A: Yes, those two attractions both had the same narrator: Paul Frees. Walt Disney had some voice actors whom he especially liked, so he tended to pick them when he had a project that could use their talents.

A: Walt Disney was well along in planning Walt Disney World when the New York World’s Fair closed in the fall of 1965, so he would have had no interest in building a theme park in New York. Besides, he insisted that sites for Disney parks have weather conditions that supported year-round operation. The two-year fair had been closed from October to April each of its two years, primarily for weather factors.

A: When the Donald Duck character costume was introduced at Disneyland in 1968, it did indeed have soft rubber feet. The harder, molded shoe (I would not call them galoshes), with tennis shoes worn inside, was added several years later, though I have been unable to pinpoint the exact year.

A: While X. Atencio did not consider himself a songwriter, Walt Disney was very pleased with the lighthearted lyrics he came up with for Pirates of the Caribbean. When work was progressing on the Haunted Mansion, X. felt that a simple song would lighten up the mood in that attraction also. So, he wrote the lyrics for “Grim Grinning Ghosts”; the alternate title was “The Screaming Song.” He never revealed how he came up with the song’s title. Veteran studio composer Buddy Baker wrote the music.  Different arrangements of the song were used throughout the attraction. According to Jason Surrell in his Haunted Mansion book, “In order to make the graveyard scene a true showstopper, X. and Buddy did everything they could to give those music cues an even more otherworldly quality, including detuning the instruments and recording the music backward and combining it all in the final mix.”

A: The show was created for the 1964 New York World’s Fair, then moved to Disneyland after the fair closed in 1965. It ran at Disneyland from 1967 to 1973, when it was moved to Walt Disney World, opening there in 1975. With slight changes, upgrades, and maintenance, essentially those are the same Audio-Animatronics characters running today as were used at the fair. They are approaching their 50th anniversary.

A: These were sold in the Disney parks. A friend of mine, Gary, recalls purchasing one for his son, Matthew, about four years ago at the Mad Hatter on Main Street, U.S.A., in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Matthew says it cost $15. I don’t know that it is especially rare.

A: The company’s current 10-K report to the government notes that the Disney land in Florida is “approximately 25,000 acres.” That number is lower than earlier figures because of some land being de-annexed. For example, the 1972 10-K report lists approximately 27,000 acres, and the 2004 one lists 30,500.

A: I found that a Hawaiian Hot Dog was indeed served at the Adventureland Verandah in the Magic Kingdom; it had sweet-and-sour sauce to make it “Hawaiian.” It sold for $1.35 in 1977.

A: The Doom Buggies were used to create a constant flow of guests through the Haunted Mansion.

A: On July 17, 1955, Disneyland announced to its invited guests a closing time of 8:00 p.m., so they could get the park ready for the public opening the next day. To prepare for the live television special, all attractions closed at 4:00; they would then reopen as each land was dedicated. For the remainder of the summer, Disneyland would be open from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The Archives has only the silver Invitational Press Preview ticket, but I have also seen the green and white ones.