Black Sunday

We'd never heard about Disneyland's opening day fifty years ago. This writer gives a concise overview of a miserable day:

The heat and the crowds, along with a Magic Kingdom full of other problems, contributed to what will forever after be called Black Sunday in the Disney organization.

Long lines formed at the rides, forcing visitors to stand in the sweltering sun. Later it was discovered that counterfeit tickets had been used by the uninvited. Adding to the congestion, crashers scrambled over fences and berms in remote areas of the park.

Several of the rides shut down because of overuse, and by the end of the day all the "Autopia" cars had been sidelined. The deck of the river boat Mark Twain was awash; too many passengers had climbed aboard. And a gas leak was discovered in Tomorrowland, forcing evacuation of the entire area.

Refreshment stands quickly ran out of food and drink, and there were few drinking fountains. Women's spiked heels sank into the newly laid asphalt on Main Street. Families waited in long lines to use toilets. A saboteur snipped electrical lines in Fantasyland, bringing all rides to a halt.

Survivors of Black Sunday retain vivid memories of that day, including Disney consultant Harrison "Buzz" Price, who chose the then-sleepy agricultural town of Anaheim as the location for Disneyland.

"I was on the bridge that led to Sleeping Beauty's Castle, and it was full of people," he recalls. "We couldn't move. and the asphalt was sticky. I looked down and saw Frank Sinatra, and he was cursing."

Link.

Walt Disney's response (one of mending fences and paying attention to small details) would probably serve as a good template for anyone in business.