As most Disney fans know, Disneyland opened to media previews (and a live broadcast on ABC – titled Dateline Disneyland) on July 17, 1955 – and to the general public the next day.
In honor of the recent 63rd anniversary, today we take a quick look at the attractions that were in operation in the park on Preview Day – with a twist. The twist – instead of a circular path around the park via the Disneyland railroad, we will follow the same route used by television cameras on the live broadcast. 
Our tour will include stops on Main Street USA, Frontierland, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland and wrap up in Adventureland. Along the way, we’ll look at each attraction and provide a brief history of building, operation, and legacy.
On Preview Day, nineteen different attractions awaited invited guest, gate crashers (the original park hopper, if you will) and a national television audience. Of these, five have closed and moved to ExtinctAttractionLand, two others still stand, although in relocated positions. The remaining eleven are still open.
Before entering the park, guests lined at the one of 32 turnstiles making up the Main Gate. Once inside were greeted by a 25-foot-wide floral Mickey Mouse portrait.
Beyond the floral portrait stands the Santa Fe Disneyland Railroad Main Street Station. After walking under the left or right side tunnels under the railroad tracks, a stairwell leads to the boarding platform. Two engines were running on Media Preview Day, the C. K. Holiday and E. P. Ripley – each engine being 35 feet long. A third engine would not be added until 1958. Both engines were built at the Disney Studios in Burbank, CA and then trucked to the park to be placed on the rails. As is the case with the architecture of park, the trains were built on a 5/8 scale. The rails were laid 36 inches apart, versus the railroading standard of 56.5 inches.
Seating on the trains were either forward facing passenger cars, or cattle cars were guests stood and looked out horizontal slats in the car panels. While the train would take a full circuit 1.3-mile tour of the park, the only stops were Main Street and Frontierland. Fantasyland’s station would open in 1956, and Tomorrowland in 1958. 1958 also would see the addition of the Grand Canyon Diorama between Tomorrowland and Main Street Station, with dinosaurs being added in 1966. Walt’s love of trains and personal scale model railroad on his home property helped serve as inspiration for Disneyland. The Disneyland Railroad version also serves as the boundary to the park. The track itself has been altered recently in preparation of Star Wars Galaxy Edge, causing the rails to make a left turn for the first time.
Behind the Main Street Station sits Main Street USA, showing guests a look at small town America at the turn of the 20th century. Shops and eateries sit inside the 5/8 scaled buildings that line the road and sidewalks. Unless embarking via the Santa Fe Disneyland Railroad, it is necessary traverse Main Street USA to enter any other part of the park.
For guests who don’t want to walk, three Main Street Vehicles were available to carry guests to The Hub, where different paths lead to distinct parts of the park. A streetcar, a surrey – a four wheeled carriage without doors, and a horse drawn fire wagon. All three vehicles were led by horses – only the streetcar is still utilized in the park. Metal tracks are laid in Main Street to guide the street car – with two tracks laid so multiple streetcars can be used at once. The streetcars have received a recent update, as new track was laid in early 2018. Each car can hold 30 passengers and are led by one Percheron or Belgian horse. The surrey was in operation until 1971. The horse drawn cart carried only eight to ten guests on three benches. The shortest lived of the horse drawn vehicles was the fire wagon, which lasted five years. This hose and chemical wagon was led by two horses and is now housed in the Town Square Fire Department. Motorized horseless carriages were introduced in 1956.
Traveling down Main Street towards the castle, on the east side of the street, stands the Main Street Cinema. Still in operation, this building features six different screens and no seats – only rails to lean on and a raised platform in the center of the room for children to view the screens. During Media Preview Day and the following thirty years, these screens played silent films from the turn of the century era. Interestingly, Disney properties would not be shown until the 1980s.
Further north on the west side of the street is the final Main Street attraction to open on Media Preview Day, the Penny Arcade. As the name implies, this was an opportunity to view nickelodeon-style hand cranked silent movies, fire shots in the Main Street Shooting Gallery – which opened on July 24, 1955 and lasted until early 1962 – and play other simple games in this still operating building, where guests are greeting by the fortune telling Esmeralda.
Traveling north along Main Street, we come to The Hub, the gateway to other lands in the park. Located 800 feet from the Main Street train station, it is from here guests can begin their “choose your own adventure” into the different realms Disneyland has to offer. As we follow the Dateline Disneyland itinerary given to viewers on Media Preview Day, we head west into the wild Frontierland.
If Main Street USA gives a look at small town America at the turn of the 20th century, then Frontierland offers a glimpse of small town America at the turn of the 19th century. After crossing a bridge over a small pond, guests enter Frontierland by crossing a wooden stockade. The first sight they see are pounded dirt roads with shops and wooden sidewalks on both sides of the street. Straight ahead is the Rivers of America and the loading dock for the Mark Twain Riverboat. When the park opened, Frontierland covered 20 acres, spanning more than one-third of Disneyland, area wise. Frontierland was intended to look vast, representative of the openness of the American frontier in the 1800s. During the television broadcast, Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen portrayed their characters from The Ballad of Davy Crockett, dancing, firing their rifles and then helping load guests on some of the animal attractions.
At the end of the nameless Frontierland main street, on the south side, stands Slue-Foot Sue’s Golden Horseshoe
, sponsored by Pepsi Cola. The exterior of the two-story Golden Horseshoe was painted in white with gold trim. The building quickly became the centerpiece of Frontierland. Entering the 2500 square foot room designed by Disney Legend Harper Goff, guests were able to find seating at dining tables along the main floor or along the upstairs balcony. To stage left, counters offered dining concessions (because of the food, the show was free entertainment once ticket books were introduced later in 1955).
As extravagant as the show building is, The Golden Horseshoe Revue was the star attraction. Technically the first attraction to open in the park, the curtain rose for this show on July 16, 1955 for a private event for corporate sponsors of Disneyland and ABC Television. Starring Wally Boag, Judy Marsh and Donald Novis along with a string of can-can dancers, the show entertained guests with dance, song and comedy. Betty Taylor and Fulton Burley would later replace Marsh and Novis respectively, while Boag would stay with show until 1982. The Revue would run until 1986, being performed over 50,000 times and being named “the world’s longest-running live stage show” by Guinness Book of World records.
Kitty-corner to the Golden Horseshoe building stands the landing dock for our next Media Preview Day attraction, the Mark Twain Riverboat. This 105 foot long paddle wheeler served as the focal point of Frontierland, as it could be seen from The Hub when it was docked to board and unload guests, drawing guests to the banks of the Rivers of America. 
The ship itself was built in two stages – the steel hull in the shipyards of Long Beach, California, and the wood decks at the Disney Studios in Burbank, California. The maiden voyage of the Mark Twain occurred on July 13, 1955, during a private celebration of Walt and Lillian Disney’s 30th wedding anniversary. Irene Dunne had the honors of christening the vessel during the Dateline Disneyland broadcast. While the boat has been placed in dry dock many times for work to be done on it, and the Rivers of America, which it travels via underwater rails, the attraction is still in operation.
To the north of the passenger loading dock of the Mark Twain, park guests were able to find other avenues of transportation for their journeys. The first option being the Mule Pack – the only live animal ride attraction to have operated at Disneyland. A line of nine mules, led by a horseback riding cowboy cast member would lead along a dusty trail for a supposed ten-minute ride in the area that would eventually be built into Rainbow Ridge. The animals controlled the pace however, and if they spooked (due to guest behavior or the steam while of the Mark Twain, as examples) the ride would last longer. The mules were purchased by Disney for the park at a cost of $50 a head and were housed in the Pony Farm while off duty – an off-stage area of Frontierland that also housed the horses that pulled the Main Street Vehicles. The Mule Pack would trot until 1973 before being retired.
Guests who didn’t want to ride on the mules had another option at the same loading area. The Stage Coach offered guests – twelve at a time – an opportunity to be led by four horses along the same trails as the Mule Pack. The Concord stages were large wood vehicles that sat six on top and six on the interior. 
Four large wood wheels were attached to each of three the stages, which had yellow flourishes on the sides of the stages and adorned with “Disneyland Stage Lines – US Mail” over the doors. Like the mules on the same trail, the teams of horses would also spook from time to time due to the commotions of the park and would occasionally turn the stages over. Primarily for guest safety, the attraction would be shut down in 1960.
Having finished the opening festivities in Frontierland, the productions crews of Dateline Disneyland turned their attention towards the east side of the park, and the future as Tomorrowland was given its time to shine. This land became a larger challenge than anticipated. The area was behind in construction. Some attractions, such as the Rocket to the Moon were not opened to guests until days or weeks after the broadcast. The Moonliner rocket ship out front of the show building was on display, however.
Of the Tomorrowland attractions ready for guests was a problematic ride, Autopia. Guests of all ages could drive a miniature car, engineered by Disney Legend Bob Gurr. Drivers drove along the paved road over three acres of land designed by another Disney Legend, Marc Davis. Guests would end up rear ending each other frequently. Damage to the fiberglass bodies and soft aluminum bumpers ended up taking many cars out of operation quickly. By the time Disneyland closed on Media Preview Day, only two cars of the original 40 were still on the track. Cast members worked overnight to allow the attraction to operate for the general public the following day. Stronger, more durable versions of the cars would debut later in 1955. The Richfield Oil Corporation sponsored the “freeway of the future.” The track itself would be updated in 1965 with a center rail to keep cars from hitting the curb or running off the road all together. Other versions of the attraction have been placed near the original, but only the original operates today.
Closer to the Main Street entrance of Tomorrowland stood the Hall of Chemistry. This show building was more of an exhibition hall for attraction sponsor Monsanto and required no admission to enter. Exhibits displayed the benefits of chemical engineering in the American home, including synthetic flooring – using the tagline “Carpet makes it home.” Walls were covered with electronic displays and over-sized test tubes filled the commercially educational attraction. Hall of Chemistry would close in September 1966, to make room for another Monsanto attraction, Adventures Thru Inner Space.
Across from the Hall of Chemistry was Space Station X-1, the final attraction to open in Tomorrowland on Media Preview Day. Guests stood on a balcony and peered down at a painting of the United States from “90 miles above the Earth”. 
The painting was created by Disney Legends Claude Coates and Peter Ellenshaw. This artistic approach was necessary as this was two years before Sputnik 1 or any other satellites had been launched into orbit. Looking at the map, guests first saw the eastern US seaboard. Three minutes later they saw the western US at sunset, giving the illusion of travelling at 60,000 miles in orbit. Once satellites were launched, Space Station X-1 would be renamed Satellite View of America in 1958 and would remain open until 1960.
Upon completion of Tomorrowland, the cameras of Dateline Disneyland turned their gaze up the crown jewel of Walt’s Park, Fantasyland. The vision for area land was utilizing Disney’s animated catalog to make the area familiar to park guests, just as Main Street USA was intended to be familiar as guests enter the park. Walt wanted each attraction show building to have a village building look representative from the tales each ride was drawn. Due to budget and time, this initially did not happen. Instead, show buildings were given a medieval look to match the cornerstone of Fantasyland, Sleeping Beauty Castle. Banners and pennants adorned the show buildings and roofs. This royal faire look would last until a major remodel in 1983, when the village building look would finally take shape.
The first Fantasyland sight seen is visible from the Town Square on Main Street, Sleeping Beauty Castle. This building was one of the first to be complete in the park – second only to the Opera House on Main Street, which was utilized as a lumber mill for park construction. The reason Sleeping Beauty Castle was completed early was to give construction works a symbol of what they were working towards. The castle itself was unique in that it represented a movie that had yet to be released (Sleeping Beauty would premiere in 1959).
The structure itself stands 77 feet tall at the highest spire and uses forced perspective to looked taller – larger stones used at the base and smaller stones drawn into the cement walls at the top. The draw bridge, lowered during the Dateline Disneyland broadcast, was not intended to be raised or lowered until a last-minute request was made by Walt. By design, park guests are not able to see the shops built into the castle until after crossing the draw bridge and moat. However, the carousel is visible to guests on Main Street, intended to help draw them towards Fantasyland. Two years before the opening of Sleeping Beauty, a walk through diorama display was added to the second level of the castle – which would last until 2001 – and return seven years later.
Just beyond the palace entrance stands the first Fantasyland ride experience, the King Arthur Carrousel – a majesty 68 horse riding experience. Though named after King Arthur, of Sword in the Stone fame (another future attraction, being released in 1963), the attraction itself references Sleeping Beauty with nine painted murals seen on the core of the carousel. Walt’s concept for this attraction was a galloping herd of horses. However, the carousel purchased for the park was originally built in 1875 as a merry-go-round with a menagerie of different animals. Additional steeds were acquired from different amusement parks. Benches from the purchased carousel were removed and installed on the ride vehicles of the Casey Jr Circus Train. Walt insisted only prancing horses appear on the carousel, creating more work as standing legs had to be removed and leaping legs attached to some of the steeds. During a major remodel of Fantasyland in 1982-83 the attraction was moved sixty feet north to ease the congestion at the castle entrance.
Directly behind the carousel stood the next attraction, Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, inspired by Alice in Wonderland. These eighteen colorful spinning tea cups first appeared on a grey spinning disc which would later be painted with red and orange spirals. Ride time has stayed consistent at 90 seconds (shortest ride length in the park). In Wonderland fashion, while the ride has remained the same, it has also gone through changes – the largest being moved east by 50 yards to be closer to the Alice in Wonderland dark ride attraction and to accommodate the moving King Arthur Carrousel during the early 1980’s Fantasyland remodel.
To the west of the carousel stands the first dark ride attraction of Fantasyland, Snow White Adventures (renamed Snow White’s Scary Adventures in 1983). As the edited name implies, the attraction is thematically darker than many guests had initially expected, from the Evil Queen’s many appearances and transformation to the old witch. Park guests would board mine carts, each engraved with a name of one of the seven dwarfs and head off on a retelling of the 1937 movie. Until the Fantasyland remodel, the namesake character failed to show on the ride – Disney’s hope was guests would believe they were seeing the ride through Snow White’s eyes. Most guests missed this intended perspective, forcing the change.
On the east side of the courtyard stand two other dark ride attractions. Closest to the palace entrance is Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Unlike its Snow White cousin, this dark ride always included a cautionary adjective in its name. However, as wild as the twist and turns of ride are, the main goal is to make guests laugh. The show building itself is two stories, though the retelling of Wind in the Willows only takes place on the lower level. The yet to be built Alice in Wonderland dark ride attraction would occupy the second floor. Park guests board an out of control antique motorcar and head off on a quick tour of London, complete with a police chase – resulting in a trial. The ride ends soon after guests arrive at their unintended final destination, Hell. The interior was updated during the 1983 Fantasyland remodel.
Next door to Mr. Toad is the final dark ride of Media Preview Day – Peter Pan Flight. Perhaps the most fanciful of the attractions in Disneyland, Peter Pan Flight featured an inverted track, enabling the pirate ships to fly seven feet above miniatures of London’s Big Ben and through Neverland before encountering a showdown with Captain Hook and rescuing Tiger Lily. As with Snow White, Peter Pan failed to make an appearance in his namesake attraction until 1983, although his shadow was seen. During the Fantasyland remodel the attraction name was changed to the possessive Peter Pan’s Flight.
One more attraction stood in Fantasyland, the second of Disneyland’s the three boat rides. Near the back of Fantasyland was the queue for Canal Boats of the World,
an open-air voyage through…dirt banks. Walt had wanted to have miniature buildings and plants covering the one-acre ride, representing an international cruise through different river banks. Time and money created construction issues, resulting in no buildings and minimal landscaping on the attraction. The Canal Boats of the World attraction would be short lived – closing on September 16, 1955, less than two months after opening. It would be rethemed and reimagined, reopening in 1956 as Storybook Canal.
During the canal boat voyage, one site park guests were able to see on the eight different Canal Boats was the track, and eventually the actual Casey Jr. Circus Train attraction, once it made its official debut on July 31, 1955. It’s worth mentioning here as the Dumbo inspired train ride did appear on the Dateline Disneyland telecast. However, the train engine was deemed too light and was unable to climb the steep grades of the hills. Workers had to level the terrain and redesign the engine before it was able to open.
While Fantasyland was the crown jewel of Walt’s Park, it was not the last to be seen on Dateline Disneyland. That hurried distinction belonged to Adventureland, located just south of Frontierland and directly behind the western buildings of Main Street USA. A hodgepodge blend of African, Asian and Polynesian influence, the area was designed to represent outposts of the jungle, cut off from civilization. Guest entered the land by crossing a pond (the same pond crossed in Frontierland), towards a bamboo gate and thatched buildings. In here guests would find shops and the largest attraction in the park.
Using the Disney True-Life Adventure films of the 1950s, Jungle Cruise offers park guests a nine-minute expedition through African and South American rivers while offering a menagerie of different wild life animals. Initially, eight 27-foot-long boats holding approximately 32 passengers set off on each voyage. The river trails, all four feet deep, were designed by Goff, and contain rails to help guide the boats along the journey. The attraction started off as a serious narrative of jungle life, drawing from the True-Life Adventure films, until humor found its way aboard. There have been many alterations to the cruise, both to adapt for park growth/expansion and to utilize technological innovations. 
Walt Disney famously said Disneyland would never be completed as long as there is imagination in the world. Looking at the attractions on Media Preview Days shows this is very much the case, as every attraction on display has undergone changes, whether closing after two months, or being relocated to a new location altogether. As with any Disney classic, let’s appreciate Disneyland for what it was, what it continues to be, and dream about that possibilities the future holds.
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