The Origins of ABC

Long before The Walt Disney Company purchased ABC in 1995, even before it invested in DISNEYLAND in 1955, ABC was a fledgling network that owed its very existence to anti-trust law. You see, it was formed from the cast off parts of two companies- NBC and Paramount.

Under the old studio system, the big studios owned their own theaters. This was deemed a violation of anti-trust law, however, so the studios had to divest their theater holdings. Paramount spunoff its theater chain into an independent company run by Leonard Goldenson. 

Meanwhile, NBC and CBS also ran afoul of anti-trust laws. Back then, they were mostly involved in radio and ran coast to coast radio networks. NBC had two separate networks- NBC Red and NBC Blue. The red stations were the stronger ones, so when they had to sell off part of their empire, they chose to sell NBC Blue.

Sensing that movie theaters had already seen their greatest years, Mr. Goldenson chose to buy NBC Blue, sell off Paramount's theaters and form a third network- ABC. It would find itself hanging on by a string until it chose to invest in a tiny park that a crazy man planned to open in Anaheim, California. A decision that would turn the third place network into a powerhouse.

Disney Quote Weekends

"Remain seated please. Permanencer sentados, por favor."

-Matterhorn Safety Announcenent

Disney Quote Weekends

“DISNEYLAND will be a place for California to call home, to bring its guests, to demonstrate its faith in the future.”

-Walt Disney

The Disney Family: Webbigail Vanderquack

Webbigail Vanderquack is the granddaughter of Mrs. Beakley, maid to Uncle Scrooge. Cute, adventurous and plucky, "Webby" lived in Uncle Scrooge's mansion and befriended his nephews. Unofficially adopted as a niece by Scrooge McDuck, Webby went on all of his adventures in the Disney cartoon DuckTales. Always accompanied by her favorite Quacky Patch Doll, Webby would become a favorite of little girls watching the classic show.

Griffith Park and DISNEYLAND

Walt Disney himself traced the origins of DISNEYLAND to "Daddy's Days" at Los Angeles' Griffith Park, where he regularly took his daughters for rides on the famed carousel. While waiting for his daughters to complete their rides, he wished for some place where parents and children could enjoy the fun together. A place like DISNEYLAND.

Located on the other side of Griffith Park is amazingly another inspiration for DISNEYLAND- Walt Disney's Barn. This barn was built by Walt Disney in his Carolwood Drive backyard in the 1940's. He often worked on his backyard railroad inside the building and also created miniatures that he planned to send on a cross country tour called "Disneylandia". The project was deemed to be unfeasible, but Walt Disney's sights soon turned to a much bigger project- DISNEYLAND.

Disney Differences: Pirates of the Caribbean

The last attraction supervised by Walt Disney was the classic Pirates of the Caribbean, the ultimate audio-animatronic attraction. The enormous sets, elaborate caverns and total immersive elements make it among the greatest themed rides ever built. The version that opened at DISNEYLAND has yet to be matched, even by its clones around the world.

One might assume that all of the different iterations of the ride are the same, but that's not at all true. The original ride at DISNEYLAND remains the most elaborate of the various versions with the one at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom being the least elaborate and shortest. The attraction's placement in DISNEYLAND's New Orleans Square, hemmed in on one side by the DISNEYLAND Railroad, required some unique engineering. The two waterfall drops at the beginning of the ride were necessary to get guests underneath the train tracks and into the show building, which is located underneath what is now Downtown Disney.

When Roy Disney began planning the Walt Disney World Resort (the version cut down from Walt Disney's original plans) he assumed that since Florida was near the Caribbean, nobody there would be interested in the attraction, so there were never any plans to build it there. Early guests to Roy Disney's Magic Kingdom remembered seeing the attraction on the Wonderful World of Disney and asked why their east coast park didn't have one. Park management rushed a clone into production but had a problem; despite the vast size of their new resort, they hadn't left enough space to fit the elaborate version of the ride from DISNEYLAND. 

Roy Disney's Magic Kingdom had no New Orleans Square so it had to go into the park's version of Adventureland. Florida's high water table precluded any underground segments, so they had to settle for an abbreviated version of the ride. Gone was the Blue Bayou Restaurant, the initial waterfall drops and the elaborate caverns. Florida's ride also omits the entire ghost sequences- the ghost sailor, the bar scene, bedroom scene & treasure room. Its version begins in an abbreviated cavern area and hastily shows the dramatic ship fight. The rest of the ride proceeds as normal until the famous jail scene where the pirates attempt to get the key from a crafty dog. In Florida, the ride abruptly ends around the last turn, omitting the fiery finale and the exciting shoot out at DISNEYLAND. Roy Disney's Magic Kingdom guests would need to buy an airline ticket to California to see the complete Pirates Attraction.

Disney Legend #6: Milt Kahl

The sixth person named a Disney Legend was another of Walt Disney's "nine old men", Milt Kahl.

A California native, Mr. Kahl was at Disney from the beginning, working on the first animated feature- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He also animated a character near and dear to us- Pinocchio. Milt was considered an expert draftsman and often was tasked with turning rough character sketches from other animators into finalized drawings that are still used today as key character art.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE was specially placed at its location in the park for one reason- it sits at DISNEYLAND's original entrance, which had an address of 1313 Harbor Blvd. A perfect address for a hotel in the Twilight Zone.

Disney Quote Weekends

"I think that it really explains a lot about Walt. He was a caring man. He cared about people which explains why DISNEYLAND is still a happy place and it will be a happy place for years and years and years to come."

-John Hench

Disney Quote Weekends

“The greatest thing about DISNEYLAND is that its magic stays with you forever.”

-Ralph Castaneda