Dave MacPherson was the first member of the public to buy a ticket and walk into Disneyland when it opened its gates to paying guests on 18 July 1955. A 22-year-old student at Long Beach State College, he queued through the night to be first, and Disney rewarded him with a lifetime pass that he used for almost 60 years.
His story is often told with a few embellishments, so here is what reliable reports say, who else has a claim to being "first", and what opening week at Disneyland was really like.
A student, a motorbike and a 2 a.m. queue
On Sunday 17 July 1955, ABC broadcast Disneyland's dedication live across the United States. That day was for invited guests, the press and Disney studio people. MacPherson, who was taking summer courses to finish an English degree, watched the coverage on television and decided he would be at the gate when the public was allowed in the next morning.
He rode his Simplex motorbike from Long Beach to Anaheim and reached the ticket booths in the small hours. Accounts put his arrival at around 1 to 2 a.m., about an hour before anyone else joined him. By morning the line behind him had grown to thousands of people. While he waited, workers were still finishing the park, and he could hear the jungle sound effects being tested.
When the windows opened, he paid one dollar for adult admission. A photographer from the Long Beach Press-Telegram captured the moment.
A young Dave MacPherson, in glasses, buying his ticket at a Disneyland booth on 18 July 1955 as a crowd presses behind him. The Long Beach Press-Telegram photographed the purchase, which is how the moment survived.
Then and now: the 1955 ticket booth scene beside MacPherson decades later, waving at the camera. He later worked as a newspaper and radio journalist in Kansas City.
Who really bought ticket number one?
MacPherson was the first paying guest in line, but the history is a little more tangled than "first customer ever":
- Ticket No. 1 was pre-purchased by Walt's brother, Roy O. Disney, from booth No. 2. That ticket is kept in the Disney Archives.
- The publicity "first guests" were two children, Christine Vess, aged 5, and her cousin Michael Schwartner, aged 7, who were photographed with Walt Disney and also given lifetime passes.
- MacPherson was first in the public queue, and Disney later recognised him as the buyer of the first ticket sold to the public. Disney historians found that his privileges were tied to the record of "First Paid Admission".
So all three claims are true in their own way. MacPherson's is the one earned the hard way, by sitting on the pavement all night.
A complimentary ticket dated 18 July 1955, entitling its holder to all rides and amusements for that day only. Early Disneyland used separate admission and ride coupons, so a pass like this was a real perk.
The lifetime pass and nearly 60 years of visits
Ironically, MacPherson saw almost nothing of the park on his first day. He had no time for a ride, forgot to use his camera, missed the chance to get Walt Disney's autograph, used the restroom and rode back to Long Beach for class. He did not even take a souvenir.
A few weeks later, Disney sent him a lifetime pass covering him and three guests at Disneyland and, as they opened, other Disney parks (Tokyo and Hong Kong excepted, according to MousePlanet). He received a renewed VIP pass every January. He used it often while living in California, less after moving to Kansas City and later to Monticello, Utah, but he kept returning, usually with his wife, Wanda, and friends.
Speaking to the Associated Press at 72, he called himself the first of hundreds of millions of visitors. He reportedly died in 2018.
MacPherson in later life, showing his red Disney pass beside a smiling cast member. The card was renewed for him each year.
The front and back of a 2005 VIP pass, the year Disneyland celebrated its 50th anniversary. MacPherson was not invited to the modest anniversary ceremony on 17 July 2005 and watched it from home in Utah.
Shaking hands with Alan, a costumed ragtime pianist on Main Street, U.S.A. Live performers like this have been part of the park's old-time atmosphere since the early years.
MacPherson, right, and Wanda with friends in front of the Mickey Mouse floral display at the park entrance. Earlier versions of this story name the friends as Martha and Joe Ortiz, and say Joe also visited on opening day without meeting Dave.
The same group by the floral Mickey, a classic photo spot that greets visitors as they enter. MacPherson usually came back about once a year.
MacPherson wearing Mickey Mouse ears outdoors, far from Anaheim. He lived about 750 miles from the park in his later years, yet still made the trip.
What Disneyland was like in July 1955
Walt Disney said the idea came to him while he watched his daughters, Diane and Sharon, ride a merry-go-round in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. In 1953 his company bought about 160 acres of orange and walnut groves in Anaheim. Construction started on 16 July 1954, and the park cost about $17 million to complete. ABC helped finance it in return for Disney's weekly television show.
The televised dedication day on 17 July went badly enough that staff nicknamed it "Black Sunday". Around 28,000 people came, roughly half of them with counterfeit tickets or after climbing the fence. It was very hot, rides broke down and restaurants ran out of food and drink. The public opening the next day was calmer; Roy O. Disney's attendance summary recorded roughly 27,000 guests. Today the company celebrates 17 July as Disneyland's birthday, even though 18 July was the original official opening day.
Cast members and Disney characters gather for a group portrait at the entrance, behind the giant floral Mickey Mouse. Photos like this were part of the publicity around the opening.
Crowds fill the area in front of the Main Street railroad station in the park's first days. Opening weekend drew far more people than the park was ready for.
Children race through the archway of Sleeping Beauty Castle into Fantasyland, a scene widely shared from the park's opening days. Fantasyland was one of the park's original themed lands.
An aerial view of Disneyland soon after it opened, ringed by its railroad, parking lots and the surrounding orange groves of Anaheim.
Walt Disney at the microphone during the dedication ceremony in Town Square on 17 July 1955, broadcast live by ABC.
Why his story still charms people
MacPherson's tale works because it is ordinary. He was not a celebrity or a contest winner, just a curious student who acted on an impulse and turned up first. The reward lasted a lifetime, yet his own favourite memories were often about the small mistakes: no photos, no ride, no autograph.
If you are hoping to repeat his luck, note that the lifetime pass was a one-off gift tied to that historic morning. Disney does not offer lifetime admission to the public, and opening-day "firsts" at new attractions today are usually managed through reservations or ticketed events rather than overnight queues.
Sources: Deseret News / Associated Press, 17 July 2005; MousePlanet: The first Disneyland ticket; Inside the Magic, March 2023; Wikipedia: Disneyland.
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