#Disneyland60.......Today In Disneyland History.......August 27, 1955

Mickey Mouse Club Theater Opens

August 27, 1955

Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me?

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Hey there, Hi there, Ho there! You're as welcome as can be!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Mickey Mouse! (Donald Duck!)

Mickey Mouse! (Donald Duck!)

Forever let us hold our banners high,

High, high, high!

Come along and sing a song and join the jamboree!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Mickey Mouse Club!

Mickey Mouse Club!

                                           

On August 27, 1955 The Mickey Mouse Club Theatre opened in Disneyland's Fantasyland. The air-conditioned theatre presented various Disney cartoons, and at one point it was the home to the 3D Jamboree featuring the multi-dimensional Mouseketeers in color as well as introducing the short films Melody and Working for Peanuts — all in 3D. In 1964, the theater was renamed the Fantasyland 

Theater.

Bruce Healey, senior music director/producer for Disneyland Entertainment Productions, remembered working in the theater. “In the days of the Fantasyland Theater of old, which was a little movie theatre in Fantasyland, we converted that to a live performance venue for this music education show that ran for about six months called “Fun With Music” which was an educational program that the company put together. This was about 1976 or ’77. It was a live stage show with film and live performers and a six-piece band that I was the leader of and I played the piano. There were these little opera boxes on either side of the theater that we made into an orchestra pit. Three of us were on one side of the theater and three of us were on the other side, which was a very challenging thing to deal with in terms of staying together.” The Fantasyland Theater took a final bow in 1981 and “Hey there, hi there, ho there” made way for “Hi diddle dee dee” when Pinocchio’s Daring Journey attraction debuted in its place in 1983. And that’s what happened today in Disneyland history.

Trivia Time!  Can you name all of the original Mouseketeers?  Who was your favorite?  Bonus points if you can name what each day of the week was on "The Mickey Mouse Club".

#Disneyland60.....Today In Disneyland History........August 19, 1955

Case de Fritos Opens

August 19, 1955

On August 19, 1955 Casa de Fritos, located next door to Aunt Jemima's Pancake Restaurant invited its first hungry guest in month   after Disneyland’s opening. In addition to great food, the Mexican eatery featured a unique Frito Kid chip-dispensing machine that gave you a bag of Fritos Corn Chips for only a nickel. The Frito Kid stood just inside the door as you walked to the counter. Guests would put a nickel in the cash box on the fence and the Frito Kid came to life. While rolling his eyes, licking his lips, and turning his head, his recorded voice would holler back to his unseen partner Klondike inside the mountain to send down some more of those “golden chips of corn,” and then a wax-paper bag of Fritos Corn Chips would slide down the chute.  Park visitors loved this Mexican restaurant that served favorites such as the Frito Chile Pie - a bag of corn chips sliced open and topped with chile and melted cheese as well as the popular“Ta-cup” which was made up of ground beef, cheese, lettuce, and sauce in a fried corn dough cup.

Originally located in the corridor known as “New Orleans Street” this restaurant favorite soon outgrew its space, and was replaced by Don DeFore’s Silver Banjo BBQ. When the Casa de Fritos moved next to the Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland attraction on July 1, 1957 the Frito Kid also went to the new location, but was moved from the right to the left of the chute, minus the booth with the racks of potato chips, etc. The mountain mine set was also redesigned to accommodate the different angle of the chute.

Photo Credit Imagineering Disney

Today in the original location of the Casa de Fritos is the ever-popular Rancho del Zocalo Mexican Restaurant. A few architectural remnants still remain and the archway with broken adobe and exposed brick that was once the main Casa de Fritos entrance, now serves as an entrance to a dining area of Rancho del Zocalo.  In addition, the adobe/brick oven is still there today but with tables and chairs in front.  The days of the Casa de Fritos and the Frito Kid may be a distant memory, put the tradition of top notch Mexican food for reasonable prices still lives on today at the Rancho del Zocalo.  And that’s what happened today in Disneyland history.

#Disneyland60.....Today In Disneyland History......August, 18, 1958

Carnation Plaza Gardens Opens

August 18, 1958

It was the longest, continuous running swing dancing venue in the United States and possibly the world. Louis Armstrong played there. Walt Disney danced there. It was located in California’s most iconic location, Disneyland. It was the Carnation Plaza Gardens. While the stage was forever altered with the addition of Fantasy Faire Village, the memories and history of Carnation Plaza stage has been captured forever in a remarkable little documentary that we are delighted to share with you today. - The Stage Walt Built – A 1313 Documentary

On August 18, 1958 the Carnation Plaza Gardens opened in the Plaza Hub next to Sleeping Beauty Castle. An outdoor bandstand and dining locale, the Plaza became a popular site for "Date Nite at Disneyland," the following year. The Original Disneyland Bandstand was built in 1955 and was located in the middle of Town Square but a month before Disneyland opened, Walt Disney decided to have it moved just to the left of the castle so as not to block parades and the Main Street transportation cars. Later, a more permanent bandstand was built, known as Carnation Plaza Gardens. Many of the greats of the musical world over the years including the likes of Louis Armstrong, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Harry James, The Osmond Brothers, Lionel Hampton, Tex Benecke, Cab Calloway, and Stan Kenton graced the stage of the Plaza. It was not uncommon to find Walt and Lillian Disney dancing the night away and it was Walt’s wish that swing dancing would always have a place in Disneyland. 

Over the decades, it was the Carnation Plaza Gardens that gave high school bands, choirs, and orchestras a place to showcase their talents but ultimately it was the Swing Dancing in the evening on weekends that it was most noted for. On April 30, 2012, Carnation Plaza Gardens at Disneyland park held it’s last night of dancing and closed its dance floor in order to be reimagined into the new Fantasy Faire which opened on March 12, 2013.  A To honor the original Carnation Plaza Gardens, a plaque was placed in one of the towers commemorating the site's original usage. Following a nearly 14 month long hiatus, the decades old tradition of Saturday evening swing dancing returned to the former Carnation Plaza Gardens to the newly created stage area of the Royal Theatre which features several small stage shows based on Beauty and the Beast and Tangled during the day as part of the entertainment you can enjoy at the new Fantasy Faire.

The theming of the area has changed significantly to reflect a royal, Fantasyland style, and courtyard. As a result Disney has changed the name of the dancing event to the “The Royal Swing Big Band Ball“. In spite of all of the changes the area has undergone, one significant aspect of the former space was saved- the original dance floor.  Be sure to check the Disneyland entertainment schedule and bring your dancing shoes to dance the night away the next time you visit the Happiest Place on Earth. And that’s what happened today in Disneyland’s history.

#Disneyland60.....Today in Disneyland History.....August 17, 1981

First Disney Transportation Used Outside the Park

The PeopleMover

August 17, 1981

On August 17, 1981 the WEDWay PeopleMover opened at the Houston International Airport in Houston, Texas. The People Mover System was originally constructed by Disney's Community Transportation Services division and with it’s debut in Houston, history was made as it marked the first time ever that a Disney transportation system was used outside of the theme parks.

The PeopleMover, sometimes referred to as the Goodyear PeopleMover or the WEDWay PeopleMover, was a transport attraction that operated from July 2, 1967 to August 21, 1995 in Tomorrowland at Disneyland.   Guests boarded small trains that ran on elevated tracks for a "grand circle tour" above Tomorrowland by entering the attraction's vehicles that were always in constant motion, and were accessible by a large turntable inside the station. The trains were not powered by motors within themselves, but rather by being pushed by rotating tires each with its own electric motor, embedded in the track once every nine feet.

Each car included its own sound system that broadcast a continuous audio commentary and soundtrack, relative to the train's location. The commentary pointed out Disneyland's attractions along the way as well as announcing promotional items.

The tour continued from the center of Tomorrowland through many of Tomorrowland's buildings, for a look inside, and then over Disneyland's Submarine Lagoon and Autopia areas, before returning to Tomorrowland.

In 1977, the SuperSpeed Tunnel, located in the Carousel Building, then housing America Sings was added to the ride. Here race cars were projected on the walls all around the trains. In 1982, the scenes were changed to clips from Tron's light cycle race scene, and the tunnel was renamed Tron SuperSpeed Tunnel. These were edited clips of World of Motion's SuperSpeed Tunnel movies designed to look like computer generations.

Sadly, the PeopleMover closed on August 21, 1995 and was replaced by the short-lived Rocket Rods in 1998. The ride track infrastructure, which served both the PeopleMover and Rocket Rods, still stands unused in Tomorrowland.  And that’s what happened today in Disneyland’s history.

#Disneyland60.....Today in Disneyland History......August 16, 1955 and August 16, 1958

Dumbo the Flying Elephant Takes Flight

August 16, 1955

1^st Fire Truck Added to Main Street USA’s Fleet

August 16, 1958

“The very things that held you down are gonna carry you up and up and up.” ― Timothy Mouse

On August 16, 1955, everyone’s favorite elephant Dumbo, first took flight in Disneyland.  Based on the character from the 1941 animated feature, passengers are given a feather that allows them to board one of the sixteen ride vehicles each painted to resemble Dumbo.  The ride was scheduled to be one of Disneyland's opening day attractions, but instead opened a month after the park's grand opening, due to the fiberglass prototypes weighed 700 pounds. For the first two years, the hub of the original Dumbo ride lacked the disco ball with the Timothy Mouse figure. Also, the original Dumbos has hinged ears that were supposed to flap, but failed, due to a number of mechanical problems.  The ears remained stationary until the mid-1960s, when new Dumbos were given casts with no hinges for movement.

During his 1957 visit to Disneyland, former United States President Harry S. Truman politely declined a ride on Dumbo the Flying Elephant, due to the elephant being a Republican symbol. Dumbo was not always located in the heart of Fantasyland as it is today. In 1983, as part of Fantasyland's major remodeling, the ride was moved to where Skull Rock used to be, allowing Dumbo's original location to be a shortcut to Frontierland. It was completely rebuilt with a kinetic toymaker-like design, although there were still ten elephants and Timothy still held the whip. In a featurette of the ride, as shown on the DVD release of the film's 70th anniversary, head Disney Imagineer, Tony Baxter noted that the new ride looked like one of Gepetto’s inventions.

In 1990, the attraction was updated with the sixteen rainbow-colored vehicles and Timothy's magic feather.  Today Dumbo remains one of the most beloved and iconic Disneyland attractions that is sure to lift your spirit and remind you that, if you believe in yourself, anything is possible!

On August 16, 1958 the first Fire Truck made its way down Main Street USA as part of the Main Street Vehicles. A replica of a 1916 fire engine, the fire truck was a reminder of simpler times at the turn of the century. It’s also serves to remind us all of Walt Disney and how much he loved to drive it around Disneyland in the mornings before the park opened. Today you can hop on for a nostalgic ride to Sleeping Beauty Castle or Town Square. Along with fire engine Disneyland guests can choose from a classic horse-drawn streetcar, omnibus, jitney and sit back they are transported from one end of Main Street, U.S.A. to the other. Along the way, make sure you take in the 2 and 3-story-high, Victorian-themed shops and restaurants that adorn Main Street USA that remind us all of a time and place long since passed. Pick up points for these one-way trips are located at the transportation stops in Town Square and at Central Plaza in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle  (excluding parade times). Whether you’re hopping on board Dumbo, or one the Main Street Fire Truck, both will remind of what happened today in Disneyland’s history.