Today is the 66th anniversary of Disneyland opening day back in 1955!! let’s look at some fun facts that you may not have heard before 🤞🏼
✨Disneyland was not an immediate success. On opening day the weather was very hot, there were traffic jams around the Park, and invitations were counterfeited so the guest count was much higher than anticipated! Rides broke down and the live TV broadcast had many technical glitches. While that first day was rough and critics voiced their complains, it didn’t stop the crowds. In its first year the park welcomed approximately 3.6 million visitors.
✨When he was young, Steve Martin worked at Disneyland selling park guide books and then later at the Magic Shop.
✨There is a golden spike in the ground right as you walk through Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. It was often thought this is the center of Disneyland, but this is not true. Simply by looking at a map you can tell the original center of Disneyland was the Hub, where the Partner’s Statue is now. With the addition of Toontown and Galaxies Edge, the center has moved north but is still not exactly at the spot of the spike. The spike is actually a marker placed in the ground to make sure Sleeping Beauty’s Castle lined up with Main Street U.S.A.
✨The mushroom outside of Alice in Wonderland was the original ticket booth, from when Disneyland used to be on a ticket-per-attraction payment basis.
✨Disneyland used to have ticket books! Guests paid a small General Admission fee to enter the Park, then purchased books with tickets to enjoy the attractions. Tickets were labeled “A” through “E” and corresponded to set attractions. “E” tickets corresponded to the most popular and thrilling rides, which is why you might sometimes hear an attraction like Rise Of The Resistance referred to as an “E ticket attraction.” ✨When Pirates of the Caribbean first opened, Imagineers used real human skeletons as props, obtained from UCLA Medical Center. They were later replaced with fakes and the real remains were given a proper burial. The skull above the Captain’s bed in one of the opening dioramas is said to be the last actual human skull.
✨The Disneyland horses on Main Street all have their own Cast Member name tags.
✨Whenever a body of water is drained and cleaned, the coins tossed inside are collected and donated to charities.
✨The Hitchhiking Ghosts at the end of the Haunted Mansion have names: Ezra, Phineas, and Gus.
✨All the doors on the Storybookland houses actually open and close, so Cast Members can change the tiny lights and do general maintenance and cleaning.
✨The harpsichord in the Haunted Mansion Grand Hall scene is a prop from the Disney movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
✨There are no “corner” curbs on Main Street U.S.A. – everything is rounded!
A few of these surprised me and I love that there is always something new to learn about my favorite place. Happy 66th Disneyland!!
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