On June 6 1959, guests were able to dive into the newest attraction at Disneyland, which according to Walt Disney was the “eighth largest submarine fleet in the world.” The Submarine Voyage journeyed under the sea to discover a world of giant clams, moray eels, and sunken ships, with a sea serpent and mermaids thrown in for good measure. Disney Legend Harriet Burns recalled challenges with creating the mermaids. “Everything we did was the first time, we were pioneering everything. The products, the patterns, everything. I dyed the hair all sorts of colors because we wanted them pink and green and purple, and everything faded. Finally I took straight Clorox bleach and I put it in fruit jars and put the hair after I dyed it in the fruit jars. It lasted two weeks and I thought that was pretty darn good. So that’s what I used (when the attraction opened) and it faded out in no time in that pool because of the sun’s reaction with the chlorine and everything in it! So we had to have it extruded with pigment in it and I had to make new wigs for them.”
