- Disneyland first opened for business in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955.
- Today, Disney is widely known for having massive theme parks located in six different cities around the world — all of which offer thrilling rides and attractions.
- Vintage photos of Disney World and Disneyland, however, show that the parks were once home to simpler rides, like small roller coasters and trains.
- Tokyo Disneyland also looked different in the past, as it once offered meet-and-greets with characters who aren't commonly seen in the park today.
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Since Disneyland first opened for business in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955, Disney theme parks have been popping up all over the world.
Disney World followed in 1971, and Tokyo Disney Resort opened in 1983. The brand now also has theme parks in Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
All of the parks have undergone renovations to stay modern through the years, but their original forms will always be remembered thanks to beautifully preserved vintage photos.
From Disneyland Paris to Disney World in Orlando, here's 19 vintage photos that show what Disney theme parks looked like through the decades.
The Mad Tea Party ride debuted on Disneyland's opening day in 1955.
On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened in Anaheim with 14 different attractions, according to Touring Plans. The Mad Tea Party ride, inspired by "Alice in Wonderland," was one of them.
The pastel ride was located in Fantasyland and allowed parkgoers to board 18 life-sized teacups that spun around a circular platform. The attraction still stands in the same spot today but looks much more modern, featuring lanterns and a small replica of the White Rabbit's house.
The Casey Jr. Circus Train opened a few weeks later, but is still considered to be one of Disneyland's original attractions.
The train ride debuted on July 31, 1955, according to Touring Plans, and was inspired by the 1941 film "Dumbo." Yesterland, a blog about retired Disney attractions, also reported that passengers on the train could once see nearby canal boats "going through ditches in bare dirt."
Today, Disneyland visitors can still ride the train alongside the Storybook Land Canal Boats. But like other classic attractions, the ride has been updated and now brings passengers past miniature replicas of scenes from fan-favorite Disney films.
The Golden Horseshoe was one of the first restaurants to open at Disneyland.
According to Disneyland's website, the Golden Horseshoe was one of Walt Disney's favorite locations within the park. He's said to have opened the establishment — which served food and hosted live performances — by celebrating his 30th wedding anniversary there.
Disney also had a private booth — that's now open to the public — where he watched the "Golden Horseshoe Revue," which was once named "the world's longest-running live stage show" by the Guinness Book of World Records.
A flower market once resided on Main Street in Disneyland Park.
Up until the 1980s, Disneyland parkgoers could purchase colorful plastic flowers while visiting the park, according to Yesterland.
At the time, the attraction was located on Main Street in between the Upjohn Pharmacy, an exhibit on medicine, and the Carnation Ice Cream Parlor, according to Duchess of Disneyland, a blog about the park.
Some scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean looked very different in 1969.
While much of this attraction remains the same today, the earliest version of the ride featured a scene in which an animatronic woman sold captive brides underneath a sign that read: "Auction: Take a wench for a bride."
But, according to the Orange County Register, Disney chose to remove most of the characters in 2018, leaving only the leading animatronic who now sells "loot."
Before opening in 2001, Disney's California Adventure looked like a shell of a theme park.
The theme park — which is adjacent to the original Disneyland Park — was built in 2000 with rides, a mall, hotel, and a section called Paradise Pier.
The latter area, however, has recently been remodeled and turned into the new Pixar Pier section.
When Disney World opened in Orlando during the 1970s, parades were hosted by classic characters.
In the 1970s you could see employees, who Disney calls 'cast members,' drive vintage-style cars down Main Street as characters like Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and the Three Little Pigs walked next to them.
A skyway once sat above the Magic Kingdom theme park.
According to Yesterland, the Skyway was one of the first rides built in Disney World in 1971 and could transport travelers from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland.
However, the original ride shut down in November 1999 to "to keep the park exciting and fresh," Yesterland reported.
Rides like It's a Small World were once extremely popular.
Disney Imagineers originally created It's a Small World for the 1964-1965 World's Fair, though it was later transferred to Disneyland before opening day, according to Best of Orlando.
The boat-style ride takes visitors through rooms filled with singing dolls, all of which are meant to represent countries around the world. The attraction is still a fan-favorite — wait times can extend up to 30 minutes — but it's unlikely that you'd need to spend hours in line to see it.
You can also now visit the attraction at numerous Disney theme parks, including Disney World, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland.
Up until 2008, one of Disney World's four parks was called "Disney-MGM Studios."
The park's original name matched the movie set theme of the location, which previously offered rides like The Studio Backlot Tour and The Great Movie Ride.
After nearly 10 years in business — the park opened in 1989, according to Fandom — Disney-MGM Studios was renamed on January 7, 2008 as Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Read more: 31 photos of old Disney World attractions we wish would come back
The '50s Prime Time Café hasn't changed much since the '80s.
Even in the '80s, this retro attraction looked like a scene straight out of a 1950s sitcom. The location offers "classic American comfort food" to diners, which is served by cast members dressed in vintage clothing, according to Disney World's website.
Visitors are also seated at "retro TV tables" with television sets that display "black-and-white clips from popular prime-time shows circa 1955."
Disney World opened its second park — Epcot — in 1982.
If you happened to be in Orlando around March of 1982, you might have seen construction workers atop the park's centerpiece: Spaceship Earth, which is a ride encased in a giant, silver sphere.
At the time, employees worked to secure aluminum panels onto the ride's exterior, standing 180 feet above the ground to do so.
The Living Seas was once a tranquil getaway within Epcot where visitors could learn about the Earth's oceans.
According to Lost Epcot, a blog about the theme park, the Living Seas attraction opened in 1986. It offered educational movies about the Earth's oceans, and also allowed visitors to view real sea creatures.
Unfortunately for fans, the location was rebranded in 2006 and is now called The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Lost Epcot also reported that the attraction now features less marine life than it did in the 1980s.
Stores in Disney World have always been as animated as the theme parks.
World of Disney is a giant store located in Disney Springs, an onsite shopping center previously known as Downtown Disney. The location is still home to character-themed merchandise and quirky product displays, but in the 1990s the decor was arguably even more festive.
Some of the walls that held plush toys, for example, looked crooked, while another display was shaped like a scene from "Alice in Wonderland."
Disney opened its first theme park overseas — Tokyo Disneyland — in 1983.
At the time, some Disney cast members dressed in brightly-colored ensembles and performed music throughout the park.
Tokyo Disneyland's beloved popcorn — which is now sold in numerous flavors — also makes appearances in vintage photos of the park.
Classic Disney film characters made appearances in the park's early days.
One image of the Tokyo theme park from 1997 shows characters from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" walking alongside parkgoers.
Today, however, it's more common to see fan-favorites like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Duffy the Disney Bear.
Disneyland Paris is the first and only Disney theme park to open in Europe.
Disney came to an agreement with French authorities in 1987 to build a theme park in Paris, then called Euro Disney, according to Disneyland Paris' website.
It was completed and opened for business by 1992 and remains a popular site today.
Disneyland Paris cast members practiced their opening-parade route before the park officially opened for business.
Before opening day on April 12, 1992, Disney invited people to line the sidewalks of Disneyland Paris to view a preview of the theme park's opening parade.
Back in the 1990s, Disneyland Paris sold merchandise that now looks retro.
From cups with plastic straws to character-themed pens, Disneyland Paris once sold tons of souvenirs that perfectly encapsulated theme park gift shops from the 1990s.
- Read more:
- THEN AND NOW: How Disney parks have changed over the years
- Here's what you should do at Disney World at every age
- You can now buy backpacks that make you look like you just got back from Disney World
- 54 photos that will make you want to visit every Disney theme park in the world
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