Details for my wonderful readers

In yesterday’s post, I was too lazy to figure out where exactly this February 1970 Town Square shot was taken. Daveland reader Chuck had obviously had his Wheaties and was able to find this other shot from my collection circa October 1970:



…which also gives a great detailed view of the window display:



Chuck also noticed something else in this photo from yesterday’s post:



Is that a Snoopy plush toy in the window display at Disneyland? If only that little girl had moved her head over a bit!



Chuck also suggested I look at this Summer 1955 image from my collection as well:



When I looked at the folder with the images from that batch, I noticed that it appeared that the photographer might have been attempting to take a panoramic shot of the entire Town Square. Through the miracles of photoshop, I combined four separate photos and came up with this:



Yes, I see that in part of the image, the tracks for the Horse Drawn Streetcar don’t line up. I’ll put that on my project list to fix!

Thanks, Chuck! See more Disneyland Town Square photos at my main website.

Banking on Main Street

This one vintage shot of Town Square at Disneyland has so much to see! Thanks to this closeup of the Information/Souvenir stand and the Guide Books for sale, we can deduce that this photo is most likely from around 1956. The cast member looks bored.



Dig the vintage A-Frame advertising souvenir photos…but of what? The Emperor's New Clothes for only 25¢.



Last detailed view for today shows the Town Square Realty window:



More Main Street Bank photos at my main website.

Disneyland Town Square March 1957

Welcome to Disneyland, circa March 1957 (aka year two). Our photographer provides us with a great overview of the Town Square area, even though he was probably attempting to shoot his family. Let's zoom in for a closer look at this good looking bunch:



The second detailed view shows the Bank, cannon, and information/souvenir kiosk:



This photo from the same group has Vesey Walker and the Disneyland Band entertaining guests as they gather around the flag pole:



Once again, the poor family is relegated to the background! More to come from this batch!



See more Disneyland Town Square photos at my main website and see more photos of the Monorail at Disneyland.

Disneyland Town Square, Summer 1956

Welcome to Disneyland's Town Square, circa 1956. Need some dinero? How about stopping by the Bank of America Town Square branch?

This detailed view shows that Town Square Realty is still around (selling swamp parcels in Orlando to unsuspecting guests, perhaps?). At the information/souvenir kiosk, you can buy a paper parasol, a guidebook, or one of those cool plastic white hard hats. The two gents in the booth seem to be enjoying the shade while the older gent is sucking on his cig for all its worth.



Pulling back a bit we get a better view of the east side of the square.



Maxwell House is still in operation, although on this very day in 1957 it would close down (that does call for an un-happy anniversary?) and International Street is being heralded by a construction wall behind which absolutely nothing is being constructed.



Last detail: how about these fancy trash cans? Nothing but state-of-the-art here!



See more Daveland vintage & current Disneyland Town Square photos at my main website.

2000th Post Extravaganza: Town Square, Pt. 2

Shifting over to the other side of Town Square, we can catch one of my favorite things at Disneyland: The Flag Lowering Ceremony. The first view is from August 1958, the next from August 1967.



Like any Main Street town of yore, there is plenty of patriotism and history represented here, including the two cannons on display. Here is one of them, featuring my mom and brothers, circa November 1965.



Pulling back, you can see the other cannon as well as a White Wing, helping to keep Disneyland spotless.



Here, excited guests are waiting for the "rope drop," back in the day (June 1961 to be exact) when Disneyland held the rope drop near Town Square instead of Central Plaza.



I would call this December 26, 1955 shot "Town Square Unplugged," as it is virtually empty, other than these two gents taking it all in and making a movie. Wonder where that film is today?





Yes, Main Street/Town Square was very much modeled after the real thing, as it included a bank...



and a real estate company:



Bank of America occupied for the Bank Space for years, and sponsored this 1955 Park Brochure:







This shot of a young boy holding up his Disneyland Guidebook is a favorite of mine.



And this zoom-in detail should make Disneyana collectors wet their pants:



Another view of the Souvenir stand, circa 1956, with the Bank in the background:



The Opera House was one of the first buildings completed in Town Square, but one of the last ones to have a "real" attraction inside.



In the early days, it functioned as a headquarters for the Mickey Mouse Club as well as the home for the sets from Disney's "Babes in Toyland." Here, the Devlin Family poses for a portrait inside:



Finally, in 1965, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln opened, and it has entertained audiences ever since (albeit with a few hiatuses).



What could be more patriotic than watching Abe "in the [audio-animatronic] flesh"?



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

1950’s Disneyland Visit: Fantasyland & Main Street Bank

Today we are smack-dab in the middle of Fantasyland! It’s too early in Disneyland history to see those glowing-green eyes of Skull Rock; instead, you’ll just have to settle for the Pirate Ship, Round Skyway Buckets, and the corner of the Teacup attraction in its original location.

Photo #2 gives you a great view of what the Skull Rock area looked like BEFORE the rehab/improvements:



Thanks to the Skyway, early park guests were able to get a birds-eye view of all the activity in Fantasyland: The Mickey Mouse Club Theater (which became the Pinocchio dark ride after the 1983 Fantasyland remodel) is on the right, and the buildings of Main Street (City Hall and the Train Station) are barely visible off in the distance.



Meanwhile, in the present day, I was finally able to get some comprehensive shots of the Main Street Bank interior, specifically the elusive vault. I was fortunate last week to catch a moment when there were hardly any guests renewing their annual passports. The cast member was kind enough to give me a little background on the vault, telling me that Walt himself picked it out, and that it dated back to 1904. She also pointed out that it was originally air-tight, but that was changed after BOA “left the building.”







Here’s the original brochure that BOA printed for the park’s opening:





And the interior park map which I have published on here previously:



Sure was glad to be able to snap those photos before the interior undergoes its renovation for the Gallery. One more thing off my checklist! See more Disneyland Fantasyland photos at my website.

Disneyland Trip Report

No vintage stuff today; just a photo report of my trip to the park last week. I really didn’t go on too many attractions as the Spring Break crowds had already begun to form. Still, I got a few cool shots of things I’d been trying to capture for awhile. First on my list was the former Bank of America location in Town Square. Since it will eventually be shutting down to be refurbished into the Disney Gallery, I have been trying to get as many photos of it before it goes under the knife. For the first time I was also able to get a few shots of the vault that Tim at Vintage Disneyland Tickets told me about.









It was exciting to see the Mr. Lincoln posters at the Opera House announcing the return of one of my favorite shows at the park. I always thought that Audio-Animatronics were just the coolest thing.





I got to the park just in time for dinner, and enjoyed listening to the Royal Street Bachelors while I ate my meal.







I was pleased to see that they had switched out the laminated plaque for Lafitte’s anchor with a brass one:



Naturally, it wouldn’t be a complete trip to the park without hearing the Grim Grinning Ghosts at The Haunted Mansion:



The Sleeping Beauty Castle Dioramas have also been added to my every-visit checklist. There’s just something so awesome about being able to go inside the castle, not to mention how much I still gawk over every scene:






I also enjoy seeing the little kids (and adults) getting surprised by the many tricks behind each door in the Corridor of Goons:







Now that Aurora’s dress has changed to white in the final book, I am “assuming” that the blue to pink effect is about to be unveiled:



As always, the floral displays in the park were beautiful:



Naturally, I had to ride small world; and yes, the rainforest is still there for all you nature lovers out there!



Over in Mickey’s Toontown, there was a feral cat hiding behind the gate:




Over at the Fireworks shop, it’s always the Fourth of July:



The Roger Rabbit attraction probably has one of the most entertaining line queues in the park; I love this ape at the Ink & Paint Club:



As always, I begin to stall before leaving the park; any old excuse to keep myself from having to exit. Back on Main Street at the Cinema, I decided to visit Tilly and take a peak inside:







What better parting shot than the Dapper Dans, singing one of their melodious tunes as we exit today’s entry:



See more Disneyland photos at my website.