Credit: Disney Parks BlogDisneyland is a magical place for people of all ages.
The Park first opened its gates in July 1955 and was the first theme park of its kind. It made history, and the Walt Disney Company and the Parks have continued to do so. The opening of the Park featured family members and friends of the Disney family and Imagineers and ended up seeing over 28,000 Guests walk through the gates on opening day, a shocking and completely unexpected amount.
The Park wasn’t quite ready for that many Guests and had only expected a little over 10,000 people along with a televised broadcast of the event. Although the Park faced problems in dealing with that many unexpected Guests, Walt Disney worked hard after that day to perfect any issues for future visitors.
One of the people visiting the Park on opening day was Dave MacPherson, then a student at a California college. After hearing news coverage about Disneyland’s opening, he drove several hours to stand in line, arriving at 2:00 a.m. and waiting at the gates until morning. MacPherson ended up being the first paying Guest to enter Disneyland, then only $1.00 per admission ticket.
As the first “official” Guest, he was given a lifetime pass to the Disney Parks, which he still used almost 60 years later even after moving to Kansas. He returned to the Park about once a year, bringing family or friends, up until his passing in 2018. Not only was he able to experience the magic of the Park on its opening day (issues and all), but he was able to see the changes the Park had made over the last several decades. As new films and newer technology come out, Disney is always improving and looking forward to see what they can do next. It truly seems like the gift of a lifetime to visit Disney throughout the years and see it’s constant evolution.