All the media hype is starting to kick in on Disneyland’s 50th Birthday! When Disney does something this huge, it seems to last forever! I was curious when WAS the actually birthday and opening day of Disneyland?
After a quick Google search , I found out it was July, 17th 1955! I have read about opening day in the past and found the article kind of funny! It was by invitation only and the crowds were over whelming!
28,154 guests attended and made the park very uncomfortable! People were forging invites and people were hot and frustrated! Rides broke down, food ran out and due to a gas leak Fantasyland was CLOSED. Back in those days, Walt did a lot of broadcasts and was not even aware of what was going on! It was also broadcasted to 90 million people LIVE as well! Pretty amazing!
Looking back at Disneyland’s history it has gone through a ton of changes! I was lucky enough to go to the park three times. It defiantly has a unique look and distinctive feel to it compared to Disney World! Disney’s major problem was not buying up enough land around the park. Going on some of the taller rides and looking out and seeing Denny’s or gift shops ruins some of the magic. Over the years they did buy up a lot of the land around the parks and even built a second park in the old parking lot of Disneyland. My past visits years ago always made me look back and think about what was there since the beginning.
I look back and sometimes think, what the hell were they thinking? I mean come on how stupid can these ride makes be over the years!
Looking back at Coney Island in the 1900’s and up, where they would have this Steeple Horse ride with no seat belts that went super fast with nothing the hold the person in was just crazy!
Another one was The Human Roulette Wheel a turntable like ride, where this huge disk spins and wipes people out of control into who knows what.
My favorite one and its still standing to this day is Steeplechase’s Parachute ride which looked dangerous as all hell.
Disney’s rides weren’t as dangerous, but they did have some dozers! There was some primitive things back then such as donkey and wagon rides.
My favorite dangerous ride was the “Flying Saucers” in Tomorrowland! They really looked so cool! Air Valves lifted up these pod like bumper cars and made it the coolest bumper cars ever! You can control them and move in a direction with your body. Very Cool! Check out the sites below to see what Yesterland looked like!
Yesterland, the Discontinued Disneyland
The History of Disneyland Tickets and Prices
So What is Disney going to do to celebrate? Check out it out!
Biggest Event in Disney Theme Park History Premieres on May 5, 2005
Click on the link to see all the things going on.
A Question I saw somewhere:
I remember as a kid enjoying a mule ride at Disneyland. Did the park open with that “ride” and when did they close it down?
Mark B., Santa Monica, CA
The Mule Pack was there on opening day in 1955. Mules remained in the park until 1973 (at which time they were called Pack Mules Through Nature’s Wonderland).