Babes in Town Square

Walt Disney was into sustainability years before it became a buzz word. Once the 1960 Disney feature, “Babes in Toyland” was wrapped, the soundstages had to be cleared for the making of the next studio film. Rather than discard or waste storage space for the elaborate sets and props from “Toyland,” Walt had them moved over to his Anaheim Park and converted into an attraction for his Main Street Opera House.



From December 1961 through September 1963, the sets on display included Mother Goose Square, The Toy Factory, and Forest of No Return. These two December 1961 images show the signage in front of the Opera House beckoning guests to come inside.



From May 1962:



This August 1962 image is the best shot in my collection of the signage in front.



From 1963-1964 the Opera House became the Mickey Mouse Club Headquarters, as seen in this September 1963 image: 





The next two shots from February 1964 show that the little guard booths in front of the Opera House from “Babes in Toyland” remained.





May 1964:



…and November 1964:



In 1965, the Opera House finally got a real attraction of its own, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, seen in this August 1965 shot:



Below is a screenshot from the 1960 film, showing the sets from Mother Goose Village:



Side-by-side comparison shots from the Devlin family, who visited the inside of the Opera House and posed by the sets from the film:







See more Disneyland Opera House photos at my main website.