Disneyland loves to celebrate decades and there has been none bigger than the current one that has seen unparalleled growth greater than any decade in park history — including the first that Walt Disney personally oversaw.
Disneyland will mark its 70th anniversary on July 17 and there has never been a bigger decade to celebrate at the Anaheim theme park resort than the last 10 years.
How can we make such a bold and blasphemous statement?
We did the math and the numbers don’t lie.
We pored through the 70-year history of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure and came up with a simple point system for calculating the relative success of each decade. We awarded one point for every major attraction, nighttime spectacular, hotel, shopping mall and parking garage that opened, two points for every new themed land and three points for every new theme park.
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We defined “major” attractions in two ways: The 15 remaining E-Ticket rides before 1982 when the A through E ticket booklets disappeared and the 24 Lightning Lane attractions of today.
Five attractions show up on both lists: Matterhorn Bobsleds, It’s a Small World, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain.
Don’t be surprised if a key attraction or land doesn’t show up when it initially debuted. That only means it eventually underwent a major update later in Disneyland’s history and is listed by when the current version premiered.
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Here’s how each decade stacked up, including the upcoming one:
- Walt Era (1955-1964) – 16 points
- Post-Walt Era (1965-1974) – 6 points
- Dark Era (1975-1984) – 4 points
- Eisner Era (1985-1994) – 2 points
- DCA Era (1995-2004) – 11 points
- Iger Era (2005-2014) – 17 points
- COVID Era (2015-2024) – 28 points
- Next Era (2025-2034) – 15 points
We started with a basic premise: Was the current decade at Disneyland bigger than any since the first?
We soon discovered that the past 10 years have seen the biggest change than any decade since the park opened in 1955. The results were shocking and not even close.
It would have been easy enough to say “Walt wins” because there would be no park without him.
But the numbers tell a different story.
We decided to focus on today’s version of Disneyland and DCA and when the lands, rides and shows debuted or were significantly updated. Hotels, shopping malls and parking garages were included because they are directly related to attendance and growth.
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Walt was always about change and the next big thing — and we wanted to honor those principles.
The Disneyland subs provide a perfect example of how we approached our calculations. The Submarine Voyage was among the first E-Ticket rides when it debuted in 1959.
The original subs closed in 1998 and the ride sat idle for nearly a decade before reopening in 2007 as Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage — which is still in operation today.
That meant the single point awarded for the subs ride went to the DCA Era (1995-2004) rather than the Walt Era (1955-64).
We took the same approach with Tomorrowland, which was an opening day themed land that was reimagined in 1967 and 1998. The two points awarded for a new land went to the DCA Era (1995-2004) rather than the Walt Era (1955-64) or Post-Walt Era (1965-74).
Let’s take a closer look at each decade.
Walt Era: 1955-1964
Total points: 16
Disneyland opened in 1955 (3 points) with five themed lands and 11 attractions. Disneyland added seven more rides and doubled the number of free exhibits during the first year of operation.
Three of the lands (6 points) have grown but never undergone a major reimagination since 1955: Adventureland, Frontierland and Main Street U.S.A.
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Six major rides from the Walt Era (6 points) are still in operation today: Jungle Cruise (1955), Disneyland Railroad (1955), Mark Twain Riverboat (1955), Columbia Sailing Ship (1956), Matterhorn Bobsleds (1959) and Enchanted Tiki Room (1963).
While each of those attractions have undergone some changes, the overall experiences remain largely unchanged today.
The Disneyland Hotel (1 point) opened in late 1955.
Post-Walt Era: 1965-1974
Total points: 6
Walt Disney died on Dec. 15, 1966 at 65 years old.
Despite the founder’s absence, Disneyland’s second decade had Walt’s fingerprints all over it.
Walt’s last public appearance at Disneyland was during the grand opening of New Orleans Square (2 points) in 1966.
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The four major rides from the Post-Walt Era (4 points) that opened during Disneyland’s second decade remain classics: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (1965), It’s a Small World (1966), Pirates of the Caribbean (1967) and Haunted Mansion (1969).
All four attractions have been updated through the years, but remain largely unchanged from their original debut.
Tomorrowland 2.0 debuted in 1967, but none of the major new additions to the land remain today.
Dark Era: 1975-1984
Total points: 4
After Walt’s death, the Disney animation studio struggled from the late 1960s to the late 1980s. The dearth of commercially successful films directly impacted Disneyland and new attractions slowed to a crawl.
What was dubbed as “New Fantasyland” (2 points) opened in 1983 after a $55.5 million remodel of the themed land that added Pinocchio’s Daring Journey.
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Two major rides from the Dark Era (2 points) are still in operation today: Space Mountain (1977) and Big Thunder Mountain (1979).
Space Mountain has undergone updates including a complete retracking, but the overall experience remains largely unchanged.
Eisner Era: 1985-1994
Total points: 2
Michael Eisner became Disney CEO in 1984 and oversaw major changes at the Disneyland resort over the next two decades.
The $30 million “Fantasmic” water show (1 point) debuted in 1992 on the Rivers of America.
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin (1 point) opened in 1994 a year after Mickey’s Toontown debuted.
DCA Era: 1995-2004
Total points: 11
Disney California Adventure (3 points) debuted in 2001 in the former Disneyland parking lot with 22 attractions and shows.
The $1.4 billion project also included the 750-room Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel (1 point) and 300,000-square foot Downtown Disney outdoor shopping mall (1 point).
The $90 million Mickey and Friends parking structure (1 point) opened in 2000 with 10,250 spaces.
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Tomorrowland 3.0 (2 points) debuted in 1998 with the $25 million Rocket Rods, “Honey I Shrunk the Audience” 3D film and Innoventions — none of which still exist today.
None of the original themed lands from the grand opening of Disney California Adventure remain today.
Three major rides from the DCA Era (3 points) are still in operation today: Autopia (1955), Indiana Jones Adventure (1995) and Grizzly River Run (2001).
The Fantasyland and Tomorrowland Autopia tracks were combined in 2000 and the cars were redesigned.
Iger Era: 2005-2014
Total points: 17
Bob Iger became Disney CEO in 2005 and soon after announced a $1.1 billion plan to fix Disney California Adventure after a dismal start to the second gate across the esplanade from Disneyland.
The ambitious makeover brought three new or reimagined themed lands to DCA in 2012: Buena Vista Street, Hollywood Land and Cars Land (6 points).
The “World of Color” water show (1 point) debuted in 2010 on DCA’s Paradise Bay. While the shows have changed over the years, the underlying fountain superstructure has remained unchanged.
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Ten major rides from the Iger Era (10 points) are still in operation today.
A carbon copy of the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters dark ride was imported in 2005 to Disneyland’s Tomorrowland from the Magic Kingdom in Florida.
The 2006 Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue dark ride will close next year to make way for a new Avatar destination experience in a portion of the Hollywood Backlot area in DCA’s Hollywood Land.
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Three E-Ticket attractions from the Walt Era underwent major updates during the Iger Era.
Pirate’s Lair was added to Tom Sawyer Island in 2006 during a $28 million overhaul.
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage opened in 2007 after the attraction sat idle for nearly a decade.
The Mark VII trains debuted on the Disneyland Monorail in 2008.
Toy Story Midway Mania (2008), Little Mermaid — Ariel’s Undersea Adventure (2011), Goofy’s Sky School (2011) and Radiator Springs Racers (2012) were part of the massive five-year DCA makeover project.
The Star Tours motion simulator was updated in 2011 with new randomized scenes aboard the StarSpeeder 1000. The Toy Story dark ride got a temporary 70th anniversary ride overlay in March.
COVID Era: 2015-2024
Total points: 28
The COVID-19 pandemic closed Disneyland and Disney California Adventure along with every Disney theme park around the world shortly after Bob Chapek took over as Disney CEO in 2020.
Chapek’s short and turbulent reign ended in 2022 when Iger returned as CEO.
Despite the chaos, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure experienced extraordinary growth before and after the pandemic closure and boardroom upheaval.
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Disney’s Anaheim theme parks welcomed eight new or reimagined themed lands during the COVID Era (16 points): Grizzly Peak Airfield (2015), Pixar Pier (2018), Paradise Gardens (2018), Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (2019), Avengers Campus (2021), Mickey’s Toontown (2023), San Fransokyo Square (2023) and Bayou Country (2024).
Eight major rides from the COVID Era (8 points) are still in operation today: Soarin’ Around the World (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout (2017), Incredicoaster (2018), Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (2019), Rise of the Resistance (2020), Web Slingers (2021), Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (2023) and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (2024).
The Pixar Place Hotel (1 point) became the latest iteration of the 40-year-old hotel that has been through several facelifts over the years.
Disneyland’s 70th anniversary brought back two fan-favorite nighttime spectaculars (2 points): Paint the Night parade (2015) and “Wondrous Journeys” fireworks show (2023).
The Pixar Pals parking structure (1 point) opened in 2019 with 6,500 spaces.
Next Era: 2025-2034
Total points: 15
The Disneyland resort’s eighth decade starts on July 17 and already promises to be nearly as big as the first.
Disney announced plans in 2023 to invest $30 billion over the next 10 years in its theme parks around the globe — with a portion of that investment likely heading to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
The $1.9 billion DisneylandForward plan approved by the city of Anaheim in 2024 laid out the long-term plans for theme park, hotel, retail and parking expansion at the Disneyland resort over the next four decades.
Potential plans for the eastside expansion area on the 52.5-acre Toy Story parking lot call for a shopping mall (1 point), hotel (1 point) and parking structure (1 point) near the corner of Katella Avenue and Haster Street.
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Disneyland also plans to start construction in fall 2026 on a 6,000-space eastside parking structure (1 point) on the Manchester employee parking lot east of Harbor Boulevard.
Plans for the westside expansion area on the parking lots north and south of the Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel envision potential theme park attractions that could connect to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
DisneylandForward has dangled themed lands based on Tangled, Frozen, Peter Pan, Zootopia, Toy Story, Black Panther, Tron and Encanto as potential expansion projects in Anaheim.
The westside expansion area would be equal in size to a new theme park (3 points) — even though Disneyland officials have been careful not to call it the long awaited “third gate.”
Disneyland will transform a portion of the Hollywood Backlot area in DCA’s Hollywood Land into an Avatar destination experience. Work will begin on the Avatar themed land (2 points) in early 2026.
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Six new attractions (6 points) are already planned for the Next Era.
The world’s first audio-animatronic figure of Walt Disney will debut on July 17 as part of the “Walt Disney – A Magical Life” show in Disneyland’s Main Street Opera House.
Construction has begun on the Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab attractions coming to Avengers Campus and work will soon start on the Coco boat ride planned for Pixar Pier.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will get a Mandalorian and Grogu makeover in May 2026.
The new Avatar land will include a boat ride that’s been called the most immersive theme park attraction ever built.