Here Are 18 Unique Facts About Disneyland

HARBOR BOULEVARD AND KATELLA AVENUE - On July 17, 1955, a place in the middle of orange groves right off the nearly new Santa Ana Freeway, which was then known as U.S. 101, would transform Orange County, and become apart of the landscape of Southern California. Just like the beaches, mountains, strip malls, freeways, Sig-Alerts, earthquakes, growing acceptance of public transportation, police pursuits and the iconic Los Angeles City Hall, Disneyland would and has become apart of Southern California. Whether you love or hate Disneyland, and there are plenty with strong feelings in both camps, you cannot deny the Mouse's influence in shaping Orange County and Southern California.


The long gone, but never forgotten Peoplemover at Tomorrowland inside Disneyland, circa 1967. Photograph used under a Creative Commons license. 

As July 17, 2015, approaches Disneyland will be celebrating its 60th Anniversary, and here are 18 unique facts about Disneyland, including some bits of information about Disneyland's creator, Walt Disney.

1 - Walt Disney Wanted To Build His Park In Burbank 

When Walt Disney had the idea to build his park he was thinking of something closer to his studios in Burbank. The park, which was originally called Mickey Mouse Park, was planned to be built along Riverside Drive.

So, why do plenty of us now have to make the drive down Interstate 5 to Anaheim rather than up the 5 to Burbank? Turns out Burbank officials really did not like the idea of a "carny atmosphere" in their city. Even though there has been some romanticizing of the early days of amusement parks many such places prior to Disneyland, and for a time after, were often seedy places run by shady people that often attracted seedy, shady people (take a look at The Pike in Long Beach). So, with carnivals and amusement parks having this kind of sordid reputation it is easy to understand why Burbank did not want this kind of place in their city.

2 - The Idea For A Place Like Disneyland Came From An Afternoon At Griffith Park

The story goes Walt Disney was spending the afternoon with his daughters at Griffith Park, and as they were riding the old Merry-Go-Round he noticed how parents had nothing to do. Mr. Disney, like the Burbank city officials, also noticed and observed just how bad these amusement parks really were. In an interview Mr. Disney once said, 

What this country really needs is an amusement park that families can take their children to. They've gotten so honky tonk [sic] with a lot of questionable characters running around, and they're not to safe. They're not well kept. I want to have a place that's as clean as anything could ever be, and all the people in [Disneyland] are first-class citizens, and treated like guests. 

Furthermore, according to a 1963 Canadian documentary Mr. Disney said, 

It came about when my daughters were very young and Saturday was always daddy’s day with the two daughters. So we’d start out and try to go someplace, you know, different things, and I’d take them to the merry-go-round and I took them different places and as I’d sit while they rode the merry-go-round and did all these things… sit on a bench, you know, eating peanuts. I felt that there should be something built, some kind of amusement enterprise built, where the parents and the children could have fun together. So that’s how Disneyland started.

Well, it took many years… it was a period of maybe 15 years developing. I started with many ideas, threw them away, started all over again. And eventually it evolved into what you see today at Disneyland. But it all started from a daddy with two daughters wondering where he could take them where he could have a little fun with them, too.

The very bench from Griffith Park is on display at Opera House on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland with a plaque that reads, “The actual park bench from the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round in Los Angeles where Walt Disney first dreamed of Disneyland."

3 - Walt Disney Did NOT Name Katella Ave. After His Daughters

Many Disneyana fans and cast members alike often pass along the story that Katella Ave. in Anaheim was named after Walt Disney's daughters, Kate and Ella. Well, it is just that, a story. The name Katella goes way back before Mr. Disney had anything to do with Anaheim, or even the Mouse in his mind.

John and Margaret Rea, and their daughters, named coincidentally Kate and Ella, moved to Anaheim in 1896, and Mr. Rea knew their walnut ranch needed a name, but he wanted a more interesting, memorable name than simply, Rea Ranch.

According to the October 1989 issue of Orange Coast Magazine, Mr. Rea came up with the name like this, 

One evening, the girls were out in the yard when their father called them to dinner. “Kate—Ella, supper!” he called. Suddenly he had an idea. “I have chosen the name,” he announced. “Katella.” The girls were delighted and a big sign went up at the entrance to the family’s land: Katella. 

It was kind of a neat name, and the Anaheim powers that be back then thought so, too. In the early 1900s a school was name Katella School, and by 1934 Katella Ave. came to be. 

4 - The Underground World Under Disneyland Does NOT Exist 

If you grew up in Southern California you probably heard a very popular legend about Disneyland, and that is under "The Happiest Place On Earth" is a complete underground world. Well, that is not true as there is no underground world under Disneyland. There are a couple small passage ways under Disneyland, and that is about it.

It is certainly possibly many people are confusing Disneyland with another Disney park. Walt Disney World, located in another Orange County across the country, does indeed have its own underground world, but only it is not underground. Rather, Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom is built atop of a building that houses its underground complex, which, according to HiddenMickeys.org, "consists of 15 foot high walkways, meeting rooms, computer rooms, etc. with all having exposed utilities (it somewhat resembled a parking garage). "The tunnel complex originates from the castle and spreads out like spokes from a wheel to the other lands. In fact, the bottom two floors of the castle consists of the tunnel complex."

The ground in Florida is not stable enough to build an entire complex literally underground. 

5 - Walt Disney Being Buried At Disneyland Is NOT True 

There are a lot of strange rumors about Walt Disney's body, such as it is being frozen and one day he will be brought back to life. One of the more common myths is Mr. Disney is buried somewhere at Disneyland, but that is not true. Mr. Disney is not buried on the grounds of his creation in Anaheim or frozen at some mysterious lab, but is buried at Forest Lawn in Glendale. 

6 - Walt Disney Was NOT An Anti-Semitic 

Oy Vey! There have been a lot of wild, and down right hilarious allegations made about Mr. Disney, but one of the more serious rumors about Mr. Disney is he was not a fan of the Jewish people. That, gladly to say, is false. As Neil Gabler notes in his 2006 book, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination, Mr. Disney really was not Anti-Semitic, and had plenty of Jewish people working for him. People who knew him and worked with him never really noticed any hints of Mr. Disney being Anti-Semitic. Furthermore, any Jewish people who worked for Mr. Disney were given Jewish holidays off. At the time what struck people as odd was the Walt Disney Studios were the only major studios not run by Jewish People. 

7 - Disney Did Not Own The Disneyland Hotel Until 1988 

The Disneyland Hotel has been apart of the Anaheim landscape nearly since the park's opening, but Disney did not own The Disneyland Hotel until 1988, because Mr. Disney did not have the money to build it. Mr. Disney knew the little citrus city of Anaheim was some ways away from The City of Angels and other population points, and he wanted visitors to his park to have a place to stay nearby. The problem was building Disneyland caused Mr. Disney to run out of money, and so he turned to some friends in show business for some financial backing.

Mr. Disney first turned to his friend Art Linkletter, but he declined as Mr. Linkletter did not have faith in Disneyland's success. Years later Mr. Linkletter would walk around the park saying, "and that's another million I missed out on."

So, Mr. Disney turned to another well connected friend to finance The Disneyland Hotel, Jack Wrather. Mr. Wrather liked what Mr. Disney was doing and provided the finance needed, but under the agreement the producer of Lassie would own the hotel on West Street across from Disneyland. It was under Mr. Wrather that The Disneyland Hotel saw its major expansions.

Some years later when Mr. Disney had the money to buyout Mr. Wrather's ownership of The Disneyland Hotel the film producer and oil millionaire refused to sell. That would be the case until the death of Mr. Wrather's wife, Bonita Granville, in 1988. Mr. Wrather passed away in 1984, two weeks after Michael Eisner took over Walt Disney Productions, and Mr. Wrather saw to it his wife would hold ownership of the hotel until she decides otherwise or dies. 

8 - One Of Disneyland's First Financial Backers Was ABC 

Today ABC/Disney is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, but in late 1953 Roy Disney met with the then fledgling American Broadcast Company, after meeting with CBS and NBC, to help finance this place called Disneyland. In 1954 ABC agreed to invested $500,000 in Disneyland, which resulted in ABC taking a 34.49 percent ownership and guaranteeing $4.5 million in bank loan, plus $5 million a year for a weekly television program for ABC produced by Walt Disney Productions.

This, of course, explains why the infamous opening day of Disneyland was aired on ABC, with much of the equipment being provided by KABC-TV.

In June 1960 Walt Disney Productions completed the purchase of ABC's share of the company for nearly $7.5 million. It would be the summer of 1995 that Disney would buy ABC from Capital Cities, and the Mouse and Alphabet would be reunited and live happily ever after. 

9 - The Original Name For Disneyland Was, Disneylandia 

Before Mickey Mouse Park and after Disneyland came the name, Disneylandia. Why the name change? Well, in 1954 ABC urged Mr. Disney to change the name from Disneylandia to Disneyland. Mr. Disney listened to ABC's advice, and changed the name. 

10 - The Gold Trimmings Outside Of It’s a Small World Are Made Of Real 22 Karat Gold 

According to Disneyland officials, "For weather durability and un-excelled beauty, 22 karat gold leaf was used for trim throughout the facade." Gold leaf, by the way, is real gold. 

11 - Walt Disney's Second Home Was In Anaheim 

It is unclear if Mr. Disney was ever officially counted by the United States Census Bureau as being an Anaheim resident, but when he was not riding the Little Engines in his Holmby Hills backyard, or at work over at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, he was spending a lot of time at his other home. His other home was his apartment atop of the Disneyland Fire Station on Main Street, U.S.A. in Anaheim. 

12 - The Matterhorn Has Many Records 

The Matterhorn is one of Disneyland's most iconic attractions, and when the ride opened in 1959 it broke many records. The Matterhorn was the first tubular steel track roller coaster in the world, and was the first roller coaster able to have multiple cars on the same track.

When The Matterhorn was finished it was the tallest structure in Orange County standing at 147 feet. As Orange County fell to suburbanization by the mid-1960s The Matterhorn would lose the title of being the tallest structure in Orange County. 

13 - The Reason For A Basketball Court Inside The Matterhorn Is So The Attraction Could Be Built... Is False 

A popular legend told over and over again is the reason Mr. Disney had a basketball court built inside The Matterhorn is the Anaheim building code at the time did not allow structures that tall unless it was a sports facility. The story goes is that upon learning what Anaheim's building code requires Mr. Disney told his construction workers to put a basketball court inside The Matterhorn, and now, just like that, it is a sports facility that satisfies the Anaheim building code.

The reality is Anaheim never had such a building code, and the basketball court was put in for The Matterhorn cast members to help pass the time during their breaks. 

14 - Cats Keep The Mouses Out Of Disneyland 

About 200 feral cats roam the Disneyland Resort keeping rodents out of the park. Sometimes if you know where to look you can see the cats. Mickey and Minnie Mouse do not seem to be bothered by the cats, and Pluto and Goofy do not ever seem to chase the cats out of the park. 

15 - Walt Disney Spent Time With Disneyland Guests 

Mr. Disney would walk around his creation and even would stand in line with the guests talking with them. Part of this was good public relations, but much of it had to do with Mr. Disney genuinely wanting to create the best place ever. Mr. Disney would walk around looking for problems or things to improve, and Mr. Disney always welcomed suggestions by his guests. 

16 - When Disneyland Opened In 1955 It Was Just One Dollar For Admission 

With admission fees today going into three-to-four digits, depending how many tickets, excuse me, Passports you are buying, it is amazing to think it was just one dollar for admission, and only 50-cents for children. Today, once inside Disneyland, it is very difficult to find anything for just a dollar. 

17 - What Does Disneyland And Knott's Berry Farm Have In Common? 

The founders were both named Walt, or Walter to be precise. Walt Disney and Walter Knott, besides having the same first name, were actually good friends. In fact, Mr. Disney invited Mr. Knott to the opening day of Disneyland.

18 - What Was Walt Disney's Biggest Regret When It Comes To Disneyland?

Mr. Disney's biggest regret about Disneyland was never being able to buy more land. Mr. Disney was barely able to make ends meet when building Disneyland, as evident by needing financial backers such as ABC and Mr. Wrather, and so buying more land was out of the question. Mr. Disney was not too happy when tourist traps and Las Vegas style motels began building around Disneyland, not to mention the tract-housing and general suburbanization of Orange County popping up around and at the edge the park. Ideally, Mr. Disney wanted Disneyland to be isolated from "The Real World," and he was unhappy that buildings from the outside could be seen from inside Disneyland.

By the time Mr. Disney could buy up more land much of the area around Disneyland in Anaheim had been bought and built upon by other developers.

Five Odd Southern California Earthquake Facts

HOLLYWOOD - Looking up Vine Street from Hollywood Boulevard the sudden rise of the street just above Yucca St. on the hill where The Hollywood Freeway lays atop shows the not so subtle signs of The Hollywood Fault, which has been in the news lately. Recent mapping by the California Geological Survey shows the fault is what helps give Hollywood and Los Feliz its character with its hills, and while the beauty is nice some developers are none too happy with this study.

When The Hollywood Fault, or any Southern California fault, will rupture with fury again is not clear as there are no accurate ways to predict earthquakes (not to be confused with forecasting earthquakes).

Walking over and along The Hollywood Fault on Los Feliz Blvd. one wonders about earthquakes past, and thus this piece is not about unhappy developers not getting their way, or even so much The Hollywood Fault, but rather five odd, peculiar Southern California earthquake facts.


Severe freeway damage following the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake. Used under a Creative Commons license.

1 - The First Earthquake on Record

For thousands and thousands of years earthquakes, both very small and very large, have been happening in Southern California, as paleoseismology has proven, but while there were many animals and trees to feel the shaking as hills and mountains were being pushed up there were hardly many humans around. Any humans that were around never kept anything written about it, or hid their diary.

It would not be until 1769 that the first earthquake in Southern California would be recorded. Gaspar de Portola, Father Juan Crespí and a group of over 60 explorers from Spain, in the name to extend Spain's control up the Pacific Coast and establish colonies and missions (and hopefully prevent Russia and England from acquiring and taking this territory), set out from San Diego to Monterey on July 14, 1769. Maps at the time available to de Portola's group showed California extending from San Diego only to the Monterey Bay.


When California was still thought of as an island in this 1745 map of California, and so not unusual to think de Portola's group thought the soon-to-be Golden State went as far as Monterey. Used under Creative Commons license.

After about a couple weeks of walking from San Diego to current day Orange County on July 28, 1769 and setting up camp at what is now The Santa Ana River in Anaheim de Portola's group felt a very large earthquake.

This earthquake occurred around 4 p.m., and the explorers recorded many aftershocks, several of them strong, as they made their way into the San Gabriel Valley. Records kept by de Portola's group show they stopped feeling any earthquakes when they were exiting the San Fernando Valley.

Among geologists, seismologists and historians there is much debate on just how big this earthquake was and just where the epicenter was located. Given the records by the de Portola team it was believed by many in the science and historic communities this earthquake was around magnitude 6.0 and probably on The San Jacinto Fault in the Inland Empire. Part of this was based on the diaries of the de Portola team saying they felt no more earthquakes once exiting the San Fernando Valley.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) officially lists this earthquake, the very first earthquake in a long, forever growing list of Southern California earthquakes cataloged by the USGS, as M6.0 in the Los Angeles Basin. 

The when and where of this first recorded Southern California earthquake by the USGS has been challenged by University of California-Irvine geology professor Lisa Grant. Ms. Grant has proposed that the 1769 earthquake was actually M7.3 located on the relatively unknown San Joaquin Hills Fault located between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, which resulted in the Orange County coastline being raised by almost 11 feet.


Put together by The Southern California Earthquake Center here is a scenario of a M6.7 earthquake on The San Joaquin Hills Fault.

The video above, combined with the diaries kept by the de Portola team, shows the theory by the UCI professor to be possible as strong shaking wanes in The San Fernando Valley. One thing the debate of the 1769 earthquake has brought up is the fact that Orange County has a major earthquake fault line that is not really well known, which has brought on more studies of the fault.

The when and where of this very first recorded Southern California earthquake still fascinates geologists and seismologists. Among other reasons, figuring out the mystery of this earthquake may help further understand and clarify the nature of earthquakes in Southern California (like the existence of a major earthquake fault in Orange County).

2 - Last Large Earthquake on Record

The last large earthquake in Southern California was a M7.9 in 1857, which is commonly called The Fort Tejon Earthquake. Not only was this the largest earthquake in Southern California recorded history, but this was one the largest earthquakes ever recorded in the United States.

This was also the last time The San Andreas Fault had a major rupture in Southern California. The infamous fault line is believed to have ruptured near Parkfield and continued rupturing south to just near The Cajon Pass. In fact, this was the last time "The Big One" happened in Southern California.

Southern California was nowhere near the megalopolis it is today, and so damage was limited to scars in the Earth. There were many scares in the Earth with cracks reported in the San Gabriel Valley and in the San Bernardino area.

In some areas the shaking is believed to have lasted up to, and even over three minutes. In Downtown L.A. the shaking is believed to have lasted over a minute.

Both the USGS and disaster planners fear the impact a repeat of this earthquake would have today.

The last time the lower southern segment of the San Andreas Fault between San Bernardino to the Salton Sea ruptured is believed to have been in or around 1690.

3 - Deadliest Earthquake Ever

The earthquake was only M6.4, but the deadliest earthquake in Southern California was the March 1933 Long Beach Earthquake, which killed 120 people. Much of the death was due to the brick construction of many buildings in Long Beach and Compton.


Compton in the aftermath of the 1933 earthquake. The fallen bricks are what killed many people in this earthquake. Used under a Creative Commons license.

Many schools were badly damaged, but luckily school was out when the earthquake struck at 5:55 p.m. (which should break the myth that big earthquakes only happen in the morning). Had this earthquake occurred just a few hours earlier the death toll would have been much higher with many school children killed.

This thought disturbed and worried a lot of people, and very quickly in April 1933 the state passed The Field Act that mandated earthquake resistant construction for schools.


Jefferson Junior High School in Long Beach after the quake. Damage to schools like this throughout the area and what could have been worried parents, teachers and students alike, which led to the passage of The Field Act. Used under a Creative Commons license.

In the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake schools built after The Field Act made it through with no damage while schools built before 1933 suffered major damage.


A newsreel showing the aftermath of the 1933 earthquake.

4 - The 1933 Epicenter Was NOT in Long Beach

The deadly jolt in 1933 will forever be known as The Long Beach Earthquake, but the epicenter was not in Long Beach. Rather, the epicenter was in Newport Beach on The Newport-Inglewood Fault.

While the damage was bad in Long Beach the earthquake ended up being the most damaging and deadliest earthquake in Orange County history. Most of the death and destruction was in Santa Ana. However there was also major damage in Garden Grove and Anaheim.


Very badly damaged building in Santa Ana. Used under Creative Commons license.

Damage was so bad in downtown Santa Ana that the Santa Ana Register, which was located in downtown Santa Ana, put together their newspaper working outside of their damaged building. 

Of course this would not be the first time an epicenter would be misidentified. The Sylmar Earthquake was not in Sylmar, but the hills above Sylmar. The Northridge Earthquake was not in Northridge, but in Reseda.

5 - The Christmas Day Earthquake

If you were asleep on Christmas morning in 1899 and felt the house shake you may have thought it was Santa Claus stuck in your chimney trying to wiggle his way out. It was not Santa, but Mother Nature showing that even big earthquakes do not get the holiday off.

At 4:25 a.m. a M6.5 earthquake stuck near San Jacinto on the fault of the same name, The San Jacinto Fault.

This earthquake was felt in a very wide area waking people up in Los Angeles, San Diego and as far as Santa Barbara.

Damage was greatest in San Jacinto and Hemet with many collapsed buildings. In Riverside many chimneys were knocked down and cracks in many buildings appeared. In fact, throughout much of the then sparsely populated Inland Empire the damage reports were much the same along with shattered windows.

The earthquake was deadly at the nearby Soboba Indian Reservation, where six people were killed by falling adobe walls.

In the Earth sciences community there is a little bit of debate if whether this earthquake was larger than M6.5 and just where exactly the epicenter was located. The Southern California Earthquake Center believes the epicenter may have been ten miles south of San Jacinto.

In the end, whether an earthquake hits on Christmas morning or during an imperialistic exploration journey, it is extraordinarily important to be prepared for the next big earthquake.

A Quick Take: Three Fun Facts About OC

ANAHEIM - Here are three quick interesting facts about Orange County you may or may not have known.

1. The name Anaheim is a fusion of two names: Heim, which is the German and Norwegian for home, and Ana, which was short for Santa Ana River. Perhaps at the first town meeting with the German settlers and winemakers from San Francisco it may have gone like this: "There's a river over there the locals call Santa Ana. Heim. Ana. Ana. Heim. Anaheim!"

2. Ever maybe notice Balboa Boulevard in the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach kind of looks like it almost should have some kind a light rail running in the middle of the street? Well, once upon a time it actually did, the Pacific Electric ran a trolley down the middle of that street to the bay. That line was originally constructed by Los Angeles Inter-Urban Electric Railway, but PE took it over in July 1908. The railway was a big boom to the then quiet peninsula.

3. In 1933 the deadest earthquake in Southern California on record occurred, and it is commonly referred to as The Long Beach Earthquake, which resulted in 120 reported deaths. There was indeed great damage in Long Beach and Compton, but the epicenter was actually just off the coast in Newport Beach along the Newport-Inglewood Fault. This earthquake was also the most damaging earthquake in Orange County history with major damage in Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Anaheim.

Damage to a Santa Ana building as a result of the 1933 earthquake. No copyright infringement intended; shown for historic and educational purposes only.