40th. Anniversary Castle Time Capsule
By Bob Penfield
In the spring of 1995, I was asked by the Project Management Department of the Disneyland Facilities Division to participate in the location and construction of the vault to house the 40th Anniversary time capsule, which would be later known as the Castle Time Capsule, to be opened 40 years later on July 17th, 2035.
Three areas were determined to be satisfactory; those being in front of the Mickey Mouse floral design at the main gate, in front of the City Hall on Town Square, or in front of the Castle.
Basically three things were taken into consideration. What lay below the surface, impact upon the park during the construction, and location for the presentation on July 17th. The Main Gate, and City Hall areas were deemed to be constrictive for public viewing, plus there were issues with underground utilities such as water, electrical lines and or drain lines which were known to be present. The area directly in front of the castle, (fore-court) had never been excavated since the park had been built and with all of the construction prints at that time showing nothing underground, it was felt that the only possible obstruction might be an old irrigation pipe.
The design of the concrete vault was of two sections, with a two piece hinged metal lid, and would require a excavation of approximately 8' deep, by 8' square. All of the digging was accomplished by the Ben Smith Co. while the park was closed and consisted of first saw-cutting the cobblestone, jack-hammering it out, and then excavating with a back-hoe. This was accomplished in one night, and was barricaded off during the day, with a sign denoting what we were constructing. The following night, the vault pieces were set in place on a bed of gravel, with each joint of the vault being sealed, and compaction made to receive the framework for the new cobblestone dedication lid.
A metal framework was welded up backstage and concreted in place with new cobblestone the following night. This framework would serve as the holder for the permanent dedication lid with plaque. Behind the scenes, a lid with just cobblestone had been made and was put into place. A second lid was constructed with the dedication plaque which would be displayed on July 17th, the other being used up until then. After that, which was about a week, it was just a matter of waiting until the dedication ceremony.
A replica of the castle was constructed to act as the capsule for the July 17th event.
On that day the Disneyland crane was positioned in the forecourt to lower the castle down into the vault once all of the memorabilia items had been put in the castle during the ceremony. The permanent dedication lid with the plaque was mounted on a slanted platform for viewing. On the day of the event, platforms and towers for the press were set-up in and around the central plaza for T.V., and photo coverage. The Disneyland Ambassadors presided over the program with the following dignitaries in attendance.
Roy Disney, Michael Eisner, Justin Green, Dick Nunis, Paul Pressler, Marty Sklar, and John Hench. As the last two original Disneyland employees from 1955, and representing the Club 55, Ray VanDeWarker, and myself also participated. After the placement of most of the memorabilia, which included an overhead picture of 4,000 cast members taken earlier that morning on Main Street, photo of the Disneyland Ambassadors, an overhead photo of the Disneyland Resort, a Spirit Pin of both the Disneyland Park, and Hotel, Indiana Jones Lithograph, and a Marathon medallion, plus 60 other items placed in the capsule later in the day, the crane lowered the castle capsule into the vault for viewing during the remainder of the day.
Now, a Little Secret.
Prior to the placing of the castle in the vault, on the night before, two redwood 4"x4"s, which had been coated with epoxy to keep them from deterioting, were placed in the vault on the gravel, for the capsule to set on. I had epoxied onto the end of one of the timbers my supervision brass badge from the early 1960's which had my name on it. You are reading it here for the first time. Although I doubt if I will be around in 2035 when the vault is opened, my son Chris has been notified to be on hand.
Now a Big Secret.
Right after park closing on July 17th, the castle capsule was removed from the vault, emptied of it’s contents, which were taken to a 
contractor in Ontario, Ca., which placed them in a stainless steel box, vacuumed sealed, and charged with argon gas. It is approximately three feet wide, by thirty inches high, and two feet deep, with a small black metal plate stating, “Disneyland” at the top, and underneath it is the castle with 1995 on the left side and 2035 on the right. The Castle was taken to the Lincoln Pavilion at Town Square and displayed in the exit area as a replica of the real thing. After park closing on July 19th, the true time capsule was placed in the vault, the steel lid installed, welded shut, sealed, covered with a red tarp, and the permanent cobblestone lid fitted into place and sealed. While we were placing the stainless steel capsule into the vault a few of the employees stopped by to watch what was happening. Very few pictures were taken, and some of the cast members tossed coins on top of the capsule. The only change that has taken place since then, was a few years ago when the cobblestone was removed and replaced with locking bricks.