Built in 1950, Children’s Fairyland was the first themed amusement park in the United States. It was also the first amusement park created with families and children in mind. Walt Disney visited Fairyland during the 1950s as inspiration for what would later become Disneyland. In addition, the first director of Fairyland, Dorothy Manes, was hired by Disney as youth director at Disneyland. She held this position from the park’s opening until 1972.
By Eszter T. Clark — eszterclark.com