Details for my wonderful readers

In yesterday’s post, I was too lazy to figure out where exactly this February 1970 Town Square shot was taken. Daveland reader Chuck had obviously had his Wheaties and was able to find this other shot from my collection circa October 1970:



…which also gives a great detailed view of the window display:



Chuck also noticed something else in this photo from yesterday’s post:



Is that a Snoopy plush toy in the window display at Disneyland? If only that little girl had moved her head over a bit!



Chuck also suggested I look at this Summer 1955 image from my collection as well:



When I looked at the folder with the images from that batch, I noticed that it appeared that the photographer might have been attempting to take a panoramic shot of the entire Town Square. Through the miracles of photoshop, I combined four separate photos and came up with this:



Yes, I see that in part of the image, the tracks for the Horse Drawn Streetcar don’t line up. I’ll put that on my project list to fix!

Thanks, Chuck! See more Disneyland Town Square photos at my main website.

Christmas in July, circa 1956

It would be hard to tell that this shot was taken during the Disneyland Christmas season of 1956 except for a little garland around the roof of the Main Street Train Station and its clock. Less is definitely more!

A group of Dickens Carolers is about to assemble in front of the Bank of America in Town Square. They seem to have a little fan club following them!

I love the little piggy bank in the Bank’s window!

 

Here are the Carolers, bundled up for a typical freezing cold day in sunny Anaheim! The little girl on the right with the Disneyland penant has been caught on  camera picking a booger. No class!

See more Disneyland Christmas photos at my main website.

Lost and Kinda' Found!

I have been “lost” for awhile...with a bout of E. coli. I DO NOT recommend it. Still on the road to recovery but thought it was time to start blogging again. Just one “new” shot today, showing Mickey standing outside the Guided Tour Office door, circa April 1965. Of course I wanted to get a closeup of the Guided Tour and Lost and Found signs!



Mickey wore this style of tie for a few years before it became a regular bowtie in the late 60's. Here’s a previously posted shot of the same Mickey from May 1967:



Naturally I had to zoom in for some details, like the Bank of America lettering on the window and the lady on the bench who appears to be holding a brightly colored souvenir bag.



Panning right is the souvenir kiosk:



At first I thought the poster said “Disneyland,” but it appears to say “Fantasyland.” I don't recall ever seeing this one before.



I may still be a bit sporadic for awhile. Thanks for your patience!

See more Mickey Mouse photos at my main website.

Yippie Day 45th Anniversary

45 years ago today one of the darkest days in Disneyland's history began harmlessly as a bunch of free spirits had a little too much anti-establishment fun in the park. Supposedly, the spark for this came from the dress code and pro-Vietnam War Bank of America's sponsorship of Disneyland.



The 500 semi-tongue-in-cheek flyers distributed by David Sacks told of the day's agenda:

Black Panther Hot Breakfast: 9am—10am at Aunt Jemima’s Pancake House

Young Pirates League: 11am on Captain Hook’s boat

Women’s Liberation: 12 noon rally to liberate Minnie Mouse in front of Fantasyland

Self Defense Collective: 1pm—2pm at shooting gallery in Frontierland

Mid-Day Feast: 3pm barbecue of Porky Pig

Late in the afternoon Yippies plan to infiltrate and liberate Tom Sawyer’s Island. Declaring a free state, brothers and sisters will then have a smoke-in and festival. Get it on over to Disneyland, August 6. YIPPIE!



As you can see, things began harmlessly enough.



When people at Disneyland got baked, they weren't making bread.



Things took a wrong turn when the establishment got tired of the rebels.



A riot squad on Main Street? Definitely not thematic.



It was a lesson learned by Park management that would hopefully never occur again.



More Yippie Day stories at my main website.

Disneyland Town Square, Summer 1956

Welcome to Disneyland's Town Square, circa 1956. Need some dinero? How about stopping by the Bank of America Town Square branch?

This detailed view shows that Town Square Realty is still around (selling swamp parcels in Orlando to unsuspecting guests, perhaps?). At the information/souvenir kiosk, you can buy a paper parasol, a guidebook, or one of those cool plastic white hard hats. The two gents in the booth seem to be enjoying the shade while the older gent is sucking on his cig for all its worth.



Pulling back a bit we get a better view of the east side of the square.



Maxwell House is still in operation, although on this very day in 1957 it would close down (that does call for an un-happy anniversary?) and International Street is being heralded by a construction wall behind which absolutely nothing is being constructed.



Last detail: how about these fancy trash cans? Nothing but state-of-the-art here!



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

January 28, 1977 at Disneyland, Pt. 2

Back to January 28, 1977 for the thrilling conclusion AND the answer to how I know what the date was. First up is a beautiful shot of Skull Rock Cove. I am a sucker for anything showing this area. Obviously, this is a photo-worthy spot, as it is part of the GAF Photo Trail.



A closeup of the Skull. Excellent faux rock work!



Moving down the way to Storybook Land, a shot of our 1970's trio in front of Monstro.



Zooming in for a closer look at the tags they are wearing. Just not close enough to really make out what they are.



However, as they exit the small world boats, we have another opportunity.



Jackpot! It's a Disneyland Passport, dated January 28, 1977.



The façade of small world:



and a closeup of the Bank of America sponsored signage:



Another Fantasyland shot:



With a closeup of the souvenir booth:



Hope you had fun visiting 1977!

See more Daveland vintage (and current!) Disneyland Fantasyland photos at my main website.

small world 48th anniversary

In honor of the 48th anniversary of the "it's a small world" attraction at Disneyland, I am trotting out a few repeats and a few "new" vintage images from my collection as well as some great opening day photos from the UCLA Digital Archives.



Just look at how happy Walt is, pouring some international water into the small world canal with Bank of America Chairman of the Board, Louis B. Lundberg standing next to him.



Their subsequent ride through of the attraction:





A young Sean Ferrer visited the attraction on a gloomy April day in 1967, accompanied by father Mel Ferrer and mom Audrey Hepburn:



From an August 1981 trip, a guest captured these three consecutively shot images:



This one is begging for a zoom-in detailed view:







Happy Anniversary to an attraction that is still alive and kicking, 48 years later!

See more vintage & current Disneyland it's a small world photos on my regular website.