, will reopen in 2007 with a Finding Nemo theme. The principle languages were Darug; the Cadigal, the original inhabitants of the City of Sydney, spoke a coastal dialect of Darug; Dharawal and Guringai. The newest Tomorrowland attraction, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, opened in 2005 (a version of this ride first appeared at the Magic Kingdom Park in Florida on October 7, 1998 as Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin).

The Sydney region has been occupied by Indigenous Australians for at least 30 000 years, and at the time of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, 4000 - 8000 Aboriginal people lived in the region.^[1] There were three different language groups in the Sydney region, these were further refined into dialects spoken by smaller clans. Current attractions include the popular Space Mountain, which opened in 1977, closed in 2003 and reopened in 2005 with rebuilt track and new effects; and Star Tours, a futuristic Star Wars ride created as a collaboration between George Lucas and Disney Imagineers. . Space Mountain returned to its classic white look during this repaint of Tomorrowland. The city's name is pronounced /ˈsɪd.niː/. Tomorrowland changed yet again in 2005, with a new blue, silver, white, and gold paint scheme, similar to its 1967-1997 paint scheme, but with a small mixture with its 1998 scheme. Sydney significantly raised its global profile in recent years as the host city of the 2000 Olympics. The area underwent a major transformation in 1967 to become "New Tomorrowland," and then again in 1998 when its focus was changed to present a "retro-future" theme reminiscent of the illustrations of Jules Verne.

Sydney is the financial capital of Australia and is also a significant domestic and international tourist destination and is regularly declared to be one of the most beautiful and liveable cities in the world. Walt Disney was never completely satisfied with Tomorrowland. Built around Sydney Harbour, Sydney is known in Australia as the "Harbour City", and structures on the Harbour such as the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are globally recognised icons of the city. This too had its precursors at World's Fairs, though in those cases they were simply homes with modern conveniences and aimed at housewives. Sydney is located on the east coast of Australia and was established in 1788 when Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet landed in Sydney Cove and claimed Australia for the British. Another initial exhibit was Monsanto's "House of Tomorrow," a plastic house with four wings cantilevered from a central plinth. Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and with a population of over four million people is the most populous city in Australia. Disneyland producer Ward Kimball had Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, Willy Ley, and Heinz Haber as technical consultants during the original design of Tomorrowland.[3].

In the 1970s, the interior of the ride was updated, and its destination was changed to Mars, with a name change to Mission to Mars. It in turn was derived from the first spectacular ride from the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, the trip to the moon ride which eventually became the anchor ride and namesake for Coney Island's Luna Park. Tomorrowland's showpiece was his TWA Rocket to the Moon, derived from his historic "Man in Space" set of three television shows in the 1950s. The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future.".

Our scientists today are opening the doors of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come. In Walt Disney's words, "Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. King Arthur Carrousel is a major attraction in Fantasyland, and was featured during the finale number, When You Wish Upon A Star, in a Sing Along Songs videocassette featuring Disneyland Park. These renovations included a new computerized operating system that stops the carousel in the same spot every time, and the replacement of about half of the mirrors with scenes from Sleeping Beauty.

King Arthur Carrousel (sic) reopened in February 2003 after extensive renovations. Because of the overwhelming popularity of the carousel's single white horse, all horses have been painted white since 1976. Standers on the original three rows were converted to jumpers in 1955. Some of the horses were taken from a Stein and Goldstein carousel and another carousel in 1955 to add a fourth row, completely made of jumpers and operated by a custom-built crankshaft.

The carousel has seventy-two horses, carved in Germany in the late 19th century. Original inner rounding boards were replaced with mirrors, and the jester and princess head shields on the outer rounding boards have been extensively altered also. Motifs from The Sword In The Stone were used in 1955 to replace elements of the carousel. A Wurlitzer #157 band organ is on the carousel, but does not operate.

Circus Train" attraction. The original chariots were removed and used as cars on the "Casey Jr. The carousel has been significantly altered since then. Therefore, an 1875 Dentzel park model carousel which had operated since 1922 at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, Ontario was taken from Sunnyside and moved to Disneyland just before the park opened in 1955.

Walt Disney felt that no park was complete without a carousel. Fantasyland was originally styled in a fairground fashion, but its 1983 refurbishment turned it into a Bavarian village. Walt Disney said, "What youngster has not dreamed of flying with Peter Pan over moonlit London, or tumbling into Alice's nonsensical Wonderland? In Fantasyland, these classic stories of everyone's youth have become realities for youngsters - of all ages - to participate in.". Currently the comedic troupe "Billy Hill and the Hillbillies" entertain guests on a daily basis.

Frontierland is also home to the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, a show palace straight out of the Old West. Entertainment and attractions include Fantasmic!, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mark Twain Riverboat, and Sailing Ship Columbia. Our adventures are designed to give you the feeling of having lived, even for a short while, during our country's pioneer days." Frontierland is home to the Pinewood Indians band of animatronic Native Americans, who live on the banks of the Rivers of America. According to Walt Disney, "All of us have cause to be proud of our country's history, shaped by the pioneering spirit of our forefathers.

Frontierland recreates the setting of pioneer days along the American frontier. "To create a land that would make this dream reality," said Walt Disney, "we pictured ourselves far from civilization, in the remote jungles of Asia and Africa." Attractions include the "Temple of the Forbidden Eye" in Indiana Jones Adventure, the Jungle Cruise, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room and "Tarzan's Treehouse." (The Tarzan Treehouse is an adaptation of the earlier Swiss Family Treehouse from the Walt Disney film, Swiss Family Robinson). Adventureland is designed to be an exotic tropical place in a far-off region of the world. A lamp is kept burning in the window as a tribute to his memory.

For younger visitors, it is an adventure in turning back the calendar to the days of grandfather's youth." Above the firehouse is Walt Disney's personal apartment, fully furnished but off-limits to the public. Walt Disney said, "For those of us who remember the carefree time it recreates, Main Street will bring back happy memories. If the Disneyland architects had made the buildings a full two stories high, they would have looked incongruously tall compared to the castle. The second levels of the buildings are a few feet short of being full size.

In reality, however, they implemented forced perspective to give the illusion that they are full height. The 1880s-styled shops that line Main Street appear to be full two-story buildings. is home to many shops but is the only land in all of Disneyland without a permanent ride. Based on the stereotypical turn-of-the-20th-century city Main Street, specifically Disney's boyhood home of Marceline, Missouri, Main Street, U.S.A.

At the center of the park stands Sleeping Beauty Castle. Three more lands have been added since the park's opening. The park was designed by Walt Disney's movie studio staff to have five distinctly-themed "lands". The park never reached capacity that day.

Although the gates had been temporarily closed in the morning, it was only done to control crowds which were flooding Main Street for the morning ceremony. Many of the people who had waited overnight left after the re-dedication. There were also complimentary golden Mickey ears that were specifically made for July 17, along with cupcakes for the guests. No other special events had been planned for the day, making for a much smaller celebration than the media blowout of May 5.

Later that day, a recording of Walt Disney's original dedication speech was replayed throughout the park, exactly 50 years to the minute from when it was originally delivered. At 10 a.m., Diane Disney Miller re-read her father's original dedication speech in a ceremony with Art Linkletter, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, CEO-Elect Robert Iger, and CEO Michael Eisner. Disneyland Park opened at 7 a.m., although it took several hours to admit the crowds that showed up that morning. A second line formed outside the security checkpoints as thousands more arrived in the final hours before the park opened.

Overnight, park management opened the gates of Disney's California Adventure Park simply to house the thousands of people who showed up over the course of the night. the day before. The first people began to line up at 3 p.m. The actual anniversary day (July 17) was an event marked more by the fans' enthusiasm than by the company's recognition.

On July 15th, 2005, Disneyland Park became the first 'location' to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2005, the entire Walt Disney Company celebrated Disneyland Park's 50th anniversary, marketed as the "Happiest Homecoming on Earth." The official celebration began on May 5, with a dedication from Michael Eisner, Bob Iger, and Art Linkletter. Many classic attractions (often ones neglected during Paul Pressler and Cynthia Harriss' times as Disneyland Resort President) have been restored, probably most notably Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, and Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, which has received a complete restoration of its 40-year-old soundtrack. In 2004, the park undertook a number of major renovation projects in preparation for its fiftieth anniversary celebration.

Disneyland Park hosted its 500-millionth guest in 2004. They wear cast member name badges, queue in line for attractions and welcome comments from guests. Much like Walt Disney himself, Ouimet and Emmer can often be seen walking the park during business hours with members of their staff. Praised by Disney fan sites for his success at Disney Cruise Line, Ouimet quickly set about reversing negative trends, especially with regards to cosmetic maintenance and a return to the original infrastructure maintenance schedule, in hopes of restoring the good safety record of the past.

Emmer is a long-time Disney cast member who had worked at Disneyland in his youth prior to moving to Florida and holding multiple executive leadership positions at the Walt Disney World Resort. Shortly afterward, he selected Greg Emmer as Senior Vice President of Operations. Matt Ouimet, formerly the president of the Disney Cruise Line, was promoted to assume leadership of the Disneyland Resort in late 2003. Irby stepped down the following year.

In 2003, both Harriss and Pressler stepped down to take over operations of national clothing retailer The Gap. Fans of the park decried the perceived decline in customer value and park quality and railed for the dismissal of the management team. Light bulbs, which were once replaced before they burned out, not only were run to burnout but were so numerous as to make the facades they outlined look almost toothless. Paint was peeling off buildings and roofs were literally disintegrating from age, especially the thatched roofs in Fantasyland.

After nearly a decade of deferred maintenance, Walt Disney's original theme park was showing visible signs of neglect. Army officer hired as facilities manager, was blamed for the destruction of much of the tooling and attraction components in storage in the backstage areas in an effort to streamline operations as recommended by outside consultants. Dewitt "T" Irby, a retired U.S. The decision to remodel Tomorrowland, derided by some fans, was attributable to Pressler, as was the closure of a great many popular attractions within the area.

Themed restaurants and shops were closed and replaced by outdoor vending carts which caused crowds to clog walkways. Shops that once carried a variety of items themed to their locations now carried general Disney character products. Under their direction, few new attractions were built and many were closed down. The leaders came under increasing criticism for a host of cost cutting initiatives and profit boosting schemes.

Headed by executives Cynthia Harriss and Paul Pressler, each with a retail marketing background, Disneyland's focus gradually changed from attractions to merchandising. The park's management team of the mid-1990s was a tremendous source of contention to many Disneyland fans and employees. There are also some smaller, off-property lots with regular shuttle service to the parks, and most nearby hotels offer regular shuttle service as well. Propane-powered trams bring visitors to the entrance plaza between the two parks.

With six levels and 10,250 parking spaces, it is the largest parking structure in the world. Most of the resort's parking today is handled by the six-level "Mickey and Friends" parking garage. The Grand Californian Hotel, patterned after the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th century, extends into Disney's California Adventure Park and allows paying guests to enter that park through the hotel itself. On this land, Disney's California Adventure Park and Downtown Disney opened in 2001.

The Walt Disney Company purchased land surrounding the park that was once the site of low-budget motels and trailer courts, and dug up its original "Hundred-Acre Parking Lot". In the 1990s, major construction began to transform Disneyland from a theme park into a vacation resort. Hong Kong Disneyland Resort is owned jointly by the Hong Kong Government and the Walt Disney Company. On September 12, 2005, the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort was opened in Hong Kong.

In 1992 Euro Disney opened in France, and is now the Disneyland Resort Paris with two theme parks. The Walt Disney Company receives royalties based on revenues and maintains creative control. Tokyo Disneyland Park and Tokyo DisneySea are owned by a Japanese corporation, Oriental Land Company. Tokyo Disneyland Park is now part of the Tokyo Disney Resort, and has a sister theme park Tokyo DisneySea.

In 1983 the first international Disney theme park opened: Tokyo Disneyland Park in Japan. Since its opening, with one theme park and two hotels, the resort has grown into four theme parks, two water parks, twenty-three hotels and a retail, dining and entertainment district. Disney. Walt Disney World opened in 1971 under the guidance of Roy O.

It is the largest private-owned vacation destination, and the most popular vacation destination in the world although the yet-to-open Dubai Land in the United Arab Emirates is twice the size. The Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida was built with Walt's hatred of the cheap motels and amusements that popped up around Disneyland in mind. Soon, even as they refined and developed Disneyland, Walt and Roy were also planning an expansion of the concept to other locations. It attracted visitors worldwide in unprecedented volume.

Despite the problems on the opening day, Disneyland was clearly an enormous success. Walt Disney decided to have a photo taken with two children, Michael Schwartner and Christine Vess instead, and the photo of the three always carries a caption along the lines of "Walt Disney with the first two guests of Disneyland." MacPherson, Schwartner and Vess all received lifetime passes to every single Disney-owned park in the world. On Monday, July 18, crowds started to gather in line as early as 2 a.m., and the first person to buy a ticket and enter the park was David MacPherson. For example, in 2004 they wore the slogan "The magic began 49 years ago today".

On July 17 every year, cast members wear pin badges stating how many years it has been since July 17, 1955. Walt and his 1955 executives forever referred to the first day as "Black Sunday," although July 17 is acknowledged by Disney as the official opening day. The park got such bad press for the event day that Walt Disney invited members of the press back for a private "second day" to experience the true Disneyland, after which Walt held a party in the Disneyland Hotel for them. Parents were throwing their children over the shoulders of crowds to get them onto rides such as the Dumbo Flying Elephants.

A gas leak in Fantasyland caused Adventureland, Frontierland, and Fantasyland to close for the afternoon. Vendors ran out of food. The asphalt that had been poured just the night before was so soft that ladies' high-heeled shoes sank in. The summer temperature was over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and a plumbers' strike left many of the park's drinking fountains dry.

All major roads nearby were congested. The park was overcrowded as the by-invitation-only affair was plagued with counterfeit tickets. The event did not go smoothly. The Special Sunday events, including the dedication were televised nationwide and anchored by three of Walt Disney's friends from Hollywood: Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan.

a special "International Press Preview" event was held on Sunday, July 17, 1955, which was only open to invited guests and the media. However. Disneyland Park was opened to the public on Monday, July 18, 1955. Disney's displeasure at ABC's actions partly motivated the Walt Disney anthology series moving to NBC in 1961.

It wasn't until 1960 that Walt Disney Productions acquired ABC's share of the theme park. But ABC refused the same request initially, feeling the profit potential of the park was too lucrative to sell. After the park was a clear success Western acceeded to a request to sell its share in the enterprise back to Disney. For the first five years of its operation, Disneyland was owned by Disneyland, Inc., of which Walt Disney Productions, Western Publishing and ABC each owned shares.

ABC as part of the deal to broadcast the Disneyland television show also became an investor. He first turned to long-time licensee Western Publishing which invested in the park. Because of his brother Roy's distrust of the project, and because of financial considerations, Walt Disney was forced to turn to outside financing for his theme park. Highway 101 (later Interstate 5) was under construction at the same time just to the north of the site; in preparation for the traffic which Disneyland was expected to bring, two more lanes were added to the freeway even before the park was finished.

U.S. [1] [2] Construction began on July 18, 1954 and would cost USD$17 million to complete. On the suggestion of researchers at Stanford Research Institute who correctly envisioned the area's potential growth, Disney acquired 160 acres (730,000 m²) of orange groves and walnut trees in Anaheim, south of Los Angeles in neighboring Orange County. In return, the network agreed to help finance the new park.

He decided to use television to get the ideas into people's homes, and so he created a show named Disneyland which was broadcast on the fledgling American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network. Difficulties in obtaining funding caused Disney to investigate new ways of raising money. Early in development, during the early 1950s, it became clear that more area would be needed. Disney's original modest plans called for the park to be built on eight acres (32,000 m²) on Riverside Drive next to the Disney Studios in Burbank, California as a place where his employees and families could go to relax.

Disneyland Park was partially inspired by Tivoli Gardens (built in 1843 in Copenhagen, Denmark), Greenfield Village (built in 1929 in Dearborn, Michigan), and Children's Fairyland (built in 1950 in Oakland, California). Walt's initial concept, his "Mickey Mouse Park," grew bigger and bigger into a concept for a larger enterprise which was to become Disneyland. His ideas then evolved to a small play park with a boat ride and other themed areas. He then began to foster ideas of building a site at or near his Burbank studios for tourists to visit and perhaps take pictures with Disney characters set in statue form.

While many people had written letters to Walt Disney about visiting the Disney Studio lot and meeting their favorite Disney character, Walt realized that a functional movie studio had little to offer to the visiting fan. He developed the idea during his many outings with his daughters Diane and Sharon, when he realized that there were no parks with activities that parents and children could enjoy together. Walt's original concept was of a permanent family fun park without the negative element which traveling carnivals often attracted. Walt Disney and his brother Roy already headed one of Hollywood's more successful studios founded in 1923 long before the idea of a park even began to form.

Disney, July 17, 1955. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts which have created America...with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world." Walter E. Here age relives fond memories of the past...and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is your land.

"To all who come to this happy place: welcome. . It is renowned for being the only one of the eleven worldwide Disney theme parks personally developed by Walt Disney. A worldwide celebration began in commemoration of Disneyland's 50th anniversary on May 5, 2005.

Fantasmic! in Frontierland, a popular nighttime show with Mickey Mouse, special effects, floating barges, fountains, lasers, a pirate ship, a forty-five foot fire-breathing dragon, fireworks, and thirty-foot-tall "mist screens," upon which animated scenes are projected. Dreams Come True. There's Magic in the Stars and the current 50th anniversary celebration fireworks presentation Remember.. 2000 and beyond introduced fireworks presentations that have become more elaborate, featuring new pyrotechnics, launch locations, and storylines, such as the show Believe..