Disneyland’s 30th anniversary 30 years ago

1985 Disneyland 35th anniversary parade
The 1985 Disneyland 35th anniversary parade

30 years ago, I took this parade photo during Disneyland’s 30th anniversary! 30 years! I thought Disneyland was so old! That year, 1985, was such an exciting time at the park. One of the features of the year was the Gift Giver, the brainchild of Disneyland’s marketing guru (and future president) Jack Lindquist. The Gift Giver machine gave away gifts to every guest. Every day people were winning prizes such as  popcorn, a pin, a Disney Home Video cassette, an RCA color television (yes, color!), a PSA roundtrip airline ticket, and every 3,000th Guest won a 1986 Pontiac Firebird! Just about this day, on August 24, 1985, Disneyland welcomed it’s 250 millionth Guest, and won a bunch of prizes including 30,000 (in keeping with the “30” theme) free air miles, a trip to the two year old Tokyo Disneyland and a new Cadillac. That guest, Brooks Charles Arthur Burr, was three years old! He was being carried by his father, but it was Brooks who was holding the ticket!