The Rise & Fall of the Original Disneyland Hotel

Special Thanks to Rob Plays for providing the voice of the Airplane Captain. DEFINITELY check out his channel if you haven't already:

For more information about the Disneyland Hotel’s History, I HIGHLY recommend the various books by Donald Ballard. The level of detail into virtually every aspect of the Hotel’s evolution is nothing short of incredible, and was a tremendous help in researching/creating this episode (though for legal purposes, please note he was not personally affiliated or associated with the creation of this episode):

Footage Sources:

Steven Peters Ad footage / Marina

[pickles]

My uncle, a huge Disney fan, attended Disneyland opening day. He even kept his childhood journal and showed it to me. The Sunday, July 15th, 1955 entry reads, in his eight-year-old scrawl, that it was hot and sticky, crowded, and not much fun. He became a real Disney fanatic decades later when my five-year-old niece got cancer, as Disney was just wonderful to us (made sure her meet-and-greets were special, let us bring in her unique diet no questions asked, and bent over backwards to help with Make A Wish. We did not know if she would live or not: now she's married with a healthy son who loved meeting Goofy.)

[jongupsmullet]

These videos make me nostalgic for something I never even experienced.

[hobihope]

That was the most passive aggressive intro and I loved every second of it

[amandaschieber]

So sad about the loss of the waterfalls, caves, and koi ponds. One of my earliest memories is feeding the koi there

[weirdotzero]

"There are two ways of acquiring something. Either to buy it..."
Bob Iger's interest peaks
"...or create it"
Iger loses all interest

[kayangstrom]

Wow. This whole time I thought my mom had taken us to WDW around the mid 70's (when I was 8-10 years old.) We stayed at a Disneyland Hotel, went up a glass elevator, saw the dancing fountains and took a monorail to the park. I think we saw live Hawaiian dancers, But I was sure it was WDW, not Disneyland because we went to a beach. (Which is proof that memory is weird because Orlando is nowhere near the water.) Turns out, we stayed in California the whole time.

This brought back a LOT of memories that had been fading for 40 years, thank you!

[kebrinab]

me: "oh history video without.."
*MICHAEL EISNER*
"GODDAMN IT."

[Rebel_Friend]

I’m honestly surprised how much things Disney built that ended up either failing or being deconstructed. Usually when a company tries this, they usually fail and go bankrupt. It’s crazy how Disney’s been able to bounce back so well

[wherethetatosat]

"The Monorail Lounge was exactly as it sounded, a cocktail bar themed around Monorails."
Springfield: *heavy breathing*

[allthingsfairy]

My parents moved with my brother and I from Ohio to Anaheim in 1979, with only what could fit in the back of a small pickup truck. Our apartment balcony faced the park, and we got to see the fireworks each night. We’d walk to the hotel and see the dancing waters at night and walk around the free areas with the gardens and waterfalls. We got to go to Disneyland a few times, and this has brought back so many memories I had forgotten. I’m a fantasy doll artist and miniaturist, and growing up near Disneyland plays a big part in my work today! I learned as a child, that if you’re poor, and you can’t buy it, you can learn to create it, just like Jack Wrather said! LOL! I create the fantasy realms of my imagination, just like Walt Disney did, but on a much smaller scale, of course! Thanks for this excellent video!!!!

[southofhollywood]

I grew up in Orange County and as a little kid, my parents would take me and my sisters to the Disneyland Hotel. The marina and dancing waters were free and open to the public. Like you mentioned, the area was beautiful at night. Back then, they still had the garden rooms, the waterfalls and the koi pond.

[MakilHeru]

I still remember staying at the Disneyland Hotel back in the early 90's, Disneyland used to close a lot earlier back in the day making the Hotel offer more activities. You had to cross a street when walking to the park. I also remember the Monorail cafe and it had seen better days. The marina was great which had tiki torches and fun radio controlled boats and cars. I also remember the water show was a lot smaller than it appeared in the 70's but was rethemed to Disney and had lights of various Disney characters appearing on the background. I miss the waterfalls, so bummed that they removed them only a few years ago. Goofy's kitchen was also added into the Plaza and later moved to where it is located now.

[MrMadshepherd]

Michael Eisner, the recurring villain of ALL of these Disney Park videos.

[natalie]

I would _love_ a compilation book of people recalling their experiences there in the early days. Guests and staff alike. It just seems like such an innovative and fascinating place.

[robertiger]

We’re building a new DVC tower at the Disneyland Hotel that I know everyone will love. People call it a Holiday Inn but it will be amazing

[Mochrie]

"Large screen television set". LOL, well it WAS 1956 after all. They'd probably have a heart attack seeing these new-fangled gajillion-inch 8K HDTV whatsits they have nowadays. :D

[YesterworldEntertainment]

I hope you all enjoy this very special episode Exploring the History & Evolution of the Original Disneyland Hotel. It's a subject I've been wanting to cover for quite some time, but knew it'd take much, much longer to make than the average episode. I can honestly say this is the most amount of time, effort and funds I've put into a single video, so I appreciate everyone's patience. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's been the longest time between episodes in the channels history. Shout out to all my amazing Patron's who's support enabled me to feel confident in investing a bit more time and $$$ into this one than the typical episode. If you want to help support the channel and future content, below is a link to the Yesterworld Patreon as well as the Audible promotion; every sign up supports the episode, and it's free, so it's a win-win for us both :)

[lohphat]

23:14 That pirate ship is actually the old Peter Pan float used in the Very Merry Christmas Parade for the late 80s, early 90s. When it was placed there a bunch of us old parade performers went over and climbed in for a group photo. Security came over to shoo us away but we explained who we were and he allowed us to remain and take photos climbing up on the rigging like we used to as dancing pirates.

[bananafanafoferry]

I loved Mickey’s Corner, The remote control Jungle Cruise boats, the waterfalls...so much nostalgia.

[zfalcon]

Now I'll never get to try the world's most exciting bowl of salad. Why go on a diet when the most exciting version of the #1 diet food is no longer available?!? 🙄😆