Exclusive: The Happiest Place on Earth Images Showcase a Disneyland That Could Have Had Oz Characters, a Thomas Edison Square, and More

The Happiest Place connected Earth: The Incredible Story of Walt Disney's Disneyland is an illustrated past of the parkland that turned 70 yesterday, and contiguous IGN tin exclusively uncover 5 pages from the publication that showcases an unprecedented look astatine the instauration of the beloved parkland and a Disneyland that could person had Oz characters similar Dorothy, a Thomas Edison square, and more.

This publication is present disposable for acquisition and features much than 750 images, antecedently unpublished documents, and conception drawings of Disneyland that are each organized by the park's archetypal 5 lands - Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland.

Furthermore, The Happiest Place connected Earth is written by Don Hahn (award-winning shaper of The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and more) and Christopher Merritt (former Disney Imagineer for implicit 25 years) and features a guardant by Disney CEO Bob Iger.

“There’s a Disneyland that we acquisition arsenic a kid with our eyes afloat of wonderment astatine the stories it tells," Hahn told us. "But arsenic we peeled backmost those layers, we recovered different Disneyland story; an unthinkable root communicative of unconventional creativity without boundaries, of upset, failure, persistence, and pioneering that gave commencement to a caller benignant of amusement that inactive resonates present much than ever. That’s the communicative we wanted to tell.”

As for the exclusive spreads, we've included them beneath with quotes from Merritt that explicate wherefore these are truthful important to Disney past and conscionable a tiny portion of what you'll find successful The Happiest Place connected Earth: The Incredible Story of Walt Disney's Disneyland.

For more, cheque retired our look astatine the communicative of however a period of Disney magic began, our chat with Disney Imagineering caput Bruce Vaughn astir Disneyland's Avengers attraction and more, and 12 reasons to sojourn Disneyland for its 70th anniversary.

Adam Bankhurst is simply a writer for IGN. You tin travel him connected X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and perceive to his show, Talking Disney Magic.