Just on the other side of the drawbridge is Fantasyland. As this slightly dark image shows, the Medieval Tent theme wasn't carried out through all of Fantasyland. Most of the area surrounding the Castle had the European Tudor theme that was added to the rest of Fantasyland during the 1983 remodel.
Looking center, you can see the Carrousel straight ahead (before it was moved farther back in 1983) and Merlin's Magic Shop on the right.
A closer look at the Fantasy of Disneyland shop. Military on the right or costumed characters? I can't tell.
Zooming in to see what's in the window of this shop (I am so damn nosy).
Looking back at the Castle, it appears today very much like it did almost 60 years ago.
A change in color scheme and the addition of some gilded ornamentations and decorative shutters can be seen in this contemporary view:
This shot must have been captured in between teacup spins:
And here you can see the crowds of guests that can't wait to give them a whirl. You can almost feel the excitement in the air!
The Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant still had quite a bit of work to be done; many of the decorative elements were missing on day one. Even the paint scheme would change significantly.
Here it is just one month later:
This dapper gent is standing in front of Casey Junior. After a number of malfunctions on Opening Day, poor little Casey had to be closed down until July 31st.
Last shot of the Fantasyland bunch is this one of Dumbo, back when his ears were hinged and they could fly up and down.
See more vintage and current Fantasyland photos on my Fantasyland web pages.
