The Disneyland Resort is the “Merriest Place on Earth” during the holiday season as guests clamor to experience the all new Christmas experiences on Buena Vista Street and in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure. Many guests will no doubt journey to Walt Disney’s Original Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, to enjoy classic attractions and favorite holiday traditions. We at The Walt Disney Family Museum would like to highlight some of the must see Disneyland attractions guests can still experience today that tie directly back to Walt Disney himself.
So with no further ado we present:
Disneyland - The Quintessential Classics
The Must See Attractions that made Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom
Internationally known as "The Happiest Place on Earth"!
This month’s Quintessential Classic takes a look at a Holiday Tradition that Walt Disney established during Disneyland’s first Christmas Celebration in 1955, participated in each year during his lifetime, and that continues to be a highlight of the Park’s holiday celebration today, The Disneyland Christmas Parade.
As we continue our tour through Disneyland to discover the attractions that tie directly back to Walt Disney, you might notice that guests are starting to line up along Main Street USA on this mild December afternoon. It’s about 3:30, so that can mean only one thing; it’s time for “A Christmas Fantasy” parade to step off at Town Square! Parades have always been a part of the special entertainment at Disneyland, but you might be surprised to learn that Disneyland’s inaugural Christmas parade looked nothing like today’s winter wonderland spectacular. The 1955 parade did not have snowmen, reindeer, or toy soldiers. What it did have was a menagerie of live animals, clowns, and the Mouseketeers. It was an honest to goodness old time Circus Parade to celebrate the opening of the centerpiece of Disneyland’s 1955 Christmas celebration, The Mickey Mouse Club Circus!
On Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 24, 1955, Walt Disney and Davy Crockett himself, actor Fess Parker, lead the inaugural procession on horseback from Town Square to the area near today’s Matterhorn Mountain. The cavalcade that followed included the entire Circus cast - animals, acrobats, clowns and Mouseketeers, marching or being pulled in a magnificent collection of antique circus wagons. Walt purchased the authentic circus wagons from the Bradley & Kaye Amusement Park at the corner of Beverly and La Cienga boulevards in Los Angeles. Also included in this purchase was a dilapidated steam-powered calliope that Walt refurbished at great expense to have operational for his circus. The Circus wagons and calliope were used five years later in the 1960 Walt Disney live action film “Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with the Circus”. The calliope went on to appear at Disneyland up through 1980 where it was repainted silver and blue for the Park’s 25th Anniversary celebration, and then was relocated to Florida for the Walt Disney World Tencennial in 1981. The calliope can now be found at the Tri-Circle-D Ranch at Walt Disney World where it is occasionally used in special parades and community events.
Walt was very enthusiastic about his circus, and wrote “Everyone loves a circus, and I’m no exception,” in the introduction of Mickey Mouse Club Circus program. “I’ve been fascinated by the clowns and the animals, the music and the excitement ever since I worked in one of the wonderful shows for a few days as a youngster…” “It seemed to us that Disneyland was just the right spot for one.” Unfortunately the public was more interested in seeing all of the wonders of Walt’s brand new Disneyland rather than sit for 75 minutes through his Circus spectacular. Not even the Christmas themed grand finale, the “March of the Toys,” described as a cavalcade of Disney Characters parading around a growing Christmas tree in the center of the ring with an appearance by Santa Clause himself was enough to draw the guests into the circus tent. The Mickey Mouse Club Circus would close after 6 short weeks and the red and white striped circus tent would be reused for performances and activities at Disneyland’s short lived Holidayland.
In the years that followed, Disneyland would continue to stage lavish Christmas Parades and Walt Disney would always ride as the Grand Marshal accompanied by several of his grandchildren in each seasons inaugural parade. Though his grandchildren would later admit to being terrified of the experience of riding in these parades due to shyness, they understood that Walt was a proud grandfather lovingly showing of his grandchildren to the world. Beginning in 1957 and running through 1964, Disneyland hosted the “Christmas in Many Lands” Parade. Cultural organizations from across Southern California representing 30 different nations would be invited to march down Main Street in authentic ethnic costumes while performing their traditional dances and holiday customs. The 1960 parade was named “The March of Toys” and included oversized renditions of the fanciful toys from the Walt Disney film “Babes in Toyland.” The iconic Toy Soldiers that still perform in Disneyland’s Christmas parade today were introduced in “The March of Toys.” From 1964 -1976 the Christmas Parade featured classic scenes from favorite Disney films and was known as “Fantasy on Parade”. The Very Merry Christmas Parade debuted in 1977 and ran until it was replaced in 1995 by Disneyland’s current parade, “A Christmas Fantasy”.
Disneyland’s Christmas parades have a come a long way since that first Circus Parade down Main Street USA in 1955, but thanks to traditions like the Christmas Parade and the Candlelight Processional established by Walt Disney during the 1950’ and 1960’s, Disneyland continues to be the place for families to come together and celebrate the magic and wonder of the holiday season, just as Walt intended.
It looks like the parade has finally passed, so let’s make our way over to the Rivers of America in Frontierland where next time we’ll continue our tour exploring the Mark Twain Riverboat and one of Walt Disney’s all-time favorites at Disneyland, The Golden Horseshoe Revue… a Disneyland Quintessential Classic that will be returning for a limited time in January 2013.
Joseph Titizian (pictured on the left as the Christmas Parade passes by, December 2012) is an inaugural member of The Walt Disney Family Museum volunteer team. He is a regular contributor to this blog, and has developed continued education courses for the volunteer team. A lifelong Disney fan, Joseph has previously worked at Disneyland Park and Pixar Animation Studios.