As a seventeen year old, Susan Musfelt applied and got a job in the summer of 1959 as one of the original mermaids at Disneyland.
Susan revealed:
"I was born in Waukegan, Illinois, on July 7, 1941, but left there when just an infant and was raised in southern California. My mother was a registered nurse who didn’t practice after my sister and I were born. She passed away in 1960, when I was 18. My father was a criminal psychiatrist with an active practice in Santa Ana, California, until his death in 1966, when I was 25.
Disneyland opened during my high school years. Not only did we hold our Senior Ditch Day at Disneyland, it was a frequent place to go on dates during the late 1950s. My sister, Michaelyn, worked part time at the hotel on Main Street and met her future husband during one of her breaks. Her husband was foreman on Main Street and they would take their breaks together."
For the dedication of the new submarine ride attraction at Disneyland on June 14, 1959, the opening ceremonies had eight live-actress mermaids performing a synchronized swimming ballet in the lagoon. They also frolicked underwater to the delight of eager guests peering from the submarine portholes.
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