The Sarsaparilla Times 5: The “Gift” of Love in Disneyland
What’s the oldest attraction in Disneyland? It wasn’t even there on opening day in 1955. Stumped yet?
Sitting proudly in Frontierland overlooking the Rivers of America with The Golden Horseshoe watching over it, sits a relic of nature that is millions of years old. Despite its age, a petrified tree stump with the fitting title of ‘Petrified Tree’ fits in perfectly amongst the legends and myths that have come to life in this former orange grove in Anaheim.
‘Petrified Tree’ sits behind a metal fence that has a story that begins a long time before Walt Disney and his wife Lillian took a trip to Colorado for their 31st wedding anniversary. A cataclysmic life altering moment took place where this tree once grew. Silica rich water would come to envelope the forest that this tree and many others in the sub-tropical forest lived in. As the tree and its fellow plants gradually started to absorb the water, the wood cells in the tree turned to sandstone, which created the petrified state that the tree now exists in.
This simple stump of millions of years found a home in Disneyland thanks to Walt Disney’s innate curiosity. The legend behind how this piece of the earth came to live in Frontierland is as grand as anything that Walt Disney made.
During their 31st wedding anniversary trip to Colorado, Walt and Lillian found themselves at Pikes Petrified Forest (the current Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument) on July 11, 1956. Supposedly, Walt was curious and wanted to stop, Lillian waited in the car. As Walt paid 35 cents for the tour, his wife sat waiting in the car wondering when her husband would be back.
Walt was enthralled by Pikes. He spent so long on his tour that he lost track of time. Realizing how long he spent, and that Lillian was still waiting in the car, Walt felt bad and tried to make amends with his wife. So, he purchased a five-ton stump that was millions of years old for her. His heart may have been in the right place, and legend has it that Lillian even gave it a try by having the item at home for some time before deciding to donate it to Disneyland. Apparently, the stress on the mantle was too much for Mrs. Disney, so she sent the anniversary gift packing, with a one-way ticket to ‘the Happiest Place on Earth’.
Lillian even got mentioned on the dedication plaque when it was installed in its place of honor in Frontierland. The commemorative marker ends with ‘Presented to Disneyland by Mrs. Walt Disney – September. 1957.’
Much like many other stories told by the Walt Disney Company, this one is a fairy tale too.
There is a petrified tree stump that is on display in Disneyland’s Frontierland, but that was where it was always going to go. The idea that it was a gift to Lillian by Walt at first is a story concocted by Walt to add some humor to the oddity of history that he wanted in his theme park.
Diane Disney-Miller, daughter of Walt confirmed with Disney historian Todd Pierce in 2010, that the story of the ‘present’ was nothing more than yet another joke concocted by Walt. He loved a good joke and would often exaggerate the truth behind something. Diane was proud of her father, and she is surprised that everyone else didn’t see the faux story of ‘a gift for my wife’ as nothing more than the prank it was. These types of gags were something that Walt was well known for.
The staging of the gag was even included in an early version of the dedication plaque that read, ‘Too large for the mantle’ the reality is, that this petrified piece of forest was always going to find its home in Disneyland. Walt had sent a letter to John Baker, the owner and operator of Pike’s Petrified Forest which states that Walt understood according to their arrangement that the tree stump would be delivered directly to Disneyland in Anaheim within thirty days. The journey to Disneyland may have taken longer than thirty days, but it was never in doubt, the petrified tree stump was never meant for a place on the Disney mantle on Carolwood Drive.
So, like many great tales, the legend is better than the truth, and those that know the story, know that Walt was a gag man through and through with everything, including a petrified tree stump that sits in Frontierland, which he paid $1,650 to own.
To those that go to Disneyland and walk this trail through Frontierland, before you rush to New Orleans Square to enjoy the Haunted Mansion, take a moment and stop to admire the work of nature. During this 70th anniversary year guests should admire and enjoy the great things about Disneyland, and the small things too.
Take a moment as you walk through Frontierland, find ‘Petrified Tree’ and observe this magical artifact of nature. Walt thought it was interesting, and while the whole park consists of the attractions and characters that Walt created, or brought to life, visit the one thing that Walt thought was unique and worthy of being placed in his theme park.
Be sure to check out past issues of The Sarsaparilla Times!