Attack of the 50 Foot Ambassador

Back in the day before Photoshop was ever a word, people had to create magic by hand when it came to trick photography. This image is probably one of the most bizarre in my collection of vintage Disneyland photos. Disneyland Ambassador Julie Reihm has been enlarged and superimposed over the Disneyland Main Street Train Station. I am assuming that the original goal was to have it look like she had her hands around the E.P. Ripley train pulling into the station. Instead, the person who put the images together missed the mark, making the photo even more strange. Here is the vintage publicity blurb that accompanied this January 25, 1965 shot:

DISNEYLAND 10TH ANNIVERSARY…Disneyland enters its second decade in '65 and to inaugurate the event, a special "Disneyland 10th Anniversary" program will be presented on "Walt Disney's World of Color," over NBC-TV Sunday, Jan. 3 (7:30-8:30 p.m. PST; EST). Julie Reihm, a Disneyland Tour Guide, who has been chosen as "Miss Disneyland," is pictured here inviting viewers to watch the program which will feature among other stars and attractions, Hayley Mills and family, Louis Armstrong, Tinker Bell, Mickey Mouse, a cake with dancing candles, marching bands, pom-pom girls and a regiment of tin soldiers marching down the Magic Kingdom's famous Main Street. Walt Disney as usual will be on hand to emcee the program and review the history of his magic land and describe some of the new attractions now in the works.

More Disneyland Ambassador and Tour Guide photos at my main website.

Julie Reihm: Modeling the Model

For Disneyland's 10th Anniversary, Walt recruited Julie Reihm as his sidekick for a January 1965 episode of "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color." Here, Walt tells the dark-haired Disneyland Ambassador (the very first one) about the Plaza Inn Restaurant, which was in the process of being remodeled from its original incarnation, The Red Wagon Inn.

The master storyteller also showed off his upcoming projects including it's a small world, New Orleans Square (visible in the above photo in the painting behind Reihm), Pirates of the Caribbean…



and the Haunted Mansion.

Below, Imagineer John Hench, the one in charge of the Red Wagon Inn remodel, takes a gander at the same model with Walt.



Reihm came back to the Plaza Inn to cut the cake for the Tencennial Press Party on July 18, 1965:



See more Daveland Disneyland Plaza Inn photos at my main website.

The Little Mermaid(s) August 1960

Not satisfied with faux mermaids for his Submarine Voyage attraction in Tomorrowland, Walt decided to get a few "real" ones.



These mermaids were only seen during the first year of this attraction, then disappeared until the Tencennial in 1965.



From summer 1965 through summer 1967, the mermaids could be seen for four hours a day on the rocks in the middle of the lagoon.



Another detailed closeup from the August 1960 snapshots:



A few previously posted shots in color, also from August 1960:





An undated image showing a trio of mermaids:



followed by the obligatory closeup, which shows the compartment where the female cast members changed into their mermaid costumes:



See more Daveland Disneyland Submarine Voyage photos at my main website.

Disneyland Diary, 1965

1965 ADDITIONS

• GREAT MOMENTS WITH MR. LINCOLN (a personal experience with history, in a new theater in the Main Street Opera House) — Main Street, U.S.A.



• PLAZA INN (offering dining in the grand manner) — Main Street Plaza.



HIGHLIGHTS

Disneyland celebrated its tenth anniversary with a year-long "tencennial celebration."







New Year's Eve brought 20,000 to begin the observance of 1965,

A new addition to Disneyland, "Fantasy on Parade" was introduced during the Christmas season.



Walt Disney's "Wonderful World of Color" television show saluted Disneyland's first decade.

Disneyland's first Ambassador to the World, Julie Reihm, traveled to Europe, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and throughout the U.S.



Valentine's Dance, Catholic Schools Day, "Spring Fling" and special youth days attracted record attendance.

More than 50,000 celebrants from 138 high schools attended four all-night Grad Parties.



Les Brown, Si Zentner, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Stan Kenton, Wayne King, Harry James, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Tex Beneke, Hootenannies and Humdingers filled the summer with music.



Disneyland's Community Service Awards program honored 17 county organizations with cash awards totaling $15,000. The Outstanding Award was won by the Orange County Association for Retarded Children.

FAMOUS GUESTS

• Lord Louis Mountbatten of England (March)
• President Maurice Yameogo of Upper Volta (April)
• New Zealand Defense Minister Dean Eyre (April)
• Gov. Mark Hatfield of Oregon (June)
• Princesses Chandra and Suddhavong of Thailand (June)
• Prince and Princess Mikasa of Japan (September)
• Gov. Hayden Burns of Florida (November)
• Premier W.A.C. Bennett of British Columbia

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

Pretty in Pink

Over at the Mice Chat boards, there has been some discussion over the color of the Sleeping Beauty Castle. What began as an innocent question:

"What year did they color the stone on Sleeping Beauty's castle?"

quickly descended into a heated debate over which shade of pink guests preferred. Frankly, I typically am bored with photos of the castle since there are such an abundance of them, and usually gloss over them when I am posting. Today though, I have decided to do a chronological scrapbook showing the evolution of The Sleeping Beauty Castle. For those who want to use my photos as concrete evidence of what shade of pink the castle is or used to be, BEWARE!! With any photo, due to fading, time of day/lighting, the photographer's personal preferences on camera settings or developing, it is fairly accurate to say that color is probably one of the most subjective things you could come up with. Instead, just sit back in your chair, relax, and enjoy my mini photo history. My first shot is from July 18, 1955; also known as Opening Day for the regular folk who were first allowed into the park.

Next up is this 1959 image:



July 1960:



December 1965, when the park was officially ten years old, aka The Tencenniel:



From the decade of polyester comes this rainy day March 1974 shot:



April 10, 1980, when the 25th Anniversary banners were out:



This one came from the second 35mm camera that I owned back in May 1993:



This is probably one of the most controversial photos for today's post, as it features the 50th Anniversary new color scheme and bling. The pink of the castle became more of a salmon color.



Showing what a difference time of day can make, here's a later afternoon shot from October 2006:



And for my last daytime shot, a genuine FauxD© image from October 2012:



One thing that few would debate is that the castle looks most magical at night, whether it's April 1958:





or 2004:



even 2005 when the 50th decor is still out:



Or during present day:





Besides a brighter pink and a more saturated pallette, another change that I don't hear too much about is the amount of glitter and gloss that is in the paint these days, giving the castle more of a sheen. As the main symbol of Disneyland, you can bet that people will have strong opinions about how the castle appears for many years to come.

See more vintage and current Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle photos on my Castle photo web pages.

The Mills Family Visits The Treehouse

This charming publicity photo from 1964 bears the following caption:

Actress Hayley Mills and her actor-father John Mills join Walt Disney in the tree house sequence of the Disneyland 10th Anniversary show to be telecast in color.

The 10th Anniversary Show, part of the "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" N.B.C. TV series, aired on January 3, 1965. Celebrating the Tencennial of Disneyland, this show featured sneak peaks of three "new" attractions: it's a small world, the Haunted Mansion, and The Pirates of the Caribbean. Appropriately enough, Walt guided the Mills family through the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, since John Mills had played the head of the Robinson family in Disney's live-action film from 1960.

See more vintage & current Disneyland Treehouse photos on my Treehouse web page.

Crest on the Castle, January 1964

More from January 1964 today, as we see this charming couple posing in front of the Castle.



To their left is nothing but mayhem and mischief, as these two young guests get ready to duke it out. One in Mouse Ears, the other in a Cowboy hat, and both with toy weapons...this can only end in a spanking.



Zooming back to the center of the Castle, we can see that there's still no crest atop the drawbridge door.



June 1965 is the first photo in my collection to show the new crest; I can only assume it was placed there for the Tencennial. Whether it is or isn't the actual Disney Family Crest is still a matter of heated debate; one I have no intention of jumping into!



One last shot from my January 1964 batch is this image of Fantasyland, with the Mad Hatter drawing a crowd around him:



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

Walt & The Tencennial

Walt is shown with the concept art for two of the improvements at Disneyland that were to be rolled out for the Tencennial. Since Disneyland was laughed at by the press when it was unveiled, Walt's 10 Year Anniversary was a sweet slice of humble pie for the naysayers. Or should I say cake instead? In celebration, the larger-than-life Tencennial cake was wheeled out in front of the castle for guests to see:





Here is the accompanying publicity text for the photo of Walt:

WALT DISNEY ANNOUNCES DISNEYLAND "TENCENNIAL" — A year-long celebration will mark Disneyland's tenth anniversary in 1965. Top new attraction for the year will be "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" to be installed in what is now Disneyland's Opera House. Here Walt Disney points to artists' conception of the Lincoln setting and the lobby of the new Plaza Inn Restaurant to be added for the decade year. Many special events are planned throughout the year.

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln debuted on July 18, 1965, which is the actual 10 year anniversary of when Disneyland was open to the public, as opposed to the invitation only event on July 17, 1955. Here's a closeup of the art that Walt is pointing to:



A beautiful night shot of the Opera House about one month after Mr. Lincoln debuted there:



The other piece of art that Walt is showing is of the Plaza Inn, a restaurant located in Central Plaza. Previously titled the Red Wagon Inn, it was sponsored by Swift Premium Meats.



Here's what the menu looked like during the first month it opened:



The Plaza Inn is still in business, serving delicious crispy Fried Chicken and other guest favorites. Here's to may more years of celebration for Walt's Disneyland! See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland photos at my main website.