11 Weird Things We Can’t Believe Were Once at Disneyland

Disneyland has seen many changes since its opening day on July 17th, 1955. This is exactly how Walt Disney wanted this park to be. He once said, “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”

It’s evident that there has been plenty of imagination that’s been able to go into Disneyland. The growth of this resort has been tremendous over the past 68 years. I’m not simply speaking on size. I’m referring to all of the things that make up a Disney Park – rides, attractions, entertainment, food, and so much more!

While many reflections of Disneyland’s opening day are still present, a LOT of things are now extinct. Some of these things may actually surprise you. There are quite a few oddities from Disneyland’s past that are simply… weird. At the time, they may have been considered completely normal. However, looking back now, we’re simply left scratching our heads. “That was in Disneyland?” “How did that seem like a good idea?” “Did that really happen?” These are all questions that we’re left with after hearing about some of these weird things.

The Phantom of Disneyland

Disneyland is notoriously known for its charming character encounters, even in its earlier years. When you go to the park, you expect to meet characters such as Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, and Daisy. At today’s Disneyland, not only can you meet Disney characters, you can also meet fan favorites from Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars!

When Disneyland first opened, the costumes alone of the classic characters could make this list of weird things from Disneyland’s past. Those things were scary… However, in the 1960s, one of the wandering characters on Main Street U.S.A. was rather unusual. Near the Main Street Cinema, you could encounter Erik, more commonly known as The Phantom, from The Phantom of the Opera.

This particular version of The Phantom was inspired by the 1925 film which starred Lon Chaney. Up until the premier of the movie, Lon Chaney’s look was kept a secret. When the film first debuted, crowds were horrified by Erik’s deformed face.

The fact that The Phantom of the Opera used to wander around Main Street in Disneyland is odd for a number of reasons. The first being that The Phantom of the Opera was a Universal film. Universal Hollywood opened in the 60s, which makes it exceptionally strange that a Universal character was in a Disney Park at that time. There’s also the fact that the character's appearance was something that people shied away from. Overall, The Phantom of the Opera doesn't seem like a character that quite made sense for Disneyland at the time.

Pancake Races

From 1957 to 1964, an annual Pancake Race was held at Disneyland on Pancake Day (also referred to as Shrove Tuesday). The Pancake Race that took place at Disneyland was actually the location for the state championship each year. Prior to the race at Disneyland, housewives would compete at local and regional Pancake Races. The winners of those races would move on to the state championship at Disneyland. The winner of the Disneyland Pancake Race would continue even further to the Nationals!

The Disneyland Pancake Race took place down Main Street. The competing housewives would see who could move down the Main Street at the quickest pace, while also skillfully flipping pancakes over a series of ribbons. In the 2004 Spring issue of Disney Magazine, Rebecca Cline, a Disney Archivist, described a particular moment of the 1957 Disneyland Pancake Race. She wrote,

“Rose Pitman is running as fast as she can down Disneyland’s Main Street, USA. Her hair tucked underneath a scarf, she is wearing saddle shoes and an apron wrapped around her plaid skirt. She is also carrying a nine-inch skillet in her right hand. Looking out for the thick ribbons stretching eight feet overhead across the race path, she deftly avoids the streetcar tracks beneath her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, she watches out for the other five women who are trying to beat her to the finish line. As Pitman nears the first ribbon, she springs a couple of feet off the ground, and with a practiced snap of the wrist, flips the pancake lying in her skillet up over the ribbon, then catches it on the way down.”

Winning the Disneyland Pancake Race

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Not only did the Rose Pitman move onto the National Pancake Race, she also received a variety of prizes. These prizes included a plaque signed by Walt Disney along with a basket of items. The basket included things such as Aunt Jemima Pancake Flour, Swift Canned Meats, an Aunt Jemima cigarette lighter, an umbrella, and a fish knife. She also received a check for $100 which was presented to her by Aunt Jemima. Palmere Jackson played the role of the Disneyland Aunt Jemima character at that specific moment.

The Pancake Races weren’t the only connection that Disneyland had to Aunt Jemima. In 1955, two years prior to the first Disneyland Pancake Race, a pancake house opened up into Frontierland. The restaurant was called Aunt Jemima’s Old South Kitchen. The menu featured Pancakes, Waffles, and delicious syrups.

Item’s on the menu included:

• Davey Crockett’s Delight: 45¢ – Four Light and Tender Aunt Jemima Pancakes
• Golden Horseshoe Special: 45¢ – New Deluxe Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Pancakes
• Mark Twain Special: 45¢ – Four Tangy Aunt Jemima Buckwheat Cakes
• Luscious Native Blueberry Pancakes: 60¢
• Fresh Picked Strawberries Crushed and Heaped on Golden Aunt Jemima Pancakes: 60¢
• Wild Mountain Blackberry Pancakes: 60¢
• Slue Foot Sue’s Favorite: 45¢ – Creamy Egg Rich Aunt Jemima Waffles
• Fresh California Pecan Waffle: 60¢
• Creamy-Rich Aunt Jemima Waffle A-La-Mode: 65¢
• Apple Pancake Roll-Ups: 70¢ – Luscious Apple Slices rolled in Aunt Jemima’s a-la-mode
• Fresh Creamery Butter
• Cold Fresh Milk: 15¢
• Steaming Homemade Coffee: 10¢
• Maple and Wildberry Syrups featured

Jungle Cruise Alligators

Jungle Cruise is one of Disneyland’s opening day attractions. Originally, Walt wanted to have real animals as part of this attraction. However, for a few reasons, it was eventually decided that live jungle animals would not be ideal for this attraction.

One reason was the size of Disneyland. Due to the small space that was allotted for the construction of Disneyland, there was not enough necessary space for the large jungle animals that Walt was wanting for the attraction. Besides the size of the animals, their sleep schedule was another concern. Quite a few of the animals that Walt wanted were nocturnal and therefore would not be available for the Guests to enjoy during the day. The final reason was simply price. Disneyland’s construction was already very expensive. By adding jungle animals into the mix, the cost of creating the park would have gone up even more.

Unfortunately, Walt’s dream of using live animals for Jungle Cruise didn’t come to light. Even though Walt was disappointed, he didn’t want to disappoint his Guests. Therefore, when the attraction first opened, there were live baby alligators present! At the beginning of the Jungle Cruise queue, there was an enclosed wade pool that had multiple baby alligators in it for Guests to enjoy. However, these little guys clearly didn’t want to be part of the attraction and kept escaping.

An original skipper of Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise, Bill “Sully” Sullivan, is quoted telling Jim Korkis of MiceChat about these gators.

“Most people don’t remember that, but in the beginning, there was a little pool by the entrance to the ride that had baby alligators in it. Because Walt wanted real animals, not just the mechanical ones. I guess it made it all more exotic or something or gave the guests something to look at that they hadn’t seen. It didn’t last long because these babies kept getting out and it was a pain.”

“There were four gators and it was fenced with poles and fishnet. They would climb the fishnet and get out. There was a guy who worked with us who was from Florida and he could call them. He could make this sound like an alligator and that would help us catch them when they came toward that sound. I guess they thought it was their mother.”

Understandably, the presence of the baby alligators was short-lived and Jungle Cruise has lived out its days since then with the mechanical animals that we all know and love.

Pirates of the Caribbean Skull

It can easily be said that the most common props on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride are bones. All around, during your pirate journey, you’ll see skulls and skeletons. While these are all fake (mostly), they didn’t use to be!

When Pirates of the Caribbean first opened, many of the skulls and skeletons that were used were real human remains. Rest assured that no shady business took place in order to get these skulls. Disneyland actually received these bones as a donation from UCLA Medical School.

Why did Disneyland decide to use real human bones? To put it simply, they looked more real…. because they were. Imagineers were struggling to create bones and skeletons that matched the realistic nature of the human bones. Therefore, they opted to use real ones instead.

As of today, all of the real human remains have been removed from the attraction and have been replaced with faux bones. In the past it was reported, and confirmed by Cast Members, that one human skull still remained on the ride. When you enter the Captain’s Quarters, you’ll see a headboard which bears a skull and crossbones. For many years, this skull was known to be the only real human skull left on the attraction. Some believe that it has since been swapped out for a fake one, but the legitimacy of this skull has not been officially spoken about recently.

Vitamin Samples

Main Street does hold a certain charm and appeal with an appearance of an old town road. Filled with shops, horse drawn carriages, historic vehicles, and dining locations, you feel like you’re walking right through a quaint little town. When Disneyland opened, this was even more realistic. Rather than the shops mostly selling modern Disney items, the businesses back then were very realistic. There was even a pharmacy!

Located on the corner of Main Street U.S.A., was Upjohn Pharmacy. While this wasn’t an actual, functioning pharmacy, it did have a very convincing look and even housed a 19th century apothecary. Guests could learn about the workings of a 20th century pharmacy when they stopped in this shop. They could also purchase a postcard as a keepsake.

Nothing about this necessarily seems weird or off brand for Disney, however, there was one thing about Upjohn Pharmacy that seems very odd today. Even though the pharmacy didn’t actually function by filling prescriptions or selling over the counter medicine, they did hand out free vitamin samples. That’s right. During your leisurely stroll down Main Street, you could stop by Upjohn Pharmacy and receive a glass bottle full of Unicap Multivitamins.

Even though select over the counter medicines are available for purchase in the parks today, I don’t think anyone would ever imagine being handed a free bottle of multivitamins. Especially in a glass container!

Disneyland Mermaids

 

In June of 1959, an attraction called Submarine Voyage opened up at Disneyland. This was a ride that allowed Guests to board a submarine and enjoy a special underwater viewing. The Disneyland submarines could hold 38 Guests at one time. The seating area was below water level and included portholes for Guests to look out of. While the vessels weren’t real submarines, and didn’t actually submerge, those who boarded them would never know the difference.

Guests were given the impression that the sub dived down deeper into the water a total of three times. Each time, bubbles would blow past the portholes. When the bubbles cleared, there were new sights to be seen. The first dive took Guests though a coral reef. The second dive was meant to reach lower depths to avoid a storm. The third dive was when the subs would reach their maximum depth. Throughout the entire voyage, Guests would behold sights such as sea life, sunken ships, and even mythical creatures that were only heard of in stories!

While all of these were portrayed with props and animatronics, there was one “real” mythical creature that Guests could see on their underwater adventure – Mermaids! During the attraction's opening summer in 1959, as well as summers from 1965-67, Guests below and above water could enjoy the sights of these beautiful, live mermaids. These mermaids were seen swimming, sunbathing on rocks, strumming harps, and combing their hair.

Many Guests enjoyed seeing these live mermaids at the attraction. However, they were not seen again after 1967. Submarine Voyage closed in 1998 and has since then been remodeled. It is currently running as Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. The attraction now features familiar faces from the movie Finding Nemo.

Disneyland Bra Shop

Ladies, when you’re ready for a new bra, is Disneyland the first place that comes to mind for your needs? Most likely not. However, when Disneyland first opened its doors, you could  head to the Intimate Appeal Shop for the latest trends in bras and corsets.

This shop was located right on Main Street. Understandably for the time, this shop was not one that everyone cared to go into. Especially the men. Whether they suffered from shame or overall embarrassment, they had the option to wait out on the front porch while the women took their time inside.’

The Intimate Apparel Shop was not only a store, it was also educational. We all know that progress is a big part of Disney. The Intimate Appeal Shop is no different! Inside, there were displays that would show brassieres and petticoats of the past. As you made your way through, you would see how these undergarments had changed over the years and had formed into the most recent styles.

The experience was also accompanied by the voice of the “Wonderful Wizard of Bras” which would play along with a mechanical version of the Wizard. The Wizard would explain in further what Guests were seeing when they looked at undergarments from the past as well as under and outer garments of the present.

Unsurprisingly, the Intimate Apparel Shop didn’t last long at Disneyland. It actually only stayed open for 6 months!

Gun Shop

Disneyland had a wide variety of stores back in its early days. While the Intimate Apparel Shop was certainly odd, an even crazier store is the Frontier Gun Shop. The fact that The Happiest Place on Earth had a store that sells guns is extremely surprising.

While this may be something that’s shocking to us today, the gun shop fit in quite well back in its day. In Disneyland’s earlier days, the Wild West was very much played out in Frontierland. At the time, guns were completely normal there! There even used to be shootouts between lawmen and criminals in the streets of Frontierland. Of course, these were staged and acted out by Cast Members. Nonetheless, with shootouts taking place out in the open, the fact that a nearby store had guns for sale was surprising to none.

Luckily, the guns that were sold at the Frontier Gun Shop weren’t real. They were replicas of the guns that were on display at the American Rifle Exhibit. The American Rifle Exhibit was a display where Guests could learn about the firearms that were used throughout America’s history. After learning about these guns, you could head over to the Frontier Gun Shop and purchase one to take home with you!

If Disney selling fake weapons still doesn’t sit well with you, think of it like this. It’s really no different than Guests walking around today with lightsabers from Savi’s Workshop, a sword from Pirates of the Caribbean, or one of Buzz Lightyear’s laser blasters.

Tobacco Shop

While we’re on the topic of weird things that used to be sold at Disneyland, let’s discuss the tobacco shop. Today, Disneyland is completely smoke-free. Designated smoking areas used to be present around the resort. However, as of May 1st, 2019, all smoking areas were removed. There is now a strict rule that smoking is not permitted anywhere at the Disneyland hotels, theme parks, or at the Downtown Disney District.

That’s not how things used to be though. Disneyland used to be an open area for smoking. The only areas where smoking was prohibited was on the rides, attractions, and in the queues. When you were anywhere else, you were completely free to smoke.

You could even purchase tobacco at Disneyland! Right on Main Street, there was a fine tobacco shop called the Tobacconist. Here, Guests were able to purchase tobacco and smoking accessories. Available items included handcrafted pipes, tobacco (available in a tin or pouch, cigarettes, and cigars. Complimentary Disneyland tobacco shop matchbooks were also available!

Standing outside of the shop, was a Cigar Store Indian. This Indian marked the location of the tobacco shop. To this day, that Cigar Store Indian is still standing on the side of Main Street, reminding Guests that there was once a tobacco shop at Disneyland. Curiously, there is another Cigar Store Indian that stands in Frontierland. While the shop it stands in front of now sells Disney pins, it is wondered if perhaps tobacco used to be sold at that location as well.

Helicopter Rides

Today we have a number of ways to get from LAX to Disneyland. We have the choice to get an Uber or Lyft, rent a car, or board an airport shuttle. Shortly after Disneyland opened, Las Angeles Airways started flying Guests to and from Disneyland by helicopter! 

This service started at the end 1955. After their plane landed, Guests were able to board a helicopter and get to Disneyland in a timely fashion. While the distance between LAX and Disneyland is approximately 40 miles, the helicopter trip between the two locations took less than 20 minutes.

The service unfortunately experienced two fatal crashes in 1968. A total of 44 lives were lost between the two crashes. A three year hiatus was taken after the second crash. After the break, Golden West Airlines took over the service and resumed helicopter flights to and from Disneyland. The flights only continued for a few months before closing for good.

Holidayland

From 1957 to 1961, Disneyland had a land that was OUTSIDE of the park’s gates. This land was called Holidayland. This was an area, adjacent to the park, where Guests could go to relax. Recreational activities such as horseshoes, baseball, volleyball, and badminton were available for Guests to enjoy. There were also multiple playgrounds for children to play on.

Holidayland wasn’t a theme park so there were no rides, attractions, or characters. However, there were concessions! On the property, there was a large circus tent. Inside, Guests could purchase food and drink items. The circus also hosted events such as the Mickey Mouse Club Circus!

One odd appeal that Holidayland had was the presence of alcohol. Even though we are very accustomed to alcoholic beverages being an option at the Disney Parks today, alcohol was not available for purchase inside Disneyland at the time.

Guests of Holidayland were able to enter Disneyland park through a special gate. They were also able to purchase the Disneyland 15-ride coupon book for a discounted price. The general public paid $4 for this coupon book while Holidayland Guests only paid $3.60.

Weird Things at Disneyland

Disneyland has had its fair share of oddities. From shops, to characters, activities, and beyond. However, at the time, many of these things seemed completely normal. Who knows? Perhaps future Guests of Disneyland will look back at our current Disneyland and think that many of our things are strange too!

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