Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm

Posted by Rose Greene at 10:14 PM on April 16, 2009
I may be remembering wrong, but I think the first time we went to Disneyland was perhaps the year it opened or the year after it opened (I would have been perhaps 7), and I think we stayed with a friend of Mom’s. I seem to recall getting hives after spending a day at Knott’s Berry Farm in the sun (back when Knott’s was more carnival like, with lots of booths and displays and just a few rides--it was also fairly new). What stands out in my memory is that there were real Native Americans at Frontier Land (in a simulated village with teepees and all). We had our pictures taken with some of them. I seem to recall Mom had to drag us off of Huck Finn’s Island because we were having so much fun playing and exploring. I remember how excited we all were to go under water in the submarine that first time. Even though the "sights" were fake, it was still magical to us. Riding the big steamboat for the first time; Cinderella’s Castle; Space Land (whatever it’s called). I don’t think they had It’s a Small World yet. We got there right when it opened and we stayed until we were ready to drop from exhaustion. It was a one-time thing back then--not a few hours this day and a few hours another day. We got one shot, and we took full advantage of it, seeing and doing everything we wanted to.

We were older the next time we went with Mom (I might have been 9), and I do think we stayed with Bob and Jean Reeves (Aunty Gladys’ son), who were living in the area at the time. We went on all the rides we wanted to and saw everything we wanted to and didn’t quit till it was almost dark. Mom was up for anything and everything and went with us on probably every ride. We hit Knott’s Berry Farm and did everything we could. And Mom drove the whole way--straight through in her usual fashion. We sang songs and played games to pass the time because we had no radio.