Two years ago I wrote a review about The Disneyland Resort. I raved about the park, I loved it. Today I visited the park again, and have to say everything I said two years ago was a lie, it’s was all rubbish….do you know why? It’s because Disney is even better than that!

It’s hard to believe it could be, but The Disneyland Resort has got better. Home to Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure, this is a multi-park, multi-day magical Disney experience. 

The small Disneyland, well compared to its much larger brother Disney World, is quaint, it’s delightful, it’s home to magic beyond magic, it will reduce grown men to tears, it will let you escape this world for just one day and be transported across the globe to the Caribbean, The Wild West, Toontown or to Tomorrowland, all your dreams will come true in a day at this park, it’s just fantastic. The parks relatively small size however doesn’t mean it’s empty, it is jam-packed-full of rides, attractions, shows, shops and restaurants. Personal favourites include Pirates Of The Caribbean, one of the original themed rides which is all the more enjoyable since the arrival of the film. The Jungle Cruise is great fun, Indian Jones is amazing, fast, furious, and thrilling. Go back and read our 2001 review, and everything there is true, but it’s all got better. The same goes for Disney’s California Adventure.

I’m delighted to say that this park has yet to loose any of it’s charm. It sums up California to me, it’s fun, it’s perfect, and it’s gorgeous to look it. It really made me feel like this is how California should be, not ye olde California, but modern day CA. The addition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Play It! Adds another spark to DCA, it is a fun and prize winning opportunity just like it’s televised namesake. You as the audience have the chance to be in the hot seat, to play along in the audience and you could get 1 million points and win a trip on the Disney Cruise Line! It makes the Hollywood area of the park complete. I still adore Soaring Over California, it’s so unique, so original, and so California. I love this park, it’s a relaxing day out which will leave you with a smile all over your face.

The Disneyland Resort is home to magic, excitement and the best few days you can have.

Walt Disney opened “The “Happiest Place on Earth” in 1955, defining and setting the standard as the first “themed” park ever created. Today, DISNEYLAND is an evolving 85-acre beloved American institution featuring more than 60 adventures and attractions in eight themed lands. Favorites include Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours, it’s a small world, Indiana Jones™ Adventure and the “mountain range of thrill rides: Matterhorn Bobsleds, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain.

Fun Disneyland Facts to wet your whistle for our review!

Location:
DISNEYLAND® park, “The Happiest Place on Earth,” is located approximately 27 miles southeast of Los Angeles.  Its hometown is Anaheim, California.

Size:
The magic lands and public areas of DISNEYLAND occupy 85 acres of ground. Guest parking for 10,250 vehicles.

Lands:
The magic of DISNEYLAND comes to life in eight "themed" lands:

ADVENTURELAND
Exotic regions of Asia, Africa, India and the South Pacific, featuring the thrilling attraction, Indiana Jones™ Adventure.

CRITTER COUNTRY
A down-home, backwoods setting for Splash Mountain and the Country Bear Playhouse.

FANTASYLAND
A happy kingdom of storybook enchantment awaits beyond Sleeping Beauty Castle.

FRONTIERLAND
An exciting realm of pioneers and a return to the Old West.

MAIN STREET, U.S.A.
A composite of small-town America, circa 1900.

NEW ORLEANS SQUARE
The jazzy home of quaint shops, and the classic Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion attractions.

TOMORROWLAND
A launching pad for space age attractions into imagination and beyond.

MICKEY'S TOONTOWN
A three-dimensional cartoon world, hometown to Mickey Mouse and his friends.

Hours:
DISNEYLAND is open 365 days a year and offers extended operating hours during holiday periods and summer months.  To verify hours, please call (714) 781-4565 or (213) 626-8605, ext. 4565.  Information is also available on our Web site www.disneyland.com.

Attractions:
DISNEYLAND opened July 17, 1955, with 18 major attractions.  Today, there are more than 60 attractions.

Area Food & Lodging:
When DISNEYLAND opened, Anaheim had five hotels and two motels with a total of 87 rooms.  There were 34 restaurants in the city.  Today, Anaheim boasts approximately 150 hotels and motels, with approximately 18,000 rooms and well over 450 restaurants.

Guests:
More than 450 million guests have passed through the gates of DISNEYLAND since Opening Day, July 17, 1955.

Numbers:
The DISNEYLAND® Resort work force includes 21,000 men and women.

Talents:
There are between five and six hundred arts, crafts, professions and skills contributed by DISNEYLAND employees during operation.

Maintenance:
More than 5,000 gallons of paint are used each year to give a better-than-new look.  There are almost 20 million gallons of water in the ten bodies of water found in DISNEYLAND.  There are more than 100,000 light bulbs used, including 11,000 "rim lights" used to outline the buildings on Main Street, U.S.A.  The streets of DISNEYLAND are washed and steam-cleaned after closing each day.

Landscaping:
More than 800 species of plants from over 40 nations are represented in DISNEYLAND.  The landscape panorama includes about 5,000 trees and 40,000 shrubs.  There are 25 different varieties of grasses, including three acres covered with five different varieties of turf grass.  Each year, approximately 1 million annuals are planted.  Grounds are watered with more than 50,000 drip emitters and sprinkler heads.  It takes a 65-person landscaping staff to maintain the park.  The trees range in size from one-foot Dwarf Spruce in Storybook Land to the 75-foot high Eucalyptus trees at the park’s perimeter.  The Mickey Mouse flower “portrait” located at the Main Entrance is planted nine times a year.

Custodial:
DISNEYLAND uses 26 million hand towels in its restrooms a year.  Additionally, the park uses 1,000 brooms, 500 dust pans and 3,000 mops a year to keep it clean.  Approximately 30 tons of trash is collected during a busy park day.  Custodial collects 12 million pounds of trash each year.

Recycling:
DISNEYLAND has an extensive recycling program in place.  Recycled in one year: 3.1 million pounds of cardboard; 500,000 pounds of office paper; and 9,390 pounds of aluminum cans.

Food:
In one year guests buy: 4 million hamburgers, 1.6 million hot dogs, 3.4 million orders of french fries, 1.5 million servings of popcorn, 3.2 million servings of ice cream, 1.2 million gallons of soft drinks and 2.8 million churros.

Costuming:
Total DISNEYLAND costume inventory is 500,000 pieces.  From initial design to public view, a new costume takes from eight to 12 months to produce.  The park’s Costume Division stocks approximately 500,000 yards of material, covering 900 different fabrics.  DISNEYLAND issues, maintains and cleans costumes for more than 7,000 employees and more than 650 Audio-Animatronics figures.  Over 20,000 garments are exchanged per week for cleaning during the summer.  Approximately 100,000 individual items are repaired each year.  Approximately 150,000 individual pieces are replaced each year, with the average life of an operational costume being nine months.

Calling:
During a 12-month period, the park receives more than 2,000,000 phone calls.  The most frequently called person is Mickey Mouse.  The most frequently asked questions (apart from those answered by the recorded information line) relate to merchandise and collectibles.

Band:
The DISNEYLAND Marching Band has stepped off nearly 3,500 miles since its first parade down Main Street, U.S.A. on opening day in 1955. 

Fireworks:
Unquestionably one of the world’s largest displays of fireworks, DISNEYLAND utilizes the night sky as a stage for  “Believe…There’s Magic in the Stars,” the largest fireworks show in the park’s history.

See our review and opinions on the park shortly.

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