Moved and inspired by Los Angeles’ Griffith Park, as well as a number of other theme parks he visited with his daughters, Walt Disney decided to build his second Disney theme park for those on the west coast. Having had so much success the first time around, Disney was surprisingly having trouble getting funds. But he found a solution, a Disney television show.
Appropriately titled, Disneyland TV, this hour-long, weekly television show provided Disney with the funds necessary to carry on the construction of Disneyland and also enabled him to promote his new park. Finally, on July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened its doors for the very first time. Within just ten weeks of opening, this new Disney amusement park would attract a staggering one million visitors alone!
The City of Dubai Then
When thinking about the progressive city of Dubai today, it is hard to believe that this major, international oil city was nothing more than a near barren desert at the turn of this millennia. With the major discovery of oil in the 1950s and ‘60s, the oil trade industry in Dubai would eventually grow to become the city’s primary source of revenue. It was the oil industry that fueled the city of Dubai to develop and grow to become the modern and developed city it is today.
Today, the oil trade is still considered the city’s main source of revenue and has lent itself to many of the city’s major architectural developments, most famously being the Burj Khalifa, aka the world’s tallest building, as seen in the photo above. Taken in 2005, this photo illustrates the early beginnings of this iconic skyscraper.
The City of Dubai Today
Presently, at 2,717 feet, this massive skyscraper holds the illustrious title of the tallest tower in the world. Nowadays, Dubai is not just the home of the world’s tallest building, but now also holds claim to the world’s tallest hotel, the world’s largest shopping center, the world’s largest indoor theme park, as well as the world’s longest fully automated metro network. The city’s most recent estimate counts 1,344 completed skyscrapers in the skyline of Dubai.
It's no surprise that in 2006, a quarter of the world’s cranes were designated for Dubai construction sites. While it slowed down a little in 2008, the city grows strong and is able to support and sustain much of its economy from its now bustling tourism industry. Additionally, in this middle eastern location, the number of men that comprise the population greatly outnumbers the number of women—69 percent to 31 percent, to be exact.
Disneyland Today
Even though over a half-century has passed since the park's creation, the magic of Disneyland has yet to disappear. If anything, it's only grown stronger with time. Disney fans from all over the world travel halfway across the globe just to enter the park’s legendary gates. In 2013 alone, Walt Disney attractions saw a combined total of over 132.5 million park visitors.
Since then, 13 more Disney theme parks, 46 Disney-themed resort hotels, a Disney cruise line, and other alternate guided Disney-centered vacation experiences have been created. In September 2005, the newest Disneyland opened in the city of Hong Kong. While Walt Disney is not alive today, his legacy remains strong, and will indefinitely continue for generations to come.
Iconic Structures of the Quai des Nations Then
The breathtaking structures built along the Seine River in France, for the 1900 World Exhibition once stood strong. Though the buildings built for this major global event were breathtaking, sadly the structures were not built to last. Ultimately, most of these beautiful pieces of architecture were demolished soon after the exhibition came to a close.
The World Exposition is an international, global showcase, which, in the case of this year’s event, displayed buildings that represented countries all over the world, the buildings above (from left to right, respectively) display the buildings from the United States, the Ottoman Empire, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and Macaco.