DISNEY’S LAND

That Disneyland nostalgia piece (‘What Would Walt Say?,” by Mary Susan Herczog and Steve Hochman, Dec. 24) seemed almost cruelly designed to knock loose an avalanche or two of reader sentimentalia.

In my case: the Tomorrowland amphitheater, where a miniature Annette clone in full makeup was belting out Dis-co, Dis-co Mouse . The amphitheater itself was nearly empty--the audience was the line for Space Mountain.

RICHARD GLEAVES San Diego *

My father and I are probably the only two people who can go to “The Happiest Place on Earth” and not go on any rides. We enjoy just walking around Disneyland people-watching, browsing through the “Lands” and shopping!

Granted, over the years, we have been on most of the rides, especially when I was a youngster. This includes Space Mountain, when we were unaware that it was a roller-coaster rather than a leisurely trip through outer space. We also had a particularly disastrous experience on Alice in Wonderland, when the ride broke down and we were stranded in the upside-down room with the rabbit tooting his horn in our faces.

We also enjoy the much-maligned It’s a Small World, which was my mother’s favorite ride. She remarked once that she thought it would be nice to be buried there. Current riders can take heart that we made more conventional arrangements when she passed away.

MARCY YOUNG Van Nuys *

Why were Herczog and Hochman not more critical? Certainly Disneyland is deserving.

I don’t know one person who has visited “the park” in the last five years who hasn’t come away with the same comment: “It was nice, but it really does look old.” What would Walt think about that ? Trash is everywhere (no doubt a result of those employee cutbacks Disneyland went through several years ago, from which it doesn’t seem to have recovered); cracks fill the streets; employees are indifferent at best and rude at worst; the rides (especially It’s a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean) look like they haven’t had a fresh coat of paint in years.

One question: Where’s that $30-plus admission fee going?

JOHN ERIK SIMMONDS Studio City *

Childhood today seems to be a much shorter trip than it used to be. With all the new and fast-moving technology at our fingertips, being a kid isn’t the carefree existence it once was. Disneyland has always had the insight to know what people like. Hopefully, they will have the vision to keep some of the best, like Tom Sawyer’s Island.

FRANCES T. LIPPMAN Los Angeles *

Your story is headed by a picture of Vice President Nixon and his family helping Walt Disney inaugurate the Disneyland Monorail in 1959. I, too, was on the scene as a member of the ABC television crew covering the event, and was called upon to aid in the rescue of Walt and his guests.

The Monorail, it seems, had not been thoroughly debugged and proceeded to break down between stations--leaving all of its passengers marooned in mid-air. We sprang into action and, using a forklift on which we had mounted a camera, lowered Walt and his celebrity invitees safely to terra firma--for which he thanked us profusely and said we would each be receiving lifetime passes to the park.

What would Walt say if he knew it never happened?

DICK WILSON San Pedro *

Regarding your sidebar about exterminating mice at Disneyland: It wasn’t funny.

DAVID KING Cucamonga