One Year Anniversary

 


 I'm taking a break from the Halloween articles as today marks an important day for A Look at Disney as you see it was one year ago today that my first article was put up on That Guy With The Glasses.  I set up a poll on Reviewers Unknown for you to vote for what I'd be taking a look at on this on my one year anniversary.   It was a close race but in the end, you have picked....       

The Opening Day Celebration of Disneyland

       

Wow, great choice guys. Let's get this party started. On July 18, 1955 the "Happiest Place on Earth" opened for the public for the very first time and today on my one year anniversary, I'll be taking a look back at the special recorded showing Disneyland Opening Day that was aired on ABC. Now this won't be like my other reviews because I don't want to spoil this too much for you. So instead, I'll be going over the hosts, moments that surprised me and showed the age. Then the moments I really liked. so I'll be breaking this down into, Signs of The Time, & Highlights. Now I guess I should talk about the hosts a bit but this really was about the park. Well our three hosts where Art Linkletter best known Kids Say The Darnedest Things, Bob Cummings and a young man who would become President, Ronald Reagan I probably got the biggest kick out of seeing Reagan and knowing that one day he would be President. Though they all did a fine job. Sure there were some on camera flubs but that is to be expected. All in all, they did a fine job. Now before I go too much further into things there is something that I should bring up. Disneyland Opening Day has been nicknamed Black Sunday because of the behind the scenes disasters that took place There were attractions breaking down, a shortage of food and people trying to get into the park with fraudulent tickets. Not to mention it opened in July which on hand made sense because kids were out of school but this was in California and having lived in this state, I can tell you that it gets very hot during July. I bring this up because it is important to take note of the problems that plagued Disneyland when it first opened and to say that while there were these problems, I never noticed an ounce of stress or anger from the hosts or Walt.


Signs of The Time


The Original Mickey & Minnie Costumes

I'm not trying to knock the looks but thank goodness they have evolved. I always wondered why some kids were scared of characters at the park but after seeing this. Is an explanation really needed?

The Woman comment during The Autopia Segment          

Now I realize that this special was aired in the '50s back when female drivers were still new but needless to say a comment was made by one of the hosts when explaining Autopia that there were bumpers and enough space for woman drivers on the track. All I could think was wow. But the thing is, this was said as it was common because back women didn't drive. This comment didn't offend me but surprised me because I go so wrapped up in the special that I forgot when this originally aired. Still, wow!

Tomorrowland 1986

Why do I say 1986? Well, you see when Tomorrowland first opened, it was supposed to show what the world was going to look like in 1986. Well, needless to say that it didn't end up the way ti was envisioned and I don't think anyone at the time expected the future King of Pop to have an attraction there but even still, I got a chuckle out of this just because what Disneyland has been through the years.

Highlights

Now there are many highlights but there a few that I want to focus on because they are just so special. Let's begin.

Walt's Speech    

I had to include this moment. It almost takes the top spot. There is just something about this speech that when I hear it delivered. It sends chills down my spine. It is just so touching and reminds me of what Disneyland is "Our Land". Yes, we may have to pay to visit it but it belongs to the dreamers and the kids in all of us. Can you really put a price on that? Something else that I enjoyed was that each of the lands had their own dedication speech. Thar was pretty cool too.  

Seeing Fess Parker Enter Frontierland

Truth be told, I haven’t seen anything with Davy Crockett or Fess Parker for that matter but even still watching him enter Frontierland riding horseback was something amazing. It just added another layer of realness to the land. Definitely one of my favorite moments.

Fanstayland Opens             

What could beat Walt's speech as my favorite moment from this special? Simple, Fanstayland. Seeing kids and adults alike get to enter the heart of Disneyland and what I consider the most important land was something special. This moment almost brought me to tears. The melody of Disney songs was a nice touch as well. Of course you can imagine, how happy I was when "When I see Elephant Fly" started playing even if the Dumbo costume had the same problem as Mickey & Minnie's. It also made me realize that I have never been on the ride that has the namesake of my favorite movie. I need to fix that and it also made me excited moreso for the Fanstayland expansion that is going on in Disney World. Which I have been on board with for the most part because rumors and I don't think they are true have been circling that when Dumbo reopens in Magic Kingdom, it'll be minus a mouse named Timothy. I don't like this rumor, I rather hate this rumor. No matter back on topic, it was a lot of fun just seeing what Fanstayland and the park in general looked like that glorious day when it opened.

My Final Thoughts

This special was in a word, Awesome! This was such a fun watch and it is something that any Disney buff should check out at least once. To be honest, I'm surprised that this got the most votes out of everything listed. Because I didn't think enough people wanted to know about Disneyland when it first opened. Proves I'm wrong and I'm happy about that because this is probably one of the most fun things that I have watched. To everyone that voted, thanks and to everyone that has read and supported A Look at Disney, thank you. There are so many people that I would like to thank but that would take up another blog. But I won't do that because I don't want to delay the Halloween fun anymore than I already have by taking a break from it today. Instead how about a song.

Good enough for me. Oh alright  how about this one instead

Also thanks to anyone who has read my blog and thanks to Ozzie Arcane for picking me up for Reviewers Unknown. Thanks a ton to anyone that has commented. You guys are awesome.