Disneyland's 45th Birthday - July 17, 2000
Page 4 of 5

Dave Smith

Afterwards, I had the opportunity to ask the head of the Walt Disney Archives, Dave Smith, about Disneyland's opening day in 1955: "Disneyland's opening was a very exciting day because the public was really anticipating it. That's because Walt Disney had been promoting Disneyland on his television show for a year before it opened. I was a kid in Southern California then and I watched these shows and just the enthusiasm that Walt Disney had for this park, you could tell that this was going to be a fantastic place to visit".

Doobie Moseley interviews Cynthia Harriss

Disneyland Resort President Cynthia Harriss also shared with me her feelings on presiding over her first major birthday celebration: "Well I think it's tremendous. This is a historic day for us in celebrating 45 years here at the Disneyland Resort. As you saw, we started it with a party and hopefully all day that's how our guests feel today and just really enjoy the day."

When asked his feelings on the celebration - his first major event as a new Disneyland Ambassador, Eddie Garcia responded: "It's a big celebration. 45 years, can you imagine? To think that Walt Disney was out here dedicating this place 45 years ago today."

Cynthia Harriss signs an autograph for Disneyland guest Hope Maxwell

When asked if she enjoyed the event, Hope Maxwell, visiting from Washinging State, said "Yeah, I just wish I could've seen it more, there were a bunch of tall people in front of me". When asked if she enjoyed meeting Disneyland President Cynthia Harriss (shown in the picture above), Maxwell replied "Yes, I did. She's very nice. Lots of smiles."