2. Electric Park

Image: Yaxy2011, Wiki Commons (license)

Walt couldn’t help but glean ideas and inspiration from his nearest competitors, but Knott’s Berry Farm was far from the only theme park to influence Disneyland’s creation and design. In fact, the earliest amusement park to inspire Walt was the very one that he had experienced as a child: Electric Park in Kansas City, Mo. The 1907 trolley park was patterned after the World’s Columbian Exposition fairgrounds that were constructed in Chicago in 1893, and was conveniently situated just 15 blocks from the Disney family’s home. Its Greyhound Racer roller coaster, Ferris wheel, theatre, alligator farm, shooting gallery, and aquarium were flanked by meticulously landscaped grounds and over 100,000 light bulbs sparkling along the outlines of its many attractions and buildings. At night, a fireworks display lit up the park just before it closed its gates.

Most enthralling to the young Walt Disney was the train that ran around the perimeter of the park. Walt’s fascination with trains would extend well into adulthood, and when it came time to add a stable of steam engines to Disneyland, he already had a perfect model to draw from. Like Electric Park’s iconic railway, Disneyland would also feature a train that ran along the border of the California theme park, and one that seamlessly integrated into the landscaping as well. It would become one of the hallmarks of Walt’s creation, and a lasting symbol of his vision for a bigger and better American amusement park.

3. Children’s Fairyland

Image: Wiki Commons (license)

A 10-acre children’s-only park nestled on the curve of Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., Children’s Fairyland preceded Disneyland by a full five years. It opened its gates to pint-sized visitors in 1950 and later played host to Walt himself as he scoured the state for the best-themed parks to help inspire and shape the amusement park he already had in mind.

Fairyland was, and still is, one of the few remaining amusement parks that refuses to admit children without adults, and adults without children. Walt, however, had a different vision. He wanted Disneyland to be a refuge for families, certainly, but he also recognized the importance of indulging every adult’s “inner child.” The Disneyland Walt envisioned would cater to adults as much as it did to their offspring, if not more so.

Amid the fairy tale trappings of Fairyland, Walt was struck not only by the clever design and whimsical feel of the park, but by the cleanliness of the play areas and the friendliness and approachability of the staff as well—all aspects that would be played up in his own park when it opened in 1955. By the time he took his leave of Fairyland, he was so inspired by it that he poached two of their top employees, too: director Dorothy Manes, who later took a gig as Disney’s Special Events Administrator, and pioneer puppeteer Bob Mills, who was placed in charge of the now-defunct Tinker Bell Toy Shoppe (the Fantasyland-area gift shop that now houses Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique).