How Disney grew: Aerial images chart incredible expansion of Mickey Mouse’s playground that started life in a 1960s California orange orchard




These aerial pictures chart the incredible expansion of the Disney theme park empire, from the original Disneyland built in 1955 to the firm's latest U.S. attraction completed in 2001.



The corporation now has theme parks dotted across the world attracting tens of millions of visitors a year. Attractions have sprung up in Europe, Hong Kong and a park is currently under construction in Shanghai.



But it all began back in the 1940s after the exploits of Mickey Mouse as well as feature-length cartoons such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Dumbo and Bambi had made Walt Disney a household name.



An aerial view of Disneyland California taken on July 15 1955, three days before gates opened to the public for the first time, left, and the park how it is today almost 60 years on (right)

Workers put the final touches to Disneyland's Main Street with a partially-built Snow White's castle in the background in 1955. The entire park was built in the space of a year at a cost of $17million

Such was the success that many fans began writing to the company asking if it would be possible to have a tour of their studios in Burbank, California.



Walt Disney, realising that a tour of a working film studio would probably come as a let down to any excited visitor, began working on the idea of a park that would offer entertainments for children and adults.



When his daughters Diane and Sharon were young, Disney would take them to LA's Griffith Park every Sunday, where the children would enjoy play on carousels but the adults would sit on benches bored.



First guests: Hollywood celebrities and their children race off to explore Snow White's castle on the opening day of the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California in July 1955

Dreaming of a place which would offer fun and entertainment for all, Disney first envisioned an eight-acre site which he would name Mickey Mouse Park. But as he began to plan large themed areas each offering a variety of attractions he realised he would need a far bigger space.



While he was forced to place his plans on the back-burner during World War II, by 1954 construction was ready to begin at a 160 acre orange orchard in Anaheim, California with funding in place thanks to a deal with the television channel ABC.

Completed in just one year at a cost of $17million, Disneyland initially boasted four themed areas - Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland - as well as Main Street USA and Snow White's Castle.



Then and now: An aerial view of the original Disneyland park seen from above in the mid 1960s, left, and as it is today, right A colour picture from 1962 shows Disneyland's skyway gondolas, explorer submarine and futuristic monorail train Visitors enjoy one of the park's many rides, left, and The Santa Fe and Disney train rattles over the Disneyland News stand in two pictures both taken in 1962 It opened its gates to the public for the first time on July 18, 1955. Entrance fee back then was a reasonable $1, today it will set you back a hefty $92.

Despite a disastrous opening ceremony where the water fountains ran dry and women's shoes got stuck into soft tarmac, the attraction was an immediate success.

But to Disney's annoyance businesses began springing up around the site. Disneyland effectively became boxed-in and having drained their financial resources on the construction, the company could not afford to buy up any more of the surrounding area. It was not until the 1980s that the company was able to buy up surrounding plots to the west of the park most significantly the site of the the Disneyland Hotel in 1989, the Pan Pacific Hotel which became Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel in 1995, and several properties north of the Disneyland Hotel in the mid to late 1990s. Walt Disney unveils plans for Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida in a photograph believed to have been taken in the early 1960s

Magic Kingdom, the first of the four Florida theme parks is captured from above in 1969 (left) with a view of the same area today showing how it has changed over the years

Epcot, the second of four theme parks built at Walt Disney World, Florida. It seen from above during construction in 1981 and in the present day

Disney's Hollywood Studios, originally known as Disney-MGM, the third of four Florida theme parks, a year after opening its doors in 1990, left, and today

DISNEY THEME PARK TIMELINE

1928 - Mickey Mouse makes his debut in the cartoon Steamboat Willie

1955 - Disneyland opens and quickly becomes a soaring success



1965 - Walt Disney announces his Florida Project

1966 - Walt Disney dies of Lung Cancer

1967 - Construction begins at Disneyworld, Florida

1971 - Magic Kingdom, the first of the four Florida parks opens

1982 - Epcot opens

1989 - Disney-MGM Studios opens

1998 - Disney's Animal Kingdom

2001 - California Adventure opens



In 1963 The Enchanted Tiki Room was opened which was the first theme park attraction to use Audio Animatronics. These animated mechanical characters quickly became a staple feature of theme parks across the world. Walt Disney himself died in 1966, just missing the opening of the ever-popular Pirates of the Caribbean attraction in 1967.



But by then the company's attention had shifted to Florida where construction was well underway on the building of the spawling Walt Disney World resort . With the first of the four Florida parks, named The Magic Kingdom, opening in 1971.

This was followed in 1982 by the second Florida park named Epcot, dedicated to the celebration of human achievement. With a focus on technological innovation and international culture, it quickly became a top attraction and is now the third most visited theme park in the United States.

The third of the Florida parks was Disney's Hollywood Studios which opened its gates in 1989. Dedicated to show business, with a distinct golden years of Hollywood theme it now pulls in around 9.7 million guests a year.

The last of the Florida parks to open was Animal Kingdom, which at a sprawling 500 acres in size is the the largest of all the Disney parks by far. This attraction brings brings in slightly more visitors than Hollywood studios at 9.8 million a year.

From there the company returned to its roots building their California Adventure park just a few miles away from the original Disneyland in Anaheim. Completed in 2001, it did not open to the universal praise Disney executives may have dreamed of.

After a series of negative reviews, it is currently pulling in around 7.5 million guests a year compared to the original Disneyland which pulls in around almost 16million.

Disney's Animal Kingdom is the fourth of Florida theme parks and at 500 acres the largest of all the Disney parks All aboard: A river boat leaves the dock at Safari Village in Disney's Animal Kingdom in 1998

Disney's California Adventure, a 72-acre park built close to the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California, opened in 2001 How the original Disneyland has changed over the last 60 years





