Take a technicolor jaunt down memory lane with these photos of Disneyland’s opening day in 1955. These iconic photos show the pure joy and excitement in the kid’s faces, the fascinating nostalgia of Tomorrowland, and the overall time capsule of the 1950s.
Scroll through to check out the Disney park on opening day, via The Atlantic:
Children run through the gate of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at Disneyland, Walt Disney’s theme park, in July 1955. The park opened to the public the week of July 17, 1955.
Visitors ride the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party attraction in Fantasyland on July 17, 1955.
Children run into Disneyland on opening day, July 17, 1955.
Crowds of people watch the Tomorrowland portion of a parade celebrating the opening of the Disneyland amusement park on July 17, 1955.
Parade participants and costumed Disney characters ready themselves for the televised grand opening of Disneyland on July 17, 1955.
Showgirls in costume sit at an outdoor table and drink from mugs at Disneyland in July 1955.
People rest in Tomorrowland’s Space Port on July 17, 1955.
Disneyland’s opening-day parade, photographed on July 17, 1955.
The Disneyland parking lot, full on opening day, July 17, 1955.
Visitors take a ride on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disneyland on July 17, 1955.
The Painted Desert in Frontierland, photographed on July 17, 1955.
Tourists enter Frontierland, a re-creation of the Old West, in Disneyland, ca. 1955.
Eddie Fisher (left) was a host at the opening of Walt Disney’s ‘Disneyland,’ where he served on the Coca-Cola refreshment corner. Shown are Eddie Fisher as he gives a drink to aluminum-clad spaceman Don MacDonald, as Debbie Reynolds looks on.
A children’s saloon, the Golden Horseshoe, photographed at Disneyland on July 17, 1955.
A crowded Mark Twain Riverboat sails at Disneyland in July 1955.
An aerial view shows Disneyland as guests attend opening-day festivities in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955.
Dumbo and other characters from Disney movies appear in a parade down Main Street, U.S.A., at the Disneyland opening on July 17, 1955.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse appear at Disneyland’s opening day, on July 17, 1955.
The movie producer and animator Walt Disney smiles as he stands in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at the grand opening of Disneyland in 1955.
