HOLLYWOOD, July 15-
Two hundred and fifty of Lillian and Walt Disney's friends got their first look at Disneyland when they entered the gates to help celebrate the Disneys' 30th wedding anniversary. There aren't enough adjectives in Mr. Webster's book to describe the wonders of this playground. Mervyn Leroy called it "The Eighth Wonder of the World." I'll add, "It's the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth." When you congratulate the modest Walt, he grins and says, "All it took is money, Hedda, and fortunately my partners were very generous with that folding stuff." ... First thing we saw on entering the park was a floral replica of Mickey Mouse. And, there was his creator, Disney himself, manning the controls of the tiny train that circles the park. "All aboard!" he yelled as he grabbed me and placed me in a seat right behind him, between Freeman Gosden and Charlie Farrell. When the rest scrambled aboard, off we took. I not only got to pull the whistle but Walt actually let me take his place as engineer – a real sacrifice since he loves running that train almost more than anything.
We rode the horse-drawn street car thru a western town to Frontierland; boarded a boat for a sail thru Adventureland on a winding river with alligators rising from the water and spitting at us as we went by and wild animals roaring at us from the jungles. ... Then followed a ride on a stage coach drawn by four horses thru a river bed filled with water; a trip on the showboat Mark Twain which Dinah Shore guided thru perilous waters. We all sipped mint juleps served by waiters in red coats. But once the park is opened no alcoholic beverages will be served. ... In the Slewfoot Sue Golden Horseshoe saloon, we ate a marvelous dinner and watched some old time entertainment. A buxom blonde played the piano and sang all the old songs; Donald Novis brought the house down with his Irish tunes, and a line-up of beautiful girls did the can-can. Then the biggest wedding cake in history was wheeled out. Toasting the Disneys were the Edgar Bergens, Kay Kysers, Norman Chandlers, Buddy Ebsens, Leigh Battsons, Mrs. Bob Cumminngs, the Jules Steins, Bill Pereiras, Peter Godfreys, Hernando Courtright and his fiance, Marcelle Cuillery.
I saw no big brass from CBS or NBC. Both networks refused to meet Walt's terms for his TV show and thereby lost out on it and the chance to get in on Disneyland. But ABC was smarter and got in on the gold mine. Neither of the other networks has been able to create a show that can take the attention away from Disney's time. He's got a monopoly on the American public on Wednesday nights. ... We didn't see one-tenth of the wonders of the place, since we had only five hours. But we all went home with the feeling of having been reborn. Even the sky and sunset looked as tho Wait controlled them. The sun didn't want to set on such beauty. The one who had the most fun at this gala was Disney himself. He has created a wonderland for kids from 6 to 60, and he remains the biggest kid of them all.
