Ganahl Lumber supplied the wood to rebuild every Storybook Land Canal Boat, Disneyland says. The 142-year-old company got to Anaheim 51 years before the park did, and its Ball Road sign calls it the "Second Happiest Place in Anaheim."
One of Disneyland's oldest Anaheim neighbors has a sense of humor. The sign over Ganahl Lumber on Ball Road calls the yard the "Second Happiest Place in Anaheim."
It has some receipts. Disneyland's public affairs team profiled the 142-year-old lumber company on Oct. 13, and the list of jobs is long. Ganahl sourced materials for repairs to the Sailing Ship Columbia, helped refurbish the horse-drawn streetcars on Main Street, U.S.A., and supplied the lumber to rebuild every Storybook Land Canal Boats vehicle.
The Orange County Register followed with its own profile Oct. 30, headlined "This Anaheim lumberyard helped build Disneyland for the past 60 years."
Ganahl chairman and former CEO Peter Ganahl goes back with the park to the early 1960s, when he was a young truck driver. "I remember delivering lumber to the Disneyland mill shop," he told Disney.
His brother John Ganahl, the company's chief financial officer for nearly 45 years, remembers the park's arrival in 1955. "When Disneyland was coming to town, that was a very exciting time," he said. As a kid, he thought, "Wow, it's coming in right next door."
Here's a ride on Storybook Land Canal Boats, whose boats were rebuilt with Ganahl lumber:
Why does Disneyland need a lumberyard?
Disneyland is a park full of old-fashioned wood: storefronts, boats, streetcars and a frontier town. A lot of it takes a beating from sun, water and millions of guests.
Lorne Varney, Disneyland Resort's manufacturing services manager, made the arrangement sound pretty casual. "Calling Ganahl is like calling a buddy and saying, 'Hey, I need some help,'" he told Disney.
According to the Disney profile, that help includes sourcing specialty materials, suggesting alternatives and tracking down hard-to-find products. Ganahl also does custom milling, which Disney credits with helping its teams turn creative ideas into real pieces.
"We can do things with wood that most people can't do," Peter Ganahl said. "Disney is a visual artist, and we help meet their needs."
Ganahl even kept its own blueprints from past Frontierland construction. Disney's photos show one with a Disneyland title block, stored in the big booklets the company used before digital files.
Who is Ganahl Lumber?
Brothers Christian and Franz Ganahl moved west from St. Louis and founded the company in 1884, according to the company's history page. Disney says they were the first to use the "branch yard theory," a network of regional lumberyards.
That idea brought them to Anaheim in 1904, when the area was mostly orange groves. Our math: Ganahl had been in town for 51 years when Disneyland opened in July 1955.
A few more milestones from the company's history:
Late 1940s: It opened a mill division making cabinets.
1964: The business took the name Ganahl Lumber Company.
1973: Peter Ganahl became president.
1978: It built its current 20-acre Anaheim yard.
Today, Ganahl lists 14 Southern California locations, from Pasadena and Northridge to Escondido. It calls itself family and employee owned. Workers have been part owners through an employee stock ownership plan since 1976, the Orange County Business Journal reported in 2010.
Where is Ganahl Lumber in Anaheim?
The flagship yard is at 1220 E. Ball Road, a few miles from the Disneyland Resort. Locals know it by the sign and by the fleet of red, hand-painted delivery trucks.
The sign with the "Second Happiest Place" joke is out front. Peter and John Ganahl posed under it for Disney's photographer. In another of Disney's photos, the marquee reads, "Ganahl Lumber and Disneyland Resort supporting each other for more than 60 years."
Mostly, it's a working lumberyard for contractors. The OCBJ reported in 2010 that about 90% of Ganahl's customers were professionals, not weekend DIYers.
Did Disneyland have its own sawmill?
It did, and you can still visit the building. Disneyland's Opera House on Main Street, U.S.A. served as the park's sawmill while the park was going up in 1954 and 1955.
In July 2025, Disneyland added a historical plaque to the building, WDW News Today reported. It reads, in part, "Originally serving as the Main Street sawmill."
These days, the Opera House is a theater. Ganahl's trucks have been bringing lumber to Disneyland for more than 60 years.
The canal boats, the streetcars and the Columbia all get regular refurbishments. Next time one comes back looking brand new, there's a decent chance the wood came from Ball Road.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
Disneyland Public Affairs (Oct. 13, 2026), the Ganahl profile: projects, quotes from Peter Ganahl, John Ganahl and Lorne Varney, the branch yard history and photos
Orange County Register (Oct. 30, 2026), its profile "This Anaheim lumberyard helped build Disneyland for the past 60 years"
Ganahl Lumber (2026), company history, milestones, the 20-acre Anaheim yard and its 14 locations
Orange County Business Journal (Nov. 27, 2010), Peter and John Ganahl as brothers, the employee stock ownership plan and customer mix
WDW News Today (July 19, 2025), the Opera House plaque and its sawmill history
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