Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Fifty Cents



That's right; that's all it used to cost to take the Grand Circle Tour on the Disneyland Railroad. Today, the cost is $87. Talk about inflation! As many of you already know, when the park first opened, there was a general admission charge to get into the park and then an additional ticket cost for each attraction. Ticket books held colorful tickets that were grouped (and priced) according to the excitement factor of the attraction. Today, you pay one charge (starting at $87 for adults) to enjoy all the attractions. The first image for today shows the Fantasyland Station and Ticket Booth of the Disneyland Railroad, circa 1956, which is when this structure opened. The original location of the Fantasyland stop is approximately where the Kodak photo kiosk is today.

One from 1957/1958:



A closeup of the ticket booth, October 1958:



In 1965, this station was closed and the train track was moved to its current location during the construction of 'it's a small world.' The Mickey's Toontown Station opened in January 1993. Here are a few contemporary shots:





See more vintage & current Fantasyland/Toontown Depot photos on my Fantasyland Toontown web page.

5 comments:

K. Martinez said...

Nice rare pics of the Fantasyland Station. I love the ticket booth closeup.

I like the creativity used in the design of Mickey's Toontown Depot, but thought it strange that it was outside Toontown's "city limits". I still think of it more as a Fantasyland Station.

Have you ever come across photos of the Videopolis Station?

Diane said...

Are you kidding? 87 dollars?!

Daveland said...

K. - I don't have any Videopolis Stations in my collection...yet.

Diane - I wish I was. That's admission to 1 park. If you want a park hopper ticket, it's $125.

Anonymous said...

While your intentions are good, I think it's misleading for you to state that a ride on the train costs $87. You might not immediately think this, but someone who is planning a first time trip to Disneyland might read what you wrote and think it costs $87 to board the train. You mean that the park admission is $87 and the train ride is then free, but when I read it I thought there was an extra $87 fee to ride the train.

I know you are a big fan of Disneyland and anything that could scare off a visitor should be avoided. Maybe you could edit what you wrote so it's a little more clear for people who are not Disney experts such as yourself.

Daveland said...

Anonymous - Point taken and text edited. Disneyland's ticket sales have now been saved. You are welcome.