Disneyland Year 5: August 1960, Pt. 3 & Disney Family Museum

Migrating over to Fantasyland, I have 3 semi-standard (as opposed to deluxe) shots for you, starting off with the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Our intrepid 1960 photographer must have had the shakes; probably should have had a little lunch before snapping this one.

Up next is the craziness known as the teacups. Probably why he had skipped eating so far, so as not to create a mess in all of that spinning! Anyone know if the official looking guy in the hat and tie is a cast member or just a somewhat stuffy-looking guest?



Ending the Fantasyland portion of this series with a nice steady shot of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant. Our photographer must have had a tuna boat to calm his shakes in between shot #2 & shot #3. I really dig those plumed hats; that shocking purple feather really sticks out here!



Meanwhile, over in San Francisco, the Disney Family Museum is finally coming to fruition. I was recently sent some of the publicity materials for it. The museum opens October 1, and its website goes live on August 1, which is when tickets will go on sale. Here is a preview of some of the exhibits:



Gallery 1 Beginnings: Walt Disney’s Early Years (1901-1923)

Walt Disney was born in Chicago in 1901. In 1906, his family moved to a Missouri farm, where he had an idyllic early childhood and first learned to draw. The farm failed, and in 1911 his family moved to Kansas City, where he rose at 3:30 am to deliver newspapers on his father’s paper route and fell in love with vaudeville and movies.



In 1917, the family moved to Chicago, where Walt created cartoons for his high school yearbook, took classes at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, and tried to enlist in the U.S. Army. Rejected for being underage, he joined the American Ambulance Corps and arrived in France as World War I ended. When Disney returned to the United States, he settled in Kansas City and got a job at a commercial art studio.



In 1920, while working at an ad company, Walt discovered the fantastical world of animation and immersed himself in the young medium. While keeping his day job, he began making Laugh-O-gram ad reels and animation shorts with artist Ub Iwerks. Laugh-O-grams Films soon went bankrupt, and Walt, at age 21 moved to California. Walt’s early drawings and mementoes from his childhood, as well as cameras similar to those he used in Kansas City, will be highlighted in the Museum’s first gallery.

For all you internet social community crazies, the museum’s Twitter account is up and running.

Here are a few more way cool photos from the collection:









And a rendering of the museum itself:



To download a factsheet on the museum, click here.

See more Disneyland Tomorrowland photos at my website.