569: Disneyland

I hope you’re asking yourself, where has this guy been for the past eight months? Well, my wife and I moved from Yakima, Washington, to Los Angeles in a so-far successful attempt to avoid winter. Also, I’ve recently started a new job, because unlike other podcasters, we’re not rolling in Blue Apron or SquareSpace money yet. 

So, inspired by my new-ish surroundings, here are five things you may not have known about Disneyland:

• Walt Disney originally wanted to build an amusement park next to his studios in Burbank, California, north of downtown Los Angeles. However, the proposed site was too small, and Disney eventually purchased a 160-acre site in Anaheim, about 30 miles south of Los Angeles.

• Construction of the park began one year and one day before the park opened on July 17, 1955. The construction also led the state of California to add two additional lanes to the interstate highway that was under construction nearby.
• Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, the centerpiece of the park, was not inspired by the film of the same name. The castle, which is one of the park’s original attractions, predates the film by about four years. It’s 77 feet tall and was inspired largely by Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.
• The park originally featured five themed areas called Main Street, USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. In 1957, an area called Holidayland opened. It featured a circus and a baseball field. It closed in 1961. New Orleans Square was added in 1966, Bear Country, which is now known as Critter Country, opened in 1972, and Mickey’s Toontown debuted in 1993. A new area called Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is under construction and is scheduled to open in 2019.
• In its early years, Disneyland was closed on Mondays and Tuesday in the off-season. This schedule was coordinated with the nearby Knott’s Berry Farm amusement park, which was closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays to make sure at least one park was open every day.

Our question: What is the name of the exclusive VIP lounge located in New Orleans Square?

Today is Paul Bunyan Day, Tuesday is Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday. Wednesday is Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday. Thursday is National Hippopotamus Day. Friday is National Almond Day, Saturday is National Public Science Day, and Sunday is Drink Wine Day.

Today is the birthday of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin.

Tuesday is the 95th birthday of the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound, Chuck Yeager.

The rest of the week: Wednesday: Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein turns 74; Susan B. Anthony was born 198 years ago Thursday; Actor LeVar Burton turns 59 on Friday; Michael Jordan turns 55 on Saturday, while writer Toni Morrison turns 87.

Now, we’ll spin the wheel to pick a year at random.

This week in 1959, the top song in the U.S. was “Stagger Lee” by Lloyd Price.

The No. 1 movie of 1959 was “Ben Hur,” while the novel “Doctor Zhivago” by Boris Pasternak topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

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