TPE: Moving On To Fantasyland & The Castle

Time to enter the portal of another land. Originally, each entrance had a sense of wonder and some kind of gateway or arch thematically proclaiming what you were about to experience. The drawbridge to the Sleeping Beauty Castle is probably the most famous entrance in the Magic Kingdom. We've all seen the photos of the kids storming the Castle on July 17, 1955, which is commonly known as Opening Day.

However, as this photo shows, Opening Day wasn't the only day that the drawbridge was lowered.



Zooming in on this July 18, 1955 photo, you can see the drawbridge on the way down:



And the pandemonium that resulted (again) as guests realized that they could enter Fantasyland.



It's hard to find much that's new or interesting in vintage shots of the Castle; they are about a dime a dozen. However, for this post, I have attempted to assemble some of my more interesting 1950's shots that would show the kinds of things I'd want to see or photograph if I was able to travel back to Disneyland during that era.





Kruschev couldn't go to Disneyland, but the Russian Olympic team was able to visit, December 13, 1956:



WWII hero & actor Audie Murphy, wife Pamela Opal Lee Archer, and kids seem to be having a grand time:



For the life of me, I can't place this section of the Castle. It almost seems like a backstage area.



Perhaps an early version of Aurora, waving to guests below?



Or some other off-model Princess from a Disney movie:



Yes, you could even find "cheesecake" at early Disneyland, circa December 1957:



Disneyland legend Admiral Joe Fowler takes a tour of the park:



This one looks like dad's day out with the kids; the mom at left looks scared about all the testosterone to her right, as she shields her impressionable young daughter.



The last ones for today show Robin Hood's Merrie Men lounging around the perimeter of the Castle:







See more vintage & current Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle photos on my Castle web page.

Back to 1956, Pt. 2

This first photo shows the Storybook Land boat as it returns to the dock. The area it is passing is currently the underwater kingdom of King Triton from The Little Mermaid. In the back of the photo is the Fantasyland Depot.



Shot #2 shows Dumbo, Storybook Land, and the Casey Junior area with the cool retro-round Skyway cruising overhead. It is still hard to imagine the park looking so young.

Shot #3 is a rare one; the loading area of Peter Pan. Although it is a little blurry, since it shows a rare view, I will include it anyway.



This last photo is another view of the Merrie Men that I posted about a week ago, apparently promoting a re-release or a TV debut of the Robin Hood movie that Disney made in the 1950’s.



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

Disneyland 1956, Pt. 6: The Castle

Upon closer inspection of this 1956 Castle shot, I noticed two Robin Hoods and/or his Merrie Men taking a breather nearby.



The 2nd shot is another 1956 view of the Castle, this time from the side, with the edge of the Omnibus appearing on the right side.



Anybody else heading over to TSI for the final weekend in its current state? For more Castle photos, visit my regular website.