Q : We know that Walt gathered inspiration for Disneyland from lots of sources. I understand that one of the parks he visited was Children’s Fairyland in Oakland, California. Is there any record of Walt’s visit to this park? It would be fabulous to see a photo! Is it true that he hired away the park’s first director, Dorothy Manes, as an early employee of Disneyland?
Chris, Alameda, California
A: No specific evidence turned up in the Walt Disney Archives that Walt or his designers ever visited Children’s Fairyland, but he, along with Nat Winecoff and C.V. Wood, did fly to San Francisco on Disneyland business on April 17, 1954. It is possible that they headed over to Oakland. It is indeed true that Walt hired Dorothy Manes. She began working at Disneyland in the 1950s, in charge of youth activities, and continued in that position until 1972.
Q : I’ve heard different accounts of Walt’s original intentions for his Florida Project. One was that Walt wanted to build an East Coast Disneyland with more space than the Anaheim property. The other story is that, when he decided to build in Orlando, that he primarily wanted to focus on EPCOT Center, and wasn’t really interested in another theme park. He only conceded when Florida officials told him that they and the public were anticipating a new theme park. So did Walt always intend to build a vacation destination/city of tomorrow in Florida, or did it just evolve into that?
Kenny, Lithonia, Georgia
A: By the time that Disneyland in California was running smoothly, Walt began thinking where he might build another park. The Disney exhibits at the 1964 New York World’s Fair convinced him that east-coast audiences would appreciate the Disney-style entertainment, so he looked to Florida as the area with the best year-round good weather. After selecting a location, he began purchasing land, and eventually ended up with more land than he had originally planned. To make use of that land, he wanted to build a Disneyland-type park, because he knew that was expected of him, but he was also thinking of hotels, recreational facilities, an industrial park, an airport, and an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). All these areas were part of the initial proposal made to the people of Florida. Walt sadly passed away shortly after the plans were announced, so he was never able to see his dream take shape.
Q : Our three-year-old (yes, three-year-old) asks me the height requirements of Disney rides and watches DVDs about the parks every day. Since he learned that the height requirement for Space Mountain at Disneyland is only 40 inches (much less than Space Mountain at Walt Disney World), he has been asking us to take him across the country just so he can ride Space Mountain. I’ve been trying to figure out why it’s different, and it looks like the ride vehicles are different. Is the ride also different? What’s the story behind the differences in Space Mountain at the different parks and the different height requirements?
Jackie, Charleston, South Carolina
A: There are several differences between the Space Mountain attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. First, as you noted, the ride vehicles are different; in Disneyland, guests sit two per row, whereas guests sit one per row at Walt Disney World. Walt Disney World offers two different ride tracks, “starry-o-phonic” sound (in which music and sound effects play throughout the attraction), and a differently themed queue and post-show (recently themed as “Starport Seven Five”). At Disneyland, there is a single ride track, sound that plays in coordination to the ride track and from speakers within the vehicle, and an alternate attraction that has played during the fall—Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. According to the Disneyland website, as of June 2012, its Space Mountain has a height requirement of 40 inches or taller, while Walt Disney World’s has a height restriction of 44 inches or taller.
Q : I have two coins (one gold and one purple) from the 20th anniversary surprise parade at Walt Disney World. I received the coins when I was about four years old from cast members in the parade. I was wondering if they gave out these coins at every parade during the celebrations or only certain shows?
Heather, Miami, Florida
A: These coins (there are also green ones) were first given out by parade cast members, along with strings of colored beads, during the Party Gras Parade at Disneyland, which ran during most of the year in 1990. A similar parade for the 20th anniversary of Walt Disney World using the floats from Disneyland, named the Surprise Celebration, began in the Magic Kingdom in the fall of 1991 and continued until 1994. That parade had different coins, in gold, blue, and green.
Q : My son is a 39-year-old yo-yo expert and has traveled the world as a demonstrator, etc. I’ve always been involved with it too and have met many other yo-yologists in the world and produced a couple of contests in the past. I heard that Donald Duncan Jr. held a National Yo-Yo Contest at Disneyland in California in approximately 1962. Can you find out if it is true? Any and all information you can provide will be greatly appreciated!
Jeannie, Stockton, California
A: I wasn’t having any success in finding an answer until I discovered that the Duncan National Yo-Yo Contest was held, not at Disneyland park, but across the street at the Disneyland Hotel, which was owned by Jack Wrather. The first contest, with Donald Duncan Jr. in attendance, was held at the hotel in 1962, with a $5,000 prize. The next two contests, in 1963 and 1964, included spin-tops as well as yo-yos. 1964 was the last year that the contest was held.
Q : In 1957, when I was 10 years old, my mother and I visited Disneyland. On that particular day, Roy Williams was making an appearance at the park. He gave me a souvenir picture of all the original Mouseketeers. On the back he drew a picture of Pluto and signed his name, Roy. I was hoping you could tell me if there is a market for such collectibles and how I might determine a value. I could provide a scanned copy via e-mail if that would help?
Richard, Punta Gorda, Florida
A: Roy was one Disney artist who really loved interacting with the guests at Disneyland. His quick sketches from the park are fairly common, and I do not believe they are especially expensive when sold.
Q : I recently watched the Disneyland After Dark DVD and loved the segment with Louie Armstrong, Kid Ory, and Johnny St. Cyr. I know that Johnny was a regular musician at the park, but was Kid Ory? I’ve seen some handbills for shows he played in there, but was he a regular Disneyland cast member or just a guest musician from time to time?
Ethan, New York City, New York
A: Famed jazz trombonist Edward “Kid” Ory (1886-1973) started performing at Disneyland with Johnny St. Cyr and his Young Men from New Orleans in the September 30, 1961 Dixieland at Disneyland show. That was the show filmed for Disneyland After Dark, airing on television in 1962. Ory, while not a cast member, was fond of appearing at Disneyland and would return for a number of performances in ensuing years.
Q : Who are the voices behind some of the attractions? For instance, I found out that Paul Frees is the voice behind the Haunted Mansion ghost host, and I was wondering who are all the others?
Debra, Manalapan, New Jersey
A: Disney has generally not publicized the actors whose voices have been used in the park attractions, though some of the Haunted Mansion actors have indeed become well-known: Paul Frees, Thurl Ravenscroft, and Eleanor Audley, to name three. Royal Dano provided the voice of Abraham Lincoln for attractions at the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom and Disneyland park.  Pete Renoudet has done voices for a number of attractions. You can find websites that list other Disney park voices.