Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Wednesday WOW: Walt in Frontierland, 1958



It’s difficult to find unpublished photos of Walt Disney, so for me, it’s definitely a “wow” when I do. This set of small black and white prints I am guestimating to be from 1958 and feature Walt touring Frontierland. In shot #1, he’s checking out the list of attractions on the signage.

This one is harder to make out due to its graininess, but it appears that Walt is hopping the fence at the Jungle Cruise. No need for a fast pass for Walt!



Any ideas of what Walt and crew are watching here? Whatever it is, I am guessing there will be some changes coming soon from the look on his face.



I’ll finish out the post with a few other photos from this set. The rafts used to transport guests from the park to Tom Sawyer Island are still very much the same...only the passengers have shown much change!



The Columbia is still under construction:



I believe this photo shows one third of the Gonzalez trio:



A Horse-Drawn Streetcar shot:



And a fitting farewell from the Spaceman:



Hope this post earns its Wednesday “WOW” moniker! See more Disneyland Frontierland photos at my website.

8 comments:

Chris Merritt said...

WOW is right! Love the shot of Walt in action, hopping the JC fence.

Vintage Disneyland Tickets said...

Any post with "new" previously unseen photos of Walt is a Triple WOW in my book! He doesn't look thrilled in that photo where they are looking over the wall, what were they looking at>>>>???

The Space man suit looks a little crude, but convincing for 1958!

Thanks Dave!

Katella Gate said...

The "candid camera" shots of Walt are Great! "I don't need no ticket, I own the place."

I wonder if Walt's looking over a temp construction barricade* at the Columbia under construction. The area around the dry dock was pretty under-developed at the time and I recall some artificial hills had been built up, similar to what's shown in the photo.

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*Canvas over steel forms like they used in the parking lot.

William Bezek said...

Jazzy space suit, I bet it's silver lame...I want one!

Matt said...

Wow indeed. The shot of Walt grimacing looks like some sort of Adobe wall in the background, perhaps over by Casa de Fritos?

Major Pepperidge said...

Walt shots are always great!

TokyoMagic! said...

WOW! These are all great, but I especially like the one of Walt hopping the fence.

Unknown said...

Always love seeing pictures of the space men! And you're right.. you can see the wheels turning in Walt's head about something!!