Trojans in the Park!

January 1963, and the USC band is playing in Town Square. Victorious from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, it would appear that they were given the honor of a concert at the entrance to the Park, still decorated for the 1962 Christmas season.



Over near City Hall, the former Disney Police Department has been stripped of its name with a blank sign above the door.



The Tour Guides were not allowed to take over this building yet; instead, they had to make do with the little gingerbread booth on the right of the detailed image below. Note that the light posts in front have been painted all black. How gloomy!



That was the easiest way to cover up the original white lettering that alerted guests that “the fuzz” could be found inside:



At some point between January 1963 and April 1965 (the photo below), the Guided Tour letters finally gave a designation to this Town Square building.



See more Disneyland Town Square photos at my main website.

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.

The Evolution of Disneyland’s Frontierland

From the top of Disneyland’s Mark Twain Riverboat, one can get a great overview of Frontierland. Today’s post shows a few vintage views of the evolution of this area. While this image is undated, thanks to the lack of the Matterhorn on the horizon, we know it’s at least pre-1959. Zooming in, we can see the ticket booth for the The Rainbow Caverns Mine Train; this shot is most likely between 1956 and 1958.

Panning to the right for details you can see the tarps covering the Zocalo Market area:

At the far right, the Moonliner in Tomorrowland looks strangely out of place with the Frontierland Shooting Gallery in the foreground.

Another undated 1950’s shot that would appear, based on the tree growth, to be from the same time period:

The original round Skyway bucket design can be seen floating in the background:

This March 1958 shot was probably taken from the Treehouse on Tom Sawyer Island:

Still no Matterhorn at this point in Disneyland history:

By June 1959, the Matterhorn was almost complete:

A great overview detail of Rainbow Ridge:

And if you zoom in juuuuuuuust a bit closer you can see the scaffolding on the still unfinished Matterhorn:

Our June 1961 photographer didn’t care about the panorama, but instead chose to focus on the dock area itself:

The little pavilion where the Gonzales Trio performed is now visible:

That beautiful sign for El Zocalo...if only the photographer had a better zoom lens!

Moving ahead to September 1963:

Colorful thatched “umbrellas” now adorn the Casa de Fritos restaurant:

June 1965:

A Tour Guide can be seen at left, and it would also appear that the photographer captured the Gonzales Trio mid-performance:

The last one for today hails from September 1969:

The Pavilion is no longer in site:

But a little refreshment stand is visible:

This 1978 publicity shot let’s us know it was for Hot Burritos for only 35¢:

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

Further Tales from David M.

Former cast member David M. gave me MORE great stories to share from his days at Disneyland. Enjoy!

Tales from the Park

One time, my supervisor called me from my duties on Tom Sawyer Island to help supervise the Main Street Parade. He told me that my one duty was to keep people from climbing onto the raised flower beds near the entrance to Tomorrowland in order to get a better view of the parade. So, in my Cavalry Trooper uniform, I stood at my assigned station and soon, sure enough, a woman had climbed onto the flower bed and was trampling the petunias. I politely asked that she step down whereupon she replied that she couldn’t see the parade from street-level. I told her that nonetheless, she was killing our flowers and she had to step down. She replied, “You son of a bitch.” I said, “Yes, ma’am, that may well be, but you still have to get down from that flower bed.” She complied, and another guest who had watched the whole thing, said, “Buddy, well done – but I wouldn’t want your job.”

 A few weeks later, my supervisor again called me off the Island with an unusual duty. It seems that someone in Entertainment thought it would be fun to have The Big Bad Wolf (who wore loud and intimidating cleats on his shoes) march the Three Little Pigs though the park. The Pigs would be in front with the Wolf following – and with a big club slung over his shoulder. The problem was that little kids hated the wolf and they would come up behind him and kick him in his tail and legs, which of course could be painful. My job was, in my Cavalry Trooper uniform, to follow closely behind the Wolf and protect him from the mean kids.

 And speaking of the Three Little Pigs: girls in the know always stayed away from them. Why? Well, because the Pig costumes were made in such a way that the body and the head of the Pig’s ended at the shoulders of the actor inside, with the actor’s head above & inside the Pig’s hat with the hat made of a black gauze material so he could see out. The Pigs all had the job of merrily wandering the Park (at least when the Wolf was not herding them) and happily bouncing into guests. Well, few people knew that the Pig’s nose was as flexible and soft and the actor inside could put his hand inside, almost as if inside a glove and the nose thus became an appendage. This resulted in many a female guest’s being bumped into and providing the actor inside the Pig costume with the proverbial “free feel.”

I also heard from fellow staff who supervised Monsanto’s Ride Through Inner Space in Tomorrowland that when viewing the attraction through unseen slits in the set, that they would see some pretty heavy make-out sessions between the start and the end of the ride through the attraction.

See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland 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.

50 Million Served, Circa 1965

A few years back, I was contacted by a gentleman who shared his story of a magical day at Disneyland back in 1965. Can you believe it took me over two years to finally publish it? Here goes:

“My mother, Mary Adams, was the 50,000,000 guest at Disneyland on August 12, 1965. Here are two pictures of our family at the front gate that day. I hope it adds to your good work. I am the blond boy, Bruce Adams.



“We are regular visitors and have wonderful memories of Disneyland. I believe there isn't a lot of information on our amazing day due to the loss of Walt Disney a year later. The pictures here are from an album that was given to us. The photographer was Mario and our Guide’s name was Donna Partin. This six year old had a HUGE crush on Donna! Coincidentally, I was born on December 5th, the same day as Walt Disney. Typically, my wife and I will spend December 5th at the happiest place on earth. We have an amazing life-long gift of love for all things Disney.”

Bruce also generously shared these two vintage newspaper articles covering his family’s good fortune on that day in 1965:



I am blown away by the generosity of Park employees to the Adams family. Is anything of this scale still done today when the Park reaches attendance milestones?



Here is a previously posted color (and blurry) shot showing the festivities as seen from the Monorail:



Thanks to Bruce and all the many people who have been kind enough to share their stories with me and my readers!

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