Undated Large Slides, Pt. 3: Fantasyland Autopia

Back in the early days, the Autopia was EVERYWHERE! 3 different versions: Tomorrowland Autopia, Fantasyland Autopia, and the Midget Autopia. Shot #1 is the entrance to the Fantasyland version. I have included 2 closeup shots:



This closeup shows that the Omnibus used to travel from Central Plaza over to Fantasyland:



See more Disneyland photos at my website.

Undated Large Slides, Pt. 2: Restaurants @ Disneyland

If you’re not hungry now, you will be after this post! Shot #1 is Aunt Jemima’s over at the corner of Adventureland and Frontierland. Here’s a closeup of the patrons enjoying their flapjacks:



A little further down the path is the Chicken Plantation Restaurant, sponsored by Swift’s Premium Meats. With the lanterns hanging overhead, it sure does look like the inside of the Blue Bayou Restaurant!



Over in Tomorrowland, there are two “bars” that you can visit; The Space Bar & The Yacht Bar...just don’t get any ideas about having any booze at either bar!





As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, the striped "tent" that housed the Edison Square display started out as the original Art Corner display, as seen in this previously posted photo:



Anyone care to buy a Peter Pan or Alice cel for $25?



Mystery photo: A reader sent in this family photo, and was hoping for help in trying to identify the location. Any takers on this one?



See more Disneyland photos at my website.

Undated Large Slides, Pt. 1: Stripes @ Disneyland

This batch of larger sized slides all came together, but I have my doubts that they are all from the same year. Either way, they are way cool images. Today’s theme is stripes; if you have a phobia about them, you may want to look away.

First shot shows a promotional display for Edison Square in Central Plaza. Edison Square eventually morphed into a concept for International Street, which eventually morphed into...nothing, unless you count what happened down in Orlando. If you look at this detailed view, you can see the photographer snapping this photo in the reflection.



How about a few shots of the entrance to Holidayland, complete with Matterhorn/Sub poster promos:





This venture, along with the Mickey Mouse Club Circus, bombed fairly quickly. Guests didn’t want an experience you could get at any other amusement park. They wanted Disney entertainment.

Last in my striped post is one of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship restaurant; the poor ice cream vendor looks extremely bored:



See more Disneyland photos at my website.

Shuffling of the Flags

Known as the Flags of the Nations, this set of Flags located in Tomorrowland began near the TWA Moonliner in the heart of Tomorrowland, as you can see from this overhead shot of the opening day model located at the Disneyland Opera House.



Another vintage view of the Flags:



Approximately a year after opening, they were moved to the entrance of Tomorrowland to make way for the Flight Circle and Astro Jets:



In this “rerun” photo from December 1956 you can see their new home:



A closeup of the New York flag pole:



Here’s a Spring 1960 shot:



By the time of the “New” Tomorrowland of 1967, this patriotic tribute was a thing of the past. Late addition: as a reader noted, there is a goof on the model; actually a few. Still, I wouldn’t turn it down if Disney offered it to me! For an extremely comprehensive list, visit this MousePlanet page. See more Disneyland Tomorrowland photos at my website.

Summer 1965: Rob Jackson Collection

Rob Jackson, who works over at the Disneyland Railroad, was kind enough to share these cool images of himself at the park back in the Summer of 1965. These photos were taken by his mother on her Brownie box camera.

I think it is very wise that Mickey is often found in Town Square. For one, it slows the traffic down a bit as families tend to linger at the entrance a little longer and keeps the log-jam of children racing to get on the attractions from being as bad as it might be if Mickey weren’t there. The other great thing about seeing Mickey in Town Square is that it starts the day off on a high note; what child wouldn’t be thrilled to see this Disney legend right off the bat as they enter the park?

Picture #2 is the very definition of the word adorable. Check out little Rob on the Carnation Gurr-mobile:



It may just be a glorified carnival ride, but Dumbo still packs 'em in and makes the little tots happy:



Looks like a veritable traffic jam over at the Autopia:



Rob may be excited by this attraction, but his dad looks to be very much over the Motor Boat Cruise:



And now, some 40 years later, is a 2002 photo of Rob standing by one of the trains that he helps operate and maintain: daughter Lenelle, nephew Logan, daughter Brooke, and niece Lindsay.



Many thanks to Rob for sharing these great family photos. See more Disneyland photos at my website.

April 1964, Pt. 3: The Big Finish

Time for the big finish on this one, beginning with a little action over in Frontierland. Today, we can sail aboard either the Columbia or The Mighty Mark Twain.



While we tour the banks of the Rivers of America, we encounter a peaceful Indian Village.



Back on dry land, The Petrified Tree is entertaining guests while the Golden Horseshoe takes care of the others!



Three shots from Nature's Wonderland, including the thundering falls of Cascade Peaks:







Over in Adventureland on The Jungle Cruise, alligators, hippos, and dancing natives keep things lively:







“Lilo & Stitch” is now available on DVD in a special 2-disc edition. I avoided this one for years; something about it just never really appealed to me, and I don’t know why. However, now that I’ve finally watched it, I really did enjoy it. It is somewhat dark in its treatment of broken families, but still very entertaining and meaningful in its treatment of the subject. And there are a TON of extras on here! Especially noteworthy is the 2-hour documentary, detailing almost everything imaginable about the making of the movie.



For all you World’s Fair nuts, Disney has now released a 5-disc CD set covering the 1964/65 New York World’s Fair and the ambitious exhibits that the team at Disney produced, including Carousel of Progress and it's a small world. Comes with a full-color 24 page booklet. My only gripe is that the booklet, although beautifully illustrated, contains mainly concept art images. I would have rather seen more photos of what the actual exhibits and attractions looked like at the Fair. A minor quibble though. This is truly a wonderful set of rare and historic recordings.

See more Disneyland photos at my website.

April 1964, Pt. 2: BW Skyway Trip

Today we will soar over the park in our classic Skyway bucket. We start out in Tomorrowland and pass by the Douglas Moonliner and Rocket to the Moon attraction. Looks like Cox Pilot and coworker might be setting up for the next show at the Flight Circle.

In shot 2, we continue our journey towards Fantasyland, passing over the Submarine Voyage.



We’ll dip down for just a second to get a closer look at the Seawolf sub:



Don’t be frightened by the Matterhorn; fortunately there are two holes just the right size for our Skyway bucket to sail through:



Crossing over to Fantasyland, our appetite for lunch begins as we spot some of the famous tuna burgers on the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant:



On the other side of the bucket, those spinning teacups might make us a little dizzy. I hope those plastic lawnchairs bolted into the Skyway bucket are secure! Be sure to note the warning inside of the bucket!



Next up is Dumbo, and of course we’ll dip down for a closer look at him, too.





Last but not least is a closeup of the photo of the Frontierland Depot from yesterday’s post. TokyoMagic, I'll let you decide if that's a ticket booth or not.



And for those of you who haven’t seen a Golden Horseshoe poster, here it is in living color:



See more Disneyland Skyway photos at my website.