Melinda Goes to Disneyland, Pt. 2!

Today, Melinda shares photos from Fantasyland, taken during her family’s 1980 trip to Disneyland. In case you weren’t aware, the banners in front of the Sleeping Beauty Castle should clue you in to the fact that it was the Park’s 25th Anniversary. Note the extremely faded color of the Castle. Obviously before Kim Irvine got her paint brush on it.

These photos show Fantasyland in its original Tournament Festival design state, albeit with a few 1970’s touches of ornamentation.



The arches around the Mad Tea Party attraction went up some time around 1969 and lasted until it was moved during the 1983 Fantasyland remodel.



Before Pinocchio moved in, The Fantasyland Theatre occupied that real estate:



The family takes a spin on the Tea Cups:







Zooming in to see the Dumbo ticket booth in the background:



Dumbo, with his ears firmly attached to his head:



An overhead shot of the Alice attraction, taken from the Skyway:



The intersecting Casey Jr. and Storybook Land attractions:



The favorite car of most kids on the Casey Jr. attraction:





Another Skyway shot, this time showing the it’s a small world attraction:



From Melinda:

it’s a small world was, and is still, one of my most favorite rides to this day. I listened to the record and read the storybook that went with it probably hundreds of times. I worked hard to learn all of the words to that song, and all of the others that went with the many Disney records I had. “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” was another of my particular favorites. I just adore the colors and styling of Mary Blair’s small world to this day, and I would have ridden it as many times as I could. 



This picture of my sister and I shows us sitting in the boat headed into small world and waving. I noticed that neither of our parents is in the boat with us, and when I asked my mom about it she said that they wouldn’t have had a problem putting us on the ride by ourselves so they didn't have to go in and listen to the song again! So, despite the disclaimer on the back of the ticket book about kids not being able to ride that one without a parent, it did happen at least on occasion!



More Melinda at Disneyland to come! See more Disneyland photos at my main website.

Melinda Goes To Disneyland, Pt. 1!

Just when you thought Melinda didn’t make it to Disneyland, here comes the series showcasing her collection of FABULOUS images from 1980 (the Park’s 25th Anniversary), the era that is sorely missing from my website. THANK YOU MELINDA! The first shot is a total wow; all you Disneyland newbies may find it hard to believe that at one time you could park your car near the front gate. No Disney California Adventure, no security guard lines, just one big parking lot! From Melinda:

I wondered if our visit to Disneyland had anything to do with it being the 25th birthday, but I suspect it was the lure of all of the roller coasters in the small area to ride with the recent opening of Thunder Mountain (September 1979). My parents were big fans of roller coasters and liked to ride them whenever they could - even nature's variety, aka river rafting. My sister and I watched Wonderful World of Disney every week; I had the records with story books that I listened to over and over, and we grew up with and have always loved Disney so we would not have objected to learning we were going on vacation there even if it meant days of driving there and back. We lived in eastern Washington state at the time. I was pleased to find recordings of the 25th anniversary commercial advertising the celebration with its catchy song on YouTube in my research. Music has always been a huge part of life and my sister and I could sing every TV jingle from the commercials growing up. I'm sure we would have known the Disney one and sung along whenever it came on.



A view of Main Street:



Let’s zoom in to see all of the non-Disney shops; Polaroid was the sponsor of choice for the Camera Center. Notice the large clock, too, and the name “Elgin” on it:



…which makes sense when you see that the Clock Shop across the street is sponsored by Elgin! A burst of vitamin C from the Citrus House would be a good idea on a hot Anaheim day.



The plastic Flower Market was still in business, outside the Hallmark Communication Center:



A closer look at the souvenir bag AND the realistic plastic rose:



Melinda and her sister loved meeting Tigger:



America on Parade was expanded to incorporate the 25th Anniversary, as seen in this publicity still:



The Parade in full color, as experienced by Melinda and her family. The Can-Can dancers from the Golden Horseshoe:



The Country Bear Jamboree!



This float seems to be Tahitian Terrace themed:



Another vantage point from my collection:



The approach of Cinderella outside the Carefree Corner (I could use that corner right now!):



Cinderella in her coach:



What parade would be complete without a balloon release?



The Disneyland Band received new costumes to commemorate the Anniversary:



More Melinda at Disneyland to come! See more Disneyland photos at my main website.

50 Years Ago...

Fifty years ago, Walt Disney was the Grand Marshal for the 77th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade held in Pasadena. The theme was "it's a small world." Sadly, Walt would pass away by year's end.

Flashing forward to 1980, Frank Sinatra was the Grand Marshal. Here is his gigantic floral recreation:



and the Chairman of the Board himself:



As it so happens, I was marching in the parade with my high school band that somewhat chilly New Year's Day, too:



Playing my alto saxophone:



You can read more about our fundraising, rehearsals, and other performances during that memorable trip in 1980 here: http://www.tehistory.org/hqda/html/v30/v30n1p021.html

Hope you are all enjoying 2016 and sticking to your resolutions!

More Daveland photography at main website.