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Walt, shown
here with baby Chris Miller, was a doting grandfather
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Months before Disneyland
opened, Walt became a grandfather for the first time. He was absolutely delighted.
But there was one disappointment: Walt had hoped his first grandson would
be named after him, and Diane had decided to name the baby Christopher. "Afterwards,
I felt that we had made a mistake," she said. Walt would have to wait while
Diane had three girls before Walter Elias Disney Miller was born. In all,
Diane would have six children during Walt's lifetime -- a seventh after he
died. Sharon, who married an architect named Bob Brown in 1959, would
have one child, Victoria, during Walt's lifetime. Two more would follow later.
Walt was a loving, doting grandfather. "He always had a camera with him,"
recalls granddaughter Tamara. "He had a tendency of handing the camera to
a child. There's a great series of him crouching lower and lower as a child
took the pictures."
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Though there are now
many themed amusement parks, Walt's was the first. As Disneyland historians
David Mumford and Bruce Gordon write, "Everyone has a hometown, and Walt always
considered his to be Marceline, Missouri." To welcome guests to Disneyland,
Walt would invite them into his home, or rather his hometown. A single corridor,
themed as a "better than the real thing" midwestern Main Street, would guide
guests into the heart of Disneyland. From there, they could choose to enter
a number of themed lands, each of which was based on a world that was near
and dear to Walt's heart and populated with the characters he loved. Mumford and Gordon write, "Stories
of the construction of Disneyland are legendary. From the Frontierland riverbed
that leaked dry the first time the banks were filled, to the flying Dumbo
elephants that were too heavy for the ride's armature, it was clear nothing
like this had ever been built before."
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Main Street under construction
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Walt and Lilly, accompanied
by their daughters, celebrate their 35th anniversary at Disneyland
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Several days before Disneyland
opened, Walt and Lilly celebrated their 35th anniversary at the park. It was
a happy night for the family, complete with Walt and Lilly dancing on the
stage of the Golden Horseshoe. Diane recalls her father in
the backseat of the car on the way home, holding a rolled-up Disneyland map: "He was tooting
through it like a little boy with a toy trumpet. And then he was singing a
song. And before I knew it, there he was like a little boy, sound asleep,
with his trumpet folded in his arms." Opening day of the park was televised
on a 90-minute live television program that was the most-watched TV event
up to that time. Some 20 cameras posted around the park telecast a vision
of exciting attractions, heartfelt dedications, and relaxed commentary from
Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan.
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But like so much on television,
reality didn't quite live up to the illusion. In fact, the park wasn't really
ready for prime time yet. Opening day, rides broke down; there were too few trash cans;
lines were far too long; not enough water fountains were operating. Perhaps
worst, thousands of counterfeit invitations had been distributed, and so the
park was overloaded, while the roads leading to Disneyland were jammed with
bumper-to-bumper cars filled with irate passengers. But opening day was soon
over, and most of the problems were fixed. Better yet, Walt was able to start
making changes and improvements. Dumbo Flying Elephants, 20,000 Leagues Under
the Sea, and the Mike Fink Keel Boats were all in operation before the end
of the year. Tom Sawyer Island opened the next. "Disneyland will never be
completed," Walt said. "He practically lived there," recalled Lilly.
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Walt enjoying himself in the Disneyland Autopia with daughter Diane and grandson Christopher Miller
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