1960 Winter Olympic and Disney

[tahoebob54]

I really don't know what section this belongs in but since it happened in 1960 and only Disneyland existed then so it is here.

Way back 50 years ago in the opening ceremonies of the winter Olympics in Squaw Valley near Lake Tahoe, Ca


sacbee.comAuthor unearths glory of '60 Squaw Valley Olympics - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

If Antonucci is an unlikely author, the Olympics he writes about were improbable, too. Many had given Alex Cushing, co-founder of Squaw Valley and the driving force behind the Olympic bid, little chance of landing the Games.
"At the time there was just a double chairlift, two rope tows, a 50-room lodge, a dirt road and two families who lived here year-round," Antonucci said.

Even after Squaw Valley was selected in a close vote over Innsbruck, Austria, there were doubts the Games could succeed in a place one Olympic official called nothing more than a "picnic grounds."

Those uncertainties evaporated with the opening ceremony on Feb. 18, 1960 – orchestrated by Walt Disney.

"It was classic Disney," Antonucci said. "Fireworks, bands, flags shooting up into the air that descended by parachute, the release of a couple thousand white doves – and Hollywood celebrities."

Past opening ceremonies had been more subdued, just the way some officials preferred them. "International Olympic Committee Chancellor Otto Mayer looked down his nose on the planned program and wondered aloud if it would not turn the Olympics into another 'Disneyland,' " Antonucci wrote in his book. "He sniped, 'This hoopla has little to do with the Olympic spirit.' "

But Disney planted a seed that continues to flower today, more lushly than ever. The opening and closing ceremonies at the 2010 Olympics alone are expected to cost about $40 million, and the Games themselves more than $1.5 billion. By contrast, the entire expense for 1960 Olympics – ceremonies included – came to just $15 million (or $108 million adjusted for inflation).
[/QUOTE]

[HiddenMickeyBook]

For an interesting bit of trivia, research the flag pole used at the Olympics and the flag pole at the elementary school in Marceline....

(or read the first part of Chapter 8 of my novel! lol)

[Executioner]

Another nice tidbit is that the Walt Disney Family Museum has the Olympic torch used in those games on display there. As well as pins given to Disney from the games. Very cool memento for Walt.

[Peoplemover Priit]

That sounds so cool. Too bad I wasn't alive, and neither of my parents were either as a matter of fact...