Dating Disneyland

Today I look to my knowledgeable readers to help me date these undated 1960s 35mm negatives from a guest's vintage trip to Disneyland. I am presenting what I believe to be the 3 most helpful clues, beginning with a closeup of a Disneyland shopping bag, sitting in this lady's lap on the Matterhorn attraction.



This may seem to be a regular vintage shot of the Teacups in Fantasyland, but looking at the background, you can see that Papotin's Revue is playing at the Fantasyland Theatre.



Not sure how many seasons André Tahon's show was featured here, but this might be the best clue of the bunch.



On Main Street U.S.A., a band with a "W" insignia is marching through Central Plaza.



Zooming in to the right side, there appears to be some sort of Mickey Mouse Club paper ephemera.



Are you up to the challenge? Think you can narrow down these slides to a particular year? I have faith that you can!

See more vintage & current Daveland Disneyland photos on my main website.

More Audie Murphy

You may have previously seen my photos from Audie Murphy's 1956 visit to Disneyland; now I have two more in my collection, bringing me up to a grand total of five. Murphy was a decorated American soldier during World War II who earned the Medal of Honor & Purple Heart and turned his fame into a movie career. He was also one of the first soldiers to bravely speak out publicly about post-traumatic stress.

Here, he is taking it easy with his family in Fantasyland: wife Pamela Opal Lee Archer (a former airline stewardess) and boys Terry (age 4 at the time) & Skipper (age two at the time). The area that they're standing in appears to be the same one shown in this May 1973 shot; the awning and hinged doors on the right seem to be a match.



The second photo shows them getting ready to sail away on the Peter Pan attraction; even a glimpse of the original mural gets my heart pounding!



In case you missed them, the previously posted shots of this family trip also included one of The Mr. Toad attraction queue mural:



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

Before Pinocchio

Before the Fantasyland remodel of 1983, there was no Pinocchio dark ride. Instead, guests could get a nice little blast of AC by ducking into the Fantasyland Theatre. This July 1971 image shows the theatre (through the miracle of "zoom"!) as well as the funky arches over the Teacup attraction.

It looks like Winnie the Pooh was the featured attraction at the Theatre when this photo was taken. Off to the right you can also see the Fantasyland Art Corner:



This May 1973 photo gives a much better view of the Art Corner, along with the bonus of having the Pearly Band from Mary Poppins in it as well:



The Pearly Band also made their way over to the Fantasy Gift Fair.



This August 1975 photo shows yet another retail kiosk, situated between the Carrousel and Mr. Toad/Peter Pan:



Apparently a glut of retail was nothing new to the Pressler era!

See more vintage & current Disneyland Fantasyland photos on my Mad Tea Party web page.

The Pearly Band

From the Disney classic "Mary Poppins," audiences were introduced to the animated Pearly Band, the musicians that accompanied Mary while she sang "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."



At Disneyland, you can see their real-life counterparts in the flesh in these May 1973 images. The first shot here also shows The Fantasyland Art Corner behind them:



The next sequential shot shows the Pearly Band playing in front of the Fantasy Gift Fair...



which, judging by this June 1964 shot, was located approximately where the Pinocchio attraction is today:





Guests can still be entertained by the Pearly Band, who perform often in the courtyard of the Castle:



See more vintage & current Fantasyland photos on my Fantasyland web page.

Happy 4th from Fantasyland!

This undated slide is most likely from late 59/early 60s and shows a nice congested view of Fantasyland, with the Skyway overhead. Zooming in, you can see the Fantasyland Central Ticket Booth near the Carrousel:



As well as a description of each ticket:



And finally, a sign for the Fantasy Gift Fair:



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