Part V: The Grand Opening
Our Story So Far: After countless construction mishaps and budget crunching, Disneyland is now ready to open. Walt's dream of a theme park celebrating family and fun are about to become reality.
Its late Saturday night July 16th, 1955. Walt Disney, after a long day of final preperations and meetings finally retires to his apartment above Main Street, for some much needed R & R. As more problems came up during the night, he was continually having to wake up to deal with those looking for solutions to the problems. Fed up, he angirly slammed his apartment door shut and locked it. When he awoke the morning of July 17, he walked over to the door and found that the lock was stuck! After yelling out for help, workers were able to let him out and thus Walt's big day began.
The gates to Disneyland were set to open at 10 am. Much like today however, guests began arriving EARLY. Roy Disney himself, was caught in the huge traffic jam that was being caused by so many guests driving down to get to the park. As Roy arrived he was shocked to see the LLOONGG line of cars already in the parking lot. An attendant, who recoginized him, ran over and explained to Roy that the kids that were cooped up in their cars for so long, had begun to relieve themselves right there in the parking lot!! Roy's repsonse to that? "God bless em, let them pee."
The Opening Day festivities were to be broadcast live by ABC. This was the largest live broadcast of its time. There were 29 cameras set up around the park and hundreds upon hundreds of yards of tv wire everywhere. The show itself was hosted by Art Linkletter along with his friends Bob Cummings and future US President Ronald Reagan. Because live tv was so unreliable at the time, Linkletter cautioned viewers at home that they may expereince some difficulties during the course of the broadcast, but to sit tight and they would be in for a treat.
There were about 10,000 invitations made up for guests to arrive to Disneyland. But as people lined up, it was apparent that there would be FAR more people that that in the park. There were many people who jumped the perimeter fences and others who presented forged invitations. The official park tally put the number of guests at 28,154, but unofficial numbers put that number at closer to 30,000.The small park was in no way ready to handle that amount of people and the walkways were JAMMED with guests looking for something to do.
Roy Disney actually purchased the first ticket to Disneyland at a cost of $1. (Wouldnt that be nice now?) The ticket stub is locked away in the Disney archives in Burbank.
At 4:30pm, the live broadcast began and Linkletter introduced Disneyland to the viewers in front of the Main Street Railroad Station. He introduced his co-hosts for the afternoon and then attention turned to a train arriving at the station. The train was carrying Walt Disney, Governor of California Goodwin Knight and president of Santa Fe Railroads (Co-Owners of the Disneyland Railroad) Fred Gurley. After stoping to chat with Linkletter, the three proceeded to the Town Square for the dedication ceremonies.
Ronald Reagan introduced the ceremony to the viewers at home and cued Walt to walk up to the microphone to deliver his famous dedication speech. A hush fell over the crowd as he Walt spoke:
"To all who come to this happy place...Welcome! Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the promise and challenge of the futre. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts which have created America. With the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration, to all the world."
After the ceremony, Walt and co. were wisked away in a car and drove down Main St. as part of the opening day parade. Walt himself would only be seen during the different dedications of each land. Because of this, he was completely unaware of the chaos that was taking place around Disneyland.
The first issue arouse on Main Street itself. Because of construction delays, the asphault on Main Street had been poured earlier in the morning and had not yet set when the first guests came in. Ladies who were dressed in their best clothes, soon found that their high heel shoes had actually sunk into the ground and stuck there. There many female guests forced to leave behind shoes that day. All the crowds descending on the park that day overwhelmed the few rides that were operating and many broke down. The concession stands ran out of food and beverages and Fantasyland was forced to close early because of a gas leak.
The live broadcast didnt help matters either. At one point during Walt's dedication of Tommorrowland, the director interupts Walt because the show had not come back from commerical break. "I thought I got a signal", groaned a annoyed Walt. While in Fantasyland, Art Linkletter had trouble finding his microphone as Bob Cummings was gettnig set to send the broadcast back to him. An amused Linkletter begins to laugh as he searches for his microphone while Cummings adds commentary "He's looking for his microphone, he looks all confused.." Finally the microphone was found under a pile of lumber.
It was truly a chaotic day, but at the end of the show Walt and Linketter are shown standing in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. "Walt, you've made a bum out of Barnum", Linkletter remarked, as the two men stood there. Walt quickly thanked everyone that helped make his dream a reality and both men walked towards the castle (But not before Linkletter stumbled over the microphone wire) and brought the show to a close.
What was the media's reaction to Disneyland? They hated it! While some members of the press liked it, most reviews were unfavorable. The headlines the next day screamed "Disney's Folly" and "A Hollywood Spectacular-A Spectacular Failure". The public on the other hand, LOVED the place. As word spread, Disneyland's attendance numbers swelled and on Sept 8, 1955 justseven weeks after opening day, Disneyland celebrated its one millionth guest.
Over the years Disneyland continued to grow and prosper. Walt himself once said "Disneyland will never be complete, as long as there is imagination left in the world." That promise came true, as mega attractions such as the Matterhorn, Submarines and Monorail were added within 4 years of the parks opening. Walt wanted to keep pushing the boundries of theme park entertainment and he strived to make his park the best and encouraged his design teams to push along with him. It was this determination that led to some of the most beloved attractions of all time such as Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion and Its A Small World.
Its been 50 years since the Magic Kingdon openend its gates, but its enchantment has been timeless. Whether its walking through those train tunnles for the first time, or setting eyes on Sleeping Beauty Castle, there's always something magical about it. Here's hoping that the next 50 years are just as magical and full of joy and memories for everyone.
Coming Soon: Some Final Facts and Words from Walt
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