[1] Disney initially envisioned building a tourist attraction adjacent to his studios in Burbank to entertain fans who wished to visit; however, he soon realized that the proposed site was too small for the ideas that he had.

Since its opening, Disneyland has undergone expansions and major renovations, including the addition of New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country in 1972, Mickey's Toontown in 1993, and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in 2019.

[10][11] The earliest documented draft of Disney's plans was sent as a memo to studio production designer Dick Kelsey on August 31, 1948, where it was referred to as a "Mickey Mouse Park", based on notes Disney made during his and Ward Kimball's trip to the Chicago Railroad Fair the same month, with a two-day stop in Henry Ford's Museum and Greenfield Village, a place with attractions like a Main Street and steamboat rides, which he had visited eight years earlier.

[18] Disney hired C. V. Wood and Harrison Price of the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) to identify the proper area in which to position the planned theme park based on future population growth.

[26] U.S. Route 101 (later Interstate 5) was under construction at the same time just north of the site; in preparation for the traffic Disneyland was expected to bring, two more lanes were added to the freeway before the park was finished.

The Special Sunday events, including the dedication, were televised nationwide and anchored by three of Walt Disney's friends from Hollywood: Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan.

This generated negative publicity since Pepsi sponsored the park's opening; disappointed guests believed the inoperable fountains were a cynical way to sell soda, while other vendors ran out of food.

After the extremely negative press from the preview opening, Walt Disney invited attendees back for a private "second day" to experience Disneyland properly.

[32] In September 1959, Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev spent thirteen days in the United States, with two requests: to visit Disneyland and to meet John Wayne, Hollywood's top box-office draw.

[36][37] As part of the Casa de Fritos operation at Disneyland, "Doritos" (Spanish for "little golden things") were created at the park to recycle old tortillas that would have been discarded.

An hour later, the group of Yippies converged at Main Street, U.S.A. and became confrontational with other park guests and riot police after tearing down patriotic bunting while unfurling Viet Cong and Youth International Party flags.

The incident was cited as a clash of the park management's perceived appeal to tradition following the death of Walt Disney and the growing counterculture movement among young people in the United States.

[40][41] Despite the opening of the more expansive Walt Disney World resort in 1971, Disneyland continued to set attendance records and maintained its status as a major tourist attraction.

The final major change of the decade came in 1977 when the slow-paced Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland was closed and replaced by the similarly themed Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rollercoaster in 1979.

In 2004, the park underwent major renovations in preparation, restoring many attractions, notably Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room.

[53] In February 2021, Disneyland announced a limited-capacity ticketed event called "A Touch of Disney", which would offer guests to shop at stores and enjoy eateries around the park from March 18 through April 19, 2021.

[64][65] In May 2023, a male employee of Disneyland was dressed as 'Fairy Godmother's apprentice' welcoming the visitors to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Fantasyland, generating both criticism and support on social media.

Main Street, USA is patterned after a typical Midwest town of the early 20th century, and took much inspiration from Walt Disney's hometown, Marceline, Missouri.

[69] Main Street, USA has a train station, town square, movie theater, city hall, firehouse with a steam-powered pump engine, emporium, shops, arcades, double-decker bus, horse-drawn streetcar, and jitneys.

The lands that are not directly connected to the Central Plaza are; New Orleans Square, Bayou Country, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and Mickey's Toontown.

Attractions include Jungle Cruise, the Indiana Jones Adventure, and Adventureland Treehouse, inspired by Walt Disney's 1960 film Swiss Family Robinson.

Entertainment and attractions include Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Mark Twain Riverboat, the Sailing Ship Columbia, Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, Frontierland Shootin' Exposition, and the nighttime show Fantasmic!.

Toontown features three rides: Chip 'n' Dale's Gadgetcoaster, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin.

Disney's passion for the "iron horse" led to him building a miniature live steam backyard railroad—the "Carolwood Pacific Railroad"—on the grounds of his Holmby Hills estate.

[92] On October 27, 2014, the United States Federal Aviation Administration declared a permanent zone of prohibited airspace around both Disneyland and some of the surrounding areas at Sleeping Beauty Castle.

This level is shared with Walt Disney World, other pieces of critical infrastructure (military bases, Pantex), and is typically temporarily established during large sporting events.

In 2004, Disneyland introduced a new air launch pyrotechnics system, reducing ground-level smoke and noise and decreasing negative environmental impacts.

[98] Projection mapping technology debuted on It's a Small World with the creation of The Magic, the Memories and You in 2011, and expanded to Main Street and Sleeping Beauty Castle in 2015 with the premiere of Disneyland Forever.

In 1982, Disney dropped the idea for individual ride tickets, replacing them with "passports", charging a single admission price with unlimited access to all attractions, "except shooting galleries".

In October 2024, Disney began piloting its new "Lightning Lane Premier Pass," which allows guests, for an additional $400 per person per day, to enter a faster line at any time (once per ride) without having to reserve it on the app.