July 18, 1955 - Disneyland Opens

“Just Thinking"

On this day in 1955 Disneyland opened its doors to the public. After a year of laborious construction and a $17 million investment Disneyland opened its gates for the first time. The day before on July 17th a special “International Press Preview” was held, which was only opened to invited guests.

The Opening Day festivities included the dedication and a parade, which were covered by ABC with a 90 minute live special called “Dateline Disneyland”. The broadcast started at 7:30 pm and ran until 9:00pm and hosted by television personalities Art Linkletter, Ronald Reagan and Bob Cummings. At the time, it was one of the largest live broadcasts ever with ninety million viewers watching.

All was not well as the gate opened for the first time, workmen were still planting trees and, in some areas, still had wet paint. The asphalt on Main Street USA had been placed earlier that morning and was so soft that the spiked heels on woman’s shoes sank into the asphalt. Part of the issues were due in part to a Southern California heat wave with temperatures over 100 degrees. There was also a plumbers strike that left several of the drinking fountains dry. Many rides broke down shortly after opening, restaurants and refreshment stands ran out of food and drinks. A gas leak in Fantasyland lead to Adventureland, Frontierland, and Fantasyland being closed down for the afternoon.

During the event, Walt Disney was not aware of all of the troubles in the park. All of his attention was focused on making the “Dateline Disneyland” live broadcast a success. It wasn't until he checked out press accounts the following day that he became aware of all the opening day mishaps. Disney and his staff immediately took the necessary measures to deal with the problems of low ride capacity, congested walkways, traffic jams and slow food service. The press was invited back for a private "second day" to experience the true Disneyland.

Walt Disney purchased the land for the park in the early 1950’s which was primarily orange groves. Of the 160 acres that he purchased, about 85 acres were used for the original park, with the rest dedicated to parking, back-of-house operations, and room for future expansion.

The park was divided into five themed lands: Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, with 20 attractions. Each land offered guests a completely unique theme-based experience. The Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan’s Flight and the futuristic world of Tomorrowland were a couple of the original features. Main Street USA was modeled after Marceline, Missouri, Walt Disney’s childhood hometown, which was designed to show 

nostalgic, small-town America charm that served as the welcoming point to the park with Sleeping Beauty Castle visible off in the distance.

Despite the heat and the challenges, the crowds were excited, and the anticipation was unlike anything ever seen. 11,000 guests were anticipated, but over 30,000 visitors attended, some arriving hours before the gates opened. The tickets cost just $1 for adults and 50 cents for children, and tickets for individual rides were purchased separately using a coupon system labeled from A to E, with “E-Tickets” representing the most thrilling attractions.

Ticket prices have gone up just a bit since the opening. But I don’t believe that anyone, including Walt, could have anticipated what Disneyland would become. Now, over 50 attractions, The Monorail, California Adventure, Downtown Disney, The Disneyland Hotel, The California Grand Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel and now 6 Disneyland Parks worldwide. From a dream of what could be 70 years ago to fantasy family destination and a mega media powerhouse.

Let me know what you think.

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