Disneyland Once Closed Unexpectedly Due to Protestors in the Park, Inside One of The Park’s Wildest Stories

In the years since Disneyland's opening leading up to the extended closure of the parks in 2020, there have only been a handful of times Disneyland has closed to the public. Among these times was a particular incident in 1970 when a group of protesters entered Disneyland for the day.

Though there are many crazy moments in Disneyland's history, this one stands out as particularly memorable. Though the reality of this “invasion” did not quite live up to expectations in many ways (for neither the protesters nor those at Disneyland who were prepared to respond), it is still interesting to look back at what happened that day.

Let's take a look back at the 1970 Yippie Invasion of Disneyland and how these events unfolded…

Yippie Invasion of Disneyland

First photo via Van Eaton Galleries.

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One of the most memorable incidents in Disneyland's history was when a group of protesters “invaded” the park for the day. This was one of the handful of times, outside of the closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when the park had been unexpectedly closed. Prior to this incident in 1970, Disneyland had only closed once before on November 23, 1963, the day after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Word appeared in the Los Angeles Free Press of a “Yippie International Pow Wow” at Disneyland, which would be held on August 6, the 25th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. Flyers for the event circulated, including one that portrayed Mickey holding a machine gun.

Yippies (members of the Youth International Party) targeted Disneyland for this day of protest as they took issue with the Bank of America (one of Disneyland's sponsors) and what they claimed to be its involvement in the Vietnam War.

The Yippies had an itinerary for the day that included 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).

Preparing for the protest, the leaders at Disney were unsure of what to expect. In the book Walt's Apprentice: Keeping the Disney Dream Alive, Disney Legend Dick Nunis described how his boss, Card Walker, had originally wanted to close the park the day of the protest before he convinced him they could keep things under control.

Nunis said that bringing in law enforcement was only a backup plan. “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.”

Disneyland had recently relaxed some of its restrictions against long hair, though, as Nunis put it, they knew “the Yippies would stand out” from the other visitors at the park that day. According to MousePlanet, on the day of the Yippie invasion, those coming in who “appeared suspicious or were dressed in hippie style clothing were pulled aside at the turnstiles and their bags searched,” and they were warned not to cause any trouble.

Instead of the thousands expected to show up, only about 300 Yippies entered the park, and they didn't quite get to all they set out to do. According to MousePlanet, there was only a sparsely attended breakfast with no Black Panther members present, a boarding of Captain Hook's ship, and an invasion of Sawyer's Island. Nunis recalled how the Yippies tried to raise a “legalize marijuana” flag and a Vietcong flag before the rafts going to the island were secured.

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Nunis described how the Yippies were “mostly a nuisance” that day. They caused some disturbances like ripping bunting off of City Hall (later in the day), harassing the Disneyland Band, smoking pot in the park, etc. But things did eventually escalate when they began to march towards the Bank of America, with a ringleader shouting “Let's take over the whole park,” Nunis made the call to involve the police, and they announced the park would be closing early.

There were some “minor scuffles in the parking lot and twenty or so arrests,” Nunis described, “mostly for misdemeanors such as disturbing the peace and drug possession.” With about 29,000 visitors reportedly in the park when it closed, Disneyland shut down early for only the second time in its history due to the Yippie invasion.

It's interesting to look back on how the events unfolded during this incident that is one of the handful of times the park has unexpectedly closed in its history. Since this time, there have been some more unexpected closures, including one in 1994 due to the Northridge Earthquake, one due to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and most recently the extended closure to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

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