Before Disneyland became the pinnacle of theme park experiences, it had to go through a VERY dark day.
The Disneyland Resort is celebrating over 70 years of existence right now, which is a miraculous feat in hindsight. Although Disneyland’s opening day is largely looked back on with nostalgic lenses (the words, “To all who come to this happy place: Welcome” remain iconic), the day was ANYTHING BUT magical.
Disneyland Park opened on July 17th, 1955, to what was supposed to be great fanfare and success. However, legend indicates that the park’s opening was a disaster. To quote Jurassic Park (1993):
John Hammond: “All major theme parks have delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked!”
Dr. Ian Malcolm: “Yeah, but, John, if The Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don’t eat the tourists.”
While the pirates from Pirates of the Caribbean couldn’t have eaten since the ride didn’t exist on opening day in 1955 (not 1956), the sentiment remains true: The Disneyland opening day featured LOTS of problems…even beyond rides not working.
Labeled “Black Sunday”, July 17th, 1955, saw Disneyland open to the masses, but issues such as a heatwave that caused the ground to literally melt, a lack of drinking water, food and beverage shortages, overcrowding, and technical failures plagued the park in what is now an infamous date. Brought on by a short turnaround (the park was built in only a year) and steep financial risks, these issues might’ve been preventable under different circumstances. Alas, they happened, and we’re talkin’ about ’em!
Crowd Issues
Opening Day was supposed to be an invite-only preview event, but the day went so poorly that Disney invited back the guests for a Day 2 and hopefully some redemption (July 18th was supposed to be the official opening date, but Disney has since adopted July 17th as Disneyland’s official birthday).
Despite being invite-only, Disneyland faced severe overcrowding on its opening day. 15,000 were expected, but nearly 28,000 attended.
Thousands of folks gained admission with counterfeit tickets (remember, digital tickets are still a fairly recent invention), or even via illegal methods, such as a gentleman charging people to use a ladder to climb over a fence at the back of the park.
As you can imagine, lines were terrible inside the park and out. There was even a 7-mile freeway backup packed with cars headed to the park. It got so bad inside Disneyland that some parents even tossed their kids over the crowd’s shoulders just to get them onto rides.
Food and Drinks Shortage
As you can imagine, Disney wasn’t planning for this much attendance, and that led to food and beverage shortages.
The park wasn’t ready for this many guests, so many went hungry and thirsty.
Heatwave
The only thing worse than overcrowding is overcrowding during a heatwave. Anaheim recorded a 101 °F (38 °C) temperature that day, and it obviously created several issues.
Disneyland’s asphalt was freshly poured on Main Street, U.S.A., due to budget restrictions and a strict timeline, and the soft ground and extreme heat did not get along. The asphalt did not harden, so guests walking to Sleeping Beauty Castle literally sank into the ground. There are even accounts of high heels getting trapped in the sticky surface. There are still some divots in the asphalt to this day.
Plumber’s Strike
With a heatwave in effect, water fountains would’ve been a godsend. However, a few weeks before the park opened, a large plumbers’ strike meant there was only enough time for Disneyland to install either bathrooms or drinking fountains in time for the opening.
Disney opted for bathrooms, and former Chairman of Walt Disney Attractions Dick Nunis recounted that Walt responded to the concern, saying, “Well, you know they can drink Coke and Pepsi, but they can’t pee in the street. Finish the restrooms.”
The beverage shortage laid to rest the debate of which choice was the correct one.
The Rides Didn’t Work
While John Hammond didn’t have the date right, he was right about the rides not working when Disneyland opened.
Timeline and budget restrictions led to a lot of incomplete attractions. Some rides like Peter Pan’s Flight and Dumbo the Flying Elephant were still under construction, and Tomorrowland was merely a picnic area.
Rides also kept breaking down. Autopia, for example, had its fair share of technical issues, and even the Mark Twain Riverboat began to sink since it wasn’t built to accommodate such a high capacity.
If only technical problems were limited to the rides. Unfortunately, there was also a gas leak in Fantasyland that led to the temporary evacuation of three lands.
The cherry on top of the disaster pie was technical difficulties during the live broadcast, which aired on ABC to 70 million people. The live special was anchored by Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan, and it had its fair share of issues. Many guests tripped over the camera cables, the camera caught Cummings kissing a dancer at one point, and overall shenanigans ensued. It was live television, after all.
Regardless, the broadcast was considered mostly a success, and, ultimately,, became the park’s saving grace. All people saw were the celebrities, rides, and Mickey Mouse come to life. It was enough, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
Since its Black Sunday disaster, Disneyland has evolved into one of the BEST theme parks in the world, spawning a second park and an ever-growing theme park resort. Fortunately, Disneyland fixed ALL of these issues, and our park days usually go swimmingly! That’s not to say there isn’t a hiccup or two (and when there is, we’re sure to tell you about it!). However, it brings a tear to my eye to think about how far the resort has come in 70 years.
It’s wild to think about Disneyland being a total disaster compared to what it is now! Let us know about some of your favorite Disneyland improvements over the years, and continue to follow us here at AllEars for all the latest Disneyland updates!
The Most Unbelievable Parts of Disney History
Did you know about Disneyland’s Black Sunday? How are you feeling about Disneyland’s progress over the decades? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Great article. Despite knowing most of this as I love Disney history, I really enjoyed it. Well written and informative.