Located in Anaheim, California, Disneyland is one of the most popular theme parks in the world. Since it has opened in 1955, over 500 million guests have visited the park. Walt Disney first came up with the idea for his own theme park when he visited Griffith Park with his daughters. Initially, the park was only going to be 8 acres, but today, Disneyland's public area space covers about 85 acres.
Disneyland currently has 58 attractions, which is the term the park uses for rides, shows, and other exhibits. These attractions are split into seven different themed areas - Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland, New Orleans Square, Critter Country, and Micky's Toontown. The park also has Main Street, USA, which is set up to look like a Midwestern town from the early 1900s.
Tomorrowland is the area most people associate with Disneyland. This area's theme is the future. Attractions in this area change constantly, but some of the most popular and longest-lasting or permanent attractions in Tomorrowland include the Astro Orbitor, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Space Mountain, Star Tours, Starcade, and Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. This is where guests can also board the Disneyland Monorail or Railroad.
Fantasyland is another popular themed area within Disneyland. This part of the park focuses on attractions that bring fantasy to life. The main attraction here is the Sleeping Beauty Castle, which opened in 2008 again after being closed due to post-September 11 terrorist threats. Other attractions in Fantasyland include Dumbo the Flying Elephant, It's a Small World, the Mad Tea Party, Storybook Land Canal Boats, and the King Arthur Carrousel. Nearby, guests can enter Frontierland, an American west themed area where visitors can find Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Tom Sawyer Island, and the Country Bear Jamboree.
In Adventureland, guests can find attractions that fit the area's remote jungle theme. When this area opened, the main attraction was the Jungle Cruise, but today, a number of attractions in this areas, including the Enchanted Tiki Room, the Swiss Family Treehouse (now Tarzan's Treehouse), and the Indian Jones Adventure are all popular.
Areas that were later added to this park include New Orleans Square, Critter Country, and Micky's Toontown. New Orleans Square is based on this city during the 1800s and has the Pirate of the Caribbean attraction and the Haunted Mansion. This area replaced Holidayland, which had a circus and a baseball diamond and closed in 1961. Critter Country, formerly known as Bear Country, is made to look like the southern United States forests. Here, guests can see Splash Mountain, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes. Mickey's Toontown is the newest themed area. Opening in 1993, guests can find attractions such as Donald's Boats, Goofy's Playhouse, Minnie's House, the Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin, and Gadget's Go Coaster. Toontown also has a number of interactive props throughout, including a mailbox that talks when opened and a doorbell that sounds like shattering glass when pushed.
Disneyland features a long fireworks show every day, parades on main street, and characters that wander the streets to sign autographs and take pictures. One-day tickets to Disneyland currently cost $69, though discounts are available to guests who purchase multi-day passes, annual passes, and a large number of tickets.
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