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| Walt Disney as Grand Marshall in the Disneyland “Christmas in Many Lands” parade. This was a one-day parade, held on December 20, 1963. The regular Christmas parade, “The Parade of Toys,” ran from December 20th to 31st. The Christmas in Many Lands parade started with the famous Disneyland pigeons, followed by the Disneyland Band, and then the Grand Marshall in his Electric Car. Following him was the “Massed Flag Float” and then the floats of many lands (the Japanese Float won the “Sweepstakes” award). Dennis Morgan was the narrator. I consulted with numerous people to find out who the individuals in the car with Walt are, but to no avail. The man in the back looks a bit like Fred MacMurray, who had starred in Son of Flubber that year (but was released way back in January). If it is Fred, it is possible the lady is Nancy Olson (some similarities). Our best educated guess is that this was a lucky family who was invited to be the guest of Walt Disney in the parade. |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Once again I need to thank the magnificent Ed Ovalle from the Walt Disney Archives in helping me with almost all of the details for this photo (I knew it was Walt Disney and at Christmas, but that was about it). The fact that there was nothing in the press material in regards to Walt’s passengers is what lends us to believe that these are lucky guests. So we started the day with special guests at Disneyland, and we’ll end the day with special guests at Disneyland. Thanks for sharing Disneyland’s birthday with the Disney History Institute. We hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane with Walt Disney. Enjoy!
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