Gems from Disneyland August 1961

Today we journey back to August 1961 to view a few gems from one photographer's collection. I am also going to include some of the hand-written inscriptions from the back of the slides. This one was labeled: "Town Square." Well, kind of close to Town Square. I was hoping to get a vintage glimpse of Esmeralda but no luck. She's been upstaged by a horse.



How about this energetic shot of Tomorrowland? The Monorail, Subs, Matterhorn, Skyway...so much to see!



Love this one: "Home of the future - all plastic. Real neat."



At the entrance of Tomorrowland once stood the Clock of the World:



A closeup of the Clock:



as well as the entrance to America the Beautiful:



Fantasyland yields this exceptional shot of a cast member working the Snow White attraction, dressed as Snow herself:



A great detail of the original mural:



More to come in the future from this great set of vintage Disneyland shots!

More vintage (and current!) Disneyland photos at my main website.

Cowboy vs. Spaceman

This undated photo shows the "New" Tomorrowland, the favorite Tomorrowland of most vintage Disneyland geeks. The Spaceman survived the transition but not for very long. Here he is, model ready for his female admirer.



Could this little boy in the red cowboy hat actually be snubbing the future? I am sure mom would have scolded him if she'd seen the face he was making at the Spaceman.



More of the beloved Disneyland Spaceman my main website.

Trip to Disneyland, May 1972: Pt. 2

Today we join our 1972 Quintet in front of the Matterhorn. I'm seeing a lot of love in these photos. Mother/daughter combo perhaps?



3 attractions for the price of one in this photo, with the Monorail track snaking around the Matterhorn and the Skyway buckets floating overhead.



Had to zoom in for a closeup of this sign; can you imagine paying a separate price for each attraction?



So many GREAT choices in 1972 Tomorrowland!



Meanwhile, this poor bastard appears to be searching for a diaper in his leather bag.



See more Daveland Disneyland Matterhorn photos at my main website.

December 1962: Clock of the World

Sure, this is a wonderful shot of the Clock of the World Tomorrowland entrance icon. In addition, it's also a nice view of the America the Beautiful attraction entrance. Most of all, I had to have this slide when I saw it because of the two people posing in front of the flower bed. Looking up to the sky, they seem to embody all of the hope and promise of a bright future for this country. The possibilities were endless and so was the imagination of this nation.



As a capper to today's post, I dusted off an older 1960's image and spruced it up a bit in Lightroom. Note the AT&T satellite atop the America the Beautiful attraction building.



See more vintage Disneyland Clock of the World photos on my main website.

Satellite Contraption

Many moons ago, I posted a blurry shot (seen above) of the satellite arm perched above the America The Beautiful attraction.

Now I have a much better view of it from January 1964.



Cox Pilot had sent his recollection of this futuristic contraption:

As I recall, there was a satellite that circled around on a big arm on top of the building that housed the Circarama show that included space and satellites. Both the arm and the satellite would turn, and they were a replica of the AT&T telecommunications satellite. It was a big deal in those days because of the TV broadcasts of the Olympics. Later the big ball stopped turning (another detail that was left to fall apart). A little side note: one of our airplanes (the biggest one) broke its lines during a show. It did a half role and zoomed right towards the clock about 20 feet off the ground. At the last minute, it rolled over again and took a right turn and slammed right into the big AT&T sign. We paid, and WED began to re-think our being in the park.



See more vintage America The Beautiful photos on my America The Beautiful web page.

Sexy Space Travelers

The sexy space couple survived the transition to "New" Tomorrowland, but disappeared shortly thereafter. Here's a front view from 1967:



...and a back view of the same couple.



"Baby got back" would be a good caption for this shot, as the young boy with a band-aid on his elbow questions the apparatus on this Space Girl's (id'ed by a reader as 1966 Disneyland Ambassador Connie Swanson) back:



See more vintage Disneyland Spaceman/Spacegirl photos on my Spaceman/girl web page.

The Walt Disney Family Museum, Pt. 3

Moving into the Disneyland period of Walt's life, this bench represents a significant part of the lore that surrounds the inspiration of the park. Here is the explanatory text that accompanies the bench. Note the photo of Walt, which was expertly composited by Bruce Gordon:



This March 1965 photo of Walt was taken from the same session, showing that he was actually in Town Square at Disneyland, not Griffith Park.



Although I loved seeing the previous rooms and exhibits, this was the section I was most anxious to see.



The original Lilly Belle was here on display:



Can you imagine all of the famous people that got to ride this scale locomotive and cars?





The display panel includes a photo of the Caboose Interior, carefully crafted by Walt himself:



In 1954, Walt proudly unveils the concept art for Disneyland. It is amazing how close it matches what was actually built.



The famous "lost weekend" illustration by Herb Ryman that sold the concept to the bank:



I'd love to read the inside pages of this 1953 document!



The original model of the Fantasyland Castle, built by Fred Joerger in 1953:



The actual camera used to create the "America the Beautiful" movie for the Circarama exhibit at Disneyland:





The actual exhibit at Disneyland:



The invitation for Walt & Lillian's 30th Wedding Anniversary, held on July 13, 1955 at the Golden Horseshoe Saloon before it opened:





An original Autopia Car. This one was a gift from Walt to his firstborn grandson Chris, who drove it all over the back lot with his sister Joanna.





A head sculpt for Abe Lincoln and the "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" exhibit:



The "skeleton" of his animatronics:



Mary Blair art for the "small world" attraction:



This photo of Walt shows him with a scale model of the Carousel of Progress attraction:



Thanks to a little compositing and stitching of my own, you can see the entire 1960's scene:



Tomorrow, you'll see photos of the massive Disneyland model.

See more Walt Disney Family Museum photos on my WD Family Museum web pages.