Counting the Costs (1955)

November 1955 Tea Cups

Original documents related to the early days at Disneyland still surface and provide interesting insights. A file copy of an expense authorization dated April 8, 1955 gives some clues regarding costs associated with Dumbo and The Mad Tea Party attractions;

The BUDGETED AMT line declares $60,000.00 for the Mad Tea Party and $37,000.00 for Dumbo. In 2016 dollars, those equal $533,131.34 and $328,764.33 respectively.

The Balance entries reveal that there was still $19,766 remaining on M.T.P but only $981 on Dumbo. With the Park opening just over three months away, there must have been both a cost overrun and a schedule slip well under way. We've told story of Dumbo's opening day performance in another post.

Walter Schulze, the MBA behind Arrow's eventual financial success probably had the original, signed copy of this in his filing cabinet, but his daughter Linda says all those documents were discarded years ago. Enjoy this little peek into Arrow and Disney's earliest days.

E.A. No. 204

Dumbo Concept Sketch