Disneyland Park
The original Disneyland — opened in 1955 and still the emotional heart of the resort
Storybook, sentimental, and cinematic — the park Walt actually walked.
Disneyland Park is the original — the only Disney park Walt Disney personally oversaw — and that DNA is still everywhere. Main Street, U.S.A. opens onto Sleeping Beauty Castle and eight themed lands, including Adventureland, Frontierland, New Orleans Square, Critter Country, Fantasyland, Mickey's Toontown, Tomorrowland, and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. The pacing is gentler than at modern parks: classic dark rides like Peter Pan's Flight, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion sit beside headliners like Rise of the Resistance and Indiana Jones Adventure.
🏠 Why locals love it
Annual passholders treat Disneyland like a neighborhood park. The walk-around scale, the changing seasonal overlays at Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World, and the nighttime spectaculars (Fantasmic!, World of Color projections, fireworks above the castle) keep it feeling new even on the hundredth visit.
✈️ Why tourists should go
If you're going to Anaheim once, this is the park to prioritize. The historical weight and the iconic photo moments — castle, Main Street train station, Matterhorn — are concentrated here. It feels like the Disney park you grew up imagining.
