07/18/2026
71 years ago today, Disneyland opened to the public for the first time and it was...a hot mess. Literally. The extreme heat kept the cement from fully settling before the park opened, which meant women were losing their heels in the sidewalk 🙈
THOUSANDS more people showed up than were invited; you heard that right, the very first day of operations was supposed to be invite-only, and people were climbing over the fences to get in! ABC was there, documenting the day, and some of the clips of the broadcast are truly comical because you can see that is was honestly pretty chaotic.
But here we are, 71 years later, and Disneyland is looking better than ever. Earlier this month, Disneyland welcomed its 1 Billionth guest 🤯 That's right. Billion with a B! Walt Disney was a visionary, for sure, but I'm sure even he would be bowled over if he could hear that stat.
Cheers to 71 years, Disneyland! I'll see ya real soon 🤩
