Town Square

Just in time for the holiday season comes this December, 1955 shot of Town Square, complete with plaque and chicken wire fencing to keep those pesky guests away from the fresh landscaping. Moving down the street in our second shot, you might want to pick up something for your headache at the Upjohn Pharmacy, or maybe a gift of Jams & Jellies for the holidays. Shot 3 from the same batch shows the venerable Horse Drawn Trolley, with Bekins truck in the background. It is interesting to note the quaint holiday decor of 50 years ago; definitely not as slick as today’s bling-bling trimmings, but much more heartwarming.





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A Day at Disneyland 1959, part 3

Mercifully, this is the last shot of the BW 1959 grouping. Since our little lassie lacks oomph, I’m throwing in a pic of the Viewliner from January 1958. If that doesn’t get you going this morning, I don’t know what will.



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A Day at Disneyland 1959, part 2

Judging by these photos, it would appear that our happy couple skipped Adventureland and went straight for the Trading Post in Frontierland.

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A Day @ Disneyland 1959, part 1

Although the beauty in my post today is not as buxom as Matterhorn’s Russ Meyer lass, this is definitely the kind to bring home to mom. She and her husband/fiancé looked like they were having a great time on Main Street, especially at the Hills Brothers Coffee House. Ah, life before Starbucks...





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The Delta Ramblers, August 1968

Just a quickie today, but I do promise a good one tomorrow. Today’s pic is from New Orleans Square in August 1968. The Pavilion at Cafe Orleans is featuring the Delta Ramblers for the lunchtime crowd. I have also included a closeup to view.



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1955 Castle

From the same batch of 1955 slides comes this shot taken from the path to Adventureland showing the castle, but also showing the “young” landscaping in front of the Frontierland gates. And on a totally different subject, here is a scan from a 1960’s snapshot, showing the front of the Tiki Room, which appears to be under construction as a row of posters is blocking the entrance. Any of you experts able to narrow down the year of this photo?





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1955 Fantasyland

Just getting out of my TGiving food coma, I am presenting 2 Fantasyland slides today. One of the teacups, with the Canalboats of Mud, I mean of the World sign visible to the left. And the second slide shows the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant. A tuna sandwich sure sounds good!



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1955 Moonliner

Today is a quickie; I’ve got Turkey to cook! Here are two 1955 shots of the Moonliner. I love the bright vivid color of these old Kodachromes; you just can’t beat it! Thanks to DD for helping with identifying the year on these 2 slides. Have a great Thanksgiving!



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Details, 1950’s

Here’s a pretty nice shot of the Stagecoach through Frontierland from the 1950’s (can’t be any more exact; the slide is undated). Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the artwork on the door of the coach shows the Mission in Santa Barbara. Of course, I have provided a detailed shot for your perusal.





My second shot is kind of dark (from the same undated batch) and shows the Fantasy shop in Fantasyland. To the right, you can see the sign for Merlin’s Magic Shop. As you may recall, I am a total signage geek. For all of you holiday travelers, have a very happy T-day!



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A Day @ Disneyland, July 27, 1955 (pt. 6)

Today is the last installment in this series. Grandma finds herself in Tomorrowland. I am sure that in the heat of July, these shade circles were a blessing. The second photo is Grandma outside of the Circarama Building. For some reason, the future doesn’t seem to make her too happy. Maybe she knows something we don’t (like what Tomorrowland is going to look like in 50 years!).



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A Day @ Disneyland, July 27, 1955 (pt. 5)

This installment covers the family’s trip through Fantasyland, starting off with the Snow White ride and a rare view of the mural inside the queue. Shot 2 shows grandma holding grandson (c’mon kid, get down. she’s gotta’ be tired too!) outside of the barren Casey Jr. attraction. The Chicken of the Sea in shot 3 appears to still be under construction (no tuna sandwich for grandma today). And hopefully the gentleman in shot 4 moved his tired bod out of the way before Dumbo took off.







The final shot for today shows the Canal Boats before there was actually a “story” to see.



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A Day @ Disneyland, July 27, 1955 (pt. 4)

Today is a one-pic post. Today, Grandma is standing by an Indian Village Teepee. By the way she is leaning against that post, I’d say Grandma is ready to sit down and has been walking all day.

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A Day @ Disneyland, July 27, 1955 (pt. 3)

Today we join Grandma and family on the Rivers of America. First up is a nice close-up of the Mighty Mark Twain (c'mon Grandma - can you move to the right and get out of the picture?!?). Shot 2 shows the Mark Twain beginning another trip on the very barren ROA; look to the left and see a pick-up truck on the banks. The last pic is in the Old New Orleans of the original home of Casa de Fritos, which became the Silver Banjo Barbecue in 1957 (thanks DD for the clarification!). And in this case, “X” definitely marks the spot, as Walt Disney himself is standing amidst his “guests” (hey Bob Iger—this is a good idea!).





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A Day @ Disneyland, July 27, 1955 (pt. 2)

The family is in Frontierland today (amazingly enough there are no family pics from Adventureland). The landscaping around the gate is pretty barren, but what can you expect since the park has only been open for about 10 days. Moving a little deeper into Frontierland, we see the various modes of transportation available; almost looks like the line for taxis at the airport. In the third and final shot for today, we see grandma and grandson proudly riding one of the Conestoga wagons. What fun!







See more Disneyland Stagecoach and Conestoga Wagon photos on my Stagecoach web page.

A Day @ Disneyland, July 27, 1955 (pt. 1)

Although not as bright and detailed as slides, vintage photos can also be cool. So, with that theory I am going to start posting a group of bw photos from the first month that the park was open. This set shows one family’s day at Dland, starting with a great shot of the parking lot and then moving onto the obligatory shot in front of the Main Street Train Station. I can only assume the lady in the white hair must be grandma, enjoying a day at the park with her grandson. If you look to the upper left, you can see the passengers sitting in the open car awaiting a train trip around Disneyland. The last shot for today shows the horse-drawn trolley at Town Square, with the festive bunting still in place.





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Fantasyland Aerial, November 1962

Since the aerial shot was a huge success and I'm a total comment-ho, I am unveiling this semi-aerial of Fantasyland from November, 1962. Don’t you love it; hardly any of those pesky guests eating turkey legs or riding recklessly in electric wheelchairs and killer double-wide strollers. I am also throwing in a few other shots from 1962, this one of the Alice ride, and an enthusiastic little towhead waving to daddy with the camera. Next up are the same little darlings with the Big Bad Wolf, who doesn't look so bad with his arms around these cuties. The last 1962 shot is a colorful one from the Storybook Land.







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Disneyland, U.S.A. 1957

While the rest of you battle it out with Monorail photos, I am going to do a little counter programming and show 2 bw publicity stills for the 1957 CinemaScope film, “Disneyland, U.S.A.” The first shot could almost be mistaken for a scene from “The Music Man,” however, it’s the Disneyland Band marching down Main Street. Amazing lack of crowds! Shot 2 is a nice one from Frontierland showing the Conestoga Wagon and Stagecoach. Be sure to check out the Major’s blog today (Gorillas Don’t Blog, listed to the right)—killer Monorail shot!



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Disneyland Aerial View, February 1966

Today I present to you an aerial view of the park from February 2, 1966. You will also notice that this photo is about 3 times the size of what I normally post, because I figure everyone will want to zoom in on different areas (bandwidth be damned!). I am also adding a close-up that is of particular interest to me, showing the Haunted Mansion under construction. It was also pointed out in the comment field by Matterhorn that Pirates construction is going on, so I have included a close-up of that as well.





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Back to the Future

Once again I present you with a date unknown photo, this time it’s the House of the Future, all tied up in a bow for what I assume must be the Christmas holidays. Personally, I always thought it looked like a huge wheel of cheese. My second mystery date photo is of the Blue Monorail going over what appears to be some construction over the lagoon.



My third and final mystery date Tomorrowland photo is a nice bw shot passing over the Yacht Bar. All three are from different batches. OK you DL Sherlock Holmes’...I’m waiting!



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