Disneyland at 40: Old Magic, New Wrinkles : Tourism: The park rolls happily on, even as the rest of Orange County struggles through a series of disasters.

By GREG HERNANDEZ

July 16, 1995 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

ANAHEIM —

Before it became known around the world for its financial ineptitude, before its most famous politician became the first President to resign in disgrace, before its beaches were soiled by oil or its coastline charred by fire, Orange County was the “The Happiest Place On Earth.”

Disneyland, the world’s most famous amusement park, a cultural phenomenon that created an entire industry, put Orange County on the map when it opened its gates on July 17, 1955.

“It gives Orange County an international address,” County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez said. “If you say you are from Orange County, a lot of people around the world don’t identify. But if you say you live five minutes from Disneyland, they know what you’re talking about.”

On Monday, the most famous of modern-day theme parks, which has welcomed more than 350 million people since its opening day, turns 40. The occasion will be marked by the burial of a Disneyland time capsule, a sing-along at the Matterhorn and other activities.

“I think 40 years represents just an incredible history and legacy,” Disneyland President Paul Pressler said. “It’s an opportunity to pause and really take in everything that has gone on in this park and the magic that has been created.”

The day’s festivities are sure to run more smoothly than the park’s chaotic debut four decades ago. That occasion was fraught with disasters, including a major traffic jam on the Santa Ana Freeway, broken-down rides, a shortage of food and drinks, a gas leak that forced the temporary shutdown of Fantasyland and blistering summer heat that caused the spiked heels of women’s shoes to sink into the soft asphalt on Main Street, which had been poured only the day before.

“People were all crowded down on Main Street and they were not happy campers,” remembered 65-year-old Roy Disney, nephew of founder Walt Disney. “But the park itself was great. The attitude Walt took from the beginning was that this was a place that anybody could go to--no matter what age.”

The opening-day celebration was broadcast live on television and some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Kirk Douglas, were there. But the television program, co-hosted by Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings and Ronald Reagan, gave no clue of the discomfort of the almost 30,000 invited guests.

It wasn’t until press accounts appeared the following day that there was a perception that Walt Disney’s personal dream was a nightmare.

“The feeling was that Walt Disney was going to have a spectacular flop,” remembers Ron Dominguez, who worked as a ticket seller on opening day and retired last year as a corporate vice president.

But as the park enters middle age, Walt Disney’s dream endures and continues to thrive in an increasingly competitive tourism industry that now offers bigger theme parks and more modern attractions.

“Disneyland created a new industry,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist at Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County. “I can remember when it opened and everyone thought Walt Disney was completely crazy to put a theme park in the middle of orange groves. And, look what happened.”

Before the arrival of Disneyland, Anaheim’s identity had been largely based on those orange groves and its pioneer German settlers. Former Mayor Jack Dutton remembers that the city was so obscure that radio advertisers in the early days would imply the Magic Kingdom was in a better-known place.

“They didn’t say it was in Anaheim or Los Angeles, but they would indicate that it was in Los Angeles,” Dutton said. “It took a long time for them to come around and admit that Disneyland was in Anaheim.”

Disneyland has spawned larger theme parks in Florida, Tokyo and outside Paris, the last of which was pronounced a financial and cultural disaster before improving somewhat this year.

But Disneyland continues to hold a special place in the hearts and minds of many and to visitors from abroad has come to symbolize not just Southern California, but the United States as well, said Pamela Ezell, a Chapman University assistant professor of English, film and television.

“It really became what most people knew about America--all of the Disneyland ideology and iconography,” Ezell said. “There is still the association of coming to America and going to Disneyland.

Disneyland has continued to rely on timeless patriotic themes and the now ubiquitous Disney characters to entertain several generations of visitors.

“Walt Disney’s ideas were about American optimism, ingenuity and you can do anything if you put your mind to it,” Ezell observed. “The theme park itself seems to resonate with those ideas. Think of Main Street, the parade and fireworks. There’s a strong patriotic side. And then there’s Tomorrowland, where the answer to all of our problems is in the future.”

Since its opening, the original park has more than tripled its 17 original attractions and has added major rides like the Indiana Jones Adventure, which Disneyland officials credit for an upswing in attendance this year.

Disneyland officials will not publicly discuss attendance figures, but internal documents obtained by The Times show that during a single week last month, 326,476 people came to the park, an increase from the 272,321 people in attendance during the same week in 1994.

For its endless stream of visitors, the fantasy and the charm have clearly not diminished over time.

For 45-year-old Donna Dawson, “Disneyland is the original, a classic.”

Dawson, a resident of Thousand Oaks, said she has been a frequent park visitor since the time “when you tried to get all of the E tickets that you could.”

“We still do all of the classics,” Dawson said, as she waited in line last week to ride the Indiana Jones Adventure. “We walk in through Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, make a right and hit Peter Pan. Then, we go onto Mr. Toad’s and complain how it’s nothing, but we do it. Then, we go on the Tea Cups.”

For 37-year-old Kim Peterson, the Magic Kingdom is like a second home.

The Brea resident holds an annual pass, collects Disney memorabilia and visits the park at least twice a week.

“I think of my annual pass as a psychiatric expense,” said Peterson, a resident of Brea. “It’s a place where you can dream. It envelops you. You are part of the show, part of the experience.”

Arkansas resident John Vestal, 44, has been to the park three times: In 1960, 1978 and last week.

“The first time I came here, we stayed at a motel within walking distance and I can still remember the anticipation walking through the orange groves to the front gate,” Vestal said.

For others, Disneyland is still a relatively new experience.

“Disneyland is so complex and there is detail to everything,” said 19-year-old Marcus Onischak, of Edmonton, Canada. “I want to get married here, then go to the other Disney parks in the world for my honeymoon. It’s just such a happy place.”

Pressler attributes Disneyland’s staying power and unique place in the industry to the company’s storytelling ability and its success in bringing its animated films to life at the park.

“We tell a story in everything we do,” Pressler said. “Stories are memorable, emotional and capture your imagination. There is an incredible emotional bond that people have with this park.”

But to some, Disneyland has been a constant headache.

For the past 38 years, Betty Roconi has lived in a house on Walnut Street--about a quarter-mile from the theme park--and she has been especially bothered by loud fireworks and live shows at the park.

“I know the park is special, but sometimes, it is a pain in the neck,” Roconi said. “When we first moved here, Disneyland was just a little amusement park way over there beyond the orange groves and didn’t have much of an impact on our lives. But that’s changed.”

Resident Steve White, of Anaheim HOME, a local homeowners group said, “When Walt [Disney] was alive, he was a good neighbor and the park did all the could to take into the consideration impacts on neighbors. But now, in this new era, we see more corporate muscle.”

Despite the park’s carefully cultivated wholesomeness, life inside the Magic Kingdom is not always a fairy tale either.

In April, federal agents rushed to the theme park during Easter weekend after threats were received that terrorists planned to launch a lethal gas attack like the one unleashed in the Tokyo subway system in March. The incident turned out to be a hoax.

Still, security at the park was tightened, visitors were searched and Anaheim police officers were issued chemical warfare gear, including gas masks.

Other memorable incidents include: A 1980 discrimination case filed against Disneyland by a gay couple who were ousted from the park after they tried to dance together at Tomorrowland Terrace, and a near-riot in 1970 caused by Yippies who hoisted a Viet Cong flag over Tom Sawyer Island, chanted anti-war slogans and obscenities and smoked marijuana on Monsanto’s Adventure Through Inner Space.

In 1964, a 15-year-old boy became the first of nine ride fatalities when he tried to stand up in a bobsled near the Matterhorn’s peak. The boy lost his balance and fell.

There have also been labor disputes, gang fights, shootings, stabbings, attraction malfunctions, lawsuits and neighbors complaining about nightly fireworks and traffic.

Disney officials are hypersensitive about crime--and the public’s perception of it--in and around Disneyland. As of 1994, there were 382 Disneyland security officers patrolling the park and Disneyland Hotel, an area of about 250 acres. That compares with the 384 sworn police officers who patrol the city of Anaheim, which covers more than 30,800 acres.

“The reality is all around us,” Pressler said. “I’m concerned about escalating crime. That’s one of our biggest concerns because it involves the welfare of our cast members and guests.”

Another problem is the surrounding urban blight, which stands in dramatic contrast to “The Happiest Place On Earth.” The orange groves that lined the road leading to the gates of the Magic Kingdom on opening day have been replaced by busy Harbor Boulevard, with its unsightly neon signs and garish motels. The neighborhoods in the shadow of the Magic Kingdom are also some of the city’s poorest and have been plagued by violence, graffiti and drug sales.

“It’s easy for me to get off the I-5 and look at what is frankly not an attractive sight,” Pressler said. “When you are trying to create an environment that is relaxing, peaceful and fun, urban noise gets in the way.”

The city of Anaheim has begun to tackle the problem with its $172.5-million Anaheim Resort revitalization plan, which calls for a series of visual improvements over a five-year period. They include the addition of lush landscaping, the burying of overhead cables, the widening of streets and the replacement of neon signs.

The city’s revitalization plans were designed to go hand-in-hand with Disney’s plans to expand by building a second theme park, called Westcot, next to Disneyland. Those plans have been shelved but Anaheim officials have said the project is needed regardless of what kind of expansion plans Disney decides to go with. But some believe the Walt Disney Co. should foot more of the bill for the improvements, which will be partially funded by an increase in the city’s hotel bed tax. That levy increased to 15% this month.

The increase has the blessing of the city’s hotel and motel industry, which is largely sustained by visitors to Disneyland.

The theme park remains the second most popular theme park in North America behind Walt Disney World in Florida, and is a top tourist draw in Orange County.

“I don’t think the city should accommodate Disney the way that it does far and above anyone else,” said former Anaheim Mayor William Thom, who reluctantly voted against a proposed tax on park admissions in 1975. The proposed tax, which failed, was vehemently opposed by Disney.

“It gets worse every year,” Thom said of Disney’s influence in the city. “I feel that [Anaheim Resort] is major expenditure for the benefit of [Disney]. There has to be cooperation, but cooperation should be balanced to all kinds of industries.”

The park’s 40th anniversary comes at a time when the Walt Disney Co. is expanding its presence in Anaheim with a partial purchase of the California Angels baseball team and the construction of a community ice rink in downtown Anaheim that will serve as a practice facility for the Mighty Ducks hockey team, also owned by Disney.

I n addition to its local interests, which are growing to the point that some critics have dubbed the city “Disneyheim,” the entertainment giant is a major player in the film industry, has its own cable channel, has started a cruise ship line and has opened Disney merchandise stores throughout the world.

“Certainly, Disney’s presence in the community has grown,” said Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly, a lifelong resident of the city who was less than a year old when he attended Disneyland’s opening day with his parents. “The steps Disney takes in the future will be even more meaningful to Anaheim.”

Walt Disney Co. will likely have a major say in the planning of an ambitious sports complex slated for the area around Anaheim Stadium and The Pond. And the entertainment giant’s part-ownership of the Angels means it will also be the determining factor in whether a baseball-only stadium is built for the team next to the Big A. The company has the option to become complete owner of the baseball team upon the death of longtime owner Gene Autry.

But Disney’s most eagerly awaited project has been shrouded in mystery for several months. It is the revised version of the $3-billion resort that was to be built next to Disneyland.

The project was unveiled in 1991 as a splashy world-class resort, with the promise of 27,000 new jobs. It called for 4,600 new hotel rooms, the Westcot theme park, a 5,000-seat amphitheater, a six-acre lagoon and two of the nation’s largest parking structures.

But the Walt Disney Co. confirmed in January that those ambitious plans would be scaled back and a new project would be built incrementally. At that time, the company said it would unveil its alternate plans within 90 days--a deadline that officials have now extended until the end of September.

“We’re getting close,” Pressler said. “We have been spending the last six months working . . . on the financial criteria to ensure that we get a fair and reasonable return on our investment. And, from a creative standpoint, we are looking at additional approaches to the entire concept.”

Pressler was also tight-lipped about the planned renovation of the theme park’s Tomorrowland, which is scheduled to occur in 1998. But he described the face-lift as “pretty ambitious,” with many new rides and attractions.

Roy Disney, who is vice chairman of Walt Disney Co.’s board of directors, said his uncle would have been amazed at the worldwide power the company has become.

“The size of it is amazing,” Disney said. “But Disneyland will always be special because it was the first. There’s a nostalgic quality. You feel like you are in a toy world and there’s always something interesting around the next corner.”

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Walt’s Vision; Orange County’s Reality

Disneyland, which put Orange County on the map when it opened in 1955, has undergone major changes and continues to evolve. Recovering from opening-day troubles, it spawned one of the nation’s most successful companies and boosted an entire industry--the themed amusement park. A primer on the self-proclaimed “Happiest Place on Earth:”

“Disneyland will continue to grow, to add new things, as long as there is imagination left in the world.” (Walt Disney, July 17, 1955)

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Guest List

Through the years, Disneyland has welcomed astronauts, politicians, royalty and foreign dignitaries. A partial list:

* Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Carter, Reagan and Bush

* Chief Justice Earl Warren

* King Mohammed of Morocco

* Prince Ernst August of Greece

* Astronaut John Glenn

* Lord Louis Mountbatten of England

* Sir Edmund Hillary

* Sen. Robert F. Kennedy

* Astronaut James Lovell

* Emperor Hirohito of Japan

* King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan

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Past Glories

Some attractions that have been removed and the year they disappeared:

Main Street, U.S.A.

* Horse-drawn Fire Wagon, 1960

* Main Street Shooting Gallery, 1962

Fantasyland

* Skyway to Tomorrowland, 1994

* Midget Autopia, 1960

* Skull Rock and Pirate’s Cove, 1982

Tomorrowland

* Skyway to Fantasyland, 1994

* Flight Circle, 1966

* House of the Future, 1967

* Flying Saucers, 1966

Frontierland

* Conestoga Wagons, 1959

* Indian Village, 1971

Adventureland

* Safari Game Shoot, 1982

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Mouse House Tidbits

* Employees: 9,000 during summer season, 6,000 during winter

* Guest food: In one year, 4 million hamburgers, 1.6 million hot dogs, 3.4 million orders of French fries, 1.2 million gallons of soft drinks

* Fireworks: More than 3,000 pyrotechnic shows have been staged by Disneyland since the first show in 1956.

* Light: 48 full-time electricians maintain 111,000 light bulbs

* Paint: More than 20,000 gallons annually

* Custodial: Annually, 26 million restroom hand towels, 1,000 brooms, 500 dust pans, 3,000 mops

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Magical Kingdom Lawsuits

Attractions cited most often in personal injury lawsuits filed in Orange County Superior Court between 1954 and 1992. Autopia: 67 Matterhorn Bobsleds: 45 Haunted Mansion: 20 It’s A Small World: 19 Pirates of the Caribbean: 18 ****

Disneyspeak

Here are some common English words and their Disney equivalents: English: Disney Customer: Guest Employee: Cast Member Crowd: Audience At work: On stage or backstage Ride: Adventure Ride operator: Attractions host Guard: Security host ****

Timeline: Decades of Disneyland

Disneyland opens with 18 major attractions and themed areas. Problems include high heels sinking into Main Street asphalt, Fantasyland gas leak and Mark Twain steamboat overcrowding, a product of counterfeit tickets.

* 1955: Calif. Gov. Goodwin Knight is among 28,154 first-day gusts

* 1956: 5 million visitors

* 1959: Vice President Richard Nixon and family dedicate new monorail system.

* 1961: 25 million visitors

* 1961: First all-night grad night party attended by 8,500 high school students in June

* 1963: First unscheduled closure after President John F. Kennedy assassinated

* 1964: 15-year-old boy becomes first of nine ride fatalities when he falls from Matterhorn bobsled

* 1966: Walt Disney dies Dec. 15

* 1970: Anti-war protesters raise Viet Cong flag on Tom Sawyer Island

* 1971: 100 million visitors

* 1980: 25th anniversary; two men dancing together on Date Night ejected from park

* 1981: 200 million visitors