60 Disneyland Diamonds: Introduction

On July 17 of this year, the Happiest Place on Earth turns 60. The party starts this Friday!

60...wow. Feels like only yesterday that it was turning 50.

 

Back then, they did something called Magical Milestones to highlight just how much the park had grown since it opened. There were actually two versions of Magical Milestones: a set of trading pins and a special set of penny presses installed for the duration. Both versions consisted of 51 items, one for each calendar year Disneyland had been in operation and featuring a landmark event from that year—usually the opening of an attraction, but the M.M.'s also included parades, other important anniversaries, and even lesser-known events like the launching of the Disneyland Ambassador program.

The pin set would have been nice to have, but the pins started at like eight dollars a pop, and there were fifty-one of them to collect. I didn't have anything like that kind of money,* so I got the pressed pennies—a much lighter investment. I assembled a bunch of nice shiny pennies and got about $30 in quarters and had a great time hunting down all the special machines. Ten years on, the pennies aren't nearly as shiny, but I'm still proud of finishing that sidequest...and of the special drawstring pouch I made to keep the pennies in:

(I feel safe in saying that no one else in the whole world did this. Made a pouch for the Magical Milestones pressed pennies, that is. I am a special kind of strange.)

Where was I...?

Anyway, Disneyland's Golden Anniversary was great, largely due to cool things like Magical Milestones which delved into the history of the park. The Diamond Anniversary seems...less focused on that stuff (although of course I won't know for sure until it kicks off and I get to see what's what). So just in case the Powers That Be don't revisit something like Magical Milestones now that Disneyland has another decade's worth under its belt...I'm doing my own version:

60 Disneyland Diamonds for the Diamond Anniversary.

Not only will this be a nice tribute to the occasion, it will allow me to talk up rides and other things that might not merit a full post. A lot of the Diamonds will be the same as the corresponding Magical Milestones from 2005. How could they not be? The debut of the Haunted Mansion was the Disneyland event of 1969; Space Mountain was likewise the highlight of 1977. But rather than copying that list wholesale and tacking on ten extra, I've set myself a couple of limiting guidelines:

1. Disneyland Park is what's turning 60, not “the Disneyland Resort.” Saints preserve us from brand manipulation. So nothing from California Adventure, Downtown Disney, or the resort hotels will be included in this list.
   
   
2. Many of the Magical Milestones referenced attractions that are long-gone. I want each and every one of my Diamonds to be something you could go enjoy tomorrow, if you so chose.

In order to make up for these limitations, I've expanded the list of candidates to include not just attractions and parades, but shops, restaurants, and various tidbits not considered glamorous enough to be featured on any official merchandise. But they're all, in their own way, Diamonds in the Disneyland crown.

The entry for 1955 is obviously and inevitably Disneyland itself, and this whole blog is dedicated to discussing it. So next week I'll pick up starting in 1956 and give you the first ten Diamonds from that first magical decade! See you then!

* I did buy one M.M. Pin, though—1977, my birth year.