Mickey Mouse Club Circus (1955–1956)

The Mickey Mouse Club Circus (1955–1956) was a live circus arts show in Disneyland’s Fantasyland, running from November 24, 1955, to January 8, 1956, with some acts continuing until September 7, 1956. Held in two large circus tents near the future Matterhorn site, it featured Mickey Mouse Club cast members, professional circus performers, live animals, and unique acts like Professor George J. Keller’s Jungle Killers, Bob-O the Disneyland Clown, and Serenado the Wonder Horse.

Here are 10 fun facts about the Mickey Mouse Club Circus:

1. Holiday Season Launch: The circus opened on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1955, to promote the Mickey Mouse Club TV show (debuted October 3, 1955), offering three 75-minute weekday performances and four on weekends in heated red-and-white tents seating 2,500.
2. Mouseketeer Performances: Mouseketeers, including Bobby Burgess, Sharon Baird, and Annette Funicello, performed in a costume parade and an aerial ballet, with boys dressed as Peter Pan swinging a ladder while girls as Tinker Bell did balletic poses, trained by the Ted DeWayne Troupe.
3. Jimmie Dodd as Ringmaster: Jimmie Dodd, the Mickey Mouse Club host, served as the circus ringmaster, introducing acts with his signature charisma, while Roy Williams played the Strongman and Bob Amsberry portrayed Bob-O the Disneyland Clown.
4. Professor Keller’s Feline Fantastics: Professor George J. Keller’s act, renamed Feline Fantastics for family appeal, featured 13 jungle cats (lions, pumas, ocelots, leopards, tigers), tamed without whips or chairs, performing in a caged arena.
5. Serenado the Wonder Horse: Serenado, a musical horse, played tunes like “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” by tapping hooves on a custom platform, delighting audiences with its rhythmic precision.
6. Gil Gray Circus Backbone: The circus was built around the Gil Gray Circus, a Midwest outfit, providing infrastructure, performers, and animals like John Herriott’s elephants, camels, llamas, and ponies, integrated with Disney’s Mouseketeer elements.
7. Main Street Parade: Each show began with a parade down Main Street, U.S.A., featuring Mouseketeers, clowns, acrobats, and antique circus wagons restored from Bradley and Kaye Amusement Park and Venice, California.
8. Diverse Circus Acts: The lineup included the Ted DeWayne Troupe (acrobats), the Flying Felicias (aerialists), Kinko the Clown with a miniature auto, and animal acts like trained ponies, dogs, seals, and Gentry’s Elephants, creating a traditional circus spectacle.
9. Keller’s Extended Run: After the main circus closed on January 8, 1956, Keller’s act, reverted to Jungle Killers, continued from February 19 to September 7, 1956, in a smaller tent near the Red Wagon Inn, costing a 25-cent B-ticket for four daily shows.
10. Midway Booths: The circus area featured carnival-style booths selling peanuts, snow cones, cotton candy, and hot dogs, designed by Imagineers Bruce Bushman and Dick Irvine to evoke a classic circus midway.