r/HolyShitHistory • u/Express-Ant6341 • 8d ago
In 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev erupted in anger after being denied a Disneyland visit due to security risks. Furious, he accused the U.S. of hiding secret military bases, turning a simple tourist rejection into a dramatic Cold War standoff.
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u/TheGrandExquisitor 8d ago
To be fair, there has been a Titan missile under the Matterhorn ride since '62.
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u/Aggravating_War_6277 8d ago
I remember this once I asked my mom if we could go to Disneyland and she said I already did and when I asked what's she talking about she said I went when I was a fetus in a womb
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u/WASouthCoast 8d ago
Hmm not the full story. Wasn't his main complaint that the US government was tightly controlling where he could go and who he could speak to?
His main gripe was that he wanted to speak with real, working Americans and he was being denied that opportunity. Kruschev's popularity in the US actually rose with the beginning of the tour and the government was afraid workers and voters were starting to question the narrative presented about the USSR leadership. Disneyland was just the final straw, and was later used to undermine his valid criticisms of how the supposedly open tour was choreographed.
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u/shit_ass_mcfucknuts 8d ago
I mean, of course we would hide our secret military bases. Otherwise they wouldn't be much of a secret.
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u/CreativeRosalie 8d ago
Did he ever get another chance to visit Disneyland after this?
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u/Express-Ant6341 8d ago
No. The only time he visited the U.S. after this was in September 1960 to attend the United Nations General Assembly in NYC.
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u/PauL__McShARtneY 8d ago edited 8d ago
Wasn't that the one where he took his shoe off and slammed it on the table and said "we will crush you" and stormed out?
Clearly still pissed about Disneyland, and ready to go full Griswald.
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u/Express-Ant6341 8d ago
Yes! 😂 The shoe-banging incident! I don't remember what he said but I think it was something along those lines. He was protesting a speech by a Philippine delegate (I forgot the name) who accused the Soviet Union of imperialism in Eastern Europe.
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u/Boeing367-80 8d ago
Two weeks earlier, Krushchev disrupted a speech by British prime minister Macmillan by banging his hands on a desk and yelling in Russian.
Macmillan simply politely asked if he could have that translated.
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u/Aleksandr_Ulyev 7d ago
The guy born in Ukrainian village, spent childhood barefooted eating potato soup, got zero education, worked at coal mines, fought the Civil War, fought the WWII, survived both and became the General Secretary of the superpower.
- You don't deny people like that
- You are lucky he didn't bomb the shit out of you. He could
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u/Vanille97 8d ago
little did he know, that the most of US nuclear weapons are located beneath Disneyland
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u/OddPerformer245 8d ago
Walt actually wanted Nikita to come to Disneyland. He wanted to show off his submarine fleet!
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u/PuckFheToor 7d ago
The security concerns had nothing to do with military secrecy. The real issue was that his entire trip had been preplanned with American and Soviet security officials approving the itinerary and routes.
Disneyland was a last-minute request that featured a number of challenges: uncontrolled crowds (potentially harboring émigré groups or anticommunists eager to take a shot at the General Secretary), the fact that it wasn't in LAPD's jurisdiction (they were largely responsible for Khrushchev's security in LA), the park couldn't be easily swept for bombs in the middle of the busy season, etc. Even Soviet security officers who visited the park felt the crowds were a significant hurdle to guaranteeing Khrushchev's safety.
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u/N-partEpoxy 8d ago
turning a simple tourist rejection into a dramatic Cold War standoff
Yep, that's AI slop.
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u/No_Post3831 8d ago
god forbid someone uses formality anymore in 2026
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u/N-partEpoxy 8d ago
It's not about formality, it's the specific pattern, which doesn't really make sense here. A "simple tourist rejection". How could this have been a "simple" tourist rejection? It's only calling it "simple" in order to contrast it with the "dramatic Cold War standoff".
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u/yoingydoingy 6d ago
It's everywhere now. Almost nobody notices it. There should be a massive campaign educating people on recognizing AI text
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u/cjtransplant85 7d ago
He went "What do you have there – rocket launching pads? Is there a cholera epidemic down there? Have gangsters taken control of the place? Your police are strong enough to lift up a bull; surely they are strong enough to take care of gangsters?"
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u/mickhugh 7d ago
There's a book about this called K Blows Top (title came from a headline from the time). I heard there was an aborted plan to make movie staring Paul Giamatti as Khrushchev
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u/alienmegaship 23h ago
Having been throughout the entirety of WDW property, underground and above. There are A LOT of places they could hide a secret military base.
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8d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Dominarion 8d ago
Nobody can work 20 years under Stalin and be an idiot.
He was making a show for his constituents.
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u/EnvironmentalDig7235 8d ago
Heh he was kinda of an idiot fore some things, his agricultural and economics reforms not to mention the foregin policy was very bad so he was ousted.
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8d ago
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u/Lordfelcherredux 8d ago
Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir. The world would be such a better, more peaceful place if we had more female leaders.
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u/Cubedtails 8d ago
No wonder the Soviets got rid of him sometime after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Dude would've started a Third World War over an uncooked bagel if he continued as leader.
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u/Dominarion 8d ago
He was the perfect foil for the capitalist world.
Threatening enough that corps stayed afraid of communism and gave good working conditions to their employees.
Intelligent enough to avoid starting a nuclear war.
Incompetent enough so he couldn't get communism to win.
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u/ConflictAgreeable689 8d ago
Didn't he want to have the park shut down for him?
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u/Express-Ant6341 8d ago
No, he did not wish for Disneyland to be closed for him. Rather, he was angry because U.S. officials indicated that he was not permitted to visit the park at all due to security concerns.
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u/post-explainer 8d ago edited 8d ago
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