Nov. 23, 2007: “Disneyland One Year Old”

[Werner Weiss]

I recently ran across a copy of the Disneyland press release from the first anniversary of the opening of the park. Please read the press release (I think you'll enjoy it) and my comments.

I also included some 1956 photos that Yesterland readers kindly sent to me.

Link to at Yesterland

Please discuss it here

[DisneylandManFan]

[Aladdin]

[Athlonacon]

[matt91304]

http://vintagedisneylandtickets.blogspot.com/

[SciFi96]

[RenMan]

Do you see what I see?



Is Monstro spouting off????????

Now THAT is really a detail that should be added back!

I was thinking the same thing. They should totally make that happen again.

[Schucanfly]

Originally Posted by Aladdin
Do you see what I see?



Is Monstro spouting off????????

Now THAT is really a detail that should be added back!
I was thinking the same thing. They should totally make that happen again.

He DOES. They never removed that.

[Inanimate]

He DOES. They never removed that.

It was broken for a while, wasn't it?

[mousechild]

[Werner Weiss]

Here's where I have to wonder a bit about Disney propaganda. If I remember correctly the 50th anniversery movie states that Disney paid back the loan to build the park in just a few months. But if less than 4 million visitors spent two dollars and change the gross is less than the seventeen million dollars it cost to build the park. What am I missing?

Walt Disney didn't borrow the full $17 million to build Disneyland. Yes, there were bank loans, but there were also investors.

Disneyland was built by Disneyland, Inc., whose investors included Walt Disney Productions, ABC-Paramount, Walt Disney himself, and, I think, at least one other company. It gets even more complicated with other companies that Walt Disney set up—WED Enterprises and later Retlaw Enterprises, through which Walt Disney personally owned the Disneyland and Santa Fe Railroad and the Disneyland Alweg Monorail. And there were lessees who invested in restaurants and retail space.

Walt Disney Productions bought bought Disneyland in 1960.

However, beyond that, I wouldn't trust Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years, the 50th anniversery movie, to be 100% factual.

[mousechild]

However, beyond that, I wouldn't trust Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years, the 50th anniversery movie, to be 100% factual.

Thanks for the reply.

I had heard the 'paid of the park in x months of opening' before but always in some Disney 'propaganda' piece. I have seen very little written by Disney 'insiders' that is very different from the Disney Company PR primer. Which IMHO makes it difficult to ever know the veracity what happens behind the scenes. There seems to be a 'Walt' cult that makes it near impossible to really know much about him or the process of creating the park.