Text by Alex
In 1969, less than three years after the passing of Walt Disney, Walt Disney World in Florida would not open for another two years. That summer, a 20-year-old young man from Texas named Larry Syverson visited Disneyland with his girlfriend (now his wife), Judy. The precious color photos he took that day have recently resurfaced online.
Larry vividly remembers that they rode 22 rides that day, spending 15 hours in the park and only leaving when it closed at 1 a.m. Though Larry has since traveled extensively with his wife, their four sons, and grandchildren—and even fulfilled his dream of visiting all 50 U.S. states—he never returned to Disneyland.
▲ Disneyland California opened in 1955; when Larry visited, the park had been in operation for 14 years. The photo shows Sleeping Beauty Castle.
▲ The iconic Mickey flower bed and the town train station at the park entrance.
▲ It’s a Small World, still hugely popular today. The blonde girl in pink on the left is Judy.
▲ The Astro Orbitor ride in Tomorrowland. The first artificial satellite was launched into space in 1955, the same year the park opened, reflecting how cutting-edge it was at the time.
▲ A ride modeled after the Swiss Matterhorn, with cable cars passing through it.
▲ A solo photo of Larry with Tomorrowland in the background.
▲ The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. Likely due to the holiday season, there were long queues everywhere.
▲ The cruise ship was also packed.
▲ Back then, rides required separate tickets; to save money, you could buy a ticket book for multiple attractions. Larry still keeps the ticket stubs from that time. For context, the park didn’t adopt the all-in-one ticket system until the early 1980s.
▲ Larry kept one of the single tickets, documenting which rides he went on that day.
▲ Information pamphlet for Tom Sawyer Island.
▲ Tour guide brochure for Tom Sawyer Island.
▲ When hunger struck, the couple headed to the French Market for a meal. At first glance, the photo really doesn’t look like it was taken 49 years ago.
▲ Judy, radiating an unmistakable youthful vibe.
?丛矗耗aily Mail、Larry Syverson