Every once in a while, reading about Disneyland history gives you some pretty bizarre results. Some truly wacky events, attractions, and happenings happen in the park from time to time, including the topic of today’s post: Main Street‘s Olympic Pool.
Source: Disneyland Today
In 2004, the Athens Olympics were the biggest story of the summer. After the games, athletes traveled on multi-city tours of the US – including a special stop at the happiest place on earth. Disney wanted to capitalize on the moment, and decided to host a special event in the park. Olympic athletes, including Michael Phelps, would swim down Main Street alongside local junior Olympians.
Disneyland constructed a 164 foot (the standard 50m Olympic size) pool three lanes wide and 3.5 feet deep. The pool held nearly 104,000 gallons of water, which was heated to 80 degrees for the event. Most amazingly, the pool was constructed in less than 30 hours. The swimmers competed in a 200m relay. In total – the massive pool was only used for about an hour.
Source: Darkbeer
Talk about a wild moment in Disneyland history. It’s hard to imagine a pool taking up a big chunk of Main Street – but it happened!
Wow. Certainly something out of the box!