What Is the Origin of Disney Theme Parks?

Fans often clamored to visit Walt Disney's Burbank studios. He originally planned to build the park there, but the small size and need to maintain a business atmosphere meant that the park would need to be built elsewhere.

Walt Disney finally settled on Anaheim as the location for his park. A television contract from ABC--in which Disney provided family appropriate viewing for the new medium--helped finance its construction.

Disneyland finally opened in July 1955. The first day was disastrous--with huge crowds and broken rides--but the park soon recovered to become a gigantic success.

Walt Disney soon conceived of a second park on the East Coast--one catering to people who couldn't fly all the way out to California. It would have even more space, allowing for ongoing expansion as new ideas came to life.

Sadly, Walt Disney didn't live to see the completion of his second dream--he died in 1966--but Walt Disney World opened on schedule five years later, in October 1971.