News

Step back in time with Vintage Photographs from Disneyland’s Momentous Opening Day in 1955

Children run through the gate of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at Disneyland, Walt Disney’s theme park, in July 1955. The park opened to the public the week of July 17, 1955.

Disneyland was dedicated at an “International Press Preview” event held on Sunday, July 17, 1955, which was open only to invited guests and the media. Although 28,000 people attended the event, only about half of those were invitees, the rest having purchased counterfeit tickets, or even sneaked into the park by climbing over the fence.

A reporter noticed all the construction still ongoing and asked Walt Disney if Disneyland would ever be finished. Disney replied in what has become an often quoted quote: “Disneyland will never be completed, as long as there is imagination left in the world.”

Traffic was delayed on the two-lane Harbor Boulevard. Famous figures who were scheduled to show up every two hours showed up all at once. The temperature was an unusually high 38 °C (101 °F), and because of a local plumbers’ strike, Disney was given a choice of having working drinking fountains or running toilets. He chose the latter, leaving many drinking fountains dry.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse appear at Disneyland’s opening day, on July 17, 1955.

This generated negative publicity since Pepsi sponsored the park’s opening; disappointed guests believed the inoperable fountains were a cynical way to sell soda, while other vendors ran out of food. The asphalt that had been poured that morning was soft enough to let women’s high-heeled shoes sink into it.

Some parents threw their children over the crowd’s shoulders to get them onto rides, such as the King Arthur Carrousel. In later years, Disney and his 1955 executives referred to July 17, 1955, as “Black Sunday”. After the extremely negative press from the preview opening, Walt Disney invited attendees back for a private “second day” to experience Disneyland properly.

At the time, and during the lifetimes of Walt and Roy Disney, July 17 was considered merely a preview, with July 18 the official opening day. Since then, aided by memories of the television broadcast, the company has adopted July 17 as the official date, the one commemorated every year as Disneyland’s birthday.

The movie producer and animator Walt Disney smiles as he stands in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at the grand opening of Disneyland in 1955.The Disneyland parking lot, full on opening day, July 17, 1955.An aerial view shows Disneyland as guests attend opening-day festivities in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955.Dumbo and other characters from Disney movies appear in a parade down Main Street, U.S.A., at the Disneyland opening on July 17, 1955.Disneyland’s opening-day parade, photographed on July 17, 1955.Original caption: “Eddie Fisher (left) was a host at the opening of Walt Disney’s ‘Disneyland,’ where he served on the Coca-Cola refreshment corner. Shown are Eddie Fisher as he gives a drink to aluminum-clad spaceman Don MacDonald, as Debbie Reynolds looks on.”Visitors take a ride on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disneyland on July 17, 1955.A crowded Mark Twain Riverboat sails at Disneyland in July 1955.Showgirls in costume sit at an outdoor table and drink from mugs at Disneyland in July 1955.A children’s saloon, the Golden Horseshoe, photographed at Disneyland on July 17, 1955.A pack of “wild animals,” caged for safekeeping at Disneyland in July 1955.Guests enjoy the Autopia attraction on July 17, 1955.People rest in Tomorrowland’s Space Port on July 17, 1955.Tourists enter Frontierland, a re-creation of the Old West, in Disneyland, ca. 1955.The Painted Desert in Frontierland, photographed on July 17, 1955.Mickey Mouse rides in the locomotive cab of a train (with Walt Disney just to his left) as it arrives at a station in Disneyland on July 18, 1955.Crowds of people watch the Tomorrowland portion of a parade celebrating the opening of the Disneyland amusement park on July 17, 1955.Parade participants and costumed Disney characters ready themselves for the televised grand opening of Disneyland on July 17, 1955.Children run into Disneyland on opening day, July 17, 1955.Visitors ride the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party attraction in Fantasyland on July 17, 1955.Park attendees relax under sunshades near a TWA rocket in Disneyland in July 1955.A view of the Tomorrowland Boats (renamed the Phantom Boats) attraction at Disneyland in July 1955. The attraction lasted only from the park’s opening until 1956.A little girl laughs with excitement while riding a carousel at Disneyland in July 1955.

Related Posts

Homebase puts 74 stores up for sale after DIY chain collapsed – check to see if yours is on the auction block

Homebase has put 74 stores up for sale after the DIY chain fell into administration. The company has set a deadline of the end of next week for potential buyers to snap up its remaining shops in the UK and Ireland. Homebase appointed administrators at consultancy Teneo after it was hit hard by an ‘incredibly challenging’ three years for the DIY sector.

Coleen Rooney is being eyed up as the next Holly Willoughby as ITV bosses ‘hope to capitalise on her girl next door charm for presenting roles’

Coleen Rooney is rumoured to be in the running for TV presenting roles as a result of her stint on I’m A Celebrity. ITV bosses are hoping to ‘capitalise on Coleen’s girl next door charm’ and loyal fan base by offering her a big money TV deal, it has been reported. A source told The Sun that there are hopes Coleen will be the next Holly Willoughby and present a host of shows backed by advertisers.

Gary Lineker’s new BBC deal is announced: The Rest Is Football and The Rest Is History podcasts will air on BBC Sounds in one-year agreement

Gary Lineker is set to receive a bumper pay day after the BBC revealed a new one-year licensing deal to host two popular podcasts made by his production company. The BBC’s highest paid presenter and former England striker is leaving Match Of The Day at the end of the season after more than 25 years at the helm. But Lineker’s presence will still be felt at the corporation after a new deal was struck between the BBC and his co-founded company, Goalhanger Productions, which has rapidly established itself in just two years as the UK’s most successful podcast production company.

Joy Reid sends Thanksgiving warning to Trump voters in doomsday video message

MSNBC’s Joy Reid told Republicans their liberal friends and family have a right to be scared in an end-of-times warning on TikTok today. Reid, 55, who recently left X after Elon Musk’s cabinet nomination by President-Elect Donald Trump, isn’t done explaining to GOP voters why she believes Democrats are rightfully scared for the future. She warned Trump voters they should accept being excluded from family Thanksgiving plans, and spoke of the likelihood of the country collapsing under the new government.

Trump allies take the first step to wipe out multi-billion dollar government agency

Republican lawmakers took a first step in an effort to shutter the U.S. Department of Education, a move that President-elect Trump called for on the campaign trail. South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds introduced the Returning Education to Our States Act on Thursday. The bill would eliminate the Education Department and redistribute all federal programs under the department.

Royal Navy’s £3.2billion aircraft carrier stocks up on ammunition and ‘increases readiness’ as Ukraine military expert says ‘World War Three has begun’

Britain’s new £3.2billion aircraft carrier has stocked up on ammunition and increased its ‘readiness’ after a Ukrainian military chief claimed ‘World War Three had begun’. HMS Prince of Wales sailed into Glenmallen on Loch Long, in Argyll and Bute in Scotland, as tensions between the West and Russia threaten to boil over. Posting on X, the 65,000-tonne ship’s official account wrote: ‘We have arrived into Glen Mallan to uplift our ammunition and increase our readiness.’

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *