Chairman Todd Spitzer, Vice Chair Lisa Bartlett, Disneyland Resort Ambassador Jessica Bernard, Disneyland Resort Government Relations Manager Kyndell Thorson, and Supervisor Michelle Steel
By: Todd Spitzer, Chairman of the O.C. Board of Supervisors
The Board of Supervisors recognized the Disneyland Report’s 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration with a resolution presentation at the Board meeting this week that declared July 17 as “Disneyland Day” in Orange County.
Disneyland opened in the City of Anaheim on July 17, 1955, marking a new era in amusement parks. It is the only theme park designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney.
Disneyland has grown from a single theme park with one hotel and 1,280 cast members in 1955 into a full-scale resort with two of the world’s ten most-visited theme parks, 2,500 hotel rooms, 150 restaurants, and 85 other retail locations.
Disneyland is the most visited tourist attraction not only in Orange County, but in all of California, with nearly 17,000,000 guests in 2014 alone.
The Disneyland Resort is a critical part of Orange County’s economic engine, as the resort employs more people in Orange County than any other employer, with a workforce of 28,000 cast members, a number larger than the entire populations of the Orange County cities of Seal Beach, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, La Palma, Los Alamitos, and Villa Park.
The Disneyland Resort generates $5.7 billion in economic impact in Southern California with more than $3 billion for Orange County alone. Over 25,000 jobs at other Orange County businesses rely on visitors to the Disneyland Resort.
Hmm. Norby says Anaheim went from being above average in per capita wealth to below average during the Disney years. A coincidence? Maybe, but it sure belies the “economic engine” theory of Anaheim’s kleptocratic government subsidy.
Wait is this the SAME Chris Norby that Hreg Fiamond claims beat the shit out of his poor Korean wife?
Whatever happened with that. Certainly someone of Greg Diamonds stature wouldn’t make that kind of thing up…..would he?
I would imagine most central OC Cities dropped in per capita wealth over the last 60 years.
According to Norby Anaheim has fallen farther than Buena Park and Garden Grove.
How sad is that?
Also, I have to wonder whether anybody has done a study on the long-term health of Disneyland’s neighbors who get tons of incinerated chemicals dumped on them from the sky by Mickey every year – as SCAQMD blithely looks the other way.