Disneyland: One Man's Dream- A World on The Move

Everyone knows how much Walt loved trains. Actually, Walt loved transportation in general. Now his park had not only had a steam train and a monorail, but various vehicles transporting guests down Main Street. Not to mention a large fleet of submarines.

And now with Tomorrowland becoming less and less futuristic each day, Walt needed a new concept for the land. After all, when Disneyland opened, Tomorrowland was the least complete of all the offerings at Disneyland. No amount of flags could hide this. Now Tomorrowland would be constructed how it was supposed to and be enjoyed by all.

The Tomorrowland retheme was put on hold for a while, as Walt planned doing things for the New York World's Fair. At the fair, he was able to make imrovements on his new Audio-Animatronics. These robots were so advanced, that they could perform life-like movements as realistically as a human or bird could move. World's Fair atractions, like the Carousel of Progress, it's a small world, and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln would so find thier place in Disneyland. Also perfected at the World's Fair was the Ominmover system of transportation, which would be featured in many rides and used in the PeopleMover system that Walt was in love with.

After the fair, Walt turned his attention back to Disneyland, doing various things in the park. I will save the others for their own column, because each idea deserves it's own column. Now, here's a little more about Tomorrowland.

Adventure Thru Innerspace was the first attraction to utilize the Omnimover system. In the ride, you were "shrunk" to microscopic size and were able to see atoms. This was yet another ride by Monsanto.


The original Tomorrowland was gutted and completely rebuilt with new buildings and scenery. With the opening of the Carousel of Progress, Adventure Thru Inner Space, and the new PeopleMover system overhead, plus various other motion rides like the Submarine Voyage and the Monorail, Tomorrowland was themed to "A World on the Move". This theme would last For just over 30 years, until Tomorrowland was once again "Futurised" while new attractions were added and older ones taken out.

Disneyland: One Man's Dream- The First Major Expansion

Disneyland was a hit. But, after a while, things seem to get repetitive. And of course, Walt wanted to build things he could not build before due to a lack of money.

So the first Major Disneyland expansion was introduced in 1959. The Disneyland-Alweg Monorail, Matterhorn Bobsleds, and the Submarine Voyage were intorduced to Tomorrowland.

The Disneyland Monorial began as a simple elevated train ride around Tomorrowland and was the first daily operating system of it's kind in the western hemisphere. He loved this form of transportation, and soon continued it to the new Disneyland Hotel. A station was built there and people could ride between the hotel and Disneyland. Throughout the years, the monorail would largely reamined untouched while Disneyland grew around it.

Walt was inspired to build The Matterhorn Bobsleds after going to Switzerland and making Third Man on the Mountain. With the new skyway that connected Fantsyland and Tomorrowland, there was a need to hide the tower that held the Skyway up. And, it covered the astetically unpleasing Holiday Hill. Disneyland's Matterhorn is a 1/100th Scale, making Disneyland's 147 feet tall and the park's tallest minature. The Matterhorn became the first tubular steel roller coaster, which would become the most popular form of coasters. In later years, it would officially become part of Fantasyland and become home to the Yetti.

Last but not least, the Submarine Voyage took people underwater to discover "liquid space". Now Disneyland had one of the largest operating submarine fleats in the world. The ride would take guests underwater and underneath the North Pole. Real mermaids were also featured in the lagoon, but were removed when men kept jumping in to get them. The ride closed in 1998, but repopened with a new Finding Nemo theme in 2007.


As you can see, today, all 3 attractions are quite popluar. And just like Disneyland, 50 years later, they continue to delight a new generation of guests, as well as the older ones.


But still, age was cathcing up with Tomorrowland. The "futuristic" year of 1986 was still years away but advances in science were cathcing up fast. Now, Tomorrowland would need a brand new theme.

Disneyland: One Man's Dream- The Disneyland Hotel

So, Walt Disney proved everyone wrong, Disneyland was a success, yadda yadda yadda...

But Walt just didn't want a theme park. He knew that people would be tired from traveling to get to Disneyland, so he invisioned a hotel at Disneyland where guests could stay so they didn't have to travel so much in one day. Unfortunately, Disney was out of money.

That's when he talked to his friend Jack Wrather who was not only a oil millionaire but also a film producer. Not to mention he also owned hotels in Vegas and Palm Springs.

At first, Jack refused. But Walt sweetened the deal: Jack would own and operate the hotel and be able to affiliate it with Disneyland by using the Disney name for 100 years. So it was settled and the Disneyland Hotel opened across the street from the hotel it was named after. It opened in October of 1955, but held an official grand opening in August of 1956.

Over the years, the hotel kept expanding. New buildings were added as well as shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues. After the monorail opened, it's track was diverted to stop at the Disneyland Hotel, allowing guests to enter the park via monorail. Decades later, the iconinc 3 Towers that we know today would be built.


Walt periodically tried to buy it back from Jack, but never was able to. The Disneyland Hotel would remain out of the hands of the Disney Company until a new Disney leader would help bring the Disney Company back from the brink of bankrupcy.