Have you ever considered how awesome it would be to have a Disneyland pass for life?
Well, one guy was fortunate enough to get this incredible present, and that man is none other than Dave MacPherson.
Dave was the first person in line when Disneyland first opened its doors to the public in 1955.
Dave was given the extraordinary gift of a lifetime pass as a result of his honor of being the first-ever customer of the world-famous amusement park.
Yes, he is free to visit the park and enter its gates for the rest of his life! That historic day occurred in 1955, and the gentleman continues to use his lifetime pass every year more than six decades later.
Dave, a 22-year-old college student from Long Beach, California, got a seat at the very top of the line at the brand new park on July 18, 1955, at 2 a.m. He was determined to be the first in line, so he made his way towards the front, directly next to the still-closed gates.
‘I made the decision that I wanted to be first in line,’ Dave explained. ‘The first guest to enter the park who wasn’t a Walt Disney family or a celebrity.’ ‘The first regular guy who walked in the front door.’
Dave rode his motorcycle from Long Beach to Anaheim only to make absolutely sure he was the first to reach the gates.
He arrived at the gates and waited next to the ticket booth after a 10-hour journey. He was dead set on being the store’s first customer.
Dave reached out and purchased the first-ever ticket from the theme park as soon as the gates opened to allow visitors to purchase tickets. The day prior, Walt Disney had discreetly opened the gates to his family.
When David purchased his ticket, he effectively made history as the first person to enter the park who was not a Disney family member.
Dave didn’t get to utilize his complimentary card on any rides or attractions that first day in Disneyland because he had to hurry back to Long Beach. He doesn’t seem to know where the card is today. However, in the 1980s, he was able to save a microfilm copy of the ticket.
Disneyland later gave Dave lifelong passes in honor of the occasion, which he still uses every year.
Dave also keeps photocopies of a page in his scrapbook with ‘first-day’ articles from newspapers in Los Angeles and Long Beach as a backup, confirming that he was the one who bought the first ticket.
‘It’s not uncommon for someone working the entrance gate to exclaim to the crowd, ‘Folks, this man bought the first ticket to Disneyland when it opened in 1955!’ after I hand over a copy of that scrapbook page.
You have no idea how many people from all over the world have come over since then and asked for my autograph or taken pictures of my wife Wanda and me!’
Dave and his wife Wanda eventually moved to Kansas after a few years, but they still go to Disneyland whenever they can.