Summer at Disneyland, 1960

Because of the population on the Main Street Train Station in this first shot, I was able to target the date of these images to Summer 1960 (give or take a month). These transparencies were very faded and scratched, so I did the best I could to bring them back to life.

Over in Frontierland, The Fred Gurley (aka #3) is pulling into the Depot.



Zooming in for a better look at the locomotive as well as the "So Dear to My Heart" inspired station itself.



I cannot quite place the location of this one; my thoughts are that it could be near the location of the current Haunted Mansion.



Over on the Island, a raft approaches the Old Mill:



The Mark Twain is docked near Fowler's Harbor, with a Keelboat parked nearby.



The Gladys Kravitz in me can't help but zoom in to see what the red contraption is on or near the Twain:



The photographer snapped a few of the upgraded Nature's Wonderland attraction which reopened in May 1960:







Over in Adventureland, guests are able to see Hippos...



and a hungry gator:



A little sunset magic near the Submarine Voyage attraction in Tomorrowland:



A closeup of the George Washington sub:



Thanks for visiting Disneyland with me, circa 1960!

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

Disneyland: 8/27/56

It is fantastic to get a batch of slides that are date stamped; it's even better when the person who shot them writes the actual date on the slide itself. For this batch, the photographer wrote August 27, 1956 on each one. Do you know how much detective work that saves me?



Thanks to Jason Schultz's Disneyland Almanac, I also know that on August 27, 1956, the park hours were 10am—10pm and that attendance was 21, 501. The high was 75 degrees and the low was 65. Sounds like a perfect day to me!



Zooming in, it appears that this tent is promoting the Autopia. At first I thought it might have been a holdover from the Circus, which finally closed 11 days after this shot was taken.



Only one Tomorrowland shot in this batch, featuring the Autopia.



A few fun shots from the Skyway, as the bucket approaches Fantasyland.



Sailing past the miniature Cinderella Castle from Storybook Land:



The next two were most likely taken from the Fantasyland Skyway Station area:





Crossing over to Adventureland, it's time for a spin on Amazon Belle from the Jungle Cruise:







The Mark Twain is looking very majestic in Frontierland:



A nice shot from the Twain (the Columbia was not in existence yet) looking back at the dock area:



I do love seeing the Keelboat in actual operation, not just as a stationary prop:



The same can be said of Fort Wilderness, which can be spotted as the Mark Twain goes around Tom Sawyer's Island:



Last shot for the day shows the Indian Settlement:



I hope you've enjoyed your trip through Disneyland, circa August 27, 1956.

stu29573 is the winner of the Fort Wilderness Railroad book contest. Stu - email me your address (at dvdpicasso@aol.com) and I will send them out pronto!

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

Early Days of the Jungle Cruise, Pt. 2

Today's post shows some of the publicity shots that were released to generate some excitement for Disneyland's one and only Adventureland attraction, The Jungle Cruise (originally called the Jungle River Boat Ride).



Here the infamous hippos are being created:



then receiving a little love from Walt himself...



then the installation:



and voila, the hippo as it (still) appears today, wreaking havoc on guests until the skipper fires his pistol.



See more vintage & current Disneyland Jungle Cruise photos on my Jungle Cruise web page.

Walt & His Hippos

It's not difficult to see the happiness that Walt is feeling as his dream becomes a reality. Here he is cavorting with the mechanical hippos that will be an integral part to the Jungle River Cruise in Adventureland. From the publicity blurb:

NAME: WALT DISNEY AND FRIENDS

PROGRAM: DISNEYLAND NO. 38 "FANTASYLAND - A Further Report on Disneyland and A Tribute to Mickey Mouse."

TIME: WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 1955; 7:30-8:30 PM (NYT)

Walt Disney turns on his famous charm in an attempt to befriend a pair of half-completed life-sized mechanically animated hippos, who live in Adventureland, part of the Disneyland Park under construction in Anaheim, Calif.

A previously posted shot of the hippos being put into place:



Today, the hippos still charm guests every day at Disneyland:



See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland Jungle Cruise photos at my regular website.

Disneyland, September 1955: Adventureland

Welcome to Adventureland, a mere month after Disneyland opened.

And Adventureland's entry gate circa 2011:



The Jungle Cruise, over 50 years later, is still kicking and still packin' 'em in. This rhino is no longer in the attraction:



A color shot of the rhino from the same time period:



The beloved hippos:



Shortly before, here's how the hippo looked as the park was quickly heading towards opening day:



Still looking purty good, even today:



Somebody's ready for a turkey leg!



From the same time period, here's a color shot of the croc (or is that a gator? I never can tell the diff):



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

Sailing Through Sundays on The JC: Short 1950’s Trip

Three photos from an undated 1950’s trip on the Jungle Cruise, shown (of course) in the order that they were shot. The snake has changed locations since shot #1 was taken; he seems little more menacing hanging overhead!

Somebody needs to tell these guests that there’s an angry African Bull Elephant behind them!



Ho hum...another hippo shot:



See more Disneyland Jungle Cruise photos at my main website.