Opened in Anaheim on July 17, 1955, Disneyland turns 60 this year. Launching this month, the resort’s year-long Diamond Celebration will include the debut of three new in-park nighttime spectaculars: the Paint the Night parade; Disneyland Forever fireworks extravaganza; and multimedia show World of Color—Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney.
The original Disneyland Park, which featured 18 attractions, is now part of a resort complex that includes nearly 100 attractions; the Disneyland, Paradise Pier, and Grand Californian hotels; Disney’s California Adventure theme park; and the Downtown Disney dining and entertainment district. Generating some $4.7 billion for the Southern California economy each year, the resort attracts more than 20 million visitors annually and is Orange County’s largest demand generator.
Last summer marked the 100th anniversary of the first concrete pier in Huntington Beach. As the symbolic heart of “Surf City USA,” the pier’s story began a decade earlier, as a 1,000-foot long wooden structure built in 1904 (five years before Huntington Beach was incorporated), which was destroyed by storms in 1912.
Helping commemorate the new pier’s opening in June 1914 was Hawaiian surfing legend George Freeth. Dazzling onlookers on his eight-foot redwood board alongside the pier, Freeth helped launch the city’s surfing lore.
Destroyed in 1939 and again in 1988, the pier was rebuilt to last. Replicating the 1914 original, attractions include Let’s Go Fishing, the pier’s bait-and-tackle shop, and the event-capable Duke’s Huntington Beach restaurant, honoring Hawaiian surfing icon Duke Kahanamoku.
History-seeking hikers have a trio of standout trails in Orange County. East of Irvine lies O’Neill Regional Park, where the six-mile Arroyo Trabuco Trail was traversed in 1769 by Spaniard Gaspar de Portola in the first overland exploration of the future California. In Laguna Niguel, Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park features over 30 miles of official trails, group programs and the ancient Dripping Cave, once used by bandits and Native Americans. Groups can arrange tours of the Olinda Oil Museum and Trail (www.cityofbrea.net) in Brea, which includes a 2.2-mile loop trail offering panoramic Orange County views.