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Pop Culture Flashback: The Mayflower Comes to America (Nov. 9)

On this day in pop culture history, the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower saw land.

November 9, 2026

On this day in pop culture history, the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower saw land. They made it to Cape Cod after 65 days on the sea.

1620 – Pilgrims on the Mayflower See Land

The Mayflower left Plymouth, England with about 102 passengers and a crew of about 25-30 men on September 6, 1620 (Old Style dating system) or September 16 (New Style dating). The ship was to travel with the Speedwell, but after the second ship sprang two different leaks, 11 passengers of the Speedwell joined those on the Mayflower. It wasn’t until this day in November that our forefathers actually saw land. It was Cape Cod.

The ship dropped anchor on November 11 (Old Style) or November 21 (New Style). The first exploration took place on November 27. The crew and guests lived on the Mayflower throughout the winter and lost about half of people due to illness, but on March 21, 1621, the remaining disembarked onto their new home.

OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY:

1984: Spooky

A Nightmare on Elm Street drawing — *(TVDB)*

Considered by some to the “greatest horror movie ever made”, John Carpenter’s A Nightmare on Elm Street was made with a budget of $1.1 million. It made $57.1 million in ticket sales.

1968: Tiny

NBC’s Micro Ventures was an educational show like ABC’s Schoolhouse Rock which aired on Saturday mornings. The Hanna-Barbera show was also a micro series as only four, four-minute episodes aired.

2018: Grumpy

Benedict Cumberbatch voiced the great green one in the third adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Despite mixed reviews, it went on to become the highest-grossing Christmas movie in history.

1994 – Disney’s Skyways Last Stops

Disneyland Skyway ride *(Wikimedia Commons)*

The skyway, one of Disneyland’s most popular rides, opened on June 23, 1956 – almost a year after the park itself opened. Built by Von Roll, Ltd in Bern Switzerland, it was the first of its kind in the U.S. It provided a new way of getting across the park with a wide view from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland. The Skyway was only open for a little over the year before it was closed as the Matterhorn Bobsleds ride was being built. When finished in 1959, the “mountain” left room for the skyway ride to travel through.

Sadly, the ride made its last journey on this day in 1994. It had been rumored that the ride was shut down after a stunt made by a park guest who leapt from one of the ride’s gondolas unto a tree below. In truth, it was because of safety concerns of metal fatigue of the ride’s towers. Ironically, the sister attraction at the Magic Kingdom in Florida closed on the same day in 1999.

In 2015, Disneyland gave a tribute of sorts to the Skyway by placing a number of wrecked gondolas within the Matterhorn ride near the Abominable Snowman who lurks there.

The ride was revived in Disney World. Sort of. A new Disney Skyliner was built to provide transportation from some of the resorts’ hotel properties to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot. It opened in 2019.