Tuesday, October 11, 2011

A Day At The Park Circa 1958, Pt. 2



I love the Disneyland Castle just as much as the next guy/gal, but at times, I do get bored looking at the same ol' same ol' shots that each guest (including myself) snaps of it. This is why I was happy to see this wistful September 1958 photo of a young lass with the Sleeping Beauty Castle in the background. The swans in the moat are an extra bonus! Signage geeks can rejoice with shot #2, taken in the heart of Fantasyland.



Sustainability geeks can also let out a yell as they realize that the ticket booth in the same shot has been repurposed as the home of the band organ:



Now we'll head over to the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant, which was once a treasured Fantasyland icon:



Getting closer, your mouth begins to water...



Even closer, signage geeks will start drooling:



Last one for today is a playful shot taken from the deck of the ship with Pegleg Pete:



See more vintage & current Fantasyland photos on my Disneyland Fantasyland web page.

7 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

I can never get enough of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship! Thanks for the close-up of the menu and the sign explaining that the captain's poopdeck and "Paco" the parrot were a free exhibit....I don't think I've seen that one before!

Major Pepperidge said...

Just that last photo alone would have been an great post! I'm kind of surprised that we don't see more pictures of the peglegged pirate.

Connie Moreno said...

Dang! These were incredible!!!!

JG said...

Pretty girl.

In fact, lots of pretty girls.

And pirates...

Notice how the Pirate Ship changes what is really a pretty conventional amusement park into something extraordinary?

Dumbo and the skyway ride mechanisms were not uncommon, once upon a time, and the fences, etc. are pretty mundane, but the ticket booth, castle, pirate ship and the great signs lift this experience up into something special.

Thank you Dave.

JG

The Viewliner Limited said...

Great post Dave. Man I miss that boat!

Jason Schultz said...

Sorry, Dave, but New Fantasyland construction photos show that the band organ housing is an entirely new construction. It's obviously very reminiscent of the old ticket booth, but it's quite a bit bigger.

Daveland said...

Jason - thanks...even though it's disappointing. What a bummer.