Disneyland is 70 years old today! The TV game show Jeopardy! featured it as Wednesday 7/16 night’s final Jeopardy clue.

It’s been over 20 years since I’ve been to the Magic Kingdom. I visited it in 1985 for the 30th anniversary. I was 14. My parents, my older two brothers, my two younger sisters and I got to go as part of a week-long summer vacation in CA. Then I got to go again in 2004, when I was a mom of 4 and 7 months pregnant. I’ve also been to Disney World twice, which has a Magic Kingdom, similar to Disneyland. The park and the company sure have changed. I wonder what Uncle Walt would say about all the changes? Today I’m celebrating the original Disneyland, the way it was when Walt first opened its doors on July 17, 1955.

Here are some fun videos to watch to celebrate.

It’s interesting to note that the Happiest Place on Earth was also the most unfinished place on earth on Opening Day. Despite that problem, it went on to be a worldwide tourist destination. Just goes to show that if we aren’t done with our goal on deadline day it’s ok to keep working at the goal. Things will get better if we keep working. Perhaps another lesson is to be more realistic about deadlines for a huge construction project and place them further out.

This video below shows what became the inspiration for Disneyland.

Here are some secrets of Disneyland.

This video below shows the new show at Disneyland with an animatronic Walt telling what his greatest reward was, after you see footage of his story. The animatronic part starts at 16:30. It’s not as creepy as I anticipated.

OK, because I love to list resources whenever I do birthday mentions of people, places or books, here are some other resources besides videos.

I mentioned a site in my blog here that reviews old Disney movies so you can know which ones are worth watching. Some are duds and some are golden.

Here is a blog by a homeschooling mom with different Disney-themed curricula, from an Imagineering course involving physics and math, P.E., art, and language arts.

I can’t end this post without mentioning two of my passions, board games and thrifting!

Here’s a fun game to bring out your inner Walt. It’s the Disney Animated board game. You get to work cooperatively on a Disney animation team, seeing if you can get some classic Disney movies done by the deadline.

The five movies involved are Snow White, Aladdin, 101 Dalmatians, Fantasia, and Alice in Wonderland. This game is definitely worth paying full price for. It’s currently only $20 on amazon. (Not an affiliate link.)

It uses transparent cards with full color animated figures that you put on a background with scenery. Such fun!

I enjoy playing Disney Codenames but feel like I need a Disney character encyclopedia when I play because I’m not up on all the new movies. Fortunately, I found this book below when thrifting. It’s a house rule that we can check this book when playing the game.

Finally, keep your eyes out for this game below when thrifting. (Of course, I like to bring up board games and thrifting whenever I can!) You could keep your eyes out for the games above too but you’re probably less likely to find those. Anyway, I found this game below last fall when thrifting. We played it as a big family group when the married children were in town for Thanksgiving. It got everybody laughing. It’s great for a big crowd because the box says it’s for up to 99 players. Most people know something about Disney movies so will probably play, especially if placed on a team. One of my daughters-in-law won because of her vast Disney knowledge. I wouldn’t pay full price for it but at $4 or less it’s totally worth it.