Disneyland - "The Happiest Place On Earth"
"To all who believe in the power of dreams . . . welcom. Here we pay tribute to the dreamers of the past. . . The native people, explorers, immigrants, aviators, entrepreneurs and entertainers who built the Golden State. And we salute a new generation of dreamers who are creating the wonders of tomorrow . . . From the silver screen to the computer screen . . . From the fertile farmlands to the far reaches of space. Disney's California Adventure celebrates the richness and the diversity of California . . . Its land, its people, its spirit and , above all, the dreams that it continues to inspire."
Michael Eisner
Disneyland is a theme park located in Anaheim, California, USA. It opened on July 17, 1955. The park is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. The park consists of various areas with separate themes: an early 20th century Midwest town, lush asian jungle adventures, the western frontier, a fantasy kingdom, and the future. These areas are named, respectively, Main Street USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. Three additional areas were added to these original park areas later: New Orleans Square, Mickey's Toontown, and Critter Country. An elevated beam supports a three-foot (narrow) gauge railroad which circumnavigates the park. Disneyland features rides and attractions designed to appeal to all ages.
The park has been visited by more than 515 million guests since it opened to the public, including presidents, royalty, and other heads of state. Since 1998 Disneyland has been officially renamed Disneyland Park in order to distinguish it from the larger Disneyland Resort complex of which it is a part. In February 2001, Disney opened an adjoining yet separate amusement park called Disney's California Adventure.
Disney's California Adventure Park is a Disney theme park in Anaheim, California, adjacent to Disneyland Park and part of the larger Disneyland Resort. It opened on February 8, 2001. The park is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company.
This 55-acre theme park was constructed as part of a major expansion that transformed the Disneyland area and its hotels into the Disneyland Resort and consists of five areas: Sunshine Plaza, Hollywood Pictures Backlot, The Golden State, A Bug's Land and Paradise Pier. Most of them meant to resemble or recreate various aspects about California, its culture, landmarks and history. Often referred to by its initials, DCA features a different line-up of attractions from those of Disneyland, including some family-friendly rides as well as an emphasis on adult- oriented thrill rides.
In the early 1990's, Disney announced the plan to build a second gate at Anaheim, WestCOT, a west coast iteration of Epcot in the site of the Disneyland parking lot, but due to various reasons the project was canceled some years later and led to the idea of Disney's California Adventure, a park to celebrate and pay tribute to California. The intention was to give an experience similar to stepping inside a California postcard and this concept spawned the idea for the park's entrance.
The idea was to expand the one park property in order to convert it into a greater multi-day vacation resort destination, and be able to appeal to a greater audience and to keep them on site for more days, in some way, similar to the Walt Disney World experience, where a guest would stay for several days or weeks. So the construction of DCA began in 1998. This expansion project included the new theme park, the Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, Downtown Disney, an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment area and the renovation of the Disneyland Hotel and the Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. When completed in 2001 this project was inaugurated as the Disneyland Resort.
The new park was designed to appeal to an older audience when compared to Disneyland and the overall intention was to create an alternative to Disneyland. It features various thrill ride attractions for older guests as well as rides for the whole family.
Source: Wikipedia.org
