Disneyland Opened Today in 1955

On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened to the public, complete with a 90-minute live TV special aired on ABC. With hordes of press on location, the affair was a media circus. For people attending the park in person, the launch was a real mess, as thousands of people crashed the party using counterfeit tickets.

Despite the launch troubles in person, the TV coverage was great fun, and it was cohosted by Ronald Reagan alongside Art Linkletter and Bob Cumming. It was a major television event, and you can tell from watching it that such a big show had a lot of moving parts—at one point Linkletter introduces Davy Crockett as "Cinderella." The special aired 61 years ago today, and in a minor coincidence, Reagan accepted the Republican nomination for US President on the same date in 1980. Anyway, strap on your Mickey Mouse wristwatch and go back to 1955 for a wild ride:

(If you'd like to save a copy for later viewing, the Internet Archive lets you download the whole special.)

In 1990, Disney held a 35-year anniversary bash. Here's some TV coverage (again featuring Reagan) from that event, including a sort of blooper/highlight reel of the 1955 event starting just past the 2:00 mark.