Disneyland’s opening day on July 17, 1955 was a nightmare that would become known in Disney lore as Black Sunday — all broadcast live in front of a national TV audience of 90 million, the largest in television history at the time.
Rides broke down. Restaurants ran out of food and drink. A plumbers’ strike meant drinking fountains were in short supply. Long lines formed at bathrooms. Bunting hid unfinished attractions. Women’s high-heeled shoes sank into the fresh asphalt.
Disneyland will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the original Disney theme park on July 17 with the debut of the new “Walt Disney – A Magical Life” audio-animatronic show.
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In 1954, Walt Disney had promised to open Disneyland within a year. It was a pledge most called impossible — if not downright crazy.
Walt Disney crosses the drawbridge that serves as the entrance to the castle in what will be the heart of Disneyland, in Anaheim, California, on April 16, 1955. (AP Photo/David F. Smith)Groundbreaking took place in July 1954 on a 160-acre orange grove in Anaheim about 22 miles south of Los Angeles.
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The project was plagued with problems almost from the outset. Costs skyrocketed to $17 million. Hollywood dubbed Disneyland “Walt’s Folly.” Amusement park operators predicted a spectacular failure.
Walt walked the site daily to offer direction and encouragement, often spending the night in a furnished apartment above Disneyland’s fire station as opening day drew nearer.
In this Sunday, July 17, 1955 file photo, children sprint across a drawbridge and into a castle that marks the entrance to Fantasyland at the opening of Walt Disney’s Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo)By the final month, 1,200 workers were toiling at breakneck speed to complete the project on time — if not on budget.
Disneyland wasn’t ready on opening day, but Walt decided to open the gates anyway to the media, sponsors, studio employees and invited guests. Traffic was backed up for seven miles on the Santa Ana Freeway. The 15,000 expected guests mushroomed to 28,154 thanks to scores of counterfeit tickets.
From left, Walt Disney, California Gov. Goodwin J. Knight and Fred G. Gurley, president of Santa Fe Railroad, are shown aboard the Disneyland Railroad on the park’s opening day, July 17, 1955. (The Associated Press)The crowds weren’t supposed to enter the park until the afternoon. Color coded tickets were intended to stagger arrivals — silver at 2:30 p.m., green at 5:30 p.m., white at 6 p.m. Visitors ignored the colors and times and rushed to enter the park. One enterprising man leaned a ladder against a fence and charged $5 to climb inside the park.
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Carpenters, landscapers and painters worked right up until the beginning of the 90-minute live television broadcast on ABC. The chaos was captured by 24 cameras spread throughout the park.
California Governor Goodwin Knight, left, and Walt Disney parade down Main Street U.S.A. during the opening of Disneyland on July 17, 1955. (Courtesy of Disneyland)Walt arrived at the opening ceremonies at the throttle of the E.P. Ripley locomotive. Art Linkletter, one of the broadcast hosts, stood on the train station platform and proclaimed Disneyland the “8th Wonder of the World.” Crowds thronged Main Street U.S.A. for a welcome parade with a marching band led by a trio of Autopia cars and Walt riding an antique vehicle.
Temperatures reached 87 degrees — one of the hottest July days on record in Anaheim at the time. The Firehouse Five Plus Two jazz band made up of Disney animators sunk in the asphalt that had been laid that morning.
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Tempers flared as TV crews cordoned off areas for remote broadcasts. Fantasyland, Adventureland, Frontierland and Tomorrowland closed and reopened as Walt dedicated each land for the television audience.
Rides and exhibits were incomplete. Bathrooms were unavailable due to construction. Areas were roped off with signs that read “To Be Open Soon.”
Flames licked at Sleeping Beauty Castle because of a gas leak. Water washed across the overloaded deck of the Mark Twain Riverboat. Anaheim Police were called in to assist 15 lost children.
Ronald Reagan, alongside fellow co-hosts Bob Cummings and Art Linkletter at Disneyland’s Opening Day on July 17, 1955. (Photo courtesy of: The Walt Disney Archives)Ronald Reagan, one of the television broadcast hosts, was forced to scale the wall of Frontierland to make one of his scheduled appearances.
At one point, Walt got locked in his apartment above the fire station and couldn’t get out.
Walt never intended for Disneyland’s official opening day to be on July 17, 1955 — which had been dubbed as an invitation-only International Press Preview.
Disneyland’s opening day was advertised in newspapers as July 18, 1955 when the park would officially open to the general public.
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There were no admission tickets sold on July 17 when rides were free to invited guests.
Newspaper accounts all recorded July 18, 1955 as the official opening day when more than 50,000 paying customers pressed into Disneyland at 10 a.m. when the park opened to the public for the first time.
Walt’s brother Roy bought the first ticket. General admission tickets cost $1 for adults and 50 cents for children under 12. Each ride or attraction cost 10 to 50 cents.
Michael Schwartner and his cousin Christine Vess Watkins were honored as Disneyland’s first guests on July 18, 1955. (Courtesy of Walt Disney Productions)Walt posed for a publicity photo on July 18, 1955 with Christine Vess, 5, of North Hollywood, and her cousin Michael Schwartner, 7, of Bakersfield, as the first official visitors of Disneyland.
For decades, Disneyland marked July 18, 1955 as the official opening day for the park. While they were alive, Walt and Roy always insisted July 18 was the official opening day of the park. It wasn’t until the 25th anniversary of the park in 1980 that Disneyland began marking July 17 as the “official” opening date, bending to the legend and making it fact.
As a result of the confusion, retrospective press accounts have blended events from July 17 and 18 into a single narrative that may never be sorted out.
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After the madness of the twin opening days, Disney and his new park were roundly criticized in the press. Newspaper headlines declared: “Walt’s Nightmare.” The media predicted a quick and early demise.
The public didn’t listen.
Visitors arrived in droves and within weeks Disneyland was a success. A slew of rides that weren’t ready for opening day — like Rocket to the Moon and Dumbo the Flying Elephant — debuted over the next few months.
Crowds throng Main Street U.S.A. on opening at Disneyland, July 17, 1955. (File photo by the Orange County Register/SCNG)Within two months, the park had welcomed its 1 millionth visitor. By its first anniversary, attendance stood at 3,642,597.
Seventy years later, Disneyland’s popularity continues to grow, with total overall attendance for the Anaheim theme park resort nearing 1 billion and showing no signs of slowing down.
The information in this retrospective account has been drawn from “The Disneyland Story” by Sam Gennawey, Disney D23 Fan Club, Yesterland, MousePlanet, Orange County Register archives and other published reports.
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