Today’s tour of the past begins in Disneyland’s Town Square, circa February 1970. These lucky tots got to see Mickey himself as they entered the Park. Let’s zoom in for a look at the ticket book:
It appears that these kids were EXTRA lucky, as they were part of the Magic Kingdom Club, which ran from 1957—2000. It was an early Annual Passport program to the park that offered memberships free of charge both for companies and their employees, encouraging families to visit the parks by giving them discounts. Meanwhile, get a load of the topper on Mickey’s cane!
In the next shot of the batch, the kids have multiplied. The little girl on the right has a matching purse; it looks big enough to buy out Main Street, U.S.A.
Another closeup of Mickey’s cane:
Next up: it’s a small world!
By this time, the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant had morphed into Captain Hook’s. Bye-bye outside corporate sponsorship!
For the second shot, Mom is all smiles.
How about a closeup of the vintage Disneyland shopping bag?
And poor Dad; his middle finger is in a splint.
Last one for this batch today drops the families off at the Castle.
Come back for more gems from February 1970!
See more vintage and (semi) contemporary Disneyland photos at my main website.
Knowing park management today, its hard to believe there was a time when discounts to Disney parks existed. That little girl is holding a rare gem, indeed. I'm more worried about the little girl with the blue sweater in the background. She's in her single digits but I already looks like someone in her late 50s that lives in a house with a dozen cats. Something tells me that look stuck with her for life. ( no offense cat people, I'm one too, just without the horn rimmed glasses. ) I kind of sympathize with dad, there. Probably came close to losing his finger at work but he's still at the park with six kids. Too bad that little girl with the purse isn't showing us the front of it. I suspect you're right, it looks an awful lot like something you would see in a gift shop. It's hard to tell for sure but based on Mickey's posture I would assume that's Paul Castle who was in the very last picture taken of Walt inside the park in front of the firehouse around September of 1966. There's just something about the way the guy stands and walks that made him look a little different than everybody else who filled in the suit after him or on his days off.
ReplyDeleteI collected so many Magic Key coupons while taking tickets which I'd give to my family and friends when I would sign them into the Park. Fortunately the statue of limitations has ended. LOL But yes, those tickets were golden when I visited the park in earlier times. You weren't restricted to the A-E ticket-book, so you could ride any attraction you wanted! KS
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