Page 35 - 2017 Travel Guide to California

1950 (original admission started between 9
and 14 cents), making it the first official
theme park in California, as well. According
to some, it was one of Walt Disney’s inspira-
tions for the eponymous park he created five
years later.
Today, Fairyland includes small rides such
as a mini Ferris wheel and carousels, and life-
sized sets depicting scenes from timeless
storybooks (Pinocchio’s castle and the
Humpty Dumpty wall are two favorites). The
theme park also is home to the Storybook
Puppet Theater, which opened in 1956. A
number of the country’s most famous pup-
peteers got their start here, including a
teenager by the name of Frances Oznowicz.
You likely know him as Frank Oz.
CHILDREN’S FAIRYLAND at Lake
Merritt, Oakland, above; Disney
characters and the Disneyland band,
right; Kung Fu Panda, below; roller coaster
Medusa, the longest and highest coaster
in Northern California at Six Flags
Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo, bottom;
Flight of the Hippogriff at the Wizarding
World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios
Hollywood, opposite.
Disneyland
If the lovable (and life-sized) Mickey Mouse
and friends don’t pique your interest and
attention at California’s most famous theme
park, surely the rides will. The park, which
opened in 1955, features rides for all ages,
including some of the most ballyhooed roller
coasters anywhere in the state (one favorite
is Space Mountain, which speeds along
almost entirely in the dark).
Overall, Disneyland is divided into eight
themed areas, or “lands.” Some of these areas
focus on actual history: Frontierland recre-
ates the setting of the American frontier,
while Main Street U.S.A. is patterned after a
small Midwestern town (many believe Walt
Disney got his inspiration from his own boy-
hood town of Marceline, Missouri).
The park opened with one hotel, but since
the 1990s it has grown exponentially, adding
a new theme park (Disney’s California Adven-
ture), a shopping district (Downtown Disney)
and two additional hotels. One of the newest
attractions, Cars Land, was inspired by the
Cars movies, and opened in June 2012. In
2017 the park will welcome Star Wars Land,
and will convert the Twilight Zone Tower of
Terror into a ride aligned with the Guardians
of the Galaxy brand.
2017 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A 33