Presidents at Disneyland

[Guy Hutchinson]

I recently watched the Disneyland 35th Anniversary TV special. The opening montage showed some shots of US Presidents at Disneyland:

Here is President Reagan giving a speech at DL at the start of the show:


Here is President Truman in front of (what looks like) the Disneyland Railroad:


I think this is Eisenhower and family on the Mine Train:


This shot of Kennedy was also in the intro, so I assume he is at Disneyland in this shot:


Here is President George H. Bush:


In addition, I have seen numerous photos and video of President Nixon at Disneyland (and a photo of him at Epcot.) Here he is entering a sub:


I am pretty sure the Disneyland Hotel has a photo of Jimmy Carter jogging past the America Sings building, but I couldn't find it online.

Has anyone found any other photos of Presidents at DL or any of the Disney parks?

[aashee]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

I think this is Jimmy Carter trying out for Small World:

[Walt's Ghost]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

Another pic of Reagan:

[Anakin]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

Or auditioning as Snow White's Old Hag face character?

In reference to aashee's post.

[Junthor]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

Or auditioning as Snow White's Old Hag face character?

In reference to aashee's post.

he should have got it....



ZING!!

[aashee]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland




Now take a bite!

[Guy Hutchinson]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

Here is another shot of Reagan:

Of course, Ronald Reagan was one of the hosts (along with Art Linkletter and Bob Cummings) of the Disneyland opening day broadcast:

[TrojanSkippa]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

I'm pretty sure those shots of Nixon were when he appeared as Vice President in the 1950's. He was much to busy lieing about things and covering them (you know like a good Republican) to visit Disneyland in the 70's.

[techskip]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

I'm shocked George Jr. hasn't been to the park yet... [insert random insult to intelligence or politically motivated statement here]

[Opus1guy]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

And then there is Robert F. Kennedy...who just two days before his tragic assassination at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles where he was celebrating his primary win in California...was enjoying a day at Disneyland with his children and astronaut John Glenn:



Within just hours after that photo started to appear in newspapers across the country and world...the man who very possibly would have been the next President of the United States...would lie dead from an assassin's bullets.

I'm pretty sure those shots of Nixon were when he appeared as Vice President in the 1950's. He was much to busy lieing about things and covering them (you know like a good Republican) to visit Disneyland in the 70's.

But he did visit Disneyland as the then current President of the United States. He even dined at Club 33 as President. Perhaps the Trophy Room is what gave him the idea of Watergate?

[Hayley B]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

I think this is Jimmy Carter trying out for Small World:

This one made me laugh. Thank you aashee.:lol:

[aashee]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

This one made me laugh. Thank you aashee.:lol:

My pleasure!

Here's one of a Disneyland regular. Was replaced by a Martin. NO, not Van Buren.

[GhostHost2]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

I'm shocked George Jr. hasn't been to the park yet... [insert random insult to intelligence or politically motivated statement here]

He is allergic to fun.

[Guy Hutchinson]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

You are all very funny.

Thanks for posting.


OK... some Mice Chatters are Democrats, some are Republicans.

Can we get past that for this thread? I don't want this to turn into angry thread about who we would and wouldn't vote for.

I think the fact that any U.S. President would go to Disneyland is really cool.


Here are the presidents that lived in the Disneyland era:

Herbert Hoover (d. 1964)
Harry Truman (d. 1974)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (d. 1969)
John F. Kennedy (d. 1963)
Lyndon B. Johnson (d. 1973)
Richard Nixon (d 1994)
Gerald Ford (d. 2006)
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan (d. 2004)
George H. W. Bush
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush

-------------------------------------------

We have photographic proof (on this thread) that the following attended at some point in their lives:
Harry Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Richard Nixon
Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush


-----------------------------------------------------------
The remaining presidents are:
Herbert Hoover
Lyndon B. Johnson
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter (I am going to check the DL hotel. I am pretty sure there is a picture there)
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush




Anyone know if those Presidents have ever visited?

[Guy Hutchinson]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

Here is some info I found on seeingstars.com:

If you have any doubts about Disneyland as a magnet for celebrities, just walk into the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel and take a look at the display of historic photos of VIP's which lines one Wall of Fame (on the west side of the lobby of the Marina tower, near the Fantasia store.) Just about everyone who is anyone has had their picture taken at Disneyland. Take a look at the photos, and you'll recognize countless famous faces.
While Khruschev never made it to the park, just about every other politician and world leader has been here. Included are photos of U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower, George Bush and Harry Truman. Richard Nixon is seen with his wife and adult children on a 1968 visit; President Jimmy Carter was photographed out jogging next to the "America Sings" building, surrounded by Secret Service men. In a poignant photo, Senator Robert Kennedy is pictured boarding the Matterhorn bobsleds with his kids, the day before he was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel.

http://www.seeing-stars.com/Play/Club33.shtml

[Guy Hutchinson]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

I went to the Disneyland Hotel and got the following photo:


So, Carter is in.

I wrote to the Presidential libraries of the Presidents that are not already verified.

I recieved the following emails:

Dear Mr. Hutchinson:

Thank you for contacting the Clinton Presidential Library. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any information about President Clinton appearing at any of the Disney parks.

If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,
Kelly Hendren
Archivist

This one from the Herbert Hoover library:

Mr. Hutchinson:

Thank you for your interest in Herbert Hoover. Mr. Hoover never visited Disneyland, though he was acquainted with Walt Disney through their mutual work with the Boys Clubs of America.

Sincerely,
Spencer Howard
Archives Technician
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library

and this one from the Ford library:

Dear Mr. Hutchinson:
Thank you very much for contacting the Ford Library with your question. I did not locate documentation that President Ford participated at a public event at a Disney Park while he was president.

However, his daughter made two visits to Walt Disney World while her father was in the White House. First, on 6/28/1975, she made a semi-private visit to the park when she was in Florida for an event in Tampa. The Library has a few documents that mention the Disney portion of the trip in Box 5 of the Peter Sorum Papers. On June 20, 1976, Susan opened the new "River Country" area of Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. In Box 44 of the Sheila Weidenfeld Files there are approximately 25 pages of material related to this event, including schedules, press releases from Disney, and newspaper and magazine coverage.

Mickey Mouse was at the White House for a Christmas party for children of diplomats and when Susan Ford was crowned Queen Shenandoah in May 1975. Disney executives were at the White House for a couple of additional occasions.

The Library does have photographs of many of these events as well. If you are interested in photos, please contact Ken Hafeli at [email protected] or (734) 205-0568.

If you would more information or would like photocopies of documents related to the above events, I can select and photocopy up to 10 pages at no charge. For photocopy orders over 10 pages, I can photocopy the entire contents of any folder for $0.75/page.

Also, in September 1978 (after he left office), President Ford went to Walt Disney Studios to participate in a congratulatory message for Mickey Mouse for his 50th birthday. I suggest that you contact Disney for more information about this.

I hope that this information is helpful to your project. Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,

Stacy Davis
Archivist

Gerald R. Ford Library
1000 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Telephone: (734)205-0563
Fax (734) 205-0571
E-mail: [email protected]
Library website: http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov

[aashee]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

Very cool that you got responses Sweetie. Keep up the good work!

[RPerez3]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

Wow. Great job on the research. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[techskip]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

Thank You Sweetie... I am not a political person, but it is nice to see BOTH parties attend a Disney park, and thank you for taking the time to contact the libraries to verify if they were able to attend or not.

[Guy Hutchinson]

Re: Presidents at Disneyland

Thanks guys!

So, to update:

We have photographic proof (on this thread) that the following attended at some point in their lives:
Harry Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Richard Nixon
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush

The following Presidents have not attended (verified by their libraries):
Herbert Hoover
Gerald Ford
Bill Clinton (still living, so he could attend)



The following are still unknown:
Lyndon B. Johnson
George W. Bush


I think I will see if the Disney archives will answer an email regarding this...