Mickey Mouse Club Circus and films
Much has been written on the difficulties experienced after the initial opening of Disneyland in July of 1955. In fact, the park wasn't even completed yet. To cover a large gap in his park, Walt Disney decided to establish a temporary circus of his own on the grounds. Members of the Mickey Mouse Club, who had just finished the show's first season on television, would be the stars. Thus the Mickey Mouse Club Circus was created. Ever the perfectionist, Disney insisted on a complete circus experience. For this, the Disney staff ordered a pink and white candy-striped tent. They would also need to locate and refurbish some antique circus wagons. Among the wagons located and restored by Disney were the Carl Hagenbeck cage wagon and the Swan bandwagon. Though the Mickey Mouse Club Circus was short-lived, Disney got some additional use out of the wagons in the films Toby Tyler and Billy Rose's Jumbo. Both wagons were eventually presented to Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin, where they reside today.