New Orleans Square is a themed land found at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. Based on 19th-century New Orleans, Louisiana, the roughly three-acre area was the first land to be added to Disneyland after the park's opening, at a cost of $18 million. It is exclusive to Disneyland, although a similarly themed area can be found within Adventureland at Tokyo Disneyland.
The word "square" is a bit of a misnomer, since the area does not resemble a traditional urban plaza as much as an intricate series of "streets" that weave around shops, restaurants and the Pirates of the Caribbean show building. At one point, it included the only overnight accommodations in the park open to the public, the now closed Disneyland Dream Suite.
Plans to include a New Orleans-themed area were made in the late 1950s as a part of an expansion and the area was even included on a 1958 souvenir map. In 1961–1962, construction began on the land and the attractions.
The land was opened to the public on July 24, 1966, with New Orleans Mayor Victor H. Schiro participating in the dedication ceremony. Schiro announced Walt Disney had been made an honorary citizen of New Orleans; Disney joked that the addition cost as much as the original Louisiana Purchase. Without adjusting for inflation, it actually cost more. The opening ceremony was Walt Disney's last major public appearance at Disneyland before his death in December 1966.
In March 1967, Pirates of the Caribbean debuted alongside the Blue Bayou Restaurant. In August 1969, The Haunted Mansion was opened to the public.
Presiding over the square is the Hall of Presidents, an American history show featuring an audio-animatronic figure of every President of the United States. Liberty Square has a long waterfront on the Rivers of America and the Liberty Belle Riverboat steam paddleboat departs from a landing here.
As you see, this New Orleans Square is combined with the Liberty Square from the Magic Kingdom back in Orlando. Walt Disney Imagineering decided on an early American, eighteenth century theme, with special concentration on the American Revolutionary War, as the Bicentennial would occur soon in 1976.
Liberty Square begins an architectural progression through history and geographically across the United States. This progression begins with the Haunted Mansion (1770s or '80s, upstate New York) and travels clockwise around the Rivers of America into Frontierland terminating at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (1880s, southern California).
A replica of the House of Burgesses features Paul Revere's lanterns signifying "two if by sea" in an upstairs window. The Liberty Tree is an actual 100-year-old oak found on the property and transplanted, with a younger oak grafted into the base. The Liberty Bell replica was cast from the mold of the actual Liberty Bell in 1989. An urban legend falsely claims it is that it is one of two bells ever cast from this mold, however there are many others also cast from it. Yet another urban legend claims that this bell is the one that was cast for Pennsylvania, as one of the 50 cast for states in 1976. According to the legend, Pennsylvania gave it to Walt Disney World since they already had the original. However, Pennsylvania's replica is located in Allentown.[4][5][6]
There are architectural representations of each of the original 13 colonies. The state flags of each of the original 13 states, as well as the American flag, fly in a plaza in the center of Liberty Square. The brown pavement is meant to represent human waste (urine and excrement) since there was no indoor plumbing in colonial times. Urban legend.
Current attractions and entertainment
• Disneyland Railroad (1966-present)
• The Haunted Mansion (1969-present)
• Pirates of the Caribbean (1967-present)
• The Hall of Presidents
• Liberty Square Riverboat
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