Babes in Town Square

Walt Disney was into sustainability years before it became a buzz word. Once the 1960 Disney feature, “Babes in Toyland” was wrapped, the soundstages had to be cleared for the making of the next studio film. Rather than discard or waste storage space for the elaborate sets and props from “Toyland,” Walt had them moved over to his Anaheim Park and converted into an attraction for his Main Street Opera House.



From December 1961 through September 1963, the sets on display included Mother Goose Square, The Toy Factory, and Forest of No Return. These two December 1961 images show the signage in front of the Opera House beckoning guests to come inside.



From May 1962:



This August 1962 image is the best shot in my collection of the signage in front.



From 1963-1964 the Opera House became the Mickey Mouse Club Headquarters, as seen in this September 1963 image: 





The next two shots from February 1964 show that the little guard booths in front of the Opera House from “Babes in Toyland” remained.





May 1964:



…and November 1964:



In 1965, the Opera House finally got a real attraction of its own, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, seen in this August 1965 shot:



Below is a screenshot from the 1960 film, showing the sets from Mother Goose Village:



Side-by-side comparison shots from the Devlin family, who visited the inside of the Opera House and posed by the sets from the film:







See more Disneyland Opera House photos at my main website.

Walt at the Opera

Disneyland’s Opera House is mainly known for its Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show. However, from 1973-2005, Walt Disney was part of the show, too. The above August 1986 image shows “The Walt Disney Story” taking top billing, with poor President Lincoln as the supporting player. The below image of me with Tigger in front of the Opera House is from October 1995.



Zooming in you can see the attraction poster on the outside wall. At least Abe scored a larger font size!



Inside the auditorium, guests could watch a twenty-eight minute long movie about Walt and…well, his story (narrated by Walt himself, through the magic of archival interviews). I remember being excited every time I saw the clip of Shirley Temple presenting him the special Oscar statuette for “Snow White” (1937). From 1973-1975, Mr. Lincoln was nowhere to be seen. Guests complaining about the removal of the Abe show caused the President’s return in 1975. After the Walt film was over, the Abe animatronic show would begin. Walt and Abe…together again! Thus the title, “The Walt Disney Story featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.” Besides the presentation in the auditorium, guests could see awards and other memorabilia pertaining to Walt in the lobby of the Opera House. The below image from September 1976 shows one of the display cases:



In this first detailed view, you can see President Dwight D. Eisenhower presenting Walt with the Freedom Foundation Award. The below description of the event was edited from The Walt Disney Family Museum website:

Former President Dwight David Eisenhower served as the Freedoms Foundation’s chairman from its founding until his death in 1969. On February 22, 1963, at a special ceremony in Palm Springs, California, Eisenhower presented Walt Disney with the Foundation’s highest award: the George Washington Medal of Honor.…The award recognized Walt as “Ambassador of Freedom for the United States.” In his introduction, General Eisenhower explained, “Four men previously have been honored by Freedoms Foundation. Mr. Disney is the fifth.…It is my privilege, before I present to him the medal and the plaque that goes along with this award of the George Washington [medal]…to read what is on it: “Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge honors Walt Disney, Ambassador of Freedom for the United States of America. For his educational wisdom and patriotic dedication in advancing the concept of freedom under God; for his unfailing professional devotion to the things which matter most, human dignity and personal responsibility; for masterful creative leadership in communicating the hopes and aspirations of our free society to the far corners of the planet.” To great applause, Eisenhower presented the award to Walt. When the applause died down, Walt spoke. “Mr. President…General Eisenhower…or, I mean, Mr. Eisenhower…It’s kind of hard to express my feelings about this. This is one of those moments when I feel…entirely inadequate. It’s something that sort of makes you feel rather humble. But I want the Board of the Freedoms Foundation and everyone connected with this to know that I sincerely appreciate this tribute.”



If you look at the bottom of the above detailed view, you can see a photo of Walt’s wife, Lillian, with First Lady Pat Nixon and President Richard Nixon. The Richard Nixon Library website describes that event:

3/25/1969 Fifty years ago today, President Nixon presented the Walt Disney commemorative gold medal to Mr. Disney’s widow Lillian. The medal was awarded for Walt’s “service through so many years not only to the people of the United States, but to the people of the world.” The Walt Disney commemorative gold medal, struck by the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, was authorized by Public Law 90-316 (82 Stat. 130).(WHPO-0591-02 & 0588-01)



Detailed view number two shows Walt at the top receiving the French. Legion of Honor award in 1936. The award was presented by Jean Joseph Viala, the French Consul General, at Disney’s Hyperion Studio.



Below is an article from the Meramec Valley Transcript Pacific, Missouri, Friday February 7, 1936:



The second photo in the detailed view shows Walt receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Johnson.



From the D23 website:

SEPTEMBER 14, 1964 On this day in 1964, Walt Disney was in Washington, D.C., for a special honor, to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. At a noon ceremony in the East Room of the White House, President Lyndon B. Johnson said, “What America is to be, America will be, because of our trust in and of the individual and of his capacity for excellence. Only those who doubt the individual can be dubious of America’s survival and success in this century of contest. This belief is mine. It was this conviction that led President Kennedy to the establishment of the Medal of Freedom as our highest civilian honor for outstanding individuals—citizens who share an extra measure of individual excellence in the mainstream of our well-being and our advancement. On the talents of such citizens rests the future of our American civilization, for it is from the genius of the few that we enrich the greatness of the many. All Americans are proud, as I am proud, to salute today the great Americans here before me. Their lives and their works have made freedom stronger for all of us in our time.” One by one, the recipients would step forward to receive their gold decoration, including Walt Disney, whose achievements were described as “Artist and impresario, in the course of entertaining an age, he has created an American folklore.”



The final detailed view shows a number of other interesting trophies and awards, for which I know zilcho about. I am “assuming” that most of these artifacts ended up at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.

See more Disneyland Opera House photos at my main website.

In Your Easter Bonnet, Pt. 2

Easter 2024 has come and gone, but at Daveland, it still lives on. This vintage Disneyland image from the 1950s shows a shop window with three unique hats that look just perfect for the Easter Parade! I have no idea who Robbie Nesbitt Grinnell is; in a rare situation, Google failed me.



To see where this window is located, you need look no further than the Opera House in Town Square. The Summer of 1955 shot below just happens to include the same display window.



The sign and the hats are different, but the window itself matches in every other way.



In this 2012 shot, the same window is still there, but easy to miss because of the awning hanging over it.



Oh, to have some interesting hats available at the Park again!



See more Disneyland Opera House photos at my main website.

Disneyland in 3D: June 26, 1966, Pt. 1

For Daveland, June 26, 1966 was a WONDERFUL evening! In my collection, I have a series of 3D slides shot at night of the Park. Of course, I will attempt to stretch these out over two posts. When I digitally combine the left and right slides, I get a slightly wider view for most of these:



By this point, the Main Street Train Station has 50,000,000 listed as the guest count. I love seeing the people inside the station, too. It’s almost like being there.



As we enter the Park, we see that Mr. Lincoln is now playing. At this point, the show had been going on for about a year.



The combined view:



In the detailed view, you can see the interior of the Wonderland Music shop on the left, and inside the Opera House, there is a bust of Lincoln at the entrance.



Continuing up Main Street we see the Magic Shop and the Wurlitzer Music Hall:



The combined view:



A great view of the Wurlitzer display window, with the slogan, “The name that means music to millions.”



A view of Town Square shot from the Main Street Train Station:



The combined view:



If you notice that many of the people are blurred in these shots, that’s because an evening exposure would mean the shutter would have had to stay open longer.



On the other side of Town Square we see City Hall:



The combined view:



Do guests still just hang out at night and sit on benches? I’m guessing if they do, they are busy with their phones.



The Disneyland Fire Department:



Not much of a difference with the combined view other than better focus on the edges.



Since Walt was still alive at the time this was shot, the light in the window at night was not a standard thing to see.



Moving back up Main Street we encounter the Emporium:



The combined view:



I LOVE looking inside the windows! I’m so nosy! Note the photographer with a tripod on the left.



More to come!
 
See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland photos at my main website.