Here are the more interesting Disney California Adventure and Disneyland facts and statistics I was able to dig up recently. I tried to mix up statistics with some fun facts about the park and its attractions. As always, I will be adding more and updating these periodically as I find new stuff. Be sure to check back regularly.
Opened in 1955, Disneyland is the granddaddy of Disney theme parks, yet often it is one of the most overlooked. With Disney World and its many attractions and resorts often getting the lion’s share of the limelight, there are countless reasons to stand up and take note of the goings-ons at Disneyland. With 60 years of history and in such close proximity to Disney’s movie studios, there are quite a few unique features of Disneyland that often go unnoticed.
Photo by Sean MacEntee
So just how big has Disneyland become after all these years? You might be surprised. It is actually very close in annual visitors to the Magic Kingdom’s 20 million.
Disneyland Facts
1. When did Disneyland open? 1955
2. Where is Disneyland located? 1313 Disneyland Dr, Anaheim, CA 92802
3. When did the Disneyland Monorail open? June 14, 1959
4. How many Monorails are there at Disneyland? 3 (Red, Blue, Orange)
The Disneyland Monorail System was the first daily operating monorail system in the Western Hemisphere when it opened in 1959.
5. How much did it cost to build Disneyland? $17 million
6. Number of people that it took to build Disneyland: 2,500
7. Number of people that were invited to attend the Disneyland grand opening: 22,000
8. How much did Disneyland tickets cost in the first year? $1 for adults and $.50 for children
9. How much does a Disneyland ticket cost now? $97 – $124 for a one-day adult ticket (7/13/17)
10. How big is Disneyland? 486 acres (10/1/16)
11. The original concept for Disneyland was sketched by Walt Disney on a napkin during a family outing.
12. The park’s original opening day was known as “Black Sunday” due to numerous technical and logistical issues.
13. Disneyland has its own television show called “The Disneyland TV Series,” which premiered in 1954.
Photo by Barbara Zandoval on Unsplash
Disneyland Statistics
14. Number of Disney-owned hotels at Disneyland: 3 (10/1/16)
15. Number of rooms at Disneyland hotels: 2,400 rooms (FY 2021)
16. Number of people that have visited Disneyland (all time): more than 750 million ( 6/12/17)
17. Disneyland visitor total for 2019: 18.67 million visitors
Here is a complete rundown of all the Disneyland visitor statistics you need to know.
18. Estimated number of Disneyland visitors that rode the Skyway while it was in operation: 150 million
19. Number of lights included in the Disneyland Main Street Electrical Parade: 600,000 lights
20. Number of Disneyland Resort visitors (all time): 700 million (7/17/14)
21. Date that Star Tours opened in Disneyland: January 9, 1987
22. Annual amount that Disneyland generates for the Southern California economy: $5.7 billion (6/12/17)
23. Average wait time for Disneyland’s most popular rides: 24.4 minutes (7/13/17)
24. If the Disneyland Resort was a restaurant chain, it would be the 84th largest chain in the US based on food and beverage sales.
25. The Enchanted Tiki Room introduced the world’s first audio-animatronics in 1963
26. How tall is Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland? 77 feet
27. Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle is 112 feet shorter than Disney World’s Cinderella Castle.
28. Pirates of the Caribbean has had more guests than any other theme park ride in the world.
29. Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean were supposed to be walk-through rides.
30. Disneyland is 22 acres smaller than Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.
31. Number of attractions at Disneyland on opening day: 18
32. Size of Disneyland Resort’s Downtown Disney District: 15 acres
33. Number of venues in Disneyland’s Downtown Disney complex: 30 venues (10/1/16)
34. Number of rooms at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa: 948 rooms and 50 DVC villas
35. Number of rooms at Disneyland Hotel: 973 rooms
36. Number of rooms at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel: 481 rooms
37. Number of cast members at Disneyland Resort: 32,000 cast members
38. Number of plant species at Disneyland Resort: 800 species
39. Average amount of material Disneyland Resort recycles daily: 32 tons
40. Number of languages spoken by cast members at Disneyland Resort: 40 languages
41. There is actually a basketball court inside the Matterhorn
42. Number of quick service and table service locations at Disneyland Resort that offer allergy-friendly menus: 120
43. Number of food and beverage cast members employed at the Disneyland Resort: 9,000
44. Number of food and beverage locations at Disneyland Resort: 155
45. Number of different food items available at Disneyland Resort: 15,000
46. Number of apples consumed by Disneyland guests every year: 236,000
47. Average number of Mickey-shaped pretzels consumed at Disneyland Resort annually: 890,000
48. Average number of hot dogs consumed at Disneyland Resort annually: 2,500,000
49. Number of kids meals served annually at Disneyland Resort: 12 million
50. Year the Disneyland Hotel opened: 1955
51. Year Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel opened: 2000
52. Number of parking spaces in Disneyland’s Mickey & Friends parking structure: approx 10,000
53. Number of parking spaces in the Pixar Pals parking garage at Disneyland: 5,000 spaces
54. Average number of Disneyland wishes granted through Make-A-Wish annually: 750 (6/12/17)
55. Number of Southern California jobs Disneyland supports (in addition to cast members): 25,000 jobs (6/12/17)
56. Growth in Disneyland workforce from 2005-2015: approx 65%
57. Total amount of convention and meeting space at Disneyland: 20,000 sq ft (6/12/17)
58. Total number of fountains used in the World of Color show: 1,200
59. Number of scuba divers Disney employs at Disneyland: 50 (6/12/17)
60. How many attractions at Disneyland? 60 attractions
61. The longest-serving cast member at Disneyland was Oscar Martinez, who worked there from 1956-2017.
62. There is a time capsule buried in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle which was buried on Disneyland’s 40th anniversary and will be opened 50 years later in 2045.
63. How many people visited Disneyland in its first year? about 3.6 million people
64. Shortest run for a Disneyland attraction: Mickey Mouse Club Circus (November 1955-January 1956)
65. Space Mountain actually cost $3 million more to build than all of Disneyland.
66. King Arthur Carousel was actually built in 1922- 33 years before Disneyland opened.
67. The drawbridge on Sleeping Beauty’s Castle actually works and has been used twice.
68. The last attraction Walt Disney personally supervised construction of was Pirates of the Caribbean.
69. Splash Mountain was originally supposed to be called Zip-A-Dee River Run.
70. Walt Disney actually had a private apartment above the Main Street fire station.
71. 3 babies have been born at Disneyland.
72. 4.4 million churros are sold at Disneyland each year.
73. Actor/comedian Steve Martin and Actress Michelle Pfeiffer both worked at Disneyland when they were young.
74. How long did it take to build Disneyland? 1 year
75. Disneyland was built on a 160-acre orange grove
76. Doritos were actually invented at Disneyland.
77. “A Christmas Fantasy” Parade is the longest-running holiday parade at Disneyland. It premiered in 1995.
78. The fastest ride at Disneyland is Splash Mountain (40 mph after the drop)
79. Estimated amount that Disneyland lost in revenue in its 13 month pandemic closure: $4.3 billion
80. Space required to build Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland: 14 acres
81. The park’s famous “It’s a Small World” attraction was originally created for the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
82. Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A. was inspired by Walt Disney’s childhood hometown of Marceline, Missouri.
83. Disneyland has its own secret club called Club 33, located in New Orleans Square.
84. The Matterhorn Bobsleds roller coaster was the first tubular steel continuous track roller coaster ever built.
85. Disneyland’s Adventureland was inspired by Disney’s “True-Life Adventure” series, which focused on wildlife and nature.
86. The park’s nightly fireworks show uses about 80 fireworks launchers.
87. Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise was originally intended to be a serious educational attraction before it was transformed into a humorous adventure.
88. The Disneyland Railroad’s trains are named after the important figures in the development of Disneyland: C.K. Holliday, E.P. Ripley, Fred Gurley, and Ward Kimball.
89. Original run of Main Street Electrical Parade at Disneyland: June 17, 1972-November 25, 1996
90. Date the Main Street Electrical Parade returned to Disneyland: January 20, 2017
Disney California Adventure Facts and Statistics
91. Year that Disney California Adventure Park opened: 2001
92. Disney California Adventure attendance total for 2015: 9.4 million
93. Disney California Adventure visitor total for 2019: 9.861 million visitors
94. Cars Land opening at Disney California Adventure: June 2012
95. Number of performers in the Pixar Play Parade: 120
96. Number of fireworks effects in the “Together forever” nighttime show: 900
97. Number of Space Aliens that appear in the “Together forever” nighttime show: more than 300
98. Number of lights used in the Paint the Night show: 1 million
99. The Carthay Circle Theatre is a replica of the original theater where “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” premiered in 1937.
100. The park originally faced some criticism for not meeting the expectations of guests and underwent a major transformation in 2007. The transformation included the addition of new attractions, such as Cars Land and Buena Vista Street.
Please note that some of these Disneyland facts are easier to find than others, so some of these are based on news reports and not official company tallies. All stats are linked to their source unless it was sent to me directly from the company. No stat listed should be considered in making any type of investment decision. In other words: This is the best I can find, but I don’t guarantee anything.
