Yesterland

Disneyland Historical Highlights:
The Walt and Roy Disney Years
1954 – 1972


The newest book by Jim Korkis
Disneyland Historical Highlights: The Walt and Roy Disney Years, 1954 – 1972

Disney Historian Jim Korkis has written many books for Disney fans—but his newest promises to be especially appealing to Yesterland readers. I just learned about Disneyland Historical Highlights: The Walt and Roy Disney Years, 1954 – 1972. I haven’t read it or even seen it yet, but I wanted you to know about it right away.

Although the book title succinctly sums up what the book is about, Jim has provided a more detailed description. You can read it below.

But first… “Yesterland is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.” That means, “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.” I benefit financially if you buy any of a book (or any other item at Amazon) after entering Amazon through links on Yesterland.

Werner Weiss, Curator of Yesterland, June 14, 2022


About Disneyland Historical Highlights: The Walt and Roy Disney Years, 1954 – 1972

Take an anecdotal time-travel trip back to the memorable years when Walt Disney and his brother Roy were operating Disneyland. Those magical years were a time when Walt’s park was not an overpriced reservation vacation but truly the Happiest Place on Earth.

Each chapter in this book is devoted to a specific year in that early history of Disneyland from 1954 to 1972 and is filled with stories that have been forgotten or never told.

Besides information each year on such things as ticket prices, attendance, the Candlelight Processional narrator, employment numbers, each chapter has several short essays about the events, attraction openings and much more that occurred during that particular year.

While most histories of Disneyland will focus on the fact that 1959 saw the introduction of the first three “E Ticket” attractions (Submarine Voyage, Monorail, and Matterhorn Bobsleds), this book also details the “Western Weekend” when television cowboy stars appeared for a three day weekend, the infamous Car Club Day that inspired Ed “Big Daddy” Roth to create his Rat Fink character, Nikita Khrushchev’s failed attempt to visit Disneyland, the complete schedule of events for the June 14 dedication ceremonies and more.

So much was going on at Disneyland every year that all the information was never properly documented and interesting little historical tidbits have slipped through the cracks but are finally recounted in this book.

Every page contains something that might surprise even the most avid Disneyland aficionado drawn from decades of research, personal experience as well as exclusive interviews with the Imagineers and executives who were there during those years.

Everything from a Yippie Invasion that shut down the park to when Annette dressed as an Indian princess signing autographs in the Indian Village to why The Enchanted Tiki Room did not become a restaurant as originally planned is revealed in this book.

For those who were there, the book will bring back fond memories and for those who weren’t, it will give some insight into how those early years were so magical and so memorable for so many Disneyland guests.


About Jim Korkis

Jim Korkis is an internationally respected Disney historian who has written hundreds of articles and twenty books about all things Disney over the last forty years.

Jim grew up in Glendale, California, where he was able to meet and interview Walt’s original team of animators and Imagineers. In 1995, he relocated to Orlando, Florida, where he worked for Walt Disney World in a variety of capacities, including Entertainment, Animation, Disney Institute, Disney University, College and International Programs, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Design Group, Marketing.

His original research on Disney history has been used often by the Disney company as well as other organizations such as the Walt Disney Family Museum. Jim is not currently an employee of the Disney company. Several websites currently regularly feature Jim’s articles about Disney history, and he is a frequent guest on multiple podcasts.


How to Buy the Book

The paperback is available at Amazon. As of June 14, 2022, the Kindle edition is not yet available—although it should be soon. Click on the link for the paperback and then click in “See all formats and editions” to see if the Kindle edition has been released.


Would you like to read about other books from recent years? Then check these Yesterland lists:

 

Book: Final Secret Stories
Books for Disney Fans, 2021
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Updated July 17, 2022