On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened. To celebrate this amazing event, the biggest and most complex live broadcast at the time was orchastrated by ABC. The event was entitled Dateline Disneyland and was hosted by Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan.
The day lived in infamy as "Black Sunday". It was over 100°F that day, and the newly layed asphalt was still soft, steeling many high heels off of the female visitors. There was a plumber's strike during construction, so Walt choose to have runnig toliets instead of water fountains. There were gas leaks and blackouts all over the place that day. Venders ran out of food. Thousands of uninvited vistiors came into the park via counterfite tickets or hopping over the berm. Critics everywhere blasted Walt and his park, saying it would close shortly.
The next day, crowds started showing up at 2:00 AM, and the first visitors were awarded lifetime passes to Disneyland. And just 6 weeks later, Disneyland welcomed it's one-millionth guest.
Tha park was a hit. And it was still growing...
^The scale model of Disneyland on opening day that was on display in Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years.
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