The Secrets of Disneyland

Born on July 17, 1955 to Walter Disney (her mother's identity has never been revealed) in Anaheim, California, Disneyland has provided decades of entertainment to children as well as adults. As with anybody who has been in the public eye since childhood, one wonders how much damage it may have caused the young theme park to feel the pressure of having to entertain the masses.

Disneyland was expected to captivate invitation only guests and the media on the same day she was born, which led to disastrous results. July 17, 1955 in Anaheim was stifling hot, with the temperatures rising to 101 degrees. Uninvited guests with counterfeit tickets flooded the park. And a local plumber's strike caused many of the drinking fountains not to work. Apparently, Walter was given the choice of working fountains or running toilets. He decided he'd rather have working crappers. The day went so terribly that Walter decided to invite the guests back the next day. July 18 ran much more smoothly.

Throughout the early years of her life, Disneyland no doubt struggled between personifying the wholesome, family friendly park that her father desired and expected, and the common desire for any adolescent theme park to rebel and explore her darker side. Some may say that this rebellion may have played itself out in the "subliminal messages" allegedly found in a few of Disney's animated films.

As the success of Disneyland grew, Walter decided to open more parks around the country and the globe. In 1964, Walter announced that he was planning a new Disney park that would be located in Florida. Unfortunately, with Walter's passing in 1966, he was never able to see the birth of Disney World on October 1, 1971. Walter's brother, Roy, insisted on carrying out his brother's project. It was originally believed that Disney World was the younger brother of Disneyland, the product of Walter's frozen sperm and an anonymous surrogate. But with a 16 year age gap, there have been speculations. It has recently surfaced that Disney World is in fact, Disneyland's son. Disneyland's Uncle Roy succeeded in hiding this from the public for many years, apparently humiliated by the fact that his 15 year old niece had gotten pregnant by none other than Knott's Berry Farm.

"I made a bad decision," Disneyland opened up in a recent interview with 20/20, "Knott's was very charming. Ultimately, I was blessed with a son but my Uncle took that all away and insisted Disney World be brought up to believe that Walter was his father and I was his sister. The journey has been difficult for both myself and for World. But we're getting through it day by day."

Disneyland also spoke to Elizabeth Vargas of 20/20 about the pressure she felt from the NFL Superbowl players.

"Can you imagine what kind of effect that had on me?" Disneyland stressed, "These men were winning one of the most prestigious athletic games in America, and they announced to everyone that they wanted to go too Disneyland? I felt like I wouldn't be able to measure up."

As Disneyland approaches her 56th birthday this July, she has said that the past few years have been a lesson on reflection and forgiveness. "My father had a dream," she explains, "He may have made some mistakes with raising me, but I do know that he loved me the best way he knew how. It was hard losing my dad when I was just 11 years old. Uncle Roy tried to fill his shoes, but he wasn't cut out for fatherhood back then. Not having a father or a mother during those tumultuous teenage years definitely caused me a lot of strife. I feel terrible about those subliminal messages. I was just so sick of everyone thinking I was some 'goody two shoes'. I wanted to be edgy. I wanted to be loved."

Disneyland is currently writing her memoirs and has a contract with Random House Publishing. She hopes the book will out by Christmas 2012.