Happy Birthday Disney! 51 years of Magic!

[Loves Disney]

51 years ago on July 17th (1955), Disneyland, CA was opened! Now, the day after tomorrow I go to Disney World to celebrate the 50 years of Disney magic...again. lol.

July 17, 1955, otherwise called "black Sunday," was Disneyland's first day of operation. Imagine the day. It was clear. Not a cloud in the sky. A slight breeze. Hot. Very hot! One of the hottest days of the summer.

The day was mainly set as a "preview." Press personal, special celebrities, and dignitaries were invited to attend. Those people would be greeted by Walt Disney. That small little group ended up being a very large mob.

"Our official records indicate that there were 28,154 guests in the Park that day, and I'm not one to tamper with somebody's estimates" noted Van Arsdale France. Van was at the park on opening day.

Not that many people were invited. Some guests cleverly were able to forge Disneyland invitations.

Original Disneyland opening day invitation* Ticket (C) Copyright Disney

It was pandemonium. With 28,000 people in a place that hadn't been made for that many, people were clumped together. People were hot, and frustrated at the large crowds. Someone forgot to lock the doors on Sleeping Beauty's Castle, so people were rummaging through it's innards. It was empty inside, just a shell.

Rides broke down after their first few runs. Disneyland restaurants and snack carts ran out of food and drink. To add to all this, a gas leak in Fantasyland made the entire area closed to the public. The Mark Twain steamboat's deck was nearly level with the water of the Rivers of America; there were so many people on board.

Walt Disney didn't see all this at opening day. He was being rushed around Disneyland in order to host Disneyland's live Television broadcast. The whole opening day was completely televised. Walt read about the opening day fiasco on the next day.

Even though opening day was a mess, the park learned from it incredibly. They saw how people moved through the park. Could now account for proper ride capacity, and could plan to accommodate many guests.

ETA: I can't believe I posted this information without a linked source! Shame on me lol...Well at least I remembered. Here is the link to the site I got this from...

Just Disney

 

[BriarRosie]

C'mon, you haven't noticed that Disney has a problem with counting months?
They are usually famous for 15-month "year" long celebrations. I'm not
surprised the 50 Years of Magic is still going strong.

And by the same token, I justified my week-long birthday at WDW by
using "Disney math". I've done a few of those birthday trips.
I highly recommend them.

 

[jazstar87]

WOOT!

Happy Birthday Disneyland!!!!!

Happy 51 years of magic!

 

[Loves Disney]

C'mon, you haven't noticed that Disney has a problem with counting months?
They are usually famous for 15-month "year" long celebrations. I'm not
surprised the 50 Years of Magic is still going strong.

And by the same token, I justified my week-long birthday at WDW by
using "Disney math". I've done a few of those birthday trips.
I highly recommend them.

I am no where near surprised the 50 years of magic are going strong still either...I am very pleased! lol.

I am not a math fan...but when it comes to "Disney math"...I am an "A" student... lol.

 

[Maleficent2]

that explains it not VMK birthday today it is DL's birthday!!!

 

[Jackoman]

Woohoo! My favorite place in the whole world! (Check out my sig, it's the dedication to DL) Now, I wonder what will happen for DCA's 50th and DL's 100th...