ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – EDITOR’S NOTE: On July 16, 1955, Associated Press reporter Bob Thomas wrote a story about the imminent opening of an elaborate theme park in California that was conceived by none other than Walt Disney. The park opened the next day.
Like the animator and entrepreneur, Disneyland was ambitious and imaginative – a real-life play land for children and adults alike. Thomas, a longtime Hollywood reporter for AP and author of a Walt Disney biography who died in 2014, wrote that Disneyland cost $17 million to build, and that no detail was spared. He also noted that a day trip was doable but “you’d no doubt end up with a headache.”
Sixty years later, the AP is making this report and photos available.
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Walt Disney’s 20-year dream comes true tomorrow when the gates of the $17-million Disneyland opens for the first time.