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
Circus World (theme park) and other parties in 1982, but kept the park, further expanding it with shows, rides, and a new roller coaster. Attendance declined for five straight years when Mattel agreed to sell the park to Jim Monaghan in 1983 and which was finalized in 1984. Monaghan nicknamed the park Thrill City USA and made his objective to have the park be a world-class theme park. He added nine major, European-built thrill rides and six youth rides. According to Funways Holidays reports Circus World developed a big problem with the opening of Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in late 1982. With most