Freaky Fridays @ The Haunted Mansion: Exterior & Oogie Boogie Handouts

Just a few photos to show you the differences guests see during the Halloween Season at The Haunted Mansion.

Oogie has even taken over the popcorn machine nearby:











Proving that this attraction looks better at night, here are a few from January 2003:







And a few more from earlier that same day:











The 2nd time Haunted Mansion Holiday occurred, I made sure I went. This 2-sided handout was given out so that guests could track all the Oogie Boogies located on the attraction:





See more Disneyland Haunted Mansion photos at my website.

Tell-No-Tales Thursdays: The Alligator Swamp & The Blue Bayou

This shot is part of a batch of Walt Disney World negs from 1975. This one from Tom Sawyer’s Island showing the Alligator Swamp shack looks mighty familiar!



This guy has always creeped me out a little; like a scene out of “Deliverance.” The same sculpt was used on one of the prisoners in the jail scene, dressed in a different outfit of course:



My one gripe about eating at the Blue Bayou Restaurant is having to listen to “Oh Susanna” over and over again. Like I said...Deliverance.



You can also find the same sculpt in the Haunted Mansion at the Ballroom Banquet Table:



See more Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean photos at my website.

Wednesday WOW: The “New” Tomorrowland, 1967

Keep in mind that this photo came about before Photoshop. Isn’t it a beauty? This is the Tomorrowland that all of us wish would return, as there is so much going on! The PeopleMover, the Rocket Jets soaring high above the park (not smack dab in the middle of the entrance), the Monorail (visible lower right), the Matterhorn (I know, technically it’s Fantasyland!), and look at those fireworks! Wow! Hopefully today’s Tomorrowland is in line for some TLC as it sorely needs it.

And here’s one of Dean Jones from the lobby of the Bird Cage Theatre just to let him know that Dean wasn’t forgotten in the shadow of Lauren Tewes!



See more Disneyland Tomorrowland photos at my regular website.

Early Disneyland: Welcome to Frontierland!

Before we settle into Frontierland, our photographer gave us one quick glimpse of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant. Ready to move onto the Wild West? OK Pardners, let’s go! We begin with a fantastic shot of Rainbow Ridge, that quaint mining town that actually still exists in present day Disneyland!



While traveling along the Rivers of America, we see a Stagecoach:



With this closeup view, it looks like a villain might be trying to hijack it!



Here we see Fort Wilderness, in all its original rustic glory:



Next we pass the Indian Village, which is located in what is now referred to as Critter Country:



Now we are inside the stockade at Fort Wilderness; you can see a similar "peephole" across the way on the other side of the Fort:



An interior view of the Fort:



The fact that this "gun" is pointed at the Indian Settlement is just a little unsettling! I don’t think this would fly today, whether it was an accurate historic depiction or not.



Our last shot is of the Mark Twain, most likely taken from the Treehouse on Tom Sawyer’s Island:



See more Disneyland Frontierland photos at my regular website.

Early Disneyland: Welcome to Storybook Land!

This undated batch of black and white negatives is a fantastic look at Storybook Land (and a few other cool places, too, as you’ll see in tomorrow's post). Based upon the sign to the left of the Castle and the way Storybook Land looks (with no Matterhorn in the background), I would guess that these negatives date to about 1957 (or thereabouts). So sit back and enjoy this trip in (of course!) chronological order. Our first view is of the village from Alice in Wonderland:



A beautiful shot of the original Toad Hall area:



The home of the seven dwarfs looks empty:



of course I had to zoom in on their signage:



Can’t miss taking a shot of Cinderella’s Castle:



Whoa! Here comes Casey Junior above us!



This looks like your normal shot of the Windmill area...



Until we zoom in closer and see what appears to be an empty light socket waiting for a bulb!





Storybook Land has always been fascinating to me; the attention to detail blows my mind. This is one journey I would love to have go much slower, as the Canal Boats race by too quickly to notice everything. I’m sure that’s the point to keep the guests coming back!

See more Disneyland Storybook Land photos at my regular website.

Sailing Through Sundays on The JC: 1963

Here are 3 shots from a set of 1963 black and white views, featuring a somewhat nerdish protagonist (surely you can pick him out from that description!).

The alligators are snapping near the ancient shrine:



Trader Sam offers his wares:





VIRAL MARKETING DEPARTMENT: Kevin Kidney turned Jed onto this who turned me onto it; The Punchy Players have done 2 Hollywood Parodies that are perfect for a Sunday Morning chuckle...especially if you know a little bit about the two stars they are parodying (Judy Garland and Lucille Ball).



And here’s the Lucille Ball one:



See more Disneyland Jungle Cruise photos at my website.

Scholarly Saturdays: Encyclopaedia Britannica & Adventureland, Pt. 3

Yup...Susie’s not going to forget this trip. She wants to go back to Fantasyland and she's not happy about getting on a dirty ol' boat to see animals. Although we refer to it as "The Jungle Cruise," as you can see by the sign its original name was the Jungle River Boat Ride. I get tired just saying it.







Check out the festive outfit of the skipper!



"Danger?" Nobody told Susie about this when she was invited to participate!





No sign of the swinging monkeys by this time in Disneyland history.





See more Encyclopaedia Britannica photos at my regular website.