On August 6th, 1970, Disneyland, the famous theme park founded by animation pioneer and entertainment mogul Walt Disney, was temporarily robbed of its title “The Happiest Place on Earth” when it was invaded by a group of long haired, pot smoking radicals known as Yippies.

The first thing you’re probably asking yourself is “What the hell is a Yippie? Is it like a hippy? A yuppie?”

The Yippies were members of the Youth International Party, an anti-authoritarian offshoot of the broader anti Vietnam movement known for theatrical pranks in the name of political activism.

But why were they there?

Inspired by counterculture revolutionaries like Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, the Yippies stormed the land of fairy tales and overpriced churros in general protest of the “establishment”. They wanted to bring attention to the evils of capitalism and the ongoing war overseas. They also wanted Disney to know how they felt about dress code policies imposed by Disneyland in response to the turbulent counterculture that sprung up across the country in the late sixties. Ironically, the protested dress codes (banning long hair, mini skirts, and young men with beards) were already inactive by the time the Yippies decided to invade.

Days before, flyers were distributed across the area by local Yippie leaders David Sacks and Michael Dale advertising the first “Yippie Pow Wow”. A list of activities supposedly going to take place included a “Black Panther Hot Breakfast” at the Aunt Jemima Pancake House, a liberation of Minnie Mouse from her male oppressors in Fantasyland, a “Self Defense Collective” at the Frontierland Shooting Gallery, and a 3pm barbecue of Porky Pig (who, of course, is not a Disney character). Reports on the number of flyers distributed vary by source (as do so many things from such hazy days) with 100,000 being reported by most authorities.

Disney prepared for the oncoming “invasion” by asking the Orange County Police Department to be on hand. When the officers showed up before the park opening, they were decked out in full riot gear. An overreaction, to be sure, but they had good reason. 200,000 of the rebellious youths were expected to show up, an extremely high number that tends to scare local authorities. In the end, however, only about 200 came to the park that day. David Sacks was later quoted as saying, “Of the 200 quote “Yippies“, I'd say 100 of 'em were just freaks who were really apolitical but thought it would be fun to come to Disneyland and trip around that day”. 25,000 regular guests were also in attendance.