“Here You Leave Today and Enter the World of Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy”

On July 17, 1955, the Happiest Place on Earth opened its gates for the very first time. Disneyland was an idea that Walt dreamed up while watching his daughters riding on the Griffith Park carousel. He wanted to create something that the whole family could enjoy together. With an innovative team of creative minds, a television show, and months of planning, Walt Disney’s dream finally came to life! Let’s take a trip back in time to the very first opening day of any Disney park. 

Mickey Mouse Park

Before the idea of Disneyland came to be, there was the idea of a Mickey Mouse Park. Walt Disney’s original plan for his park was to be built adjacent to his Disney Studio in Burbank, California. He started mentioning the possibility of building his small amusement park as early as 1937! 

“You know, it’s a shame people come to Hollywood and find there’s nothing to see,” Walt Disney said to animator Ward Kimball. “Even the people who come to the Studio. What do they see? A bunch of guys bending over drawings. Wouldn’t it be nice if people could come to Hollywood and see something?”

According to Jim Korkis of MousePlanet, Walt Disney wrote a memo to Disney Studio production designer Dick Kelsey dated August 31, 1948, with his ideas for “Mickey Mouse Park.” His original plans included a railroad station, town hall, fire station, and more — sounds pretty familiar to Main Street U.S.A. to me! (You can read his full memo here!)

As Mickey Mouse Park’s plans continued, Walt realized that his dreams for this park were far too big to fit in the area across from Disney Studio. Although Mickey Mouse Park never came to be, many of the plans for this original dream park were incorporated into Disneyland! For a major deep dive into Mickey Mouse Park, visit this awesome article by Jim Korkis.

 

Disneyland, Inc.

In 1951, Walt Disney incorporated Disneyland, Inc. in the State of California. This venture, along with WED Enterprises, was used to design Disneylandia* and its attractions. (Disneylandia was the name for “Disneyland” at the time.) 

Disney hired the Stanford Research Institute in April 1953 to determine the most ideal location for his future park, and by July of the same year, he was directing them to find a 100+ acre location in Southern California. Roy met with the Stanford Research Institute the very next month to go over ten possible locations along Santa Ana Freeway in Anaheim, California. Decisions were made and Disneyland, Inc. purchased a 160-acre grove of orange trees for $879,000.

Now that the location was selected and WED Enterprises was already hard at work creating ideas for Walt Disney’s dream park, it was time for Disney to secure the funds to bring this park to life!

 

Funding Disneylandia

In September 1953, Roy Disney met with CBS and NBC in hopes of a deal for a Disney-produced television show and a Disneyland investment. While both showed interest in the television show portion, they weren’t for the Disneyland investment and declined. Next, Roy met with Leonard Goldenson of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres. He had previously shown interest in Disney programming, and he agreed to the Disneyland Inc. investment in hopes to make ABC a major network.

A deal between Disney and ABC was signed on March 29, 1954. This deal included a $500,000 cash advance from ABC, a guaranteed $4.5 million bank loan plus a weekly television show for ABC from Walt Disney Productions. In return, ABC received 35% ownership of Disneyland, 100% of all profits from the theme park’s food concessions for 10 years, and an 8-year commitment from Disney Studio to use their library of film to be aired as one-hour television programs on ABC. 

Just a few days later on April 2, 1954, plans to build Disneyland Park were first announced! Walt also shared that his television series would begin in October 1954, and the new California theme park would open in July 1955. With all of these agreements in place, it was time to create The Disneyland Show.

 

Walt Disney’s Disneyland Show

 
The first episode of Walt Disney’s Disneyland Show premiered on October 27, 1954. The episode was titled “The Disneyland Story” and it took the audience behind the scenes of creating Disneyland. 

As the weekly shows continued, Walt Disney would reveal teasers and “progress reports” of the park’s lands. He focused on Adventureland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and Frontierland. In addition to theme park teasers, the show would feature behind-the-scenes footage from the Disney Studio, promotions for upcoming films like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and eventually a three-episode series of Davy Crockett.

Following the premiere of this three-episode Davy Crockett series on the Disneyland Show, the Davy Crockett craze of 1955 began! This series starred Fess Parker and led to millions of dollars in Davy Crockett merchandise being sold. The show’s theme song, “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” also became a record hit the same year.

In addition to the weekly show on ABC, Dateline: Disneyland would premiere on opening day from Disneyland Park! This was quite the experience, but we’ll get there soon.

 

Building Disneyland

Construction began on July 16, 1954, for the Happiest Place on Earth. (Yes, you read that correctly. One year and one day before Disneyland’s scheduled opening!) Walt Disney spent $17 million and hired 2,500 workers to make this park come to life. With such a tight schedule to keep, Disneyland’s crews worked around the clock to make this happen.

As construction began, towers were installed to capture the progress through film and photos. Even from the very beginning, Walt had to foresight to document this entire project! In the video below, Tony Baxter narrates time-lapse footage from various camera angles during the 1954-1955 construction period.

 

Although construction began in July 1954, the majority of progress took place over only seven months. Considering how long it takes for a new attraction or land to come to life in the Disney Parks these days, it’s just astounding that this entire park came to life in one year.

 

Disneyland News

Amongst all of the chaos, planning, details of opening a brand new theme park in one year, Walt Disney had even bigger plans for even the smallest details. Walt wanted an official publication for Disneyland, and future Disney Legend Marty Sklar was hired to make that happen.

Marty Sklar was a junior at UCLA when he was contacted by Card Walker to come to write the Disneyland News for the Happiest Place on Earth. He had been referred to Walker by Johnny Jackson, UCLA Alumni Secretary who had recently left to work for Disney. Sklar took the job just one month before park opening and created the Disneyland News in time for opening day.

The original July 1955 issue was 24 pages and centers exclusively on Disneyland’s debut. This premiere copy sold for $0.10 at the park’s Maingate newsstand or through a home subscription. Today this original issue is one of the most sought-after publications for the early days of Disney Parks history.

Joining to write the Disneyland News made Marty Sklar one of the first 100 Cast Members of Disneyland. He went on to become Walt Disney’s go-to ghostwriter, President of Walt Disney Imagineering, and the only person to attend the grand opening of every Disney Park across the globe.

Sklar speaks on his Disney career including his start with the Disneyland News in his book, Dream It, Do It. (This is one of my favorite books, and I highly recommend it for any Disney fan’s collection.)

 

Opening Day at Disneyland

Disneyland opened its gates on July 17, 1955, with five themed lands and a total of eighteen attractions.  Star-studded opening day guests include Frank Sinatra, Fess Parker, Ronald Reagan, Debbie Reynolds, the Mouseketeers, and more.

The park was only expecting around 11,000 guests for opening day but was met more than 28,000 guests. Depending on which site you check, you’ll find a total attendance number ranging from 28,000 to 35,000, but honestly, there was no true way of accurately keeping count of guests thanks to a number of opening day issues!

Many guests showed up with counterfeit tickets, but another major issue was the wording of the authentic Disneyland tickets. The wording read something similar to “Admit One Plus Party” which left what the term “party” meant up to the guests’ imagination. While most would consider a “party” to mean their family, some guests brought many more attendees with them. According to Offhand Disney, Ron Dominguez ended up letting in a busload of guests under one ticket, because the ticketed guest considered the busload of people their “party.” Lastly, there were “guests” simply climbing over Disneyland’s barriers to getting into the park on opening day! One man even charged people $5 to use his ladder to get in.

The tight schedule of construction time started to take a toll on the opening day festivities as well. A plumbing strike right before opening forced Walt to choose between bathrooms and drinking fountains to be completed in time for opening day. (I think it’s pretty obvious he only had one choice!) The asphalt was still soft from being poured that morning thanks to temps of 100 degrees in Anaheim, California. As the overpacked park day continued, a majority of food, attractions, and even bathrooms began to break down due to overuse.

Opening Day of Disneyland went on to be known as “Black Sunday” by Cast Members even decades later.

 

 

Dateline Disneyland

If there wasn’t enough chaos on opening day, the filming of Dateline Disneyland surely added to the fun. This live broadcast aired on ABC and was hosted by Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan. The special was 90 minutes and was the largest and most complex live broadcast at the time! From 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM, 90 million Americans watched from their homes as the Happiest Place on Earth celebrated its opening day.

With the help of 29 cameras, ABC covered Disneyland’s Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Main Street U.S.A. They also aired Walt Disney’s dedication to Disneyland, the opening day parade, and more. With miles of cords and lots of moving parts to bring this production to life, it was quite chaotic behind the scenes!

This famous hosting trio would reunite again for the celebration of Disneyland’s 35th anniversary in 1990.

 

Critic Reviews & Disney’s Response

Los Angeles Tidings claimed that “Walt Disney’s dream is a nightmare.” They weren’t the only ones leaving negative reviews after the chaotic Opening Day at Disneyland Park. This was to be expected, considering the influx of guests and an array of other issues throughout the day. Walt and his team wasted no time spinning the story for the Happiest Place on Earth!

Walt focused on fixing the Black Sunday challenges before he even left the park that day. The Public Relations staff had a plan — get every media outlet to come back without the crazy crowds and experience the park without the crowds. The staff planned for new organizations to have an early dinner at Red Wagon Inn or Plantation House Restaurant, then sample the park offerings with much smaller crowds.

Disneyland spent all summer hosting these sessions. They welcomed local, national, and even international media outlets to experience Disneyland the way it was meant to be — chaos-free. This strategy worked almost immediately, with outlets gushing about their evening experiences at the Happiest Place on Earth.

In our Disney History Podcast, The Carousel Project, Josie notes that this Public Relations strategy still seems to be the case for current openings and events at Disney Parks. It seems that the success of controlled media experiences for events has stood the test of time when it comes to Disney!

 

Disneyland reached one million visitors by September 8, 1955. That’s less than two months after its opening day! Walt’s original theme park has become the standard for amusement park experiences, after over a year with its gates closed it will reopen later this month on April 30, 2021.

In 1955, Disneyland was a truly innovative concept. Its opening was not only an iconic moment in Disney’s history but American history as well. As someone who was born and raised during the Disney Decade, it’s hard for me to imagine a time before Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and the other Disney Parks. I’m excited to see the Happiest Place on Earth open its gates once again in only a few short weeks.

If you want to learn even more about Disneyland’s opening day, check out our Spotify for The Carousel Project! Here’s my favorite Disney books list as well for anyone looking to add to their current library. Interested in more Disney History? Check out my Disney Throwbacks section on the blog.

If You Could’ve Attended Any Disney Park Opening, Which Park Would It Be?