The Dominguez Tree. When Walt Disney decided on Anaheim for his theme park, he needed to purchase land. Among the properties purchased was the Dominguez family farm. (see it pre Disneyland, circled in the pictures) The Dominguez family received a Date Palm as a wedding gift and planted it on the farm back in 1896. When Disney approached the Dominguez family to purchase their farm, they agreed. However, there was one condition, the family tree need to remain untouched! Disney agreed to these terms and began building his park around it. The Dominguez home was where the entrance to the Pirates of the Caribbean now rests, with the tree a short distance to the south. The tree is still there today and you can find it between the Indiana Jones ride and its fast pass queue. During the early years of the park there was very little tree life as they had not yet matured. The Dominguez Tree stood tall clear for all to see. Today though, it is a bit more obscured and harder to find. Where is it? Just walk as though you’re going to get a fast pass for Indy, stop before entering and you’ll see a large group of bamboo trees. Just look for the fattest palm tree just behind those and you’ve found the Dominguez tree. (pictures included in the post) Take a look straight up and you’ll understand just how careful they have been in preserving it. The structure for the fast-pass station rests right up against this tree. On a side note, the grandson of those that received the tree as a wedding gift, in the first place, eventually went to work for Disneyland after they “moved out” to make way for the park. Ron Dominguez was first a Davey Crocket walk around character, a ride operator, and eventually Executive Vice President of Walt Disney Attractions. The Dominguez Tree, a piece of Disneyland history that has stood longer than the park itself!
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 20:39:59 +0000
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