If you believed what “everyone” was saying way back in 1955, you would have gone to bed on July 16th satisfied that Mr. Disney had made a grave mistake and would be having a huge bankruptcy auction in Anaheim by Christmas. Even many of Walt’s closest friends had doubts. Bob Hope told many jokes and stories about how Walt had encouraged him to buy some of the land surrounding Disneyland and how he had politely declined. (Mr. Hope’s punch line always centered on how he had made the biggest mistake of his life…)

On July 17th, as we all know, Walt Disney threw open the doors to his dream come true, a place that by most measures should have never been built and should now be a footnote in Hollywood history; a place that should only exist in memories. It wouldn’t have been hard to blame Walt if he had scrapped his “latest and greatest dream.” After all, so many people believed it was a bad idea that a lesser person would have left this dream on the drawing board. But not Walt Disney. He defied the experts, silenced the naysayers and disproved the cynics to make his dream a reality.

One of the greatest things about Disneyland is that it remains a living monument to the heights a person can reach if one follows his or her dreams. Disneyland exists because Walt Disney wanted it to. Of course, he didn’t build it alone; there were thousands of workman and, most importantly, his brother Roy. Roy put aside his initial reservations about Disneyland and found the money that it took to make his brother’s dream a reality. If Walt was the visionary genius, Roy was the financial one. After all, he had to be; how else could he find the cash Walt needed to make his dreams come true?

Disneyland was a revolutionary idea. There may have been amusement parks and semi-themed parks before Disneyland, but nothing at all quite like what Walt had in mind. In fact, many reports from opening day mention how many of the guests who were there that fateful day wandered around in a daze; how were they supposed to spend their time here? What were they expected to do? It might seem a bit funny to us now, but we can’t really blame them. After all, they were witnessing history in the making!

When I used to share the inspiring story of Disneyland and Walt Disney with children, (I used to work in a recreation program) one of the first questions they would ask was why Walt Disney built Disneyland to begin with. My favorite answer is a simple one; “He built it for you!” That’s not too far from the truth, is it?

I frequently get asked why I enjoy Disneyland so much. Aside from the fun adventures and happy memories of time spent with my family, my favorite aspect of Disneyland is the inspiring story of how it came to be. Disneyland is magic to me because it was Walt Disney’s dream come true. Disneyland always inspires me to follow my own dreams and be the best that I can be. No matter how bad things may seem, I always know that things will get better because at some point in the future I will be able to walk under one of the train tunnels and be back at Disneyland. If Walt Disney had the courage to see his dreams come true, I know that I can too! It was that inspiration that led me to write my first (and hopefully not last!) book. It is that inspiration that gets me through even the toughest of days. Walt Disney had always told everyone that we could follow our dreams and they’d come true, but on July 17, 1955 he proved it to the world!

So, as we prepare for the global celebration of Disneyland’s grand opening, we should never forget that it was all possible because of one man’s dream, his brother’s financial genius and a whole team of talented artists. Because of Disneyland, I know that dreams really do come true.