1. Disneyland's Opening Day - July 17, 1955

The very first episode of “Cartoons to Castles” dives into the events surrounding the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California on July 17, 1955. Jessica and Melanie share the sweet, shocking, and hilarious stories from their research, covering everything from Walt & Lillian Disney’s 30th anniversary party in Frontierland (just days before the park opened), to the rough live opening day broadcast of “Dateline: Disneyland.”
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Theme music: “Taste of the French Quarter” by Rob Khurana via Storyblocks.com

SOURCES for this episode:

@theafrodisniac. “Quaker Oats announced today that they would be retiring the Aunt Jemima brand.” Instagram, 17 June 2020, https://www.instagram.com/p/CBjc2sIDXow/?igshid=kh1kuza317qh

D23: The Official Disney Fan Club - www.D23.com

“Disneyland Opening Day [Complete ABC Broadcast].” YouTube uploaded by Marcio Disney, 17 July 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuzrZET-3Ew&t=2s

“The Happiest Place on Earth.” The Imagineering Story, season 1, episode 1, Disney+, 12 Nov. 2019

LAist - www.laist.com

Orange County Register - www.ocregister.com

New York Daily News - www.nydailynews.com

Snow, Richard. Disney’s Land: Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park That Changed the World. Simon & Schuster, 2019.

Taylor, Alan. “Opening Day at Disneyland: Photos from 1955.” The Atlantic, 24 July 2019, https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2019/07/opening-day-disneyland-photos-1955/594655/.

Walt Disney Family Museum- www.waltdisney.org

Wikipedia - www.wikipedia.org