Welcome to Disneyland, 1970s-Style

It’s June 1970, and our park guest captured the entrance sign (if only they had shifted the camera more to the right!!) which is touting the recently opened (August 1969) Haunted Mansion…and 1000 hotel guest rooms at the Disneyland Hotel.



This shot of Harbor Boulevard perfectly illustrates why Walt went to such great lengths to do a secretive land grab in Orlando.



Look at that cacophony of hotels, motels, and restaurants! I wonder what Mecca was like?



How the ticket booth/entrance area looked circa January 1970.



Hard to believe this parking lot area is what would eventually become the plaza between Disneyland and DCA.



This March 1973 shot shows a slightly better composition!



Ready for Spring Fling? Still touting those 1000 guest rooms.



For all you vintage auto nuts, here’s a closeup of the pileup of cars waiting to enter the Park.



See more Disneyland entrance photos at my main website.

Welcome (Back) to Disneyland

Welcome (back) to Disneyland! Back in 1976, guests saw quite a different entrance. At that time, the U.S. was swept away with Bicentennial fever, as the country had its 200th birthday. Disneyland contributed to the celebration with “America on Parade.” I had to zoom in for a closer look at Monorail red!

This particular parade never did much for me. While it was great that the Disney celebration showed their patriotism, the parade (and its scary characters) just seemed out of place.

Whoever had this character as a nanny is probably still scarred today.

To help take the edge of those gigantic figures, how about two less scary shots from the same decade? These two ladies look thrilled to be at the Park:

Where did the attraction posters go? Based on the photos in my collection, it seems like they were taken down around 1968. It looks positively bare!

How many of you have ventured back to Disneyland? Would love to hear how the experience has been for you.

See more vintage Disneyland entrance photos at my main website.