Yippie Day – The 1970 Activist Protest in Disneyland

The 1970s were a wild time for Disneyland. The park opened two of its most famous rides: Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain. Iconic but old-fashioned attractions closed their doors, including the Carousel of Progress and Flight to the Moon. And of course…there was that one protest that shut down Disneyland five hours early.

 Source: Atlas Obscura

First, who were the protestors?

Meet the “Yippies”, members of the Youth International Party. This group of activists, primarily made up of college students, were known for public and theatrical protests against war, capitalism, and various corporations and establishments.

 Source: Daveland Web

Next, what were they protesting?

On August 6, 1970, the 25th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, Yippies staged a Vietnam war protest in Disneyland. However, their purpose evolved into a really convoluted combination of different social issues:

• Protest Disneyland’s partnership with Bank of America, which Yippies proclaimed a virtual sponsor of the Vietnam War
• Establish free admission for all to Disneyland
• “Liberate” Minnie Mouse
• Wage increases for Native American performers
• Transformation of Aunt Jemima’s into a Black Panthers restaurant (NOT the superhero, in case that’s what you were thinking!)

Leading up to August 6, the group distributed advertisements featuring Disney characters with weapons or engaging in lewd acts, and promised to “infiltrate” Tom Sawyer Island.

 Source: Hub Pages

And finally, what happened?

Well, since the Yippies heavily promoted the protest, Disney and police were both alerted ahead of time, and police increased their presence in the park (some newspapers claimed thousands of protestors would show up). In the end, only a few hundred protestors came to Disneyland, and didn’t do much for the first half of the day besides smoke pot and chant. Most notably, Minnie Mouse was not “liberated”, which protestors announced would happen at noon in front of the castle.

Things finally started escalating when the Yippies attempted to gather on Tom Sawyer Island. Protestors hung the Viet Cong flag and continued chanting. But after a while, they returned to mainland Disneyland and began a march down Main Street toward the Bank of America building. At this point, they became aggressive. Some protestors tore pieces off City Hall and began fighting with regular park visitors, at which point the police intervened.

 Source: Atlas Obscura

The park closed for the day, and 23 of the protestors were arrested for various charges, mostly disturbing the peace and drug possession. The Yippies did not accomplish any of their goals from the protest (which also strangely included a plan to roast Porky Pig…who isn’t a Disney character), nor did they persuade Disneyland to end their partnership with Bank of America. They did, however, go down in history, causing one of the strangest days in the park’s lifetime.

 Source: Huffington Post