Holiday in Fantasyland, 1963

It’s December 1963, and my favorite feather hat gal’s daughter is meeting Pluto! In the background, you can see the Mad Hatter Shop. The detail shot below features the back of a Disneyland Tour Guide and two guests eating a DELICIOUS frozen treat from the Welch’s Grape Juice stand.



THIS feathered hat is even more spectacular. I think she wins the prize. Pluto thinks so, too.



Soaring high over Fantasyland on Dumbo, NOBODY’S feathered hat is safe. Hold on tight!



Moving a little further into the depths of Fantasyland we have STORY BOOK LAND! And of course Casey Jr., my favorite little circus train.



A rare shot of one of the Windmills:



The last two for the day show the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant:



…and what I probably miss the most about Disneyland of yore: Skull Rock Cove.



See more vintage Disneyland photos at my main website.

Disneyland Gems from ’56, Pt. 2

Today’s 1956 Disneyland gems take us to Fantasyland, the heart and soul of the Park. One of our dapper vintage guests is standing in front of Merlin's Magic Shoppe. Unfortunately, the camera being used did not produce images that were all that sharp, so the zoom in window view is meh at best. However, you can see the vintage shop sign above the guest’s head.

A nice overall view of Fantasyland that shows the tea cups, Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship, and the Casey Junior Circus Train off in the distance.

Zooming in, you can see that the Storybook Land attraction is taking shape, as the framework for the rocks is in progress.

This image yielded a wonderful surprise. At first glance, it just appears to show the mini-lake/pond behind the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship, with Casey Junior chugging along in the background.

A closer look reveals the old Canal Boats of the World sign, unceremoniously dumped against the fence:

A previously posted shot of the sign before it came down for good:

And this image was the reason I purchased this set in the first place:

What a great color detail image of the original Snow White's Scary Adventures dark ride mural!

Still more great 1956 gems to come!

See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland Fantasyland photos at my main website.

Storybook 1956 Blowout!

Today is a stockpile of beautiful images from the earliest days of Disneyland’s Storybook Land attraction. The first one is the actual Storybook that was used to promote the attraction when it first opened. Oh, how I wonder what happened to these gigantic fake books!

A view at dusk of the patchwork quilt area with Cinderella’s Castle towering over the background as Casey Junior passes below.

Those d#$n telephone wires in the back!

A daylight shot of the castle:

Much better angle — no wires! This photographer knew what they were doing!

The landscape is pretty barren here in this view of the Tremaine home:

Thanks to Matthew for letting me know that the location of this shot is near the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs. I hope you enjoyed today’s journey!

See more Storybook Land photos at my main website.

Vintage Fantasyland

The area that is now Pinocchio's Daring Journey in Fantasyland was once the Mickey Mouse Theatre. It would appear that the biggest selling point was the air conditioning! Inside, guests could see the Mouseketeers in 3D Jamboree, advertised in this May 1957 image.



This 1956 shot shows some very festive umbrellas. And these are the undersides!



I can see an illustration from “Snow White” and also “The Three Little Pigs.” Wouldn't it be cool to have a roll of this fabric?!?



Last one for today is from the May 1957 batch and shows the ticket booth for the Casey Jr. attraction:



A similar contemporary view:



See more Disneyland Fantasyland photos at my main website.

Disneyland Skyway and that mound of dirt

For those not familiar with the Disneyland of yore, this July 1958 images shows you what the Park looked like shortly before the Matterhorn was built. The dirt that was excavated to make way for the Castle was used to create a 20-foot hill nearby known as Snow Mountain, Holiday Hill, Disney Peak, Snow Hill, and Lookout Mountain. Landscaping took root after awhile and benches and pathways were added, encouraging this area to be used for a leisurely stroll, a picnic, and eventually (but unintentionally by Disney) a little makeout haven for horny teens. Is there any truth to the rumor that one of the gardeners was growing wacky weed at the top of the hill? I have no idea. Another plus to the construction of the Matterhorn attraction in this spot is that it helped hide the unsightly pylons that are very visible in this shot.

Looks like some Disney landscapers in this closeup:



A female traversing one of the paths, toting a cross between a picnic basket and a purse:



Last closeup for today shows the passengers in the original round Skyway buckets. They have turned their heads to keep their anonymity intact.



See more vintage Disneyland Skyway photos at my main website.

FINAL 80s Flashback: More Fantasyland

Today we take a final peak at Disneyland during the decade of my youth, starting with two angles of the Casey Junior attraction (former) ticket booth.



A few "you are there" style shots from the attraction itself:





Looks like you're SOL if you want to purchase something at Gepetto’s Arts and Crafts shop. I am guessing these shots were captured early morning before the Park was open, so if you can juuuuuuust wait a few hours, you might be able to get a trinket here.



The entrance to the Pinocchio attraction:



The Snow White attraction exterior:



A zoom-in view of the attraction entrance door and signage:



Another view of the exterior, featuring the "gargoyles":



Love this detail of the ravens on the skulls:



Still there today!



You know you've been to Disneyland too many times, when...



you're able to recognize a building exterior from the corner of one letter.



Back to the 80s exterior of Peter Pan's Flight:



One of King Arthur's Carrousel:



Kind of Alice's exterior, but also a bathroom exterior...I'll leave it up to you how you want to classify it:



Final one for the series has us whisking off from the now defunct Fantasyland Skyway Station:



See more Disneyland photos at my main website.