For Disney Fans, Happiest Place on Earth Is in Line

Braving chilly winds, Mickey Mouse enthusiasts began lining up outside California Adventure at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday--some 27 hours before today’s much-anticipated opening of Anaheim’s newest Disney theme park.

“We wanted to be the first ones in just to say that we did it,” said Steven W. Smith, 43, who came from Azusa to claim the No. 1 place in line. “We probably won’t sleep tonight,” he said late Wednesday. “It’s like being part of history.”

Mary Parker, 48, an Anaheim resident who, like Smith, donned heavy clothing to spend the night at the front of the queue, said she hopes to tell her grandchildren about the experience. “It’s cold out here,” she said, “but it’s fun. My husband is sleeping in a nice warm bed, and I’m out here freezing my kahooties off, but I feel like a celebrity.”

Disney officials said they could only guess at the turnout for today’s opening. “We knew people would show up,” spokesman J.J. Buettgen said, “but the two wild cards were how many and how early?”

Ray Gomez, another Disney spokesman, said, “Frankly we were ready for any number.”

By 10 p.m. Wednesday, he said, about 600 people were in line. Some of those who stood shivering in the 40-degree air guessed that the number of early birds was about twice that.

After the $43 admission tickets went on sale about 5 p.m., ticket holders were issued color-coded wristbands indicating their places in line. If the numbers increased appreciably, Gomez said, Disney’s plan was to take guests in groups to various “holding” areas, including some in Disneyland, to await the 8 a.m. opening of the new park.

“So far everything is going very smoothly,” he said. “It’s just great: the high energy level, the party atmosphere--it’s exactly what we thought we’d have.”

Enthusiasm was evident among those in line, some of whom said they were on hand for Disneyland’s opening in 1955. “I was 15 then,” said Edwina Westbrook Sims, 61, of Pasadena. This time, she said, she is sharing the experience with her 32-year-old daughter.

“I remember wearing a cotton dress with white gloves and little heels that sank into the asphalt because the pavement wasn’t settled yet,” Sims recalled. “Ladies looked like they were just coming from church, and men had on their suits and ties. And movie stars were walking around with everyone else, just standing by trash cans eating a sandwich.”

Larry Williams, 51, of Irvine said that he was 6 years old when he attended Disneyland’s opening with his sister and parents. “It was very hot and crowded,” he recalled. “I remember Mickey Mouse, and I remember my dad saying, ‘There’s Walt Disney, there’s Walt Disney!’ Disneyland has always been a major part of my life, and I wanted to a part of history, so here I am.”

He anticipated an experience somewhat different, however, from the one he had as a child. “I’ve got a pocket full of money,” he gushed, “and I can eat all the sugar I want and stay up all night. I’m really excited about it.”

Times staff writers Matthew Ebnet and Kimi Yoshino contributed to this report.