When you hear someone at Disneyland talk about the Pope House, they aren’t talking about the Vatican. Most people are unaware that a piece of Disneyland history, older than the actual theme park is hidden behind Big Thunder Ranch in Frontierland. The Pope House, once home to Owen and Dolly Pope, is the only house on the Disneyland Resort property that remains from before the park was built.
The Disney company recently announced plans for a new 14 acre Star Wars land to be built at Disneyland. The space currently occupied by Big Thunder Ranch will be used for this new Star Wars area, in addition to several acres of backstage area currently used by Circle D (home of the horses and other animals at Disneyland). The Pope House is part of the Circle D complex and is currently used as office space.
So what is so special about this house and who where the Popes? Owen and Dolly Pope were the original managers of the Pony Farm, now known as Circle D. Owen met Dolly in December 1929 and they were married on July 13, 1935. Together, they showed horses at fairs throughout California – living out of their 30-foot van.
In 1950, Disney Legend Harper Goff saw them showing horses at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles and recommended that Walt Disney see their show as well. Walt was interested in small ponies and equipment for a project he was working on (the original concept for Disneyland that would have been adjacent to the Burbank studios). In March 1951, Walt met the Popes for lunch to talk about their ponies – which they thought he wanted for a film. It was at this lunch that he told them about his plans for building a park.
On the Sunday after Thanksgiving in 1951, the Popes moved to the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. Other than military personnel housed there during World War II, the Popes are the only people to have ever lived at the studio. Owen built 10 stalls for Walt’s horses using wood from the studio’s own lumber supply. He and Dolly lived in a trailer at the studio for the next 2 ½ years. During this time, Walt visited them frequently to talk about horses and his plans for Disneyland. Roy Disney also visited them to discuss what people did at fairs and which types of shows they enjoyed there.
During the construction of Disneyland, when various structures were being moved from the property, Owen and Dolly were given their choice of the houses that were being moved. The house they chose was moved to the 10-acre Pony Farm. The house – which the Popes moved into three days before Disneyland opened – is the one that is still part of Circle D Corral today. The photo above gives you a glimpse inside the living room, as it would have appeared when Owen and Dolly lived there.
The Popes were also a key part of Walt Disney World history. As preparations were underway for the opening of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Owen built the harness and riggings for the horses from his home at Disneyland. In January 1971, he and Dolly moved to Florida, where Owen helped supervise the building of Tri-Circle-D Ranch (now part of the Fort Wilderness Resort). A few years later, in September 1975, Dolly became the first Walt Disney World Resort cast member to retire, followed by Owen in October.
This likely won’t be the end of the road for the Pope House. The Disney company is great about preserving the company’s history and the structure will probably just be moved to another backstage area. Construction of the new Star Wars themed land won’t begin for a while, so there is still plenty of time for the mouse house to figure out a new home for this piece of Disneyland history.
Update: I found a City of Anaheim building permit that says the Pope House will be moved to what is now the visitor parking lot for the Team Disney Anaheim building (the administrative building off Ball Road that you can see from the 5 freeway). This is a great spot because it is publicly accessible for the history buffs who want a photo and it keeps the building on Disneyland property. It reminds me of what the Disney company did when they refurbished the historic Sound Transfer Bungalow on the Burbank studio lot.
Images via Disney and Google Maps
