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DISNEYLAND AT 70: Van France Saw First-Hand What ‘Car-Mageddon’ Looked Like

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
The chaos that enveloped Disneyland on July 17, 1955, has become legendary. Broiling hot weather, ride malfunctions, no working water fountains, too many people. But the bedlam wasn’t just confined to the themed lands inside the berm. There was a madhouse outside the park as well. Van France was given the task of overseeing automobile traffic heading in and out of the park on that fateful day.
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DISNEYLAND AT 70: Jack Lindquist Went From Sweaty Bystander To Disneyland’s First President

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
Jack Lindquist had the opportunity to walk around Disneyland a few weeks before opening day as a representative of Kelvinator, which was one of Disneyland’s many corporate sponsors. He began his self-guided tour by walking out to Town Square, where he saw the railroad station, the opera house, a fire station, and City Hall, all nearing completion. His eyes then glanced at a large department store, called The Emporium, then the Upjohn drug store, the Kodak photo shop and the Carnation ice cream parlor. Then he looked straight up Main Street USA in awe “of a real fairytale castle under construction,” he said. “At that moment, I realized that this Disney guy wasn’t building some nickel-and-dime amusement park. This was an entirely new concept in entertainment. It was damn exciting.”
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DISNEYLAND AT 70: ‘Native Disneylander’ Ron Dominguez Witnessed The Opening Day Chaos

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
In the months leading up to Disneyland's opening day on July 17, 1955, cast members and construction workers were putting in 14-to-16-hour days, seven days a week. Many were spending so much time on The Site, as it was known, that they often said they felt as if they were living there. Ron Dominguez could empathize. In an odd twist, Dominguez and his family did live on a section of the Disneyland property for the first 18 years of Ron’s life.
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