Several years ago, I engaged in a deep search to find a complete set of Disneyland-themed birthday logos. The search mostly involved going through paper ephemera and souvenir items from the years that Disney celebrated major milestones. By the time I was done, I had assembled a set that represented 1965, 1975. 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2025. (The last couple of years were added for this article.)
Here they are, assembled together. I have never found any examples to represent 1960 (the fifth anniversary) or 1970 (the fifteenth anniversary). Some of these are very memorable (the thirty-fifth in 1990 and the fiftieth in 2005, for example), and a couple are rather obscure (the twentieth in 1975 and the fifty-fifth in 2010).
This is the logo that was introduced thirty years ago. Forty Years of Adventures celebrated Disneyland’s 1995 milestone year, with a not-at-all-subtle nod to the park’s newest attraction, the Indiana Jones Adventure. Synergy!
But this is not what may have always been intended for Walt’s original Magic Kingdom in its fortieth year.
In the course of looking at items from 1995, something a little confusing came to light. Two calendars for the year carried a logo that combines the number 40, Sleeping Beauty Castle, Mickey Mouse, and the catch phrase “Forty Years of Character.” One of the calendars was distributed as a free souvenir by a local drug store chain. But the other was the official Disneyland calendar for 1995.
The logo is prominently featured on the front cover, as well as on nearly every page.
Inside, the first two pages are given over to text, a large illustration of a jaunty Mickey Mouse, and historical Disneyland images.
Photographs of Mickey can also be found inside the calendar, as well.
All six of the images used in the calendar are depicted on the back cover.
There are just six images because each page of the vertically oriented calendar carried two months.
There is nothing in the calendar to suggest the eventual theme of the milestone birthday, Forty Years of Adventures. Historical images and Disney’s most enduring star do reinforce the theme of Forty Years of Character, however. And it was also possible to find this theme supported inside the park, as well.
Guests entering Disneyland from the parking lot passed a series of colorful banners, each featuring one of the park’s realms with images of iconic attractions. Atop each of these vertical banners was a colorful spinner, each depicting a different Disney character.
These same colorful spinners were prominent elements of displays found on the Disneyland entrance turnstiles and above the tunnels on each side of the railroad station. The phrase “Forty Years of Adventures,” in a typeface matching that of the new Indiana Jones attraction, is a somewhat incongruous addition to the ensemble.
At the time I made this initial discovery, I consulted with a publicist who had been involved with Disneyland in the mid-nineties. He was intrigued by the alternate theme for 1995 and offered a likely explanation. While the year was to be a celebration of all of Disneyland, managers at the top level of the company were somewhat more concerned with publicizing a very expensive new attraction. Therefore, there was a somewhat late in the day decision to make the change from “character” to “adventure.” Some items, however, were already in the works, or in the case of calendars, at the printers.
Whether this was the actual scenario must remain a mystery. What do you think? Was there really a last-minute change in promoting this major milestone, thirty years ago at Disneyland?
