Halloween at the Mansion!

The final day of my Halloween Haunted Mansion celebration begins quite appropriately in the ballroom. Plenty of cake for the revelers who don’t appear to be able to handle their liquor.



The organist who continually plays upon Captain Nemo’s organ is another favorite tableau of mine.



The Pepper’s ghost illusion of the dueling portraits is another brilliant gag:



Then we reach the attic. Once Constance and her looney story took over, I lost interest. Other than the shadow of the ghost who plays the piano. Ever noticed him?



Oh please make this hot mess of a projection go away.



The Hatbox Ghost at the end of the attic scene does bring me a large amount of joy. I’ll give the Disney Corporation that one as a “win.”



Once we slide back down the hill in our doombuggy, we encounter the poor cemetery caretaker and his undernourished dog:



“Grim Grinning Ghosts” by X Atencio is one of those songs that’s welcome to live in my head ANY time:



The hitchhiking ghosts: that iconic trio that has raked in a few bucks in merchandise for the Disney Corporation:



As you leave, be sure to notice the homage to Cocteau’s “Beauty and the Beast”:



Little Leota was probably the most intriguing part of this attraction when I was a little kid. “How did they do that?!?”



Happy Halloween to all! Take it easy on the candy and I’ll see you next month!

See more Disneyland Haunted Mansion photos at my main website.

A Cutout A Day: Captain Nemo

Just outside of the Red Wagon Inn (now the Plaza Inn), guests could pose behind painted cutout boards of their favorite cartoon characters...or in this case, a live-action character. This board represents Captain Nemo from the Disney live-action classic, "20K Leagues Under The Sea." Nemo was played by James Mason. I wonder what Disney artist painted this?

More vintage Disneyland cutout fun at my main website.

Disneyland Pre-Selfie

Back in the day before you saw people connected to their phones, selfless and selfie-sticks were not even a blip on the radar. "Fun" had to be low-tech. These painted cutouts in Central Plaza were about as low-tech as you could get…but the guests loved 'em! First up from this batch of 1950's black and white images are one of a little boy who wants to be Captain Nemo from 20k Leagues Under the Sea.

Davy Crockett (this one spells the Davy with an "e"; somebody forgot to proof this one!) was another popular Disney "character" at the time:



My very favorite Disney character: Dopey!



Last shot for today is a stray one from this batch of an unidentified beach.



See more Disneyland cutout fun at my main website.

"Art" at Disneyland

"Art" lovers needed to look no further than Main Street, U.S.A. to find unique pieces to decorate their abodes. In the early years, original Disney cels could be purchased near the Plaza Inn, as you can see in this unfortunate beginning of the roll wacky exposure. The gent in the Stetson seems to be admiring little Alice.



Those not wanting to go quite as "high brow" as a Disney animated cel could create their own art, thanks to these colorful cutouts that were in the same area:



By the time this September 1960 color-shifted photo was taken, the art had moved to East Center Street.



Granted, the detail when zooming in is not that great, but these interpretations on canvas of the Castle and the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship appear somewhat amateurish.



If you're wondering how I could tell the previous shot was from East Center Street, just compare the buildings at the top of the photo with this shot of the Art Festival:



It would truly make my day to discover that this wacky pirate painting still exists:



"Live" artists were also on hand to do portraits for guests, as seen in this September 1964 photo:



If "art" wasn't your thing, you could always walk across the way to West Center Street and pick up some plastic flowers.



Nothing but "class" on Main Street!

See more vintage & current Disneyland East Center Street photos on my main website.

Haunted Mansion Organ

Here's a publicity still of the organist from the Haunted Mansion ballroom, making good use of Captain Nemo's instrument. From the accompanying caption:

HORRIFYING HARMONY — Phantom organist strikes up a terrifying tune, which fills the grand ballroom of the horribly-humorous Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. After more than 10 years of research and development, the foreboding abode is now open as Disneyland's 53rd (and newest) major attraction.

Here's still there today, entertaining guests as they pass him by in their Doombuggies:



See more vintage & current Haunted Mansion photos on my Haunted Mansion web page.

Disneyland Half Marathon Trip Report, Pt. 1

For the last few years, I have attempted to break the 2 hour ceiling of my Disneyland Half Marathon time. For a variety of reasons (being sick, poor diet, not enough training), I fell short each race. This year, I was more determined than ever to finally be "sub 2"!

Checking into the Disneyland Hotel, I felt like I had accidentally entered the DCA construction zone. All around the hotel property there were construction walls, detours, and the sounds of machinery. Still, it didn't bother me a bit. As with all things Disney, the "problems" were alleviated with easy to read signage and friendly staff standing nearby to take care of any guest concerns that might arise.

The room wasn't ready yet (we arrived before noon), so we headed over to the Expo first to pick up our bibs and goodies. Every year, I am impressed by how organized this event is. I also loved the decor at registration featuring some of Disney's favorite characters. This one of Donald is just about how I look at the end of the race!



Next dilemma was where to eat lunch. My first choice was to check out the new Tangaroa Terrace.



Huge thumbs up for the finished product; both Tangaroa Terrace and Trader Sam's are a welcome addition to the Disneyland Resort. They respectfully pay homage to the park's history while providing a great place to eat and an adjoining lounge for adults to enjoy live entertainment and a tropical cocktail (or two).





Welcome to Trader Sam's!





How about these doors? Leave it to Disney to go above and beyond at the entrance.



An homage to 20K:





After checking out these new facilities, we decided that our hearty pre-race appetites needed Goofy's Kitchen. Sorry Sam & Tangaroa - but I promise to come back in the near future for a more in-depth exploration of tasting and imbibing!



I was caught during lunch; friends Walt & Dottie were in town for the Half as well (we'd met almost 2 years ago at Candlelight) and arrived just as I was trying to secretly snarf down my chicken nuggets (I'm sure there was some nutritional value hidden in there that would benefit me the next morning at the race!).



Although a bit pricey, Goofy's has a wide variety of tasty food choices as well as a number of your favorite Disney characters.

Walt & Baloo hit it off immediately.



Jasmine caught us on the way out. You'll note I am standing next to Dottie, Walt's 79 year old mother. You might assume that she was there to support Walt and cheer him on for the Half Marathon. Heck no. She was there to run and walk the Marathon herself! She is a real firecracker and an inspiration to all.



With our bellies full, we headed over to the Grand Californian to relax in their lobby until our rooms back at the Disneyland Hotel were ready. As you can tell by this photo, the weather for the weekend was perfect. Walt himself couldn't have ordered up a better day.



Our room in the Adventure Tower at the Disneyland Hotel was fantastic. Clean, well designed and appointed, it was a huge improvement over what the rooms at the resort have looked like for the past decade or so. Again...lotsa' great details. Note the Jungle Cruise artwork in the background of the room number signage:







For you Hidden Mickey nuts, the carpet was made just for you.



Mickey lights the way in the bathroom:



I loved this collage of contemporary shots of the park that hung on the wall; can you identify the location of each shot?



The headboard has a lighted "fireworks" display and plays music, too. Another nice touch.



From the room, we had a great vantage point for the continued construction of the 2nd pool area:







After a little nap (oh how I love my naps), it was time for (you guessed it) another meal. The dinner the night before the race is an important one, as it's the last chance to carb up before the race. Walt & Dottie kindly allowed us to glom onto their reservation at Downtown Disney's Naples Restaurant. An excellent choice!





The food and the service were as good as the decor, and I savored each meatball in my spaghetti!



Once dinner was over, it was dark out and time to get a good night's worth of sleep. It will probably come as no surprise that I couldn't just go to bed; I had to shoot a few nighttime shots and take advantage of the magical lighting that the Disneyland Resort is known for.









And that's it for part one! Good night all - hope the rest of you in Southern California have your power back on by now!

See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland photos on my Disneyland web page.