Main Street U.S.A | Adventureland | New Orleans Square | Frontierland | Bear/Critter Country | Fantasyland | ToonTown | Tomorrowland
1948
August – Walt and Ward Kimball travel to the Chicago Railroad Fair, and visit Henry Ford’s Museum and Greenfield Village along the way
1948.08.31 – Studio production designer Dick Kelsey receives “Mickey Mouse Park” memo from Walt. This is the initial design for a theme park under the Disney name.
1949
– The Disney studio purchases 11 acres of vacant land across from the studio on Riverside Drive, for $170,000
1950
– Disney tours Children’s Fairyland theme park in Oakland, CA
1951
– Harper Goff leaves Warner Bros. and comes to work for Disney. One of his first tasks is to “firm up” the Riverside Drive “Mickey Mouse Park” concept by drawing this site plan.
1952
– Disney visits Madurodam, a miniature city in Scheveningen, The Hague. There he finds inspiration for what would become the Storyland Canal Boats attraction.
– Roy threatens legal action over the use of Walt’s name in the new company. Walt changes it to WED Enterprises
1952.03 – Plans and sketches for “Mickey Mouse Park” presented to the Burbank Parks and Recreation board, estimating cost at $1.5 million. Board approves plans; next step is the Burbank City Council. (source:
Theme Park Tourist)
1952.09 – Burbank City Council rejects “Mickey Mouse Park” proposal
1952.12 – Walt forms new company, Walt Disney Incorporated, to circumvent shareholders of Walt Disney Pictures and his brother Roy
1953
– Walt discusses deal with ABC (Kintner) to fund Disneyland with $500k cash and $4.5 million loan guarantees in exchange for rights to air Mickey Mouse. Deal would later include a 30% stake in the park itself
– Harrison “Buzz” Price (on staff at Stanford Research Institute) works with Disney Co. to find the perfect location for the park
April – Buzz Price asks Walt to consider Golden Oak Ranch as the site for Disneyland
August – Park location decided on
1954
1954.03.29 – Roy finalizes deal with ABC
1954.07.21 – Disneyland groundbreaking
1954.10.27 – Disneyland TV show debuts on ABC
1955
1955.07.13 – Walt and Lilly celebrate their 30th anniversary at the park
1955.07.17 – Soft opening (press)
1955.07.17 – Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad opens
1955.07.17 – Main Street Cinema
1955.07.17 – Horseless Carriage (Jitney), Omnibus, Fire Engine, Horse-Drawn Street Car all begin service
1955.07.17 – Jungle Cruise opens
1955.07.17 – Autopia (Tomorrowland) opens
1955.07.17 – Circarama opens (A Tour of the West)
1955.07.17 – Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride opens
1955.07.17 – Peter Pan’s Flight opens
1955.07.17 – Mark Twain Riverboat opens
1955.07.17 – Golden Horseshoe Saloon opens
1955.07.17 – Stage Coach opens
1955.07.17 – Casey Jr. Circus Train opens & closes
1955.07.18 – Grand opening (public)
1955.07.20 – Tomorrowland Boats debut
1955.07.22 – Rocket To The Moon opens
1955.07.31 – Casey Jr. Circus Train re-opens
1955.07 – Main Street Shooting Gallery opens
1955.07 – Davy Crockett Frontier Arcade opens
1955.08.03 – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Exhibit opens in Tomorrowland
1955.08.16 – Dumbo the Flying Elephant opens
1955.08.16 – Conestoga Wagons open in Frontierland
1955.08.27 – Mickey Mouse Club Theater opens in Fantasyland
1955.08 – Flight Circle opens
1955.12.25 – Mike Fink Keel Boats open
– First completed building at Disneyland, the Main Street Opera House, opens as the park lumber mill
– Miniature Horse Corral opens in Frontierland (site of current Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition)
– Space Station X-1 opens
– The World Beneath Us opens
– Aluminum Hall of Fame opens
– Pack Mules debut in Frontierland
– Davy Crockett Museum opens
1956
1956 – Indian Village moves locations
1956 – Tomorrowland Boats renamed Phantom Boats
1956 – Dutch Boy Color Gallery opens
1956 – Junior Autopia opens (w/ center guard rail)
1956 – Astro Jets opens
1956 – Pack Mules renamed Rainbow Ridge Pack Mules
1956 – Rainbow Caverns Mine Train opens in Frontierland
1956 – Davy Crockett Museum opens
1956.02.01 – Stage Coach attraction is renamed Rainbow Mountain Stage Coaches
1956.06.10 – Skyway opens connecting Fantasyland & Tomorrowland
1956.06.16 – Tom Sawyer Island opens
1956.07.02 – Rainbow Caverns Mine Train opens in Frontierland
1956.07.04 – Indian War Canoes open
1956.08 – Phantom Boats close
1956.08.18 – Carnation Plaza Gardens opens in the NW corner of the hub between the entrances to Frontierland and Fantasyland
1957
1957 – Midget Autopia opens
1957 – Motor Boat Cruise opens
1957 – Former President Harry Truman visits Disneyland
1957 – Miniature Horse Corral closes
1957.06.11 – Monsanto House of the Future opens
1957.06.16 – Holidayland hosts its 1st private event
1957.06.26 – Viewliner opens
1957.07 – Frontierland Shooting Gallery opens
1958
1958 – Space Station X-1 renamed Satellite View of America
1958 – Junior Autopia closes
1958.03.31 – Grand Canyon Diorama along the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad opens
1958.06.14 – Alice in Wonderland opens
1958.09.15 – Viewliner closes
1959
1959 – Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev denied entrance to the park
1959 – Junior Autopia re-opens as Fantasyland Autopia
1959 – Rainbow Mountain Stage Coaches close
1959.06.14 – Disneyland Monorail opens
1959.07.14 – Matterhorn Bobsleds opens
07.25 – The Ernest S. Marsh locomotive makes its inaugural trip around the Disneyland Railroad loop
1959.09 – Conestoga Wagons close
1959.10.11 – Rainbow Caverns Mine Train closes to make way for Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland
1960
1960 – Satellite View of America closes
1960.05.28 – Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland opens in Frontierland
1960.06 – Circarama film changes to “America the Beautiful”
1960.06.10 – Rainbow Ridge Pack Mules renamed Pack Mules Through Nature’s Wonderland
1961
1961 – Holidayland closes
1961 – Haunted Mansion announced
1961 – Main Street Opera House no longer used as park lumber mill
1961.12 – Babes in Toyland exhibit opens inside of Main Street Opera House
1962
1962 – Haunted Mansion construction begins
1962.01 – Main Street Shooting Gallery closes
1962.06 – Safari Shooting Gallery opens
1962.11.18 – Swiss Family Treehouse opens
1963
1963 – Babes in Toyland exhibit closes
1963 – Mickey Mouse Club Headquarters open in Main Street Opera House
1963 – Mineral Hall closes
1963.06.23 – Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room opens
1963.11.23 – Disneyland closes for the National Day of Mourning to remember President John F. Kennedy
1964
1964 – Crew Quarters exhibit added to Sailing Ship Columbia
1964 –
Astro Jets name changed to
Tomorrowland Jets due to United Airlines request (sponsor of Enchanted Tiki Room)
1964 – Mickey Mouse Club Theater renamed Fantasyland Theater
1965
1965.02 – Walt sells his interest in WED
1965.07.18 – Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln opens*
1966
1966 – Flight Circle closes
1966 – Midget Autopia closes (to make way for Small World)
1966.05.28 – It’s A Small World opens*
1966.07.01 – Primeval World, making use of several elements of the Ford Magic Skyway attraction from the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair, opens along the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad
1966.07.24 – New Orleans Square opens
1966.09 – Tomorrowland Jets closes
1966.09 – Circarama closes
1967
1967 – Circle-Vision 360 opens (America the Beautiful)
1967 – Rocket To The Moon closes
1967 – Flight to the Moon opens
1967.03.16 – Pirates of the Caribbean opens
1967.06.15 – Club 33 opens
1967.07.02 – WEDway PeopleMover opens in Tomorrowland
1967.07.02 – Carousel of Progress opens*
1967.07.02 – Rocket Jets opens
1967.08.05 – Adventure Thru Inner Space opens in Tomorrowland
1967.12 – Monsanto House of the Future closes
1969
1969.08.09 – Haunted Mansion opens
1971
1971 – Indian Village closes
1971.05.19 – Indian War Canoes renamed Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes
1972
1972.03.04 – Bear Country opens
1972 – Golden Bear Lodge opens in Bear Country
1972 – Teddi Barra’s Swingin’ Arcade opens
1972.03.24 – Country Bear Jamboree opens
1973
1973 – Pack Mules Through Nature’s Wonderland closes to make way for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Big Thunder Ranch development
1973.09.09 – Carousel of Progress closes
1974
1974.06.29 – America Sings opens
1975
1975 – Flight To The Moon closes?
1975 – Space Mountain construction begins
1975.03.21 – Mission To Mars opens
1975.09 – Japanese Emperor Hirohito becomes the first official passenger to come aboard the Lilly Belle after its conversion into a parlor car
1977
1977 – Golden Bear Lodge renamed to Hungry Bear Restaurant
1977.01.02 – Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland closes to make way for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
1977.05.27 – Space Mountain opens
1979
1979.09.02 – Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opens in Frontierland
1981
1981.12.20 – Fantasyland Theater closes
1982
1982.01 – Safari Shooting Gallery closes
1983
1983- Dumbo the Flying Elephant relocated to former location of Skull Rock and Pirate’s Cove
1983 – Mad Tea Party relocated from where Carrousel is today, to its current location just north of Alice in Wonderland dark ride, along the parade route
1983.05.23 – “New Fantasyland” debuts
1983.05.23 – Pinocchio’s Daring Journey opens
1984
1984.06.16 – Magic Journeys opens at Tomorrowland’s Space Stage
1984.09 – Frontierland Shooting Gallery closes in order to remove BB guns and replace with infra-red guns
1985
1985.03 – Frontierland Shooting Gallery reopens
1985.06.22 – Videopolis opens
1985.09.02 – Adventure Thru Inner Space closes
1986
1986.05 – Magic Eye Theater opens with Magic Journeys, the original 3D movie from Epcot’s Imagination pavilion
1986.09.12 – Captain EO opens in Tomorrowland’s Magic Eye Theater
1987
1987.01 – Davy Crockett Frontier Arcade closes
1987.01.09 – Star Tours opens
1987.07.11 – Disney Gallery opens in New Orleans Square
1988
1988 – Bear Country renamed Critter Country
1988.04.10 – America Sings closes
1988.10 – Carnation Plaza Gardens closes (
Yesterland lists the final operating day as April 30, 2012)
1989
1989.07.17 – Splash Mountain opens
1991
1991 – Motor Boat Cruise renamed to Motor Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen
1992
1992 – Mission to Mars closes
1993
1993.01 – Motor Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen closes
1993.01.24 – Mickey’s Toontown opens
1993.01.24 – Jolly Trolley debuts in Mickey’s Toontown
07.02 – Aladdin’s Oasis opens in Adventureland, replacing Tahitian Terrace
1993.08 – Indiana Jones Adventure groundbreaking
1994
1994.01.26 – Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin opens in Toontown
1994.11.09 – Skyway closes
1995
1995 – Videopolis changes name to Fantasyland Theater
1995.03.03 – Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye opens in Adventureland
1995.08.21 – WEDway PeopleMover closes
1997
1997.01.06 – Rocket Jets closes
1997 – Circle-Vision 360 closes
1997.04 – Captain EO closes
1997.05.17 – Mike Fink Keel Boats close
1998
1998.05 – Honey, I Shrunk the Audience opens in Tomorrowland’s Magic Eye Theater
1998.05.22 – Astro Orbitor opens
1998.07.03 – Innoventions opens
1999
1999 – Fastpass introduced
1999 – Tomorrowland & Fantasyland Autopias close
1999.03.08 – Swiss Family Treehouse closes. Refurbishment and renaming follows.
1999.06.23 – Tarzan’s Treehouse opens
2000
2000 – Single, larger Autopia “re-opens”
2001
2001.02.06 – Rancho Del Zocalo Restaurante opens in Frontierland
2001.09.09 – Country Bear Jamboree closes
2001.10 – Haunted Mansion Holiday premiers
2002
2002 – Teddi Barra’s Swingin’ Arcade closes
2003
2003 – Jolly Trolley closes
2003.04.11 – The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh opens
2005
2005.03.17 – Buzz Lightyear’s AstroBlasters opens
2006
2006.10.06 – Princess Fantasy Faire opens in Fantasyland, replacing the Fantasyland Theater
2007
2007 – Tom Sawyer Island renamed Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer’s Island
2009
2009.09 – Honey, I Shrunk the Audience closes
2009.10.02 – Disney Gallery reopens on Main Street in the former bank location
2010
2010.02.23 – Captain EO Tribute opens
2010.07.27 – Star Tours closes for major refurbishment
2011
2011.06.03 – Star Tours – The Adventures Continue opens
2012
2012.04.30 – Carnation Gardens Plaza closes
2012.08.12 – Princess Fantasy Faire closes
2013
2013.03.12 – Fantasy Faire, medieval themed meet-and-greet area opens, replacing Carnation Gardens Plaza
2014
2014 – Captain EO Tribute closes
2015
2015.03.31 – Innoventions closes
2015.05.09 – The Hatbox Ghost returns to the Haunted Mansion
2015.08.15 – Star Wars Land plans announced at D23 Expo
2015.11.16 – Star Wars Launch Bay (Tomorrowland Expo Center)
2016
2016.01.10 – Frontierland attractions (Fantasmic, Mark Twain, Sailing Ship Columbia, Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue, Big Thunder Ranch petting zoo, Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree, Tom Sawyer Island, Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes) + Disneyland Railroad close due to Star Wars Land construction
2017
2016.01.10
2018
12.21 – The Tropical Hideaway opens next to the Tiki Room and Jungle Cruise in Adventureland
2019
04.19 – Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway announced for Mickey’s Toontown in 2022
05.24 – Sleeping Beauty Castle reopens with new colors, a new roof, pixie dust, and other enhancements
05.31 – Galaxy’s Edge, the 14 acre Star Wars themed land in the NW corner of the park, soft opens
06.24 – Galaxy’s Edge grand opening
