Fantasyland: The Secret Entrance!

When entering Fantasyland, most people walk dead-center through the Sleeping Beauty Castle and encounter the vista of all that Walt intended guests to see. However, there were/are two side entrances that can give guests that feeling of being special, exploring the paths less traveled. This vintage 1950’s image shows a guest who chose to enter Fantasyland via the tunnel on the left. Zooming in, you can see Merlin’s Magic Shop as well as the signage for the other side exit/entrance into Fantasyland.



And speaking of castles…here’s a 1956 shot of the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Ho hum, right?



Zooming in, you can see Robin Hood fraternizing with the guests:



Some previously posted shots of Robin and Will Scarlet:







I hope you have an amazing weekend and remember to explore the roads less traveled!

See more Disneyland Fantasyland photos at my main website.

The Skyway, Summer of 56

This Summer of 56 batch has yielded some amazing vintage views of the Park, including this journey on the Skyway attraction. For all you newbies, the original attraction had buckets that carried you from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland (and vice versa!).

At first glance, this just looks like an unfortunate composition of the buckets.



This zoom in view provides a glimpse of one of the Mickey Mouse Club Circus wagons.



I also did a close-up of this guest with his camera. Where's that footage now?!?



Sailing over the Storybook Land attraction:



Looks like maintenance is doing some landscape work:



And here we are at our final destination, the Fantasyland Skyway Station:



This gorgeous little structure had a long life, even lasting many years after the attraction had shut down.



Thanks to Ken at Stack's Liberty Ranch, we have this additional view of Robin Hood (this time without Will Scarlet). Looks like they posed with guests for $$. I wonder if they gave the proceeds to the poor?



See more vintage Disneyland Skyway photos at my main website.

Summer of 56

These images were shot during the Summer of 1956. The Park had already welcomed over 5 million guests in just one year.



Over in Town Square, you can see the Horse-Drawn Streetcar...



as well as guests gawking through the peepholes to see what was going on at International Street. Sorry folks...it never came.



Over by the Castle it appears that there was some kind of Robin Hood show going on.



A closeup of the two performers:



Previously I posted two other shots in the same vicinity and the same time period:





And back to the “new” batch that I was featuring, I end this post with a shot of the character cutouts that were located near the Red Wagon Inn. How about that Disneyland pennant?



Make sure you order your copy of “Walt Disney's Disneyland” which features photos from the collection of yours truly.

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

Spring 1975, Pt. 3

Back to our 1975 series, we now meet the Maude & Phyllis (the names seem to fit these gals so that’s what I’m calling them). Phyllis has just sent a lovely postcard back home to the gals in her local Bird Watching Club. Surprisingly enough, these mailboxes still look pretty much the same:



Many shots of the gals yucking it up with characters from "Robin Hood," which had been released 2 years prior to these photos being taken:



Phyllis is telling the gals back home to eat their hearts out with this one!





Meeting of the minds, perhaps? Note bored cast member in background.



As always, beautiful floral plantings in Central Plaza, pre-Partners Statue:



The final photo in the series provides us with a last chance to get a balloon before we leave the park:



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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.