Laboring Over Labor Day, Pt. 1

In honor of the next glorious three days known as "Labor Day," I will be doing a trilogy of posts featuring the laborers who have toiled so hard to create the Magic Kingdom known as "Disneyland." We begin on Main Street, U.S.A.; specifically Town Square, as the construction crew labors to finish by the July 17, 1955 deadline. Let's zoom in to see those workers:



A color shot of the still unfinished Main Street Train Station:



Putting in the tracks for the Horse-Drawn Streetcar:



Going further down the street and stopping near Center Street, looking back at the Train Station:



Zooming in for a closeup of the workers:



It always takes me aback a bit to see cars in these construction shots:



Turning around, we get a view from Town Square facing The Castle:



A closeup of the Cinema area, showing the lettering on the marquee:



The heart of Town Square...before it started beating!



A closeup of the workers:



Walking closer towards the Castle, we see lumber and a pickup truck outside of the Coke Corner:



A proud Walt strutting in front of the Castle; he must have been proud to be able see his idea come to fruition.



Many thanks to the unsung heroics of the laborers who made it all happen.

See more Disneyland Construction photos on my Construction web page.

Daveland Goes Atomic, Pt. 3

The final installment of the Atomic Redhead Trilogy unveils itself today in Fantasyland. The first three shots are most likely taken from a Skyway bucket on the way to Tomorrowland.





Janey describes the Fantasyland that her photos captured, taken before the 1983 revamp:

Up until 1983 (when much of the greater Los Angeles area was gearing up for the 1984 summer Olympics) Fantasyland featured painted plywood facades to their attractions. Walt had always dreamed of making Fantasyland akin to a small fairytale-medieval-esque town surrounding Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, but with Disneyland already over budget, he had to cut things back. Then, in the early 80s Disneyland’s Imagineers brought Walt’s dream to life. New facades were created, new attractions such as Pinocchio’s Daring Journey were added, a few attractions got moved, including Dumbo and the Mad Tea Party, and some were gone forever, such as Skull Rock and the Chicken of the Sea Restaurant pirate ship.

Janey's photos capture both Skull Rock...



and the long-gone Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant:





It’s a Small World has seen quite a few different paint schemes over the years. I’m quite fond of this blue, white and gold!



I agree, Janey! Here are a few more random Fantasyland shots from Janey's collection, including the Alice in Wonderland attraction:



Dumbo Flying Elephants:



and Casey Junior chugging through Storybook Land:



This one of Monstro is one of my faves from Janey's collection:



Janey wraps things up with this:

While I love super early Disneyland images from the 50s and 60s, I think that the late 70s and pre-83 images of Disneyland are rather interesting too. They showcase both the new and the old – the familiar attractions and scenes with lost attractions and facades. When you uncover photographs from this time period you are blessed with images of the old Fantasyland, while just a few snapshots later, you can find Big Thunder and Space Mountain.

Thank you, Dave for this opportunity to share these pictures!

Thank you, Janey - it was great having you "stop by."

See more Disneyland Kodak Picture Spot photos on my Kodak web page.

Daveland Goes Atomic, Pt. 2

Janey from Atomic Redhead takes us aboard the Big Thunder Mountain Mine Trains for the thrill ride of our lives!



Time to exit the attraction for a spin around the Rivers of America.



This particular view looks as if it were taken from the top of the Mark Twain, or it might have been taken from the Treehouse on Tom Sawyer's Island.



Here's a great shot of the entrance to Fort Wilderness. I'll let Janey take over the storytelling from here.



Here we have Fort Wilderness, located on Tom Sawyer’s Island. Originally, Fort Wilderness (built out of real hand-hewn logs!) was home to a rifle roost where you could pretend to shoot as well as museum-style set ups of what a military outpost would have looked like, including a dummy of Andrew Jackson. However, over the years, Fort Wilderness became more and more dilapidated. The wood needed constant maintenance, a girl lost part of her finger in an accident, and in 2003 the large gates shut for good. In 2007, Tom Sawyer’s Island was taken over by pirates, and many changes were underway, which included tearing down the original Fort Wilderness that stood since 1956. A new Fort Wilderness was erected, however it was no longer open to the public. Instead, Fort Wilderness is now home to a cast member break area as well as serves as storage for the nighttime show Fantasmic.



A few more shots taken from the Island:



Here you can see kids who have found the joys of the Suspension Bridge:



This image appears to have been taken from one of the rafts:



Looking back over to Frontierland you can see the Golden Horseshoe in the background:



These last two shots were most likely taken from the Mark Twain or the Columbia:



Looks like the Burning Cabin had ceased burning by the time Janey's family photographed it:



The last two for today's installment showcase New Orleans Square, starting with an exterior shot of The Haunted Mansion.



From Janey: Original entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean. This changed in 1997 when they also altered portions of the inside to be less suggestive.



For Part 3, we'll visit Fantasyland, courtesy of Atomic Redhead.

See more vintage & current Disneyland Frontierland photos on my Frontierland web pages.

Daveland Goes Atomic, Pt. 1

Recently, I saw a very cool post over at fellow blogger Atomic Redhead's place, which showcased a number of her family's slides taken at Disneyland in 1979 & 1981. Offering to share them with my readers, Janey also threw in some extra shots that weren't posted on her blog. Please give a warm welcome to Janey!

Hello fellow Disneyland fans! My name is Janey, and I have the blog Atomic Redhead, which is a vintage fashion and lifestyle blog. But being a big Disneyland buff, I can’t help but write about the Happiest Place on Earth every so often.

Recently, I was granted permission to begin scanning my family’s slide collection and the first carousel I pulled was marked “Disneyland ’79 & ‘81”. How could I resist? I hope you enjoy!

Starting off on Main Street, Janey's collection takes you all the way down to Central Plaza.











Let's take a turn left and visit Adventureland first, shall we? The first attraction we go on will be the Jungle Cruise.

Originally the boats for the Jungle Cruise were clean, featuring bright red and white canopies. They remained this way until 1993 when they were weathered to coincide with the new Indiana Jones at the Temple of the Forbidden Eye attraction that was being built next door.

















Next door to the Jungle Cruise is the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.

Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, today known as Tarzan’s Treehouse. I think Disneyland realized that the popularity of the 1960 film wouldn’t last forever, and in 1999 they “upgraded” to Tarzan. A film I really didn’t care for at all.



Next up: Frontierland!

Be sure to visit Atomic Redhead's blog - it's chock full of nostalgic goodness!

See more vintage & current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland web pages.