Wednesday, August 24, 2016

MORE Gems from Disneyland August 1961



A few more from the August 1961 collection of vintage Disneyland images, starting off with a shot of the Fred Gurley. It's always fun to get a closer look at the cast members of yore.



Our 1961 photographer seemed to like Adventureland and the decor at the entrance.



I had to get a better look at the mask at the top of the entrance sign:



I am in Tiki heaven with this shot:



After admiring the tiki statue my eyes went right towards the signage:



Before moving on to other adventures, the photographer shot one more in this area:



This one was dubbed: "The Castle Fairyland." Well...close.



This double exposed shot is still lots of fun.



How about that TWA bag; wonder if she was a stewardess. Oh, excuse me...flight attendant.



From the Skyway bucket we have this view of Cinderella's Castle from the Storybook Land attraction:



A closer look at the village below:



This inscription on the slide has me intrigued: "Riverboat ride even served mint juleps on the ride." Anyone out there remember beverages being served aboard the Twain?



Another shot of the Twain taken from dry land:



Zooming in to the raft that transported guests to Tom Sawyer's Island:



This one was labeled: "Indian camps along river on the riverboat ride."



This closeup is all about the signage, not the stroller.



A shot from the dock of the Jungle Cruise:



Zooming in we can see that it's the Congo Queen:



This one was labeled: "Jungle ride was so dark!"



Hope you enjoyed this amazing set of vintage images from 1961! More vintage (and current!) Disneyland photos at my main website.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Although my first experience at a Disney park was Disneyland, I've been to Walt Disney World many more times. Therefore it always surprises me when I see how small the Disneyland train engines are! That alone ramps up their "cool factor" in my eyes!

Chuck said...

I enjoy looking at photos of, er, vintage cast members, too. I can't help but wonder if the older gentleman in the engineer's seat was a retired engineer on a Class I railroad. Or maybe "former engineer" is the correct term; not sure how retirement rules worked since the SF&DL front-end crew were (and, I think, still are) members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the same union that represents the crews on the big roads.

Does that sign behind the woman in the tiki photo read "Native Curios?"

While I'm too young to remember it, I have read in several places that they did serve non-alcoholic mint juleps from the bar aboard the Twain in the early years, but that they discontinued it after guests kept throwing their cups overboard. Apparently, some resourceful guests will still bring them aboard.

beachgal said...

Probably not a 'stew.' First class passengers then still got an in-flight bag packed with all kinds of things like toiletries, folding slippers, sleep masks etc.

Fifthrider said...

Never mind the sign or the stroller, my eye was drawn to the classic Frontierland garbage can behind the quartet by the sign. The old "tree stump" garbage cans that blended in so well. I miss those, they were a classic Disney touch. Today they're all just cans. Nicely painted cans, but just cans, no "tree stumps" or the sort.

Anonymous said...

The tree stump trash can would be a "million-seller" if they would do souvenir replicas.

Full size is preferable but a toothpick holder version would sell too.

Interesting fact about the mint juleps, my first memories of those are strictly from the snack bar behind the French Market, in those brittle clear plastic cups.

Great pics, Dave. A nice trip enjoyed over again. Thank you.

JG

DBenson said...

"Disneyland After Dark" has dancing waiters serving something in paper cups at the beginning of the Young Men From New Orleans / Louis Armstrong sequence. Myself, never remember seeing either refreshments or live music on the Mark Twain.

nick said...

I'm old enough to remember beverages served on the Mark Twain, and I could easily imagine they were those well-themed mint juleps.