10 Things You Never Knew About Disneyland

I recently wrote about 10 things you never knew about Walt Disney World (you can read it here www.associatedcontent.com/article/2319962/10_things_you_never_knew_about_walt.html). That got me thinking about 10 things you never knew about Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

The National Guard and Hippies Clash at Disneyland

In August,1970 a group of hippies planned to stage a protest at Disneyland against Disneyland's policy banning long hair and short skirts. The plan was to make it to Tom Sawyer Island, raise the Viet Cong flag, and smoke pot. The national guard met the hippies on Main Street in full riot gear and the park was closed for the day. Trash cans were set on fire and 23 arrests were made.

The Haunted Mansion isn't Looking for New Ghosts

Sure there are already plenty of happy haunts in the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland, but that doesn't stop people from trying to add more. You see, from time to time cameras in the attraction used to monitor the ride catch people dumping ashes from their "doom buggies." It turns out that most of the time, the ashes are those of a relative who pasted on and wanted to live forever at Disneyland. Too bad it's illegal and the ashes get vacuumed up and the person who dumped the ashes gets kicked out of the park.

You can dunk hoops at Disneyland

Well, that is you can dunk hoops if you know where to find a basketball court at Disneyland. Off limits to the public, but used by some Disneyland employees is the full size basket court build within the Matterhorn attraction. That's right, inside the giant snow-capped mountain is a basketball court.

There's no alcohol at Disneyland... Unless you're a member of the secret club

Like the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World the official line is there is no alcohol served in the park. However, unlike it's Orlando counterpart, that's not entirely true at Disneyland. In New Orleans square, there's a door with the number "33" on it. If you're a member of the exclusive "33 Club" then you enter the exclusive club for a lavish dinner and drinks. However, membership costs several thousand dollars per year and the waiting list is about 10 years long.

Walt Disney actually lived at Disneyland

The first building to be finished at Disneyland was the Main Street Firehouse with an apartment above it. Walt Disney wanted to personally supervise the construction so he lived in the apartment during the construction of Disneyland. After Disneyland opened, Walt would often stay in the apartment after a day of greeting guests in his park.

The apartment still looks the same was as it did when Walt last stayed in it before he died.

Visit Missouri without ever leaving Disneyland

Tom Sawyer lived in Missouri so wanting to make Tom Sawyer's island at Disneyland as authentic as possible, the island was annexed by the Governor of California to the state of Missouri on Disneyland's opening day in 1955 and the island now has a Missouri zip code.

Don't like Coke Cola products? You're out of luck at Disneyland

Coke and Coke products are the only soft drinks sold at Disneyland. In an agreement to keep Pepsi products out of Disneyland, Coke offered Disneyland a deal they couldn't refuse. As long as Disneyland sells only Coke products, Coke will supply the syrup free of charge. That's right, any soft drink you buy at Disneyland is pure profit for Disney.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse are the only rodents allowed at Disneyland

A few years back, Disneyland suffered from a rodent infestation; And they weren't the cuddly sort of rodents like Mickey and Minnie. To deal with the problem, Disneyland officials brought in cats to hunt the rodents. The offspring of the cats can be seen roaming Disneyland to this day.

Splash Mountain becomes "Flash Mountain"

No, the name of this popular Disneyland attraction didn't change, but riders often have their own X-rated fun. At the end of the ride, the log in which riders are in drops into the brier patch below. During the drop a camera takes riders' pictures to sell to them at the end of the ride. However, female riders have been known to "flash" for the camera. Disneyland has caught on and now reviews all images before they are shown to guests. So, if your image comes up as "image not available" you can probably guess why.

You can hear Walt Disney all day, every day at Disneyland

From the New Orleans Square train station you hear a telegram sending a message. The message is the speech Walt Disney gave on Disneyland's opening day.