The local Angelenos lucky enough to live within driving distance of Anaheim were treated to Disneyland’s opening day parade on Sunday July 17, 1955. In this shot, it’s making its way up Main Street from the front entrance to the circular plaza where the statue of Walter Disney and Mickey Mouse now stands. I’m not sure what those nine vehicles are in the foreground. Dodge ’em cars? I don’t know who those people are who got to ride in them, but it must have been a memorable day for them. Well, for everybody, I’d say!
Disneyland’s opening day parade makes its way up Main Street, July 17, 1955
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Autorama cars, released from the track. Lucky sods. 🙂
Autotopia.
Kind of funny…the three sanctioned female drivers are all employees dressed in their “space hostess?” uniforms, and probably held to strict guidelines on operating. No California Rolls on Main Street even if you hold an “E” coupon! Guess they weren’t going to leave anything to chance back then. And no doubt that the opening date was likely selected to be between those weeks of early-July and mid-August when temperatures traditionally would blast off faster than the Flight to the Moon or Sky Rocket features.
I remember a documentary recalling that opening day temperatures were extremely hot. So…I looked up some info: “Temperatures reached an intense 100 degrees, which must have been unbearable in a park without working water fountains.”
Suffice it to say, Disneyland on opening day was not the “happiest place on earth.”
10 Things That Went Disastrously Wrong on Disneyland’s Opening Day
1. Fake tickets flooded the park.
2. Traffic was backed up for miles.
3. The park was covered in wet paint and weeds.
4. Visitors wiped out the park’s food and drink supply within hours.
5. There was a plumber’s strike.
6. The weather was scorching hot.
7. The rides kept breaking down.
8. The Mark Twain Riverboat sank.
9. Sleeping Beauty’s Castle almost caught fire.
10. ABC’s live show from Disneyland was a trainwreck.
Details on all of this here:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/541360/disneyland-disastrous-opening-day-anaheim
At first I thought the posted photo above was old and faded looking, but reading about that scorching weather I think it’s quite accurate!
Fake tickets even back then. Some things never change, do they?
They look like the original Autopia cars where the youngsters could drive along a miniature roadway system
Autotopia cars.