50 things you didn't know about Disneyland

DentonRC.com ^ | Wednesday, November 23, 2005 | By JOHN FLINN

[Jeff Chandler]

On senior ditch day my friend, my future brother-in-law, a friend of his, and I went to Disneyland. My friend and I went our own way in the park because my brother-in-law's friend was sloppy drunk and we knew he'd get busted. Sure enough, when he got to the end of the moving floorway of the Monsanto ride, he plopped face first onto the floor. Security was on him before he hit the ground.

[Jeff Chandler]

A friend of mine's father drove for Carnation Dairy and was Disneyland's first milk man.

[Flux Capacitor]

----About a week ago, I just woke up from a coma that was induced in 1954 when the TV fell on my head.----

Ouch.

[Jeff Chandler]

When my brother and I were little, we bought baby chicks at the swap meet. The chicks grew up to be noisy roosters, so we threw them over the fence one night into Knott's Berry Farm.

Wait a minute. That's a different amusement park. Never mind.

[Lurker]

We got stuck on the It's A Small World ride for 2-1/2 hours when I was about 14. To this day that song still sends chills up my spine.

L

[judgeandjury]

In honor of Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, we present 50 cool, obscure and simply odd things you probably didn’t know about the self-proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth.

I assume by "cool" they mean interesting.

[tophat9000]

My mother went that first summer in 55 to Disneyland, the thing she alway talked about was that the were swarms of bees all over the place from the surrounding orange groves

[Flux Capacitor]

Disneyland is cool as hell. :)

-Dan

[Political Junkie Too]

Many of these tidbits are told to people who take a special walking tour of the park (you can sign up at City Hall).

#2 (basketball court) was because the Matterhorn violated Anaheim building codes (too tall), so the Disney team found a loophole and put the basketball court on the "second floor" in order to reclassify the Matterhorn as a mult-use building, which then made it legal.

-PJ

[logician2u]

Lots of territory is covered on that list. Thanks for posting it!

An interesting sidelight on the original Disney rides and attractions: most of them were sponsored. The Disney-Alweg monorail was already mentioned, but I can think of a few more:

• Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad
• TWA (later, Douglas) Rocket to the Moon
• General Dynamics Submarine Voyage
• Pepsi-Cola Golden Horseshoe Music Hall
• Richfield Autopia
• Monsanto Hall of Chemistry
• AT&T Circarama (America the Beautiful)
• Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship
• Casa de Fritos
• United Airlines Tiki Hut (talking bird show)

In addition, Kodak had an early presence at Disneyland, with a photo shop on Main Street and, as I recall, film booths in each of the four "lands." They also had markers at points that would make a good "Kodak moment" around the park.

Disney believed in competition, though, so GAF also sold film and cameras. You could buy Coke as well as Pepsi, just not at the same place.

Those traveling with pets were also accommodated. Disneyland had a Ken-L-Ration Pet Motel at the main entrance.

As popular as Disneyland was when it opened and is still, even Walt Disney hedged his bets, prefering to share the risk with (at the time) more established businesses. Unlike Disney World, the Disney company bought just enough land for the park and acres and acres of parking. This created an enormous opportunity for hotels, restaurants and other tourist-oriented businesses, which very soon proliferated as the Magic Kingdom attracted families from all over the country and the world.

[indcons]

27. Sleeping Beauty Castle is based largely on “Mad King” Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, but with one big difference: The top is on backward. Disney didn’t want it to look too much like the real thing.

The original is a true masterpiece....

[Ichneumon]

Hmmmm, nothing about the number of unsafe sex acts on Gay Day....

#7 edges into that territory. ;-)

[U S Army EOD]

Explains the length of the comma and the fact they didn't find me until two week ago when they were cleaning out the room.

[Nam Vet]

I went to Disneyland the third day it was open. Half the rides (or better) were not completed yet.

Nam Vet

[Psycho_Bunny]

23. In New Orleans Square, near the Pirates of the Caribbean exit, a door marked “33” leads to an ultra-secret, ultra-exclusive private club. Club 33 is the only place in the park that serves alcohol (including a Chardonnay specially bottled for the club by Fess “Davy Crockett” Parker).

Interesting....when I was young I had lunch in Club 33.  It's very nice in there.  It's a pity I was too young to appreciate it.

[ATCNavyRetiree]

Wew!...at first I thought the title said "NEVERland...and I wuz thinkin' I DON'"T WANNA KNOW!!!!

[truth_seeker]

"We used to sneak pints of liquor into the park inside our coats. We would then buy soft drinks and make our mixed drinks in the bathroom stalls."

My steady girlfriend and I snuck two pints of vodka into the park, for my HS graduation party, June 1965.

[harrowup]

6. The sailing ship Columbia, which is supposed to be a replica of the first U.S. ship to circumvent the globe, actually was built in large part from the plans for the HMS Bounty, of mutiny fame. Disney’s shipbuilders couldn’t find plans for the original Columbia, so they relied heavily on those of Capt. William Bligh’s ship, which had similar dimensions.

At best, that would be John Glenn in Mercury...

[martin_fierro]

I was ON the waiting list for Club 33. FOR THREE LONG YEARS.

"I would never join any club that would have me as a member" -- Groucho Marx

[Theresawithanh]

I was there in 1985 and we did the tour. It was beautiful! We decided to forgo the bus ride and walk up the trail to the castle, which was awesome, but I was in pretty good physical shape back then! Will never forget it.