Sweltering temperatures, inoperable rides, massive crowds, and dwindling food and drinks. Disneyland was hardly the “Happiest Place on Earth” during its grand opening on July 17, 1955.
It was 70 years ago that Walt Disney debuted his pioneering theme park in Anaheim, California, promising a fun escape for family members of all ages. He invited around 15,000 patrons—mostly special guests such as Disney studio workers, construction workers, members of the press, and dignitaries—to be the first through the gates. Amid the pomp and circumstance, a number of problems ranging from irksome to outright dangerous emerged in the park.
The day earned the dishonorable nickname of “Black Sunday,” coined by Walt himself. But rather than becoming a public relations disaster for the filmmaking icon and his Imagineering team, the event spurred Walt to make his park bigger and better and kickstarted the company’s global reach.
Disney slept inside the park before opening
Construction of Disneyland began in July 1954, almost exactly a year before its planned opening.
By late spring the following year, the park’s completion seemed implausible. As reporter Bob Thomas explained in his biography Walt Disney: An American Original, the plumbers and asphalt workers of Orange County, California, went on strike, halting work on infrastructure such as bathrooms and water fountains. Although Disneyland construction manager Joe Fowler convinced them to return before the official settlement, the park was coming down to the wire and largely over budget. Still, opening day was on schedule.
Between his regular duties at The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank—the animated classic Lady and the Tramp (1955) was in production at the time—and the park’s construction, Walt frequently worked late and spent a lot of time driving between the sites. So, he decided it would help to have his own apartment at Disneyland.
Located above the Town Square Fire Station building on Main Street U.S.A., the living space was modeled after the Victorian Era and predominantly furnished in cranberry red—a favorite color of his wife, Lillian.
On the eve of Disneyland’s grand opening, Walt decided to spend the night inside the apartment. After a series of interruptions kept him awake until 2 a.m., he finally locked the door and ended up with more privacy than he bargained for. “Everybody kept waking me up, so I got up and locked the door. When I got up this morning, I couldn’t get the darn door unlocked. I had to yell for help!” he recalled.
Little did Walt know his problems that day were only beginning.
The park had a gas leak and ran out of refreshments
Estimates differ, but somewhere between 70 million and 90 million people across the United States watched the grand opening via Dateline: Disneyland, a 90-minute ceremony televised by ABC. Hosted by Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and then-movie star Ronald Reagan, the live special featured a parade with Disney characters and Walt’s now famous dedication: “To all who come to this happy place, welcome!”
The broadcast, which required 29 cameras and miles of TV cable, was an undertaking in its own right. “The rehearsal went about the way you’d expect a rehearsal to go if you were covering three volcanoes all erupting at the same time, and you didn’t expect any of them,” Linkletter remarked. But while viewers primarily saw the fun and fantasy that awaited them, those inside the park were less fortunate.
Thousands of counterfeit tickets helped fill Disneyland to at least double its expected capacity, and traffic backups stretched miles on the Santa Ana Freeway. Because of the large crowds, refreshment stands and restaurants ran out of food. With temperatures reaching the triple digits, women’s heels dug into the park’s newly laid asphalt.
Perhaps worst of all, there was a gas leak that temporarily closed Fantasyland and other sections of the park—though luckily didn’t lead to a fire or explosion.
Disney wasn’t aware of the problems
Preparations for the TV special preoccupied Disney so much he was largely unaware of the issues throughout the park. Though according to Neil Gabler’s Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination, he had a confrontation with a park guard instructed to block pedestrians. “Either you let me through here, or I’m going to hit you right in the face and walk over your body,” Disney reportedly grumbled.
Disney cooled off, despite the infernal temperatures, and retreated to his firehouse apartment. There, he had a patio dinner with Linkletter, and the pair watched the fireworks display that concluded the day. Ever the showman, Disney took notes during the show—analyzing ways it could be improved.
Disney finally realized the scope of the problems while reading news accounts the following morning. One columnist accused Disney of purposely installing fewer drinking fountains to sell more soft drinks. Disney telephoned the writer off the record and said the plumbers strike forced him to choose between installing toilets or fountains first. “People can buy Pepsi-Cola, but they can’t pee in the street,” he said, according to Thomas’ book.
Another writer called the grand opening a nightmare and a “fiasco the like of which I cannot recall in 30 years of show life.”
However, as 70 years of operation might suggest, things quickly improved for Disneyland.
Disneyland quickly became profitable
Walt gathered his staff to discuss how Disneyland could better handle crowds, relieve automobile traffic, and serve refreshments. According to Thomas, he also built relationships with the press—inviting them and their families to the park as his personal guests.
Disney continued to be a hands-on boss, sometimes walking around the park at night in his bathrobe as workers performed daily maintenance for the next opening.
Any negative publicity from Black Sunday was seemingly forgotten, as Disneyland averaged more than 20,000 guests per day by the end of the month and welcomed 3.6 million visitors its first year, according to Gabler. Thanks to its ticket system, with the pay-per-ride attractions divided into different lettered tiers (A ticket, B ticket, and so on), the park proved profitable. The Disney company more than doubled its gross revenue in 1955, earning $24.5 million.
Disneyland has continued to expand over the decades. Today, the resort boasts a second theme park, Disney California Adventure, along with three hotels and the Downtown Disney shopping district.
If not for Walt’s quick response to the problems of opening day, this expansion—and the addition of Walt Disney World and other parks around the globe, may never have happened.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
