In the early years, the Disney characters didn't live at Disneyland.
For the park's grand opening in 1955, actors were hired to portray the characters, wearing costumes borrowed from the Ice Capades, but Mickey and Minnie were not intended to be an everyday feature in the park. In fact, since Roy and others were unconvinced that Disneyland would be a success, the Company only allowed Walt to use Dumbo and Tinker Bell, characters they felt would have no further use beyond the original films.
As time went on, of course, Disneyland proved to be hugely successful, and the public soon demanded to meet their favorite characters. For the 1961 summer season, Disney's animated stars made their first regular appearances, as touted in the ad pictured above.
This week on the blog, we'll take a look at some of the various character greetings that have been a part of the Disney Parks experience over the years.
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