History of the Los Angeles Angels team general manager, under whose watch the Angels eventually won their first World Series Championship. Although Disney did not technically acquire a controlling interest in the team until after Autry's death, for all practical purposes it ran the team (the Autry loyalists on the board acted as "silent partners") through its Anaheim Sports subsidiary, which also owned the NHL's Mighty Ducks of Anaheim at the time. Disney, of course, had been a catalyst for the development of and population growth in Orange County, having opened its Disneyland theme park in Anaheim in 1955. Autry had named Walt Disney himself to
Happiest Homecoming on Earth Happiest Homecoming on Earth The Happiest Homecoming on Earth was the eighteen-month-long celebration (May 5, 2005 through September 30, 2006) of the 50th anniversary of the Disneyland theme park, which opened on July 17, 1955. The Happiest Celebration on Earth commemorated fifty years of Disney theme parks, and celebrated Disneyland's milestone throughout Disney parks all over the globe. Disneyland's 50th anniversary was July 17, 2005, but the celebration was launched on May 5, 2005 in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Disneyland Park was actually closed to the public on this date, the first planned closure of the park in decades