20 Ultimate Facts About Disneyland You’ll Be Surprised to Know

Emperor Hirohito of Japan was a huge fan of Mickey Mouse. He was given a Mickey Mouse watch as a gift during his special tour of Disneyland in 1975. For years, even on formal occasions, his Majesty was observed wearing the watch.

It's forbidden to fly over Disneyland or you will be intercepted by fighter jets, just like over the White House Airspace.

The opening day of Disneyland was referred to by Walt as "Black Sunday" as rides broke down, the freshly paved asphalt had women's shoes sticking to it, a plumber's strike made Walt choose between bathrooms and drinking water, restaurants ran out of food, among many other problems.

Until the late 1960s, men with long hair were prohibited from entering Disneyland because it did not meet the standards of Disney's unwritten dress code. Employees were also prohibited from having any facial hair because visitors would associate it with un-American activities.

Employees of Disney World and Disneyland were prohibited from having mustaches, beards, and goatees for nearly 50 years until the ban was lifted in 2012. Soul patches are still banned.

Disneyland had to close the "It's a Small World" ride for several months in 2007 for renovations because people were too fat for the ride and the boats were regularly getting stuck.

The first guest to enter Disneyland was a college student named Dave MacPherson. He didn't ride a single attraction because he had to get back to school. He was awarded a lifelong ticket to Disneyland (with up to 3 guests). The ticket has since extended to include Disney parks around the world.

Stanford University's band has been banned from several campuses and even Disneyland. Some of their offenses include mocking a case of a missing girl at Southern Cal during halftime and playing outside OJ Simpson's trial.

At night, Disneyland becomes overrun by stray cats. Disney embraces them because they keep the mouse population in check and treats them like pets, including spaying and neutering them and giving them shots.

There are Disney "gangs" that frequent Disneyland in California.