Walt Disney threw open the gates to Disneyland back in July 1955, almost six decades ago. It was a completely different era: the world had only recently been through a grueling war, the Cold War was underway, the space race had barely commenced and the battle over civil rights in America was raging. Disneyland offered a chance to escape to a fantasy world – and it proved to be immensely popular. There are many aspects of Disneyland that have remained almost unchanged over the last 59 years. The basic “hub-and-spoke” layout is still in place, and has been adopted at Disney’s other theme parks across the globe. Many of the original rides are still in place, and have also been cloned in Florida, Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong. And Mickey Mouse still wanders the streets of the park, just as he did on the opening day. However, while the core experience remains similar, Disney theme parks have changed in some pretty major ways since the 1950s. Here are 10 big differences between today’s Disney parks and Walt’s original Disneyland.
10. A-E tickets are no more
When Disneyland first opened, the entry fee was just $1. However, guests had to pay separately to ride most of its attractions, which were ranked from A-D (the most expensive “E” ticket was introduced in 1959). This was typical of amusement parks at the time. In 1982, with Epcot due to open at Walt Disney World, Disney decided to scrap the ticket system in favor of “Passports” that allowed access to every attraction for a single price. Now, of course, this is the system adopted by pretty much every theme park on the planet.
9. They’re more expensive
Walt Disney had a policy of allowing guests to leave Disneyland “with money in their pockets”, believing that this would encourage long-term loyalty to the company. When Michael Eisner arrived as CEO in 1984, though, he had different ideas. Desperate to improve the company’s financial situation and stave off a potential hostile takeover and break-up, he began to raise prices. For Disney, the policy was a huge financial success – guests continued to pour through the gates of its theme parks, and for a while the extra income was used to fund a construction boom (until the disastrous opening of Euro Disney in 1992). But for guests, tickets, food and merchandise all became much more expensive.
8. There are rides based on non-Disney properties
When Disneyland opened, it featured a mixture of attractions based on classic Disney animated movies, as well as a host of attractions with original storylines or backstories. When Eisner arrived, Disney’s studios were churning out a series of duds. While they were revitalized, he decided to license in third-party properties to form the basis for new attractions. For example, Disney’s Imagineers had dreamed up a simulator ride to be based on The Black Hole, the company’s own Star Wars rip-off. Eisner threw out these plans and brought in George Lucas, basing the ride on the real Star Warsinstead. The result, Star Tours, proved to be enduringly popular, as did other collaborations such as Captain EO (with Michael Jackson) and Indiana Jones Adventure (again with Lucas).
7. Queue-jumping has been “legalized”
It used to be the case that there was only one queue for every Disney ride, and guests simply had to wait their turn. In 1999, Disney introduced FastPass, a system that allowed guests to return to a popular ride during a specified time window and ride without joining the normal, “standby” queue. Now, of course, Walt Disney World has introduced FastPass+, a revised version of the system that enables timeslots to be booked in advance of a guest’s visit. There are huge benefits for those who plan ahead – but those who don’t are likely to face even longer standby queues.
6. There are two tiers of guests
Image: Disney
With the exception of a few VIPs and celebrities, Disneyland visitors were all on the same “level” in its early days. Now that Disney has its own on-site hotels, it has effectively created two tiers of guests. The top tier, those staying on-site, receive perks such as early entry and the ability to book FastPass+ timeslots further in advance than off-site guests. The bottom tier can still experience the same rides and attractions, but probably with longer wait times.
5. The characters have evolved
Take a look at the photo above, which shows Mickey Mouse at Disneyland on its opening day. 
Now, of course, Mickey looks much more like his cartoon self, and can even talkwhen he meets-and-greets guests at the Magic Kingdom.
4. The shops are more generic
Disneyland’s Main Street, USA once featured all manner of specialist shops, including the Intimate Apparel Store and Grandma’s Baby Shop. The same was true of the stores at Walt Disney World’s hotels when it first opened in 1971. Over time, these have gradually been replaced with larger stores that offer a more generic range of Disney merchandise.
3. The “Disney Look” has been relaxed
Disneyland was famously strict about the appearance of its Cast Members, dictating rules on clothing, jewelery and facial hair and banishing less photogenic staff to backroom, “off-stage” roles. Nowadays, the rules are slightlymore relaxed. It wasn’t until 2012 that male Cast Members were allowed to have facial hair. Though facial hair is permitted within certain guidelines, it must be fully grown in. If a Cast Member decides he wants to grow a mustache, he must take vacation time to do so, which is exactly what many people did when the new rules were passed.
2. Alcohol isn’t completely banned
One of the big innovations at Disneyland was not to offer alcoholic beverages for sale, eliminating a potential source of profit but helping to generate a family-friendly atmosphere. Nowadays, alcohol sales are still carefully controlled. However, at some Disney parks – notably Epcot’s World Showcase – a huge variety of beers, wines and spirits are on offer.
1. Smoking is severely restricted
The opposite trend has occurred with smoking. While alcohol was banned from Disneyland in 1955, smoking was almost positively encouraged – the park even had its own Tobacco Shop. Attitudes to smoking have changed, and so has Disney’s policy. Disneyland stopped selling cigarettes altogether in 1999, indoor smoking is banned and there are a few small locations where outdoor smoking is permitted.
For better or worse?
Have the changes to Disney’s theme parks improved them, or detracted from them? Let us know by leaving a comment below!
