Sunday in Space

On the afternoon of April 10, a number of my friends texted me, “Are you photographing the landing?” I had just left a shoot at a nearby gym and had no idea what they were talking about. I was educated about the Artemis II first crewed lunar mission in over fifty years. Huh. Why hadn’t I heard about this? Growing up in the 60s/70s, anything related to space travel made frontpage headlines and EVERYONE knew about it. Seems kind of fitting I guess that I recently acquired this 1950s image showing the Disneyland Spaceman and Spacegirl, when the world was obsessed with the moon.

The gent in the previous photo is one of the most frequent cast members in my collection of Disneyland Spaceman shots. Here he is in color with two young adoring fans:



And again in black and white. Do you think the little nerd in front ever blossomed?



Again in color:



Circa 1956/1957:



Others portrayed this character, including the cast member captured below in this undated 1950s image:



Want a closeup of his gizmo? Of course you do! I believe the partially hidden patch is for early Disneyland sponsor Kaiser Aluminum.



This 1962 shot is a bit dark, but still a fave:



…because of this guest and his feathered hat. I wonder if that hat would have been allowed on Big Thunder Mountain?



In other news of my ignorance, I had no idea that the Spaceman and Spacegirl were semi-back at Disneyland. According to MC43 on X/Twitter, they make special guest appearances. I need to get out more.

See more Disneyland Spaceman/Spacegirl photos at my main website.

Love in Tomorrowland

Love exists in Tomorrowland, and here is visual proof from September 1960. My first question is why does the man have to wear an uncomfortable helmet, but the girl gets to go without? Sounds like discrimination! Note the gadget on the man’s harness; is that supposed to be a camera or some kind of device to wipe out pesky little kids?



In the previously posted shot below from one month earlier, it appears to be the same couple working together. They just couldn’t get enough of each other.



One year later in August 1961, a different set of folks are portraying the outer space people. Looks like the disparity in helmets was finally taken care of!



See more Disneyland Spaceman/girl photos at my main website.

Disneyland Trip, 1958

I was recently contacted by Traecy, who went overboard on the generosity scale by sharing these treasured images from 1958 which show her Dad's first visit to Disneyland at age 10 and a half. The family had just moved to Santa Barbara from New Jersey and they took his New Jersey Grandma to Disneyland. As Tracey tells it, “He remembered being enraptured and it felt like such a magical experience. The music was playing even in the parking lot, and he felt like he was in another world. He remembered being tall enough to ride the rides (he is the oldest boy in the photos).”

The best part is that it appears that the numbers of the photos correspond with the day's progression, as their journey to the attractions makes total sense. Grab that popcorn and let's travel back to 1958!



Interestingly enough, the Space Couple in Traecy's family shot is the same couple in one from my collection dated July 1958. It must have been their summer to greet guests!





The Autopia!



I figured a detailed view of the gas pumps was in order:



The train parked at the Tomorrowland Depot:



Don't worry, the family hasn't left Tomorrowland. They're just enjoying the Astrojets:



The real gem of this collection is this closeup view of the family in the Viewliner:



Time to sloooooooow things down a bit with the Motor Boat Cruise:





Two from Alice in Wonderland:





And a beauty showing the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship:



You can just about make out the prices on the sign in this detailed view. It would seem that Paco the Parrot bore the brunt of being the "Free Exhibit."



The motion of the swirling teacups caught mid-spin; they are obviously having a blast!



A shot taken from the Mark Twain, or perhaps the newly christened Columbia?



The Stagecoach through Frontierland:



The Pack Mules, back when Disney allowed "live" animals to add a bit of unexpected excitement to the Park.



This makes me ache. To be able to go inside Fort Wilderness again...



The last two show the childhood joy of whizzing about on the Midget Autopia:





Words alone cannot express the gratitude of Traecy for reaching out and sharing these INCREDIBLE family photos!

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

My Favorite Spaceman, Pt. 2

Two years after I posted "My Favorite Spaceman,” I came across ANOTHER vintage image of him in Tomorrowland. I probably have at least 10 images of this particular man in a spacesuit.

A closeup of the ticket booth for the Moonliner attraction:



And while I am of course interested in the Spaceman, I am more interested in the shirt the little boy is wearing. At first I thought he had on a tie, but it appears to be a pattern in the shirt AND the collar. Crazy!



Here's a previously published color image from July 1958 of “My Favorite Spaceman.”



See more Tomorrowland Spaceman photos at my main website.

1950s Spaceman in Tomorrowland

A few new space ago shots of 1950's Tomorrowland, beginning with what looks like a CD/DVD on this gent's costume. Talk about predicting the future!



This July 1958 image shows a different cast member, but the same uniform...without the disc.



This previously posted shot of the same Spaceman is also from July 1958; I wonder if it was originally from the same photographer but just got separated over the years? Either way, nice to see these two united again.



More Spaceman (and Spacewoman) photos at my main website.

Look to the Future...

when you have no time to post anything substantial. Disneyland Tomorrowland Spaceman, circa 1957/58.

Of course I have supplied a closeup of his embroidered insignia and futuristic doohickie belt.



More shots of the man of tomorrow at my main website.

Put A Ring On It

The color and clarity on this July 1958 shot makes it seem as if it were taken yesterday…if yesterday was 58 years ago.

This Space Age couple is waving to the guest in Tomorrowland that has captured this fascinating detail: our Spaceman appears to be married! Who says you can't have fun in Outer Space?



The elderly lady shown here appears baffled by their outfits. The heat of the summer probably isn't helping. Maybe another sip of her drink from that delicious looking vintage Disneyland paper cup will help.



More Space People shots at my main website.

Disneyland: Bridging The Age Gap

“To all who come to this happy place; welcome. Disneyland is your land.

Here age relives fond memories of the past...









and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future.





Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals,



the dreams



and the hard facts that have created America...





with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”



In a very much related vein (and the inspiration for today's post which features Walt's Opening Day dedication speech), I recently received a request from Bryce Randle, who is the proud father of the scene-stealing tot shown below, doing his Iron Man impression at DCA:



Dave,

My name is Bryce Randle and I'm a huge Disneyland enthusiast. I live in Anaheim and obviously go as much as I can with my son. We are writing this book and currently have a kickstarter project for it. I'd love for you to share the page with your followers as I believe some would be interested in the idea. You probably know, but the success of the kickstarter project depends on its backers and we have a good pace, but appreciate all the help we can get.

Thanks in advance!

Before I get inundated with requests to promote the ventures of others, I will tell you that once I saw the video and read the details of this project, I totally fell in love with it. What a great idea. A guide to bring generations together at the park, helping them find joy in Walt's creation, which is what his original idea was all about. [Note: obviously many years later, the campaign is over; links have been removed]



After my post on puffing in the park, Daveland reader Douglas M. sent me a few vintage shots from his collection. Here is the background info from Douglas himself:

In this 1989 photo, the smoker is myself. The two kids with me are the children of two very close friends of mine. I am glad to say that as of last month, I've gone 23 years without smoking a cigarette. The taller of the two boys in the photo above was pivotal in getting me to stop smoking. He'd gotten an antismoking horror lesson at school (he was 6 at the time) that scared the crap out of him. He came to me that evening, crying his eyes out, and wailed at me: "Please don't smoke anymore, Doug, I don't want you to die." And he cried more. He touched the deepest part of my heart, and he succeeded where others had failed. There was such simple purity and uncomplicated love to his terror, terror for me, not for himself.

I remember nagging the crap out of my grandmother, attempting to get her to quit. Although she didn't give up cigarettes, she stopped smoking in front of me. Ah, the small victories of childhood.

Here are two more photos from Douglas' vintage "smoking collection":





Any other readers out there care to share your "Disneyland Smoking" photos? If so, feel free to email them to me at: dvdpicasso@aol.com

See more vintage & current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland web pages.