Her father
Don DeFore was the only person ever allowed to have a non-Disneyland owned restaurant in the park, Don DeFore's Silver Banjo Barbecue Restaurant, which operated from 1957-1961. One year during the annual Christmas parade,
Walt Disney's grandchildren were to ride in a horse drawn carriage with him. Parade time was approaching and Disney's grandchildren had not yet shown up, so he called
Don DeFore in a panic and asked if he could borrow two of his children, because "I can't go through the parade without kids in my carriage". So Dawn and her brother
Ronnie DeFore rode in the carriage in the Disneyland Christmas parade that year with
Walt Disney and were photographed waving to the crowd.
