Scary Disneyland!

For Halloween, I could have copped out and just posted a Haunted Mansion image or two, but instead, I’m going to post what I think are/were some of the more scary things at Disneyland, beginning with the Old Hag on the original Snow White’s Scary Adventures Dark Ride. We’ve all heard how terrified children were of the original attraction, and even today, just riding around in the dark and having the Old Hag appear can be quite unsettling for the little ones.



Having the Evil Queen guard over the attraction is also a nice subtle touch of foreboding:



And while we’re on Dark Rides, how about Mr. Toad?



Can’t you just hear this mom? “Tommy, you’ve been a bad boy, and now I’m going to make sure we scare the crap out of you!” The helmet-head hairdo is scary enough as it is!



What little kid wouldn’t be terrified of a train coming right at them, or being eternally sent to Hell?







Nothing is more unsettling than viewing The Burning Cabin! In this early shot, there is no settler dead/drunk at the front of the cabin.



Walt upped the creep factor and added him shortly thereafter. Oh yeah, and for good measure, let’s stick an arrow through his heart, okay?



Originally, this Mr. Hyde/Phantom character used to terrify children in front of the Main Street Cinema. I say bring him back!



As you can see, these little weirdos LOVE it! They can’t wait for mom to get frightened!



And for the ultimate in scary, how about these original incarnations of Mickey & Minnie?!? Smiles or no smiles, you know these little tots are going to need a diaper change soon! This shot was taken on opening day in front of the Fantasyland Theater (now the Pinocchio Dark Ride) with comic Jerry Colona.



Walt understood that kids LIKE to be scared. How many times have you heard a kid scream bloody murder and then say, “Hey, let’s do it again!” So readers, what scares you at Disneyland? Happy Halloween to all and here’s to Trick or Treat! UPDATE: for you Gabrielle, here’s Monstro!



See more vintage & current Disneyland photos at my regular website.

Disneyland Railroad & The Grand Canyon Passenger Car

This undated 1950’s shot shows the interior of the Grand Canyon Passenger Car, better known today as the VIP Lilly Belle Car. Compare with this present day view:



And just for good measure, here’s a cool vintage 50’s caboose shot somewhere in Frontierland:



See more vintage & current Disneyland Railroad photos at my regular website.

Seeing Red at Disneyland, Pt. 3

In this last image of the Russian Olympic team, we see them leaving the world of Tomorrow, which certainly looks different from today’s world of tomorrow.



I get claustrophobic every time I am about to enter Tomorrowland. It feels like a log-jam as guests are packed on both sides of the Astro Orbiter trying to exit or enter Tomorrowland. This part of the park could use some serious space planning. See more vintage & current Tomorrowland photos at my regular website.

More Savannah

No stories today about my fave city Savannah; just a lot of photos.











For more Daveland Savannah photos, visit my regular website.

Seeing Red at Disneyland, Pt. 2

Pt. 2 of the Russian Olympic Team at Disneyland on December 13, 1956. Today, the Russkies are in Fantasyland, enjoying a trip aboard Casey Junior. By this time, the canal dirt/mud was gone and the ride that we know today had already opened. This photo is just screaming for a caption (or two), from the “Monkeys” on the Casey Junior car to the “tracks” on the hair challenged guy with the shades inside the car. Here’s a shot of the same car today:



See more vintage & current Casey Junior photos at my regular website.

Lights! Camera! Election!

The opening reception at World of Wonder for their most recent show, “Lights! Camera! Election!” was a blast. Here are some pics from it. I was pretty stoked to see my Samantha painting sitting in the front window. I have also included some of the way cool pieces from the other artists as well.















A Condoleezza Rice portrait...made out of rice. How cool is that?











Santino Rice from my new fave series, Project Runway (Season 2) was also at the reception.



To see more of my art, visit my regular website.

Seeing Red at Disneyland

According to the notes on this one, these guys are from the Russian Olympic Team. Maybe they were in the Shelley Winters Poseidon Swim event. Either way, the date on this one is December 13, 1956. Wouldn’t you love to see what photos they took that day? I know I would. See more vintage & current Disneyland photos at my regular website.

Zorro at Disneyland!

Back in the day, “Zorro” was all the rage. Think Indiana Jones. Jack Sparrow. Yep...that big. Walt needed more money from ABC to pump into Disneyland, so he came up with the Zorro series and gave Guy Williams (Zorro) a serious boost to his career. Fred Cavens was hired to coach Williams in the art of fencing, as he had done previously for Tyrone Power and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Unfortunately, the singing could not be taught, and Williams was dubbed by Bill Lee, who would later dub for Christopher Plummer in “The Sound of Music.” “Zorro” was a hit and ran for 2 seasons, spawning a merchandise frenzy as well as many personal appearances by the cast at Disneyland. The first photo was actually sold at Jimmy Starr’s Show Business shop in Town Square. These other photos are from slides taken at Disneyland showing Sergeant Garcia (Henry Calvin) at the Golden Horseshoe and Zorro (Guy Williams) fencing with Captain Monastero (Britt Lomand) atop the Mark Twain.















What amazes me most is that the actual stars of “Zorro” appeared multiple times at the park...not stand-ins, not doubles...the real enchilada. Can you imagine Harrison Ford or Johnny Depp coming to the park, performing in characters, and shaking hands with guests? Not only would it never happen today, it just couldn’t. Security for such a thing would be impossible, not to mention the amount of money that Disney would have to pay these actors. Times were so much simpler back then. Unfortunately, a legal dispute between ABC & Disney prevented any more episodes from being aired, and “Zorro” became a part of TV history. Guy Williams found himself the star of another series: “Lost in Space.”



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