9 Crazy Moments We Can’t Believe Happened Once at Disneyland

Disneyland has undergone several changes since its opening in 1955, and the park has evolved dramatically as new offerings have been added and others left in the past. There are plenty of weird things we can't believe used to be at Disneyland, like real alligators at the Jungle Crusie and live mermaids in the Submarine Voyage Lagoon, but there are even more crazy moments in the park's history that you may not know about.

Some of these moments are downright strange, while others provide an interesting snapshot of Disneyland at different moments in history. From special events to some surprising unplanned incidents, these are some of the craziest moments that have occurred in Disneyland's past.

From the Yippie invasion of Disneyland to the real bullet hole in the Haunted Mansion, we will share with you the top 8 crazy moments from Disneyland's past that we still can't believe happened.

Yippie Invasion of Disneyland

In 1970, hundreds of Yippies (members of the Youth International Party) invaded Disneyland for a day. Amongst the reasons for the takeover was the group's upset over the involvement of the Bank of America, one of Disneyland's sponsors, in the Vietnam War. The day that the Yippie invasion occurred, on August 6, was the 25th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

The word of the Yippie invasion at Disneyland, referred to as the International Yippie Pow Wow, started circulating in the Los Angeles Free Press. The Yippies had an itinerary with plans including a “Black Panther Hot Breakfast” at Aunt Jemima's Pancake House, a “Young Pirates League” on Captain Hook's boat, a “Women's Liberation” of Minnie Mouse, a takeover of Tom Sawyer Island, and a barbecue of Porky Pig (a non-Disney character).

On August 6, 1970, about 300 Yippies entered the park. However, they reportedly didn't quite get to all of their planned activities. According to MousePlanet, they only showed up for a sparsely attended breakfast, boarded Captain Hook's ship, and went to Tom Sawyer's Island where they erected a Viet Cong flag.

In the book Walt's Apprentice: Keeping the Disney Dream Alive, Disney Legend Dick Nunis described the security measures for that day, saying, “I had confidence in our supervisors and security Cast Members. All supervisors were on call. I held a briefing at Fantasyland Theater and asked my supervisors to monitor their areas. Backstage, we had riot police with batons and tear gas at the ready.”

While the Yippies were initially more of a “nuisance” as Nunis describes, they eventually marched down Main Street toward the Bank of America with a ringleader saying “Let's take over the whole park,” which is when the police became involved.

Due to the activity of the Yippies, Disneyland shut down early for only the second time in its history. About 29,000 visitors were in the park when it closed.

Photo via Van Eaton Galleries.

Red Hot Chili Peppers Overlay

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Another strange moment in Disneyland's history was the Red Hot Chili Peppers overlay of two popular roller coasters in 2007. After the concept of a rock-inspired overlay was introduced for Grad Nite, Disneyland announced that the Red Hot Chili Peppers would provide soundtracks for two ride overlays, “Rockin' Space Mountain” and “Rockin' California Screamin'.” Their cover of “Higher Ground” was used for Space Mountain and “Around the World” for what was then California Screamin' (now the Incredicoaster).

The “Rockin' Space Mountain” version of Space Mountain featured new lighting and projections to evoke the feeling that you were flying through the middle of a concert. I remember riding this overlay when I was younger, and I was not thrilled about it, to say the least! The concept of Space Mountain has always been rather sacred to me, so this journey into outer space turning into a rock concert felt deeply confusing. Hyperspace Mountain, the Star Wars overlay of Space Mountain which has returned several times, feels like a much better fit with the overall concept of the ride.

Over in Disney California Adventure, what was then California Screamin' temporarily turned into “Rockin' California Screamin',” featuring a version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' song “Around the World.”

See a video by Daps Magic of the Rockin' Space Mountain overlay:

There's a Hidden Bullet Hole in the Haunted Mansion

There are several interesting secrets about the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. Some involve guests attempting to leave their mark on the attraction—people have been known to attempt to spread ashes on the ride. But there is a particularly interesting piece of Disneyland history, and the result of this incident has become a permanent addition to the attraction.

There is so much going on in the famous ballroom scene of the Haunted Mansion that it's easy to overlook a small detail that is an unsettling reminder of a crazy Disneyland moment from the past. In 1974, a guest reportedly shot at the glass panel towards the dueling portraits, resulting in the .22 caliber bullet hole.

Due to some complications with repairing this bullet hole, as it is part of one giant glass panel, Disneyland decided to cover it up with a spider web and spider instead. This spider actually even appears in the Magic Kingdom version of the ride for the sake of consistency, even though there is no bullet hole to be hiding.

Counterfeit Invitations on the Opening Day of Disneyland

The opening day of Disneyland on July 17, 1955, is easily one of the craziest moments in Disneyland's history. The day was infamously a disaster and later referred to as “Black Sunday.” This day was supposed to be a press preview and soft opening of the park restricted to a select number of guests by invitation only.

However, things did not go according to plan as tons of counterfeit tickets were distributed. Disneyland was expecting about 15,000 guests, but more than 28,000 showed up. Some eager individuals even scaled the park's fence to gain entry, with one man reportedly setting up a ladder charging $5 per person to gain entry this way.

The day as a whole did not go as smoothly as hoped—the park ran out of food and drinks for visitors due to the onslaught of unexpected visitors, rides broke down, women's high heels got stuck in the fresh asphalt that melted as temperatures climbed to over 100 degrees, a plumber's strike led to a limited number drinking fountains, and the Mark Twain began to sink as it was overpacked with people. The Associated Press reported, “Probably for the first time in his career, Disney disappointed thousands of youngsters.”

Things certainly turned around after that eventful day in 1955, but Disneyland's opening day still remains one of the craziest and messiest moments in the park's history.

Khrushchev Prevented From Visiting Disneyland

Another particularly wild moment in Disneyland's history was when Nikita Khrushchev, who led the Soviet Union from 1955 to 1964, became upset when he was told he could not visit Disneyland. In 1959, Khrushchev was visiting the United States and requested to see Hollywood. There, he enjoyed a tour of the Twentieth Century Fox Studios, the sound stage of “Can-Can” where he met stars Shirley MacLaine and Juliet Prowse, and had lunch with Frank Sinatra. The tone of the day shifted after some tense remarks were exchanged with Spyros Skouras, the president of Twentieth Century Fox, who introduced him at Los Angeles Town Hall.

When Khrushchev was denied the opportunity to visit Disneyland, he was reportedly very angry at this. The worry was that the crowds at Disneyland would pose a safety risk for him, but he exploded and said,

“We have come to this town where lives the cream of American art. And just imagine, I a premier, a Soviet representative, when I came here to this city, I was given a plan — a program of what I was to be shown and whom I was to meet here. But just now I was told that I could not go to Disneyland. I asked: ‘Why not?’ What is it, do you have rocket-launching pads there?’ I do not know.

“And just listen — just listen to what I was told — to what reason I was told. We, which means the American authorities, cannot guarantee your security if you go there. What is it? Is there an epidemic of cholera there or something? Or have gangsters taken over the place that can destroy me? Then what must I do? Commit suicide? This is the situation I am in — your guest. For me the situation is inconceivable. I cannot find words to explain this to my people.”

Needless to say, Khrushchev was not happy that he couldn't visit Disneyland. This remains one of the most interesting yet bizarre moments in Disneyland's history giving us a glimpse into the political tensions of the times.

There Was a Swimming Pool On Main Street

Undoubtedly one of the craziest moments in Disneyland history was when a pool was constructed on Main Street U.S.A. for a special swim meet in 2004. After the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Olympic swimmers Michael Phelps, Lenny Crayzelburg, and Ian Crocker embarked on a 12-city tour as part of “Disney’s Swim with the Stars,” which ended with a stop at Disneyland. According to coverage by MousePlanet, the swimmers participated in a special 200-meter relay on Main Street with local youth swim champions in a swimming pool on Disneyland's Main Street U.S.A.

“We’re very proud and excited to be the title host sponsor for this extraordinary tour where these remarkable athletes will inspire and motivate today’s young people to pursue their dreams and goals,” said Michael Mendenhall, executive vice president, global marketing, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. “It’s our hope that kids across America will be encouraged to make their dreams come true like these three gold medalists.”

To make this swim meet a reality, Cast Members constructed a swimming pool in less than 30 hours. The resulting pool measured 164 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 3.5 feet deep. There were 103,944 gallons of water in the pool, which was heated to 80 degrees for the swimmers. The impressive level of commitment to making this event a reality is undoubtedly one of the most interesting moments in Disneyland's history.

Photo via DarkBeer on SmugMug.

X Games Xperience at Disney California Adventure

Disney's California Adventure (now known as Disney California Adventure) opened in 2001 with a rocky start. Only a few years after the park's opening, Disney introduced the X Games Xperience with activities inspired by ESPN's X Games. It was advertised that the event would include “41 days of related events, activities, merchandise and promotions capturing the adrenaline and enthusiasm of the fast-growing sports.”

X Games Xperience featured shows and exhibitions of extreme sports, a scratch-and-win game with the opportunity to win action sports prizes, appearances and autograph opportunities with athletes, an Interactive Skate Park where visitors could learn techniques from the pros, merchandise, and more.

Guests could watch X Games athletes from Moto X, Skateboard, Bike Stunt (BMX), and Aggressive In-Line Skate during the event. For the event, a vertical ramp was added over Paradise Bay, and a 2,500-seat arena was built in what was then the Timon parking lot (now where Cars Land is located).

Disney California Adventure was still grasping at the formula for success at the time, but this was nevertheless quite a bizarre addition to the theme park. The newness of the park likely made an event like this possible, but it's nevertheless a dramatic departure from what we would expect to see there today.

Doritos Were Accidentally Invented at Disneyland

One of the most interesting moments in Disneyland's history was the invention of a famous chip at the Disneyland restaurant in the early 1960s. Casa de Fritos (which eventually became Rancho Del Zocalo), located in Frontierland, was a restaurant that opened in 1955 as part of a partnership between Disney and Frito-Lay. The dining location served Mexican-inspired dishes, with its non-Fritos ingredients supplied by Alex Foods.

A salesman from Alex Foods noticed that leftover tortillas were getting thrown out at the end of the day, so he made the suggestion that they fry and season them to turn them into chips. The chips ended up being very popular with guests, so the restaurant added them to the menu as an alternative to the bag of free Fritos chips that came with each meal.

Arch West, Frito Lay's vice president, noticed the popularity of the chips during a visit and contracted Alex Foods to produce the chips. When Alex Foods became overwhelmed by the volume of chips to produce, Frito-Lay moved production to its own plants, and Doritos were officially released in 1966 as the first tortilla chip to be launched nationally in the United States.

State Fair

There was a set of weird promotions at Disneyland in the 1980s that included a State Fair that ran in 1987 and 1988.

Among the State Fair offerings were a State Fair Parade, carnival booths with games, State Fair foods like BBQ turkey legs, pies, and chili, a Lumberjack Timber Carnival with competitions for ax-throwing, log-rolling, and tree-climbing, and a “Pigmania” show at Big Thunder Ranch that featured pig races and performances by The Barley Boys, with some members who would later form Billy Hill and the Hillbillies.

According to MousePlanet, Kirk Wall said of the pig races, “Our job was to help entertain the crowd and encourage the pigs to run their fastest. Each Barley Brother [Marley, Farley, Charley, etc] would take one of four sections of the audience and teach them a pig ‘call' to encourage that pig during the race.”

Walt Disney explicitly avoided adding a Ferris wheel at Disneyland Park when it first opened, but this promotion brought them smack into the middle of the park. In 1987, one was located in the Hub and one in front of the Main Street Train Station. Clearly they had changed their minds about it because the second year they moved the second one to the back of the park in Big Thunder Ranch.

Photo via Geocities.

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