An American icon

HOLLYWOOD REEL

Disneyland celebrates its 50th anniversary next month.

Walt Disney opened the doors of the $17 million Disneyland on July 17, 1955. Six months after opening, it had counted more than a million visitors. In its first decade, 49 million people visited Disneyland, generating $555 million in revenue.

Fifty years later, Disneyland is the second most popular amusement park in the world by attendance, second only to Disney World which followed in 1971. To say that Disneyland was a good business idea is an understatement.

Disneyland was a unique project that required a one-of-a-kind business plan. Walt Disney was so serious about his idea that he borrowed against his life insurance policy and sold his Palm Springs house to get the project off the ground.

He convinced the best of corporate America, including TV network ABC, to come on board and help fund Disneyland. He told them their products and services would not only be available for consumption at the park but would also become synonymous with the immersive entertainment he would offer through his rides and attractions.

Today one of Disney's original sponsors, ABC, is a sibling of the park under the Disney corporate umbrella.

The roots of the amusement park industry go back to medieval Europe when pleasure gardens featuring live entertainment, fireworks, dancing, games and even primitive amusement rides began to spring up on the outskirts of major European cities.

The oldest operating amusement park in the world is Bakken, in Klampenborg, Denmark, which opened in 1583.

The birth of the modern theme park, however, is commonly recognised as occurring with the opening of Disneyland about 50 years ago.

The $ 20 billion theme park industry has witnessed a fairly rapid expansion in recent years. Theme park development has changed from selling a seven-hour experience to a seven-day experience.

Developers have realised the incredible economic value created by the impact of a tourism-oriented theme park on surrounding complementary properties such as hotels, resorts, and shopping centres.

The fourth edition of Tim O'Brien's "The Amusement Park Guide" lists "more than 290 locations" in North America, including theme and amusement parks, water parks and other attractions which account for only 54 per cent of the worldwide revenue.

In the US, amusement parks have become iconic symbols of Americana. Universal Studios at both the Orlando and Hollywood locations has capitalised on its movie inventory to create what most movie goers want to experience: being a part of the film.

In California, Legoland, which has over 30 million Lego bricks, is a 128-acre park that is a combination of rides and hands-on activities, aimed at children in the ages of 2 to 12.

The European theme park industry consists of 19 major attractions with an annual attendance of over one million, and some 45 moderate-scale attractions with attendance of between 500,000 and one million.

Fans of the popular French cartoon character Asterix head to Parc Asterix, just north of Paris. Euro Disney is Europe's most popular amusement park, with 12 million visitors a year but it lost $187 million last year.

Europe's parks generate annual attendance of about 70 million persons, and revenues of around $1.5 billion.

In Asia, a Disney park in Tokyo has thrived in its 22 years and now draws about 17 million visitors a year. The $416 million Hong Kong Disneyland will open its gates on September 12 this year on Lantau Island, near the Chinese metropolis' new airport. It is expected to draw 5.6 million visitors a year.

Today many developing nations are experiencing the joys of the amusement park for the first time, while the older, more established amusement parks continue to search for new and different ways to keep their customers happy.

Rides are taking advantage of technology to reach heights and speeds that thrill seekers only dreamt about not too long ago. Countries of future growth potential for theme parks are Brazil, Mexico, India, Thailand, the Middle East, and the Southeast Asian growth triangle of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

In the early 1950s, when Walt Disney was choosing a location for his then unheard of concept of an "amusement park," Anaheim was a sleepy agricultural county rural town.

Today Disneyland Resort is a vital component of 21st-century southern California's nearly $80 billion tourism market. As the Happiest Place on Earth marks its golden anniversary, all the 11 Disney theme parks are gearing up for what's being promoted as the "Happiest Celebration on Earth."

Meanwhile, in Town Square, former Disneyland cast member Hollywood star Steve Martin who once worked at the Magic Shop on Main Street will host "Disneyland "� The First 50 Magical Years" at the Main Street Opera House for Disneyland's 50th birthday.

And Mickey Mouse hat ears have been dipped in gold. The magic continues 50 years later.

Lall is the president and CEO of LALL Entertainment, a company based in Los Angeles and New Delhi. He can be contacted at lallentertainment@hotmail.com