Disneyland, 9-15-1960 in 3D, Pt. 2

Two more from my September 15, 1960 Genuine FauxD© series, beginning with this side view of the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Notice the coat of arms is still missing from above the drawbridge. Below is the stitched version of the left and right images to provide a wider panorama view:



On the left of this shot of the Columbia, we have the hand of a guest who screwed up what would have otherwise been a perfectly lovely shot.



The wider view, which shows both keelboats in the same frame:



One more post to come from this series; stay tuned, and a happy Monday to you all!

See more Disneyland photos at my main website.

Open The Gates!

This October 1959 image of the Frontierland Gates made me think of the old nursery rhyme: Here's the church and here's the steeple. Open the door and see all the people. My compulsive collecting gene kicked into overdrive when I realized I didn’t have a good shot of the Frontierland entrance from 1959, so I had to acquire this one. Zooming in, you can see that the Pendleton Shop on the left and the Mark Twain riverboat and Columbia sailing ship double-parked at the dock.

Another previously posted shot from my collection circa 10/59 shows the OTHER side of the gate:

One month later, a guest captured another guest taking a photo of the gate in November 1959:

Is that a movie camera or a still camera? Either way, it would be great to see the footage from that day.

This March 1968 shot is probably the best vintage one I have of the original sign that hung inside the gate (which I assume is what the 1959 gent was trying to capture):

…and how it looked when I last photographed it in 2015:

Looks like the text stayed the same.

See more Disneyland Frontierland photos at my main website.

Monday on the Island

You were probably thinking about a tropical island. Not here at Daveland; instead, let’s visit Tom Sawyer’s Island. There’s so much more to do there. In this 1958 image, you can zoom in and see guests actually fishing at Disneyland…for real live fish! Just stick that in your purse until we get home, mom.

Another detailed view shows guests on the raft that transported them back to the Park.

One year earlier in December 1957 shows a Keel Boat on the left…

and guests paddling a canoe. Chop, chop! You’ve got to get all the way around the Island, folks!

Also from the same December 1957 photographer comes this second view of the Island showing the fishing pier…

and Tom and Huck’s Tree House. What little kid didn’t enjoy climbing up to the top of that?

Want to know what you could see from there?

In December 1958 you could view the Chicken Plantation Restaurant. Is it time for lunch yet?

See more Disneyland Tom Sawyer Island photos at my main website.

Fun on the River

Former Disneyland Keel Boat skipper graciously shared these vintage images from 1988-1989 showing himself (pics one and two) and some of his fellow cast members from when they once worked at the Park. And no…he didn’t fall in after pushing The Gullywhumper away from the dock. This man had skills!

Thank you Bryan for sharing these very fun images of an attraction that is still missed today! Another Daveland reader has put together a VERY cool video about famous graves of Disney Legends, which uses a few photos from the Daveland archives.

See more vintage Disneyland Keel Boat photos at my main website.

Keelboat Celebration!

This week, Bryan Carlson reached out to me to send a graphic in honor of the Keel Boat Anniversary. What’s a Keel Boat you ask? With this YouTube video, you can… re-live the glory days of the most, um, . . . actually, second, uh no, . . . more like one of the top five most popular vehicles to ever traverse the Rivers of America at Disneyland - the Mike Fink Keel Boats. Former skippers re-enact their spiel while showcasing the vistas of their backyards.

As a special treat, here are some vintage images from the Daveland archives showcasing the beloved Keel Boats, starting off with this Summer/Fall 1956 image:

Undated 1950’s:

Wonder what these trucks were there for?

An early color view:

June 1964:

A corner of the Keel Boat shows up in this one showcasing the Fowler’s Inn area:

Final one for today is this beautiful sunset view:

A passenger train and both Keel Boats? Sheer heaven!

See more vintage Disneyland Keel Boat photos at my main website.

1958 Gems

A few images today from the Summer of 1958 when the Columbia first hit the waters at Disneyland and Alice joined the other dark rides in Fantasyland. First shot appears to have been taken on the steps of City Hall facing Town Square.

In this shot taken outside of the Market House on Main Street note the bunting on the lightpost and the sign promoting the Columbia.

The Skyway floats over the recently opened Alice in Wonderland dark ride:

Our 1958 guests scored a ringside table at the Golden Horseshoe:

Not sure if our guests took a spin on the Columbia or the Mark Twain, but the next two shots were taken from the decks of one of those ships:

A closeup of the dock where guests boarded a raft to explore Tom Sawyer’s Island:

Here a group of guests wait for a raft to take them off Tom Sawyer’s Island back to the mainland.

Note the cast member dressed like he steppe off the set of "F-Troop”:

I hope those of you in Southern California are staying cool and safe from the fires!

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

Where's My Anchor?

Just when I think I couldn't possibly see anything new at Disneyland...when scanning this vintage August 1959 slide, I noticed an anchor on the Columbia. I had never noticed it before!



Pulling up this shot from October 2008...



I saw that yes, this anchor is still there! I had just never paid attention to it.



Flash forward to this 2015 shot.



Again, overlooked.



Looks like I need to improve my powers of observation!

More Columbia photos at my main website.