Exactly 2nd. I returned from active military police duty in I Corp. S.Korea in 1968 to my old job on final assembly of the then new DC-9 at McDonnel Douglas, which had been Douglas when I left for duty. I left M.D. as I really hated the union, and went to work in security for Knotts that first year of the gates, and walls.
It was no longer free to wander the park, and enjoy anymore due not only the Hippies, but locals leaving their kids all day for park security to babysit free of charge. The kids wreaked havoc on the place as well the costs, especially taxes were increasing, and had to be compensated for.
But you are correct that one of the major reasons was the Hippie’s taking over the place, and stinking it up driving away the families that had been the mainstay of the park.
That’s weird! I arrived at I Corps G-2 exactly 10 years later. I was one of the “hotline operators” (DMZ intelligence & early warning analysts) up in the bunker at CRC.
In the early 90’s I attended Biola, my two brothers and I would meet there because you could get in. My two brothers, sister-in-law and I got our pictures taken in the old west attire, and found out you could go in for one hour for free. (Just say you were eating, or getting photos taken). So we had much fun seeing how many rides we could get in.
Now you pay the admission fee, and it gets refunded if you’re out in an hour. ;)
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I just bought our last season pass for Disneyland. We hadn’t been in about five years. The famous customer service is long gone, long lines, cranky cast members...blech.