Disney vs. the Yippies

Image: DisneyYou know enough about Disneyland to realize it rarely closes. The Happiest Place on Earth is open every day of the year, rain or shine. Only on unique occasions like 9/11 does it close. That’s been true throughout its history. Amusingly, the first example of an early closure wasn’t planned. It was because of a few hippies.

Well, technically, the closure was due to Yippies. What’s the difference between hippies and Yippies? The latter group is the politically active branch of the former. During the 1960s and 1970s, you could be a hippie and not care about politics. To qualify as a Yippie, you had to hate Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War. Technically, you also had to be in something called the Youth International Party.

What does all of this have to do with Disney? Well, a few enterprising Yippies came up with a grand plan for the date of August 6, 1970. They would voice their joint displeasure with the government. Rather than go to Washington, D.C. and have their voices heard, these would-be protesters selected…Anaheim, California for their demonstration. Specifically, they attended the Happiest Place on Earth.

Their choice was odd for myriad reasons, but it was their behavior that was surreal. The Yippies smoked pot publically, climbed the mast of the Chicken of the Sea pirate ship, and raised a white flag on Castle Rock to celebrate their capturing of it.

Disney had been tipped off by the possibility of this Yippie invasion and had prepared for the worst. They had local police protecting the guests and ensuring that everyone was safe. Once the Yippies showed signs of getting out of control, Disneyland announced that it would close early for the first time ever. The entire day was extremely controversial, but the breaking point occurred when Yippies tried to take down the American flag. Some of the regular guests started fighting with the Yippies, and Disney decided that was enough politics for one day.

The unhappiest day at the Disneyland

Image: DisneyWhile the 1970 Yippie debacle was embarrassing, it was by no means the first such instance of problems at the Happiest Place on Earth. Disneyland was mired in controversy from day one. Yes, the grand opening of Disneyland was a total fiasco.

Walt Disney always had an eye for marketing, and he guaranteed that Disneyland’s opening would receive ample television coverage. ABC agreed to broadcast a special, which 90 million people watched. What they saw was mortifying. One of the (married) co-hosts got caught kissing a woman who wasn’t his wife during the live broadcast. And many of the elements seemed staged. Also, the guests acted cranky. What the televisions didn’t understand was why the guests felt that way.

Let me break down the basics of Disneyland’s opening day problems. There wasn’t enough water to serve the entire crowd. Walt Disney himself was forced to choose between having water in the fountains or water in the toilets. Why was there a water shortage? Well…

Image: DisneyDisney hadn’t developed a way to identify real park tickets from fake ones. So, they badly miscalculated the number of guests in the park. And those folks who snuck inside didn’t get a great deal, either. The pavement hadn’t set overnight, which caused women in high heels to sink into the ground as they tried to walk through the park. Then again, it’s probably for the best that they didn’t wander a lot. Disney was trying to control the radius of a gas leak.

Also, did I mention that the Mark Twain Riverboat almost capsized? Yeah, the sheer volume of uninvited guests meant that all the rides had too many people. The boat in particular had 200 more people on board than recommended, which caused it to rock dangerously.

You get the point here. The most controversial day in the history of Disney theme parks was literally the first one. Keep that in mind the next time someone tries to complain about politics, prices, or ride safety at one of the parks.