To the editor: In studying this text, I really feel compelled to forged my vote for Disneyland’s first decade as one of the best of occasions for these of us who had been capable of take pleasure in it (“What was the greatest Disneyland era? We look back on 70 years at the happiest place on Earth,” July 17).
Shortly after I turned 5, my mother and father took the household to Disneyland simply two weeks after its opening in 1955. Even in its early days, it match the definition of “magic kingdom” to a T. Whereas I used to be watching a parade, Zorro himself (Man Williams) stopped his horse proper in entrance of me and scrolled a well-recognized “Z” within the air along with his well-known saber. He then dismounted and signed my autograph guide after having his merry band of characters do exactly the identical.
The icing on the cake got here when Walt Disney himself all of a sudden appeared, patted me on the pinnacle and instructed my mother and father “good child.” I suppose it helped that I used to be sporting an official Davy Crockett coonskin hat. To at the present time, I really feel like Disney royalty because of his variety phrases. These of us who bear in mind what an “E” ticket is are a dwindling horde, however even in any case these years, I nonetheless keep in mind that day and the type pat on the pinnacle from the person himself.
Stephen Lash, Carlsbad
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To the editor: Thanks for this excellent overview of the 70-year historical past of Disneyland. Seventy years in the past, after I was 8, my sister was 12 and my brother was 6, my mother and father determined to take us on a five-week drive throughout the nation from the Boston suburbs to Los Angeles to be a part of the grand opening of Disneyland. We drove with out GPS, however with the outdated AAA booklets, to see our lovely nation. Alongside the best way, we stopped at Yellowstone, Bryce, Zion and Yosemite nationwide parks. However what was most memorable was our great time at Disneyland’s grand opening.
All our neighbors got here out to say goodbye as we began our journey, and we drove in an outdated DeSoto with out air con. However we didn’t care as a result of we bought to see a lot. We collected small pendants from every state and discovered to understand this nice nation’s magnificence and pure wonders. Due to this expertise, I’m nonetheless an energetic traveler everywhere in the world, and it began with my mother and father’ need to imbue in us a love of seeing this nation and the world — and naturally, Disneyland.
Fran Lyons, Encino
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To the editor: My dad started working at Walt Disney Studios in 1956 simply after the opening of Disneyland. He would inform us that the Disney motto was “By no means cease creating.” All Disney staff got free tickets to the park yearly. Whereas driving from Hollywood to Anaheim took about two hours because the 5 Freeway was simply being constructed, my mother would pack a lunch to eat within the automotive in the course of the lengthy journeys. Very particular reminiscences.
Cheryl Ortega, Los Feliz
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To the editor: Disney could have created “70 years of magic” however, elsewhere in the identical version of the paper, the Los Angeles Occasions famous that Disney pledged $15 million for President Trump’s library to resolve a defamation lawsuit (“After CBS and ABC’s Trump settlements, Democrats want to curb presidential library gifts,” July 16). That just about cancels out Disney magic in my guide.
Mary Montes, West Hills
