Disneyland Band given marching orders after 60 years of entertaining theme park guests

Local musicians are up in arms at news the beloved group is to be 'reimagined', and its 16 members forced to reaudition for their places

The Disneyland Band with guest conductor Mickey (Getty Images)

When Disneyland first opened its gates to the public in Anaheim, California, on 17 July 1955, the theme park boasted few of the rides that would later become iconic. There was no Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, no Haunted Mansion, not even It’s a Small World. But there is at least one Disneyland institution that has lasted from the theme park’s opening to this day: the Disneyland Band.

Now, local musicians are up in arms at news that the beloved, white-tailed marching band is to be “reimagined”, and its 16 members forced to reaudition for their places in the line-up – on the eve of the park’s 60th anniversary. Band members were reportedly served an “end of run” notice recently, telling them that Disney planned to introduce a “new sound” and “high-energy choreography” to their performance.

The musicians, at least one of whom has been playing with the band for more than 40 years, were invited to try-out for places in the new band at dancing and acting auditions. Those who failed to make the cut, Disney said, would be reassigned to one of the less prestigious musical groups playing elsewhere in the park. The original band’s final performance is scheduled for 16 July – just one day before the park’s anniversary celebrations.

A Disneyland spokesman told the Orange County Register: “All members of the Disneyland Band still will be performing musicians at the park, either as part of the band, or with the groups who perform around the park.” But, said Bob Sanders, president of Orange County’s Musicians Association, “Disney seems to believe that these veteran musicians are not qualified for the ‘new and improved’ band. It is simply wrong to ask these seasoned professionals – so beloved by park visitors – to audition for the band they are already in.”

The late Walt Disney first dreamed up the idea of a Disney theme park after taking his daughters to a carousel in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, close to Disney’s Burbank film studios, during the 1940s.

Eventually the mogul purchased 160 acres in Orange County, where Disneyland opened. Visitors to the park first stroll along its creator’s lovingly imagined “Main Street, USA”, and Disney insisted they have a musical accompaniment to enhance the experience.

The band currently performs four times a day, often marching down Main Street as it plays. Its repertoire includes such Disney classics as “The Bare Necessities” and “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”.