“To all who come to this happy place, welcome,” Walt Disney jubilantly told the crowd of opening day attendees on July 17, 1955. “Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”
I’ll leave the history of Disneyland to my more knowledgeable colleague Chris Queen, and focus on what makes Disneyland such a unique and world-changing experiment, even now, seven decades after Walt Disney proved friends and enemies alike wrong with his wildly successful and totally original amusement park.
Not many opening day attractions survive — Peter Pan, Snow White, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Jungle Cruise, the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, Autopia, the Railroad, and the Mark Twain Riverboat are among them — but the magic of Disneyland is still there. Despite all the wokeness that has since entered Walt’s company (which would have broken the staunchly Republican Christian’s heart), the spirit of Walt and his quintessentially American genius linger in the land that was his greatest pride and joy.
Related: Walt Disney, Patriot and Lover of American Rights
Where else can you visit a Haunted House, battle pirates, fly with pixies and large-eared elephants, hear Abraham Lincoln speak, climb castle stairs, explore tropical jungles with talking tikis, challenge Storm Troopers, scale the Matterhorn, and ride a mine train in the Old West all in the same day? The unbridled imagination coupled with rigorous craftsmanship on display at Disneyland is still a gold standard of entertainment. There have been many imitators of Disneyland since the park first opened, but, in my opinion, the original has never been surpassed.
Happy 70th birthday to Walt’s Disneyland (b. July 17, 1955)!
— Catherine Salgado (@CatSalgado32) Jul 16, 2025
I have many childhood memories from Disneyland, with my parents, my grandfather, my uncle and aunts, my cousin, and my siblings. To this day, it represents a favorite spot for my family to meet up and have fun. To quote James Baskett (“Uncle Remus”), the Disney legend whom Walt ensured would be the first black actor to win an Academy Award, every day at Disneyland is “a wonderful day.” Walt Disney truly managed to preserve the greatest stories, both fantasy and history, of Western Civilization for new generations at Disneyland, adding in his own original touches, unique storytelling style, and masterful attention to detail to cement their enduring popularity.
Related: James Baskett, History-Making Actor and ‘Uncle Remus’
A quote usually attributed (at least in part) to Walt Disney and which certainly encapsulates his attitude toward the park’s purpose provides a fitting end to this brief tribute for Disneyland’s 70th birthday:
The most important person in Disneyland is a guest. A guest is a person who enters Disneyland seeking entertainment. A guest may be white, black, brown, or yellow… Christian, Jew, Buddhist, or Hindu … Republican or Democrat… Showoff or wallflower… big shot or small… Rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy…
But, from the moment his car turns into the Disneyland parking area until he leaves, he is a guest of Disneyland… A Disneyland guest is to us, a King in our Magic Kingdom.
And, as Walt also said, never forget that it all started with a mouse!If you have favorite Disneyland memories, please share them below!
Help us continue to bring you inspiring and entertaining cultural content. Join PJ Media VIP today and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member