Theme | 19th Century New Orleans |
---|---|
Disneyland | |
Status | Operating |
Opened | July 24, 1966 |
Replaced | Holidayland |
New Orleans Square is a themed land found at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. Based on 19th-century New Orleans, Louisiana, the roughly three-acre area was the first land to be added to Disneyland after the park's opening, at a cost of $18 million. It is exclusive to Disneyland, although a similarly themed area can be found within Adventureland at Tokyo Disneyland.
The word "square" is a bit of a misnomer, since the area does not resemble a traditional urban plaza as much as an intricate series of "streets" that weave around shops, restaurants and the Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion show buildings. At one point, it included the only overnight accommodations in the park open to the public, the now closed Disneyland Dream Suite. [1]
Plans to include a New Orleans-themed area were made in the late 1950s as a part of an expansion and the area was even included on a 1958 souvenir map. In 1961–1962, construction began on the land and the attractions.
The land was opened to the public on July 24, 1966, with New Orleans Mayor Victor H. Schiro participating in the dedication ceremony. Schiro announced Walt Disney had been made an honorary citizen of New Orleans; Disney joked that the addition cost as much as the original Louisiana Purchase. Without adjusting for inflation, it actually cost more. The opening ceremony was Disney's last major public appearance at Disneyland before his death in December 1966. [2]
In March 1967, Pirates of the Caribbean debuted alongside the Blue Bayou Restaurant. In August 1969, The Haunted Mansion was opened to the public.
The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displayed to riders waiting in the queue line. Each location differs slightly in design, utilizing a range of technology from centuries-old theatrical effects to modern special effects, including spectral Audio-Animatronics. The Haunted Mansion inspired two similarly-themed attractions, Phantom Manor and Mystic Manor, which exist at Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland, respectively.
Pirates of the Caribbean is a dark ride at Disneyland, Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris, and Shanghai Disneyland.
Club 33 comprises a number of private dining clubs located within the various Disney Parks. First opening in 1967 inside Disneyland Park, the club was modeled after numerous executive VIP lounges created by pavilion sponsors in the 1964 New York World's Fair. At the time, Club 33 was the only location within Disneyland Park to offer alcoholic beverages.
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions worldwide. The company also operates Disney Live Entertainment and The Muppets Studio and manages Disney's properties, from Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to New Amsterdam Theatre and Times Square Studios Ltd. in New York City. Founded by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland, it was originally known as Walt Disney, Inc. then WED Enterprises, from the initials meaning "Walter Elias Disney", the company co-founder's full name. Headquartered in Glendale, California, Imagineering is composed of "Imagineers", who are illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers and graphic designers.
Blue Bayou are full-service New Orleans/Cajun-style restaurants renowned for their unusual ambiance. They are located at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland, in Chiba, Japan.
Fantasyland is one of the "themed lands" at all of the Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. It is themed after Disney's animated fairy tale films. Each Fantasyland has a castle, as well as several gentle rides themed after those Disney films.
Critter Country is one of the "themed lands" at Disneyland Park and Tokyo Disneyland run by The Walt Disney Company and The Oriental Land Company. It was originally designed as Bear Country at Disneyland Park in 1972, with the Country Bear Jamboree as its centerpiece. In 1988 it was renamed Critter Country to prepare for Splash Mountain's opening in 1989.
Frontierland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Disneyland-style parks run by Disney around the world. Themed to the American Frontier of the 19th century, Frontierlands are home to cowboys and pioneers, saloons, red rock buttes and gold rushes along with some influence from American history and North America in general. It is named Westernland at Tokyo Disneyland and Grizzly Gulch at Hong Kong Disneyland.
Adventureland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Disneyland-style theme parks run by the Walt Disney Company around the world. It is themed to resemble the remote jungles in Africa, Asia, South America, Oceania and the Caribbean. "To create a land that would make this dream reality", said Walt Disney, "We pictured ourselves far from civilization, in the remote jungles of Asia and Africa."
Francis Xavier Atencio, also known as X Atencio was an American animator and Imagineer for The Walt Disney Company. He is perhaps best known for writing the scripts and song lyrics of the Disney theme park attractions, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion.
The Disney Gallery is an attraction and merchandise location at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, United States. It opened at its current location on Main Street, U.S.A. on October 2, 2009. From 1987-2007 it was located in New Orleans Square above the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. The Gallery is a changing exhibition area focused primarily on artwork from Walt Disney Imagineering created in the designing of the Disneyland theme park. Merchandise relating to the current exhibition is usually available for purchase as well.
The Princess and the Frog is a 2009 American animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 49th Disney animated feature film, it is inspired in part by the 2002 novel The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, which in turn is based on the German folk tale "The Frog Prince" as collected by the Brothers Grimm. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Peter Del Vecho, from a screenplay that Musker and Clements co-wrote with Rob Edwards. The directors also co-wrote the story with the writing team of Greg Erb and Jason Oremland.
Tiana is a fictional character in Walt Disney Pictures' 49th animated feature film The Princess and the Frog (2009). Created by writers and directors Ron Clements and John Musker and animated by Mark Henn, Tiana, as an adult, is voiced by Anika Noni Rose, while Elizabeth M. Dampier voices the character as a child. She will appear in the Disney+ series Tiana, which is set to debut in 2024.
Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisioned building a tourist attraction adjacent to his studios in Burbank to entertain fans who wished to visit; however, he soon realized that the proposed site was too small for the ideas that he had. After hiring the Stanford Research Institute to perform a feasibility study determining an appropriate site for his project, Disney bought a 160-acre (65 ha) site near Anaheim in 1953. The park was designed by a creative team hand-picked by Walt from internal and outside talent. They founded WED Enterprises, the precursor to today's Walt Disney Imagineering. Construction began in 1954 and the park was unveiled during a special televised press event on the ABC Television Network on July 17, 1955. Since its opening, Disneyland has undergone expansions and major renovations, including the addition of New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country in 1972, Mickey's Toontown in 1993, and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in 2019. Additionally, Disney California Adventure Park opened in 2001 on the site of Disneyland's original parking lot.
The Disneyland Dream Suite was a 2,200-square-foot (200 m2) luxury apartment located in the New Orleans Square area of Disneyland Park at the Disneyland Resort. It was created as part of the "Year of a Million Dreams" promotion that ran from October 1, 2006, through December 31, 2008, and closed in 2016.
Walt Disney's Riverfront Square was a planned theme park in St. Louis, Missouri that would have been the second Disney park, after Disneyland. The park was in development between 1963 and 1965.