Disneyland, July 18, 1955

Disneyland Opening Day is typically celebrated on July 17, 1955. While it is true that the Park was open on that day, that was more akin to a soft opening. The actual date where Walt Disney’s innovative theme park wasn’t open to the general public until the following day, July 18. Below is a guest taken shot showing the Sleeping Beauty Castle drawbridge being lowered for guests the second time.





See the guests excitedly “storming the castle”:



A closeup of the still-blank plate for the Disney family crest:



With crest, as seen in this March 1968 image:



Back to 7/18/55 and the recently lowered drawbridge. Note the distinctive salmon colored roof in the background:



Originally, this bandstand was located just off of Central Plaza. It was too big for Town Square (it blocked the view of the Castle) so this is where it landed first:





The Mad Tea Party teacups were a popular attraction from the beginning; the Mickey Mouse Club Theater in the background was replaced by the Pinocchio dark ride in 1983:



The Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship restaurant was not ready for business just yet:



If you look closely, you can see that the windows and other details are not yet complete:



This photo from the collection of Michael Black was also taken on July 18, when scaffolding and work was taken place in plain view of guests:



The Dumbo attraction still had flapping ears at this point; they are now molded in one-piece; much easier to maintain! Note the plywood sitting in this particular Dumbo seat:



The Jungle Cruise attraction:



The Mark Twain was filled with guests, as these were pre-Columbia days. Behind the boat is the Chicken Plantation restaurant:



An unobstructed view of the restaurant:



Next to the Golden Horseshe Saloon was a row of dining establishments, including The Oaks Tavern, Casa de Fritos, and Aunt Jemima’s Pancake House:
 


Tomorrowland got the shaft for Opening Day; there simply just wasn’t enough time to get everything completed in time. An easy fix was to have the 20k League Show, which recycled some of the set pieces from the 1954 Disney classic live-action film:





Were any of you there on that magical day?

See more Disneyland Opening Day photos at my main website.

70 Years Ago: Disneyland, August 4, 1955

One of my longtime readers VERY generously supplied these rare images that they recently acquired showing a visit to Disneyland on August 4, 1955. How do we know the date? Read the back of the photo (and note the Kodak Velox Paper watermark!):



I have assembled these in the order that one would take as they journey to the Park from front to back. I let out a yelp at this one, which is an extremely rare shot of the Disneyland Police Department, which once resided to the left of City Hall:



It was also for Lost Children; wonder if the two tots sitting on the steps were lost or just looking for playmates?



City Hall:



Closing in, we can see a very different type of Disneyland AND the guests that once frequented it. In August 1955, people took time to enjoy life. They dressed up for a special occasion and cherished the friends and family that they were with.



The Bob Gurr designed Carnation Truck shown below. As he recalled years later:

An early sponsor at Disneyland was the Carnation Milk Company. They wanted to have an antique delivery truck parked on Main Street right in front of their Carnation Ice Cream parlor. Walt had me design an antique looking truck which Carnation built right in their own truck maintenance shop in Glendale.  I based the antique design on a “modern” 1931 Model A Ford chassis. A friend made a custom radiator emblem for it naming the truck.....Gurrmobile. I used to get a kick out of 'know-it-all' guests who would tell others how they remember the old Gurrmobiles that were built in Los Angeles long ago. For years it served as a photo-op prop in front of the ice cream parlor. When folks would take each other’s photo seated in the cab, behind them would appear the words 'Carnation Milk'…clever publicity.



Strolling down further our August 1955 guest focuses on the Penny Arcade:



On the opposite side of the street is the Swift Market House. Who was the slob who blocked this shot?!?



Another yelp of excitement when I saw this shot of the Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner, taken BEFORE the hotly contested red/white alternating bulbs were installed:



Look Ma - no light bulbs at the entrance!



This appears to be a ho-hum shot of the Horse-Drawn Streetcar in Central Plaza:



…but when you zoom in, you can see the short-lived Central Plaza Bandstand in the background:



A shot of the Sleeping Beauty Castle was a requirement for all guests (not really, but it seems like it):



The second shot was an occasion for a third yell:



While the uncomfortable siblings holding their Disneyland popcorn containers are fun, the exciting part of the shot is this detailed view of two Disneyland News Boys, hawking their wares:



Guests could have their names imprinted on the Disneyland News for a very fun personalized souvenir:



The Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant was still being finished up one month after the Park opened, as you can see by the surrounding scaffolding:



Over in Frontierland, the name Davy Crockett was a huge draw:



The Mark Twain yielded excitement from our August 1955 photographer:



Written on the back:

Steam Boat, Disneyland, August 4, 1955. We all took a ride in it - Harris, Harold, and I, John and Sherylann.



Tom Sawyer Island had not been constructed yet, but the land could already boast a waterfall feature:



From the Twain, our guests could see a Disneyland Train leaving the Frontierland Depot as it passed around Fowler’s Harbor:



Over in Tomorrowland, the Flags of the Nations were placed in a star formation in front of the TWA Moonliner:



HUGE shout out to the donor who provided this amazing glimpse of Disneyland from seventy years ago!

See more vintage Disneyland photos at my main website.