References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2012 October 29.

1985

January 6

• The Hallmark card shop at Disneyland closes, after 25 years of operation. [228.225] [1300.198]

February 13

• Mickey Mouse, accompanied by Disneyland's Ambassador, Melissa Taylor, begins a 30-day flight around the world, celebrating Disneyland's 30th anniversary. [96.87]

February 18

• The NBC TV network airs the three-hour special Disneyland's 30th Anniversary Celebration, starring Drew Barrymore and John Forsythe. [228.138] [380.115] [386.127] [1300.137]

March 23

• The live stage show Disneyland is Your Land begins performances at Disneyland. [228.136]
• The Disney Clothiers, Ltd. shop opens on Main Street at Disneyland. [228.130] [1300.131]

March 29

• The new Frontierland Shootin' Arcade attraction opens in Disneyland. The guns of the Frontierland Shooting Gallery at Disneyland were changed from using lead pellets to infrared beams. [9] [26.27] [228.197] [1300.180]

April

• Disney announces the Videopolis, a teen open-air dance club for Disneyland. [14]

June 14

• The Card Corner shop opens on Main Street at Disneyland, sponsored by Gibson Greetings. [228.80] [1300.90]

June 19

• The Yumz food facility opens at the Videopolis in Fantasyland at Disneyland. [501.628] [1300.447]

June 22

• The Videopolis attraction opens in Fantasyland at Disneyland. It is a 5000 square foot outdoor dance amphitheater with music videos playing on 70 monitors. [9] [14] [20] [26.27] [238.208] [328] [501.587] [939.137] [1300.434]

(month unknown)

• The Carefree Corner registration area in Disneyland closes. [228.80]
• In Disneyland, the name of the Davy Crockett Arcade shop is changed to Davy Crockett Frontier Arcade. [228.118] [1300.127]
• The Main Street Electrical Parade returns to operation at Disneyland. [228.306]

July 17

• The Disney Channel airs Dateline: Disneyland, documenting the opening of the park thirty years ago. [380.155]

August 25

• Disneyland welcomes three-year old Brooks Arthur Charles Burr as the park's 250-millionth visitor. [14] [26.27] (August 24 [228.134] [1300.142,187]) (Brooks Charles Arthur Burr [228.134])

September 2

• The Adventure Through Inner Space attraction closes in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. [228.6] [1300.41]
  
  

September

• Disney announces that starting in 1986, Disneyland will be open every day of the year. [14]

September 30

• Attendance at Disneyland during the fiscal year is 11.3 million. [14]

October 4

• Turks and Caicos Islands issues ten postage stamps depicting scenes from Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Disneyland. [181.B35] [617.643]

November 1

• Belize issues ten postage stamps depicting characters from It's a Small World, marking the 30th anniversary of Disneyland. [629.750]

(month unknown)

• The Fantasy on Parade Christmas parade begins its last run at Disneyland. [228.174]

December 5

• The Skyfest celebration salute to Disneyland is held in Anaheim, California. A world record one million helium balloons is released over Disneyland. [501.504] [939.43] [1073.142]

1986

January 25

• Circus Fantasy first appears in Disneyland. [1300.106]

February

• The Country Bear Vacation Hoedown attraction opens in Bear Country at Disneyland. [9] [26.28] [939.128]

February 23

• The Guatemalan Weavers shop in Disneyland closes. [228.220] [1300.366]

March 1

• The Safari Outpost shop opens in Adventureland at Disneyland. [501.481] [1300.366]

May

• The Walt Disney Company changes its no-alcohol policy in Disneyland, allowing beer, wine, or champagne at corporate parties of 500 or more, after dark, in rented sections of the park. [184.A13]
• The Magic Eye Theater opens in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. First film shown is Magic Journeys. [9] [228.303] [1300.251]

May 23

• NBC TV airs the special Disneyland's Summer Vacation Party featuring Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld. [228.138] [386.127] [1300.137]

May 30

• The Disneyana shop on Main Street in Disneyland switches location with the Jewelry Shop. [1230.30] [1300.130]

June 27

• The Big Thunder Ranch attraction opens in Frontierland at Disneyland. [9] [14] [26.28] [228.55] [1300.75]

(month unknown)

• The Kennel Club pet boarding facility at Disneyland is renamed Pet Care Kennel, sponsored by Gaines. [228.273] [1300.232]
• The American Society of Mechanical Engineers name Disneyland's Monorail a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. [757.55]

July 4

• In Disneyland, the Country Bear Jamboree is renamed Country Bear Playhouse. [228.106] [1300.117]

July 23

• An Orange County Superior Court orders Disneyland to pay US$600,000 to the family of Mel Yorba, who was murdered at the park in 1981. The jury found park officials negligent in their treatment of the injured youth. [189.A10]

(month unknown)

• The Totally Minnie Parade runs at Disneyland. [501.565]

September 15

• The Character Shop in Tomorrowland at Disneyland closes. [228.87] [1300.100]

September 18

• The film Captain Eo opens in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. [1] [9] [4] [23] [26.28] [56.81] [228.79] [1300.89]

October 12

• The Golden Horseshoe Revue show closes in Disneyland. It is the longest running show in history, at nearly 50,000 performances. [20] [228.208] [757.50] [939.126]

November 1

• The Golden Horseshoe Jamboree opens in Frontierland at Disneyland. It was formerly the Golden Horseshoe Revue. [228.208]

November 21

• The Star Traders shop opens in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. [501.521] [1300.397]

December 14

• The Big Thunder Barbecue restaurant opens in Big Thunder Ranch in Frontierland at Disneyland. [228.54] [1300.73]

1987

January 9

• The Star Tours attraction opens in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. It cost US$32 million to create. [1] [9] [14] [20] [22] [23] [26.28] [479.48] [501.521] [757.40] [1300.395]

April

• The monorail at Disneyland is now called "Disneyland Monorail", and uses new Mark V trains. [1300.292] (1986 [228.338])

May 5

• Disneyland debuts "Disney Dollars", a creation of Jack Lindquist. Mickey Mouse and Sleeping Beauty's Castle are on the $1 bill, Goofy and the Mark Twain Riverboat are on the $5 bill. [26.28] [232.85] [245.68] [228.130] [399.2] [757.40] [1288.22] [1300.131]

May 17

• The Mickey's Christmas Chalet shop in Disneyland closes. [228.325] [1300.280]

May 29

• The Briar Rose Cottage shop opens in Fantasyland in Disneyland. This spot was formerly Mickey's Christmas Chalet. [228.69] [1300.83]

June 11

• The Disney Gallery opens in New Orleans Square at Disneyland. [26.28] [20] [228.130]

June 24

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer releases the film Spaceballs to theaters in the USA. "Someone says "Did I miss something? When did we get to Disneyland?". [1160]

(month unknown)

• Work begins on Splash Mountain at Disneyland, based on the 1946 Disney film Song of the South. [1]
• Disney begins featuring its television advertisements after great sports events, where the star runs up to a camera and says "I'm going to Disneyland!". [14]
• In Disneyland, the name of the Davy Crockett Frontier Arcade shop changes to Davy Crockett's Pioneer Mercantile. [228.119] [1300.127]
• Cost of a single-day ticket to Disneyland passes $20. [1300.320]

July 11

• The Disney Gallery opens in New Orleans Square at Disneyland. The Art of Disneyland 1953-1986 is the first exhibition. [26.73] [1248.11] [1300.132]

September 2

• The Westward Ho Trading Company shop opens in Frontierland at Disneyland. Former name was Frontier Trading Post. [501.603] [1300.180,442]

September 19

• The State Fair event is first held at Disneyland. [1300.398]

1988

March 19

• Disneyland is host to the first Blast to the Past celebration, with a parade, Main Street Hop show, Super Hooper Duper hula-hoop event, and original 1950s/60s entertainers. [228.60] [1300.77]

April 10

• The America Sings attraction in the carousel theater in Tomorrowland at Disneyland closes. [228.21] [1300.48]

June 30

• The Videopolis Railroad Station opens in Disneyland. [501.587] (1985 [328.271])

(month unknown)

• At Disneyland, the scene and narration of a log cabin burning along the Jungle Cruise ride is changed to show the settler passed out drunk, rather than killed by Indians. [259.88]

October

• The Card Corner shop in Disneyland closes. [1300.90]

November

• The Carefree Corner area returns to Main Street in Disneyland. [1300.90]

November 23

• In Disneyland, the Bear Country area is renamed Critter Country. [26.93] [98] [228.45,109] [757.40] [939.99] [1300.119]
• The Crocodile Mercantile shop opens in Critter Country at Disneyland. Former name was Ursus H. Bear's Wilderness Outpost. [228.109] [1300.120,434]

December 1

• The Briar Patch shop opens in Critter Country in Disneyland. This location was formerly the Indian Trading Post. [228.69] [1300.83,214]

December 2

• The Company D cast member store opens at Disneyland. [228.100]

December 11

• The NBC TV network airs the special Disneyland's All-Star Comedy Circus. [228.138] [1300.137] (December 18 [386.127])

1989

January 3

• The Sunkist Citrus House shop at Disneyland closes. [501.530]

February 3

• Disney issues new $1 and $5 Disney Dollars at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. The $1 bill depicts Mickey Mouse on one side, and Sleeping Beauty Castle on the other. The $5 bill depicts Goofy on one side, with the other side showing EPCOT Center's Spaceship Earth and the Empress Lilly Riverboat. [407]

March 19

• At Disneyland, the Skyway ride shuts itself off after riders in one car vigorously rocked it. (150 people are stranded for up to 5 hours while firefighters rescued them with ladders. All attractions in Fantasyland and several in Tomorrowland had to be closed during the rescue.) [265.A12]

(month unknown)

• On the fourth episode of the Disney-produced television show Hard Times on Planet Earth, some scenes are shot at Disneyland. [385.114]

May 20

• The TV special Disneyland Blast to the Past airs on KHJ-TV in Los Angeles. [228.135] [1300.78]

(month unknown)

• The track for the Casey Jr. Circus Train at Disneyland is completely replaced. [328.286]

July 17

• PSA ends sponsorshop of the World Premiere Circle-Vision theater at Disneyland. [501.621]
• The Splash Mountain attraction opens in Critter Country at Disneyland, after five years of planning. The ride features 103 Audio-Animatronic characters, some from the former America Sings attraction. This is the longest flume chute ride in the world. [1] [26.28] [501.518] [757.40] [1300.391]
• The Brer Bar opens in Critter Country in Disneyland. Formerly this location was the Mile Long Bar. [228.68] [1300.82,285]

July 22

• The Disneyland Presents a Preview of Coming Attractions display on Main Street closes. [228.136] [1300.135]

September 1

• Disneyland welcomes its 300-millionth guest: Claudine Masson. [26.28] [228.134]

October 6

• A new "Disneyland" marquee is installed at Disneyland. [1300.269]

October 27

• The Disneyland Showcase shop opens on Main Street in Disneyland. [228.137] [1300.139]

December 12

• Disneyland raises entrance gate prices by US$2 to US$25.50 for adults and US$20.50 for children. [279.D8]

December 16

• The One Man's Dream show begins performances at the Videopolis in Disneyland. [228.373]

Other web pages of interest:

This Day in History

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Last updated: 2012 October 29.
Copyright © 1995-2012 Ken Polsson (email: ken@kpolsson.com).
URL: http://kpolsson.com/disland/
Link to Ken P's home page.