Disneyland's first day was a complete disaster

Posted | Contributed by Jeff

When they think of Disneyland, most people picture a well-oiled machine fueled by Mickey Mouse and magic. It wasn’t always that way. In the beginning, many in the industry were skeptical about the new amusement park’s potential.

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Disneyland

If you can get a hold of the now out of print book Roller Coasters, Flumes, and Flying Saucers there are a lot of great stories from the guys at Arrow (who built many of the opening day rides) about the early days at Disneyland.

"When Disneyland opened in 1956, nothing worked."
"Yeah, but John. When Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down the pirates don't eat the tourists."

Last edited by robotfactory,

- Julie
@julie

^ Predictably, that quote was my first thought upon reading the topic title. :)

Clever girl.

Oh, and by the way, I do know that Disneyland opened in 1955. The movie was wrong. ;)

Last edited by robotfactory,

- Julie
@julie

A Crichton book/movie that wasn't factually accurate? Say it ain't so!

http://cse.umich.edu/

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