Disney's 60th KaBOOM! Playground Build Comes to Anaheim in Celebration of Disneyland Resort's 60th Anniversary

More than 700 volunteers build largest playground in single day

Anaheim, Calif. (May 2, 2015) – Today, in celebration of Disneyland Resort’s 60th anniversary this year, more than 700 volunteers transformed 27-acre Twila Reid Park in west Anaheim. This marks the eighth Orange County KaBOOM! playground built and largest nationwide, providing vibrant play spaces to more than 13,500 kids. 

“We are proud to join with KaBOOM! to continue Disneyland Resort’s 60-year legacy of giving back to the community,” said Disneyland Resort President Michael Colglazier. “By creating this playground, we are giving Anaheim families a new space to be active and make memories together.”

This is Disney’s 60th KaBOOM! playground nationwide, built by the largest group of volunteers to date.  From hauling dirt to assembling the new play equipment, volunteers from the Anaheim Family YMCA, city of Anaheim and the Corporate Volunteer Council of Orange County (CVCOC), along with Anaheim residents, Disney VoluntEARS and organizers from KaBOOM!, completed the playground in eight hours. The playground design is inspired by drawings by kids in the Anaheim Achieves after school program that took place on a special Design Day event in February.

Since 2007, Disney has been committed to creating playgrounds where children and families can play together and be active. This commitment is an extension of Disney Magic of Healthy Living, an initiative that partners with parents to inspire kids to lead healthier lifestyles. By the end of 2015, Disney’s support will bring the magic of play to more than 83,000 kids and families across the country.

“It is an honor to celebrate Disneyland’s 60th anniversary milestone with Disney by giving back to the Anaheim community,” said KaBOOM! Founder and CEO Darell Hammond. “At KaBOOM!, we believe every kid deserves a childhood, filled with balanced and active play, so they can thrive, and our partner, Disney understands this well. Their work is creating a more playable community and ensuring a bright future for all kids in Anaheim.”

Since 1996, KaBOOM! has been dedicated to the goal of ensuring that all children get the balanced and active play they need to thrive, serving 7.4 million kids through the restoration and construction of 16,000 playgrounds across the country. 

“This is another wonderful opportunity for our children in Anaheim to benefit from the kindness of community-focused organizations in our City,” said Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait.  “Our children need places to play, where their parents can also gather and get to know each other.  I call that being a good neighbor. I am grateful to KaBOOM!, Disney, the Y, and all who are making this possible.”

“This playground does more than get kids and families active. It creates lasting memories,” said Rich Good, YMCA President and CEO.  “After today, echoes of kids’ laughter will fill this place. Children will learn how to swing on their own, they’ll shout for joy when they make it to the bottom of the slide and they’ll make new friends through imagination play. We are here today giving back because we were once those kids, and now, we want families to know that this community is here to help them reach their full potential.”

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About Anaheim Family YMCA (@AnaheimYMCA)

The Y is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. The Anaheim Family YMCA was founded in 1911 and currently impacts nearly 20,000 youth, teens and adults in Anaheim, Cypress, Stanton and La Palma. YMCA programs span from early childhood education, after-school, youth sports, swim, summer camps, summer learning, S.T.E.M. enrichment, healthy living and wellness, volunteerism and community service. For more information about the Anaheim Family YMCA’s programs and resources please visit www.anaheimymca.org.

About the City of Anaheim (@city_of_anaheim)

The City of Anaheim, founded in 1857, is one of the nation’s premier municipalities and is one of California’s most populous cities.  Anaheim covers 50 square miles with more than 348,000 residents and more than 2,900 City employees.  The municipal corporation’s annual budget is $1.6 billion.  Anaheim supports a thriving business community with companies such as: Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc.; L-3 Communications; Pacific Sunwear; and Disneyland Resort.  Successful sports franchises call Anaheim home, including: Angels Baseball; Anaheim Ducks; the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team, and the 2012 Olympic Games Silver Medal winning U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team.  Anaheim also boasts world-class meeting and entertainment venues with: The Anaheim Convention Center, LEED-certified and the largest on the west coast; Honda Center; City National Grove of Anaheim; Anaheim GardenWalk; Angel Stadium of Anaheim; and ARTIC (Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center).  In addition, Anaheim embraces its vibrant cultural arts community, including the world-renowned Anaheim Ballet.  Annually, Anaheim welcomes more than 20 million visitors to the City, truly making it where the world comes to live, work and play. For more information, please visit www.anaheim.net.

About CVCOC (@oneOC)

The Corporate Volunteer Council of Orange County (CVCOC) is a network of businesses that collaborates to make a positive impact on the quality of life in our communities by promoting and growing employee volunteerism. Demonstrating their collective power, CVCOC companies annually convene to plan, execute and participate in a large-scale Corporate Combined Volunteer Project. For their 2015 project, CVCOC members and their employee volunteers are joining forces with KaBOOM! and Disneyland Resort for Disney’s 60th Anniversary project build in Anaheim. CVCOC member companies participating in the project include BJ’s Restaurants, Cox Communications, Cummins Pacific, Disneyland Resort, Edwards Lifesciences, Experian, First Foundation, Fluor, JP Morgan Chase, Kaiser Permanente, Macy’s, PAAMCO, Pacific Life, Pacific Dental Services, PIMCO, RICOH, SBGA, Silverado Care, State Street, TaxAudit.com, Union Bank, Wells Fargo and Western Digital.

About Disneyland Resort (@Disneyland)

Located on approximately 500 acres in Anaheim, Calif., the Disneyland Resort features two spectacular theme parks – Disneyland (the original Disney theme park) and Disney California Adventure park – plus the Downtown Disney District, a collection of unique dining, entertainment and shopping experiences. The Resort’s three hotels are the 948-room Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, the 969-room Disneyland Hotel and the 481-room Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. With 28,000 cast members, the Disneyland Resort is Orange County’s largest employer and a $4.7 billion annual contributor to the local economy. The Resort has welcomed more than 700 million guests since opening on July 17, 1955. To learn more about our community efforts, visit publicaffairs.disneyland.com.

About The Walt Disney Company (@CitizenDisney)

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media. Being a good corporate citizen is a time-honored Disney tradition. Through contributions, collaborations with local organizations, in-kind gifts and volunteering, Disney helps to brighten the lives of kids and families in need and strengthen communities around the world. For more information visit, thewaltdisneycompany.com/citizenship or twitter.com/CitizenDisney.

About KaBOOM! (@kaboom)

KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to bringing balanced and active play into the daily lives of all kids, particularly those growing up in poverty in America. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has collaborated with partners to build, open or improve nearly 16,000 playgrounds, engaged more than one million volunteers and served 7.4 million children. KaBOOM! creates great places to play, inspires communities to promote and support play, and works to drive the national discussion about the importance of play in fostering healthy lives and communities. To learn why #playmatters: visit kaboom.org or join the conversation at twitter.com/kaboom or facebook.com/kaboom.