President George H . W . Bush had started pardoning turkeys and sending them to petting zoos in 1989 . Later , his son , President George W . Bush , began sending them to Disney World .
Not only did they welcome plenty of guests , but that weekend also caused what became known as the “ Traffic Jam Heard ‘ Round the World .” For the very first time , Disney was forced to close the parking lots and turn people away at the gates .
ABOVE : A Grand Marshall Turkey . BELOW : Mickey and Minnie in their pilgrim attire waiting to greet guests . PHOTOS BY MICHAEL ULRICH
It was a Thanksgiving miracle of sorts that ultimately led to longer park hours , earlier opening of parking lots , increased communication about guest capacity with radio stations , and working with the local government on highway planning . Not bad for America ’ s third-favorite holiday .
AN AMERICAN HOLIDAY Back in 1938 , Walt Disney himself sought to create a Mickey short cartoon titled Pilgrim Mickey . It just didn ’ t work beyond the American audience , and so the project was shelved .
Since Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday , it has not blossomed in terms of dedicated celebrations like parades ,
NEXT PAGE : A total autumn transformation pulls into the train station each fall . PHOTO JUDD HELMS