ANAHEIM, Cal. - The wonderful thing about Disneyland is that it's ever new and fresh, even for people who live nearby and come here several times a year. More than 66 million persons have visited this fabulous park 27 miles southeast of Los Angeles since it first opened its doors almost 13 years ago. None has ever seen the finished product – and that may be one of the secrets of its success. For as a famous Chicago native son named Walt Disney said at its dedication July 18, 1955:
"Disneyland will never be finished. It will continue to grow, to add new things so long as imagination is left in the world."
Walt Disney is gone, but with his creative legacy as a guide, the unique organization of Disney "imagineers" he built up is busier than ever making that prediction come true. Two multi-million-dollar projects – "Pirates of the Caribbean" and an all-new 23-million-dollar Tomorrowland – have opened since Disney's death and many other projects are in final planning for future years.
For the tourist who has never been to Disneyland – well, it s unquestionably the world s greatest man-made tourist attraction. This traveler has never met a visitor who didn't want to go back – again and again and again. It's truly another world, a world of imagination transformed into reality, a world of illusion and charm, an exciting, and completely wholesome world in which the whole family – small children, teen-agers, parents, grandparents – can have fun together. But you don't have to have children to enjoy the wonders of Disneyland; in fact, adult visitors outnumber children almost 4 to 1 and go home talking about one of the most memorable experiences of their lives.
For the one-time visitor who – what a shame! – hasn't been here since the late 1950s, it's practically an all-new Disneyland. Its initial 17 million dollar investment in 22 major attractions has grown to 52 major adventures, plus shops, exhibits, and restaurants, a current total investment of nearly 100 million dollars.
And for the many-time visitor who hasn't been to Disneyland in the much-too-long-to-wait-to go-back period of about 18 months, well, even he will find 10 new attractions, enough new adventures to keep him happily occupied for the greater part of a day before embarking on a sentimental journey to the older and more familiar – and still enchanting – parts of "The Magic Kingdom."
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