Japanese Dancers at Magnolia Park

These Japanese dancers from December 1961 are performing at the Magnolia Park bandstand, located approximately where the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse would be built in less than a year.



These are the most "recent" shots in my collection before the bandstand was removed from the park and shipped off to Roger's Gardens in Corona Del Mar.



I had to zoom in for a closeup of the outfits.





More vintage Magnolia Park photos my main website.

Mystery Solved and The Bandstand

Today's image shows the traveling bandstand, which began its life in Town Square, moved to Central Plaza when the park opened, transitioned to Adventureland/Magnolia Park shortly thereafter, and eventually got booted out of the park. Today it resides at an Orange County nursery. Zooming in, it appears that the conductor is Vesey Walker.



The mystery of the date of the photo from the other day has been solved!



Thanks to fellow blogger David at Gorillas Don't Blog, we now have a matching image of a guidebook from 1958:



David even went the extra mile to flip and desaturate the image to show that it's a perfect match.



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

Move It And Lose It

Before viewers had the ability to TIVO their programs, do you remember how changing the night of a TV show was typically the kiss of death? Whether a show was good or not, somehow changing its time slot or especially its night of the week usually resulted in a drop in the ratings, which then led to cancellation. We are creatures of habit. We don't like change. Today's post shows how at Disneyland, the same theory applies. Notice our first image from 1975, showing the Flower Market located on West Center Street. Guests could purchase plastic bouquets or arrangements of fruits and vegetables to proudly display in their home.

Taken just a few months later, this August 1975 photo also shows the Flower Market. See any differences?



Of course you do—nobody is going to pull the wool over your eyes! The Flower Market moved across the way to East Center Street, allowing the Carnation Cafe to expand its dining location to include outdoor seating. Here's another shot of the Flower Market on East Center Street, circa July 1977.



This gent, slurping down a tasty sundae in April 1977, seemed very happy with the change. No complaints about being able to enjoy his ice cream outdoors!



It wasn't much later that the Flower Mart went bye-bye completely.

Next up is arguably the most famous case of "Move It And Lose It": The Disneyland Bandstand. Originally located in Town Square, shortly before the park was opened, it was realized that this large structure would block the view of the Castle and disrupt the cinematic “long shot” desired looking down Main Street.



Its next residence was near the castle, where it resided until Walt decided that the Disneyland Band needed a more permanent stage.



John Hench sketched up a few ideas for the Carnation Plaza Gardens and the bandstand was moved (again), approximately July 1956; this time to Adventureland, in an area known as Magnolia Park, located between the Jungle Cruise and the Chicken Plantation Restaurant.





When the Jungle Cruise expanded in 1962, the addition of the Elephant Bathing Pool meant that the Bandstand had reached the end of the line at Disneyland. According to the book The Nickel Tour, the Bandstand was donated to the City of Anaheim, who kept it for a few years before donating it to nearby Rogers Gardens.

This quiet little spot between The Haunted Mansion and the French Market is referred to as "Magnolia Park." It looks totally different, but why waste a good name? Are there even any Magnolia trees in the vicinity?



Another victim to change was The Indian Village, which was originally located on the cusp of Adventureland and Frontierland, in the area that became Magnolia Park.



In 1956, it was moved to the back of the park at the furthest border of Frontierland.



In 1971, The Indian Village disappeared for good and became Bear Country.



The Disney Gallery was created in 1987 in New Orleans Square, making use of the space that Walt Disney had originally mapped out as a VIP guest suite for his family and friends. The Disney Gallery was a combination museum/gift shop, displaying art, props, and other things from the Disney archives.



This caretaker from the cemetery was here temporarily during one of the Haunted Mansion refurbs.



A few props from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies:





A view of the lovely courtyard of The Disney Gallery:



In 2007, Disney announced that the Gallery would be restored to Walt's original vision, and used as a “Dream Suite” for lucky guests to spend an unforgettable night during the Year of a Million Dreams promotion. This version of The Disney Gallery closed on August 7, 2007, reopening in Town Square in the former Bank of America location in 2009.





With The Market House being converted to a Starbucks, rumors have begun to buzz that at least part of the space that is now Disneyana will be given to The Market House. Disneyana began its life in 1976 in the former Upjohn Pharmacy location. It moved in 1986 to its present location on East Main Street:





Will Disneyana bite the dust? I wouldn't be surprised. I also wouldn't care. With the Disney Gallery and Disneyana in such close proximity to each other, the two locations seem redundant. The Disney Gallery sells much of the same high end/collectible merchandise that Disneyana sells, so the need for two retail spaces that are so close in concept seems like a waste of space. Only time will tell!

Any other changing attractions/shops that I missed?

See more vintage and current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland photo web pages.

TPE: Magnolia Park

The last place on my tour of Vintage Disneyland in Adventureland is Magnolia Park. I am skipping the Tahitian Terrace because I recently did a post on that fine restaurant which you can read here.

Modern-day Park Guests think of the fountain area near The Haunted Mansion as being Magnolia Park (which would be correct), but back in Disneyland's early days, Magnolia Park was the piece of real estate between The Jungle Cruise and The Chicken Plantation Restaurant. The first two photos show aerial views of the bandstand and The Chicken Plantation to give you an idea of where it was located.



At the centerpiece was the infamous bandstand, which started its life in Town Square. Shortly before the park was opened, it was realized that this large structure would block the view of the Castle and disrupt the cinematic “long shot” desired looking down Main Street. Its next residence was near the castle, where it resided until Walt decided that the Disneyland Band needed a more permanent stage. John Hench sketched up a few ideas for the Carnation Plaza Gardens and the bandstand was moved (again), approximately July 1956 to Magnolia Park.

In this photo of the footbridge to the Chicken Plantation, you can see the back of the Bandstand's Dome:





And why would I want to visit a bandstand in Magnolia Park? Here are the reasons. First reason is The Christmas Bowl:







No trip to Magnolia Park would be complete with seeing the Ken-L-Ration Dog Show, hosted by Sergeant Preston:









Or a live band concert led by Vesey Walker. Where are the guests?



Here's an early shot of the park under construction:





When the Jungle Cruise expanded in 1962, the addition of the Elephant Bathing Pool meant that the Bandstand had reached the end of the line at Disneyland. According to the Nickel Tour, the Bandstand was donated to the City of Anaheim, who kept it for a few years. Next (and final?) owner was Rogers Gardens. According to my contact at Rogers Gardens, The City of Anaheim called the owner of Roger’s Gardens around 1975 and said that they were going to throw the gazebo away and if Rogers wanted it, they had to come get it by the next day. A very large truck was rented and the Bandstand was relocated. It is now a favorite resting spot in the gardens, and Rogers is making a new sign that advertises the fact that it truly is the original Disneyland Band Gazebo. Rogers themselves started out in Costa mesa, moving to its present location of Corona Del Mar in January 1970.

And that, my blog-reading friends, concludes our Time-Machine-Travel to Adventureland. See you in Frontierland!

See more vintage Disneyland Magnolia Park photos on my Magnolia Park web page.

Walt Surveys His Creation, 1955

From the publicity caption:

DISNEY'S WONDERLAND

Movie impresario Walt Disney has a new huge project under way. He is building a 17-million-dollar-wonderland—which he calls Disneyland—in Anaheim, Calif., near Los Angeles. It will cover 160 acres with all sorts of places and rides out of Disney's films and TV programs, and his fertile imagination. Its attractions will range from Frontierland to Tomorrowland, with Fantasyland along the way. Scheduled opening date is set for July 17.

Here Walt Disney stands framed by the covered waiting room of the Disneyland railroad station as he looks down Main Street. The street will be typical of the years from 1890 to 1910.

This early construction photo of Town Square has a number of way cool details to see. I love seeing Walt all by himself, sizing up what's going on and how the reality matches up to his vision.

On the right-hand side of this detail shot, you can see the much moved Bandstand, before being place in its first location.



Main Street is recognizable, although most of the ornamentation has yet to be put in place. Can you imagine the feverish pace these guys must have been working at?



Finally for today, this is my have closeup: could Zorro REALLY have made his mark on this pillar of the Main Street Train Station? Wonder if it's still there under all the layers of paint.



See more vintage & current Disneyland Town Square photos at my main website.

Town Square Construction

Even though it has been almost 5 years since I started collecting vintage Disneyland images, I still get a little thrill when I see shots of something that I have never seen before. I get even more excited when I am able to tell a story by putting together images in my collection with new ones that I have recently purchased. Today's post illustrates such a story, as it shows some of the progress made during the construction of Town Square. Naturally, you will see that the level of quality runs the gamut throughout, but nevertheless, it’s still fun to view.

The first image shown here is a new one to my collection. I believe it is the earliest one I have showing Town Square’s construction. My guess is based on the fact that the trolley tracks are not in yet, and that this photo shows the form being constructed for pouring the concrete for the curb around the center triangle. Maybe it should have been "Town Triangle" instead!

Zooming in to check out some other details, you can see the Castle surrounded by scaffolding as it is not quite finished yet.



This particular zoom shows some of the workers near the Emporium:



Main Street looks like a virtual skeleton; hard to tell that the Main Street Cinema is here, as very little ornamentation on the store fronts has been added yet.



This aerial view, dated May 14, 1955, shows that the Bandstand is in Town Square. Once again, doing a little guessing, the Bandstand must have been moved to the Castle/Central Plaza area just before the trolley tracks were put down.





It appears that the shadow of the Bandstand is still visible in this Opera House construction photo:



Once the tracks went down, it is clear to see that the Bandstand was already deemed in appropriate for Town Square and had been moved.



Today, Town Square is still a vibrant area that makes a top-notch first impression:







And a beautiful place to finish your day at the Happiest Place on Earth:





In home video news, “Bambi” will be released soon on Blu-ray in a new Diamond Edition. “Bambi” is definitely one of the most beautiful Disney animated films, especially from the perspective of its backgrounds. I am really looking forward to seeing it in high-definition.

See more Disneyland Town Square photos at my main website.