Have you ever been on the Disneyland Railroad, sitting on the train while parked at the New Orleans Square station, and listened to the tap-tap-tap of the telegraph?
That tapping is Morse code, a system of language where an arrangement of dots and dashes represent the alphabet. The codes can be transmitted by sound or lights. It was invented in the 1830s by Samuel F.B. Morse for the telegraph.
The telegraph is a machine that allows the transmission of information by code (most often Morse code) over distance. The telegraph changed the way information could be delivered – over the electrical wires instead of Pony Express.
Being born in 1901, Walt often used telegraphs to communicate with other people and companies (telephones didn’t become commonplace until the 1940s). In 1928 Walt sent a telegram to his brother Roy after losing the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The now famous telegram reads “DONT WORRY EVERYTHING OK.” Shortly after sending that telegram Walt came up with the idea for Mickey Mouse.
Anyway, back to the New Orleans Square train station. New Orleans Square is inspired by 1850s New Orleans, which means the telegraph would have been the “modern” form of communication.
Here’s where the fun fact comes in: The Morse code you hear translates to the first two lines of Walt’s Disneyland opening day speech. “To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland is your land.”
Although, I’ve never tried to translate it myself. Deciphering Morse code is certainly an art lost to the generations. We will just have to take the Disneyland experts’ word for it!
