There’s a lot of well-known lore around Disneyland, but one story may have flown under your radar. According to Walt Disney himself, the vision for his first amusement park came to him while he was watching his two daughters play at the Griffith Park merry-go-round in Los Angeles (you can watch him share the anecdote in our article below). Built in 1926, the carousel was shut down in 2022 due to disrepair and a probate dispute, but now the city has purchased the historic ride for $1 million and plans to restore and reopen it. Dig into its history and watch it being taken for a spin in its glory days.
Historic LA Merry-Go-Round That Inspired Disneyland to Be Restored and Reopened
One of the oldest wooden merry-go-rounds in California — and the attraction that inspired Walt Disney’s vision of a family amusement park — is getting another go-round itself: Los Angeles’ Griffith Park carousel will be revamped in time for its 2026 centennial.
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