Sixty-three years ago today, Disneyland opened to the general public. Yes, I realize I didn't acknowledge the official first day anniversary yesterday; I could say I was being a rebel, but I think all you readers are smart enough to smell the BS. Without further adieu, let's examine Merlin's Magic Shop in Fantasyland. First up is a 1964 image that yields two fun closeups. Anybody need to send a postcard home to the folks who couldn't make it?
A glimpse at the merchandise in the shop window; see anything you'd like?
Move ahead a few decades to the 80s and Merlin's has become Briar Rose Cottage.
You can still send postcards. Phew.
The shop windows seem to be more about Disney dolls and figurines than magic. I spot an assortment of Mickey Mouses as well as a Jiminy Cricket.
Its next stint was as the Castle Heraldry Shoppe from 2008—2017.
Since my last visit to the Park (coming up on two years!) it has become a year-round Christmas shop.
See more photos at my main website.
Those are some scary, contemporary-looking masks in the window display. That is in keeping with the often scary original Fantasyland dark rides. In Merlin's also, a clerk would occasionally lower a rubber spider into the faces of unprepared guests, unthinkable in today's litigious society.
ReplyDeleteI longed for one of those hideous masks, but they were too expensive. At least that was the excuse my parents made for not letting me buy one. I suspect it was because they were so gruesome.
ReplyDeleteOh well, I wouldn't have been able to make up my mind which one to get anyway, so much to choose from. Seems like there were a dozen or more on display inside.
@Stefano, I remember that rubber spider, my mom encountered him at least once. Which might be part of why she wasn't keen on the masks.
This little storefront is an architectural gem, so much going in on in such a small space.
Thanks Dave. Really nice post today, and the whole Fantasyland series as well.
JG
@JG I remember there being a full wall full of masks too.
ReplyDelete@Stefano - I remember the rubber spider!
This may be where I bought my first foam rock... and the squeezable ketchup bottle with the red string inside... and let's not forget the melted ice-cream on a stick gag.
WOW! Thanks for the memories Dave... and Walt! ;-)
Always your pal,
Amazon Belle
As always, totally digging the first-hand recollections of these shops from yesteryear! Thanks, Guys! Matt - I'm surprised you never pulled that ketchup bottle trick on me!
ReplyDeleteWhen I visited the Park last in 2017, this space, which had been the heraldry shop ( which in it's turn was relocated from inside the castle, I think), was closed up.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if accessibility issues with the split-level floor are to blame? Has it re-opened as anything new since?
JG
This space was also the Villains Store for a while in the 1990s.
ReplyDelete