Sunday, July 22, 2012

July 18, 1955 Extravaganza, Pt. 4



Today wraps up this series with a blowout of Frontierland and a smidgen of Tomorrowland images. The Mark Twain is at the dock of the Rivers of America in our first shot. Zooming in, you can see an out of context automobile parked in front of the Golden Horseshoe Saloon. With the trunk open, I can only imagine what item(s) are being delivered last minute.



Unlike today, there is even a stampede of guests to enter the Frontierland gate.





Davy Crockett fever had spread across the land, and in a nod to the mania, Walt named this "Museum" after him. From my understanding, it was more of a shop than a museum.



Two views of a Stagecoach, loading up with guests for a trip through the wilds of the Frontier:





Back in the day, bales of cotton added to the atmosphere of the Rivers, making this area appear to be a true port of trade.



Please ignore those cars parked along the side of the River.



A view of New Orleans Street, which is still at the park today:



Zooming in you can see the signage for the Oaks Tavern eatery:



Located approximately where New Orleans Square is today stands the Chicken Plantation Restaurant.



Guests of the Blue Bayou Restaurant will note that this building was the inspiration for the design of the faux building seen inside:



Another zoom shot provides a view of guests packed on a little footbridge as well as a pickup truck.



A few more vintage pickup trucks and a ton of overhead wires do not make for good show!



The final shot of Frontierland appears to have been taken from the Mark Twain and shows the Miniature Horse Corral, which would eventually become the Shooting Gallery:



Unfortunately, Tomorrowland got the shaft with this set. Only one shot, showing a directional sign for the "20,000 Leagues" exhibit:



I hope this little series made you feel as if you were there! See more vintage and current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland web pages.

6 comments:

Thufer said...

With Walt lore being complete with many recountings of his willingness to sacarfice employees fro transgressing the "berm" with automobiles; one would hope that Walt was away from the park during the time of those pictures. Like the studio stike, some things can only get resolved when the 'boss' was away.
Very good set of pictures.

Major Pepperidge said...

I love the shot of the Stagecoach loaded up so close to the bare river, pre-Rainbow Ridge.

K. Martinez said...

I love those intrusion on fantasy shots. Work vehicles, saw horses and wires in plain view. Some of my favorite images of Disneyland have telephone poles and wires peaking behind the trees and berm at the back of the Rivers of America. Great post as always Dave.

Darryl said...

Dave...The shot of "A view of New Orleans Street" with the two buildings looks to me as the same two buildings as this. The first building with the balcony and gray building, both on Royal Street.

http://davelandweb.com/neworleanssquare/images/60s/3D_7_17_68_R_NOS4.jpg

Daveland said...

Thufer - with "hidden" cameras everywhere, transgressions are not as easy to get away with at the park! I'm sure Walt was around quite a bit on the 18th, but it was probably easier to get away with a few trucks here and there while he was elsewhere.

Darryl - I'd never really done a comparison of N.O. Street and New Orleans Square, but now that you mention it, I do see a bit of similarity between those two sections!

Dreemfinder said...

Dave - Thanks SO MUCH for these! My first visit to DL was on 7/18/55. Because he had done the original air conditioning for the park, my Dad had passes for this date... What a treat to know I was there on that day.