The Concept Disney wanted his park to be different. The original concept was slated to be a small park with a boat ride and a few themed areas on an 8-acre plot across the street from Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, but the project soon outgrew the proposed location.

The original concept for Disneyland was born from Walt Disney's desire to create a clean, safe place where parents and children could have fun together. Walt famously came up with the idea while sitting on a park bench at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, watching his daughters ride a carousel and realizing that traditional amusement parks of the 1940s were often dirty and lacked entertainment for adults. His initial plan, dubbed "Mickey Mouse Park," was a small 8-acre plot adjacent to his studio in Burbank. However, his vision quickly outgrew the space, leading him to purchase 160 acres of orange groves in Anaheim. The core concept shifted from a mere collection of rides into a "theme park" divided into distinct "lands" (Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland) that acted as three-dimensional movie sets, allowing guests to step into stories rather than just ride machinery.