President Suharto of Indonesia Visits Disneyland
July--Disneylands 15 Anniversary Celebration
Prince Oba Ayeka and Prince Emir Bayera of Nigeria Visits Disneyland
August 6--300 Yippies protesting the Vietnam War invade the park . The date picked was the 25th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing. Some parade down Main Street USA and speak of 'liberating' Minnie Mouse. Others take over Fort Wilderness on Tom Sawyer's Island, yank down the 15 star American flag and raise a Viet Cong flag in its place. The protest escalates when the park is ordered closed at 7 PM and 30,000 guests are escorted out. Trash cans are set on fire and rocks and debris are thrown at police blocking the main gate. Police make 23 arrests.
His Excellency Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV, Prime Minister of Western Samoa Visits Disneyland
President Joseph Mobutu of the Congo Republic Visits Disneyland
His Excellency Nicolae Ceausescu, President of Romania Visits Disneyland
James Lovell, U.S. Astronaut Visits Disneyland
Cosmonauts Andrian Nikolayev and Vitali Sevastyanov, accompanied by U.S. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin - the second man on the moon Visits Disneyland
FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY:
Disneyland marked its mid-teen birthday with a spectacular summer-long celebration attended by more than five million people from late May through early September.
INVESTMENT: Total to date: $128.5 million
ATTENDANCE: For the first time in its history, Disneyland welcomed 10 million guests in a single year. Mrs. Verde. McFarlane, a Riverside, Ca. housewife, stepped through the turnstiles at 9:41 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 19, to become 1970's ten millionth guest.
HIGHLIGHTS :
Total attendance for fiscal 1970 hit the 10.3 million mark bringing the fifteen-year total to more than 95 million.
Ambassador to the World Cathy Birk, carried the Disney-land banner andmapecial brand of friendship to 12 countries throughout Europe: Ireland, France, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Holland, England, Scotland, Sweden.
1970's Big Band Festival launched the celebration summer. On hand were Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Vaughn Monroe and Buddy Rich, with Sarah Vaughan as an extra added attraction.
Again this year, the 90,000 mark was topped in number of high school students celebrating all-night Grad Nite Parties at Disneyland. As of this year over half a million graduates had observed commencement celebrations at Disneyland since the first Grad Nite in 1961.
"Show Me America" was the frosting on the Fifteenth Birthday Cake. The fast-paced, musical comedy combined favorite tunes, old and new, with plenty of humor. More than 120 lavish costumes were made even more dazzling against spectacular stage settings. From its premiere performance, when 60 members of the press led a standing ovation, through its summer-end closing 124 performances later, the show was acclaimed by audiences and critics alike.
July 17 brought together 130 of Disneyland's original staff for a special celebration. Combined, their service to Park guests totaled more than 1,950 years.
More than 30 all-time Folk & Western music greats participated in the "Country Jubilee" series every summer Sunday afternoon and evening.
"Dixieland at Disneyland" had its 11th annual presentation in September. Headliners were Bob Crosby, Mickie Finn, Wild Bill Davison, Turk Murphy, Doc Evans and Art Hodes.
Disneyland's Community Service Awards program honored 24 county organizations with cash awards totaling $30,000. The Outstanding Award was won by the Anaheim Memorial Hospital Development Foundation.
FAMOUS GUESTS
*President Suharto of Indonesia (May)
*Prince Oba Ayeka and Prince Emir Bayera of Nigeria (July)
*His Excellency Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV, Prime Minister of Western Samoa (August)
*President Joseph Mobutu of the Congo Republic (August)
*His Excellency Nicolae Ceausescu, President of Romania (October)
*James Lovell, U.S. Astronaut (October)
*Cosmonauts Andrian Nikolayev and Vitali Sevastyanov, accompanied by U.S. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin - the second man on the moon (October)
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