Mansfield Monday: Jayne on the Disneyland Railroad!

No April Fools’ jokes today. Just the real thing. I recently acquired another shot from Jayne Mansfield’s May 1957 trip to Disneyland. In this shot, she is making the day of one of the Disneyland Railroad conductors. I have a feeling he had to go him early from his shift after having had Jayne sign an autograph, using his back as a desk. How many guys can claim that?



Zooming in, you can see the detail of the Santa Fe buttons on his vest as well as one of the tickets he collected for train fare. I wonder if it was a ticket Jayne had touched?

See more Jayne Mansfield at Disneyland photos at my main website.

February 1970 at Disneyland, Pt. 1

Today’s tour of the past begins in Disneyland’s Town Square, circa February 1970. These lucky tots got to see Mickey himself as they entered the Park. Let’s zoom in for a look at the ticket book:



It appears that these kids were EXTRA lucky, as they were part of the Magic Kingdom Club, which ran from 1957—2000. It was an early Annual Passport program to the park that offered memberships free of charge both for companies and their employees, encouraging families to visit the parks by giving them discounts. Meanwhile, get a load of the topper on Mickey’s cane!



In the next shot of the batch, the kids have multiplied. The little girl on the right has a matching purse; it looks big enough to buy out Main Street, U.S.A.



Another closeup of Mickey’s cane:



Next up: it’s a small world!



By this time, the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant had morphed into Captain Hook’s. Bye-bye outside corporate sponsorship!



For the second shot, Mom is all smiles.



How about a closeup of the vintage Disneyland shopping bag?



And poor Dad; his middle finger is in a splint.



Last one for this batch today drops the families off at the Castle.



Come back for more gems from February 1970!

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

Let's Go To Disneyland 1959, Pt. 2

The trip was August 1959, but the brochures that the family collected during their visit were stamped 1958. It looks like once they landed at the airport they took a limo to Disneyland. $3.25 to get to Disneyland!



Here are your ticket options for the Park:



The Jumbo Book looks like the best deal!



Once you're in the Park, you'll need this brochure:



With the handy-dandy map:



See more vintage Disneyland ephemera at my main website.

2000th Post Extravaganza: The Entrance

In part two of my time-fluid-perfect-day-at-Disneyland, my Disneyland Hotel Tram has just arrived at the entrance and I am ready for a fantastic adventure!

I'll need to approach a ticket window to get my entrance and attraction tickets.



How about zooming in to check out the signs first...



Closed Monday? What? Who's running this joint, Walt Disney?



A couple of zoom-ins to see the signage and the cast members hard at work keeping the park spic and span:





Maybe I can cut in line while these nice people are posing for photos.



Hmmm...these prices...now I know my Time Machine is working!



Hmmm...what to see, what to see...so many choices! Better check that Skyway attraction before those pesky legal types have it removed.



Walking towards the entrance...



can you feel the anticipation?



Finally...on the other side. I better buy a guidebook so that I know what attractions have been built and haven't been built yet. This guidebook salesman seems busy; I better find another one.



This 1957/58 guidebook should work just fine, unless I want to see the Matterhorn, Monorail, or Submarine Voyage.



I can always rectify that when I get to Tomorrowland.



In the meantime, I'm going to check out the Mickey Floral and Main Street Train Station. Be sure to come back tomorrow!

See more vintage & current Disneyland on my Disneyland website.

Old School Disneyland Primer

What would happen if you were able to have access to a time machine that allowed you to visit Disneyland back in the early days? Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Especially if you could take a camera. However, you wouldn't want to be discovered as a visitor from the future; if you've ever seen an episode of "Lost in Space" or any other vintage TV shows that deal with time travel, you'd know that strangers from the future typically don't get a warm welcome! Today's post is designed to help you assimilate and make sure that you look like you know what you're doing on a typical day at Disneyland, circa 1950's. If you're driving a car into the park, the first shot shows you the view that you would encounter as you enter the property. You'd park your vintage car alongside of all the other way cool vintage cars. And wow...you are just steps from the entrance! No gargantuan parking garage to deal with...just one level of asphalt that gives you a direct view of your destination. Oh the excitement is building!



Of course, you do have an alternative. If you had a long drive, you might want to spend a few days at Disneyland and check into the Disneyland Hotel.



You could board the Disneyland Hotel Tram and leave your car parked safely at the Hotel.



Either way, you are only steps from the entrance.





But wait...where are the ticket booths in the esplanade? In fact, where is the esplanade and the California Adventure entrance? Folks, you just parked there. Yup...DCA and the ticket booths are standing where the original parking lot was located. Back in the 50s, the ticket booths were at the entrance. How convenient is that? Again, just steps away from your destination (now I know you're really salivating).



One final tip though, and this is a crucial one. Whatever you do, don't ask the ticket counter cast member for an annual pass. Or a park hopper. Instead, you'll be paying for admission into the park, as in one park. Uno. Un. Eine. Here's a detail of the ticket prices you'd pay in the 1960's. Sorry, couldn't find a decent closeup from the 50s, but figured this would still help prepare you for the sticker shock. When was the last time you paid $5 for ANYTHING at Disneyland?!?



Wait a minute...what are those ticket books? Is that like buying multiple day passes? Nope...ticket books are what you need for the attractions. One ticket for each attraction, and depending upon the attraction, you might need an A, B, C, D, or E ticket. Here's a July 1959 photo of a guest holding their attraction ticket book in their hands. D tickets cost 35¢ back in the day, meaning you'd have to pay 35¢ to ride each D ticket attraction.



And now that you have parked your car, bought your tickets, and walked up to the entrance gate, you are almost ready for your day of fun. The turnstiles are so close! But what's the boy in the straw hat and striped shirt doing? Is he taking surveys for marketing purposes?



Nope. He's just selling guidebooks, and you'll definitely want one of those to help acquaint you with what's available at Disneyland circa 1950's. I'd recommend you buy it from this salesman though...I hear he can do magic tricks, too.



See more Disneyland entrance photos on my Disneyland entrance web page.

You Are There: Disneyland December 1961, Pt. 1

It’s another bright and colorful “you are there” (anybody remember that show?) showcase of Disneyland History, circa December 1961. Leaving the Disneyland Hotel, our family heads towards the entrance, which looks almost as crowded as the park would be today! I always get anxious at the entrance when I see the train parked at the station: “Let me in already!” That Guided Tour price looks like a steal!



How about those inviting wooden chairs on the porch of the City Hall in Town Square?



Zooming in for a detailed view of the Horseless Carriage sign and the schedule of events at the park:



Plenty of locker space at the Bekins Storage facility, ready to hold all of your souvenir goodies!



See more Disneyland photos at my regular website.

Wednesday WOW: The Creation of a Post

Recently, I purchased a small batch of photos from July 1961; naturally, not too long after that, the negatives also went up for grabs. And, naturally, I went for those too. Some of you might wonder why I would bother buying the negs after I’d already gotten the photos themselves. Hopefully this post will show why and also give you a little glimpse of what goes into creating each blog entry. First up is the photo itself. What about this photo made me interested enough to collect it in the first place? Mainly the Mickey Figure; it’s an early incarnation of Mickey before he became the slick character that he is today. The early figures that walked around the park were often a little more on the scary/crazy side and not quite as accurate as the ones guests see today. The location of the photo is the second reason; just dig that Art of Animation attraction poster on the Monorail pylon! Third reason: the RETLAW Combine Car in the background. Currently in the process of being restored, photos of the Combine are somewhat rare. As you’ll note, the quality of this photo isn’t too bad...but at Daveland, I believe there’s always room for improvement!

Here’s an unretouched view of the negative scan for the same photo; scratched, somewhat faded/color shifted...not real pretty!



With a little help from Photoshop (and some knowledge gleaned from years of experience) this negative gleams like new! Having the negative also gives more image area as well; typically photo prints will cut out about 5% of the image area that was actually shot.



Because of the clarity that I can pick up from a negative, closeup detail shots are now possible, showing little things that you might not notice from just scanning a regular vintage photo print. F’rinstance...the ticket book in the little girl’s hand:



The banner hung above the underpass as well as the writing on the combine and the ticketbooth at right:



Hope you’ve enjoyed this sneak-peak of what goes on behind-the-scenes before these photos reach your home! See more Disneyland entrance photos at my website.