Three Cheers for Beachgal!

Daveland reader Beachgal was kind enough to send me two photos and accompanying backstory. Seems like she has many fond memories of visiting Disneyland during its early years. As she recalls:

"I had lots of fun times growing up in the Southland - I remember very well meeting Walt Disney at Disneyland in '55 and again in '56 and getting to shake his hand. I also remember meeting Annette and other Mouseketeers at Disneyland in 1956. Annette made a lot of appearances to sign autographs at various Broadway Department stores around the Southland in those first early years as a Mouseketeer. Tim Considine and David Stollery also made appearences at Disneyland in 1956 after they had made such a hit that first year on "Spin & Marty." I had my photo taken with Tim on one of those appearances.

"The High School I went to was Mira Costa in Manhattan Beach; we were known as the Mustangs and our high school was often referred to as MiCoHi. The first photo here is from 1964 and shows the MiCoHi Yell Leaders near the Frontierland Gates.

"This second photo (from our 1963 school yearbook) shows the girl flag team atop the Nautilus submarine in Tomorrowland.



"Disneyland used to invite different High School spirit teams and some local other non paid/non professional teams like baton/tumbling to appear in the park for a day. I seem to recall a few glee singing groups too. There were no competitions for this, it was all by invite from Disneyland management. I recall a lot of excitement 'round the Southland about who would get invited next. The troupes never appeared at a formal entertainment venue in the park like Carnation Plaza Gardens, but instead were just set up in open areas and they rotated to a few different spots during the day.

"My cousin was in High School when the park opened and I recall her being envious that this program was not going when she had been a High School yell leader. I think it started in the late 1950s around the time Annette began to make movies like "The Shaggy Dog." I also remember seeing various troupes there, running around in their uniforms and performing; as a kid, I was sort of envious because they seemed so much cooler than I was, being able to run around in cool uniforms AND without their parents close by!"

Many thanks to Beachgal for sharing today!

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

Disneyland, September 1955: Tomorrowland

Continuing with the September 1955 series, we leave yesterday's Main Street, U.S.A. for Tomorrowland. Plagued by a lack of funds and a shortage of time, Tomorrowland got the shaft in comparison to the other lands. Still, guests couldn't tell. Walt's team came up with a number of creative solutions to make sure that the land of the future was open on time with something to keep the guests entertained.

As you entered Tomorrowland, you were greeted by the Clock of the World (with the Moonliner towering in the background). Here's a shot from a similar vantage point at approximately the same time period in color; I can only imagine how many of these similar shots exist out there. Designwise, the entrance was executed well. You had an iconic feature, wide open spaces, and a large iconic structure (The Moonliner) to draw you towards the back. I won't bother making a comparison to today's Tomorrowland as I have already done enough rants on that.



Thanks to the fact that he also owned a movie studio, Walt Disney had a number of resources at his fingertips that helped him stretch a buck when it came to putting Disneyland together. Re-using the sets from the wildly popular "20,000 Leagues Under The Seam" film was pure brilliance. Here's a photo of the exterior of that attraction:



Just turn your "A" ticket in here, please, to enjoy the exhibit AND a little air conditioning!





Do you miss Captain Nemo's organ?



Just take a trip over to The Haunted Mansion:



I believe this 11' model of the Nautilus (designed by Harper Goff) is on display at Disneyland Paris, which has a recreation of this very exhibit:



The Art Corner was a place you could buy animation cels; at the time, it was a great idea of what to do with something the studio had no use for. Today, many a heart sinks thinking that these historic beauties sold for a song!



Last, but definitely not least, is a shot of the original TWA Moonliner. This thing really meant something to guests of 1955, a time when space travel caused kids (and adults) to marvel at the wonders of the future.



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

Monorail medley

Sorry for the late post; I just got back from DLand and am a little wiped out—those Spring Break crowds can sure wear a guy out! So, to tide you over until I get my second wind, here are 3 images of the Monorail. First one is a badly faded 1959/1960 image of the Monorail passing over the Nautilus and The Submarine Voyage. The Richfield Eagle can be seen looming overhead in the background.

Shot #2 is a Mark 3 Monorail from 1968, passing by the entrance to the park:



This color 1968 view of the Blue Monorail was taken from the beloved parking lot. I have a feeling that once DCA finishes its huge memory, the old parking lot will not be quite as beloved as before. You can see in the closeup shot that Santa Fe still had their fingers on things as of 1968:





See more Disneyland Monorail photos at my website.

Trip to Disneyland: April 1965, Pt. 5

Finishing up our Tomorrowland 2-parter we begin with a nice shot that shows some of the layering that once occurred in Tomorrowland; The Matterhorn, Skyway, Submarine Voyage, and Monorail are all visible in one shot. Just imagine that in 2 years, the PeopleMover would also be added into this mix. Lots of action! Our little Tiki Girl is about to get on the Nautilus and see the enchanted wonders that exist underwater, but not before she snaps a photo of her own.



The Blue Monorail cruises overhead of the subs; it’s nice that today these shots can be duplicated now that the subs and Monorail are both in action together again.



And as a teaser for tomorrow, I’ll leave you at the entrance to Adventureland!



See more Disneyland Tomorrowland photos at my website.

February 1962, Pt. 1

Although I won’t be giving out any blue-ribbons to this photographer for his composition, I do have to give him credit for his choice of subjects! The intro shot is naturally of the Castle; the Disney family crest is still missing from the entryway. Mom and son are standing off to the left; as you’ll see tomorrow, mama looks a lot like Patsy Cline. In shot #2, we have reached Tomorrowland; rather than shoot what everyone is looking at, our photographer chose to capture everyone’s posterior for....well, posterity.



3 time’s the charm with this view of the still fairly new (less than 6 months old) Flying Saucer attraction.



Rounding out today’s post are a few shots of the Monorail & The Submarine Voyage attraction:





And here is the exact same angle as it looks now:



See more vintage & current Tomorrowland photos at my regular website.

1960’s Batch: Pt. 4

View #1 shows the Devil’s Paint Pots as seen from the Nature’s Wonderland Mine Train. Shot #2 is most likely from the Mark Twain, but could also be a Nature’s Wonderland shot,too...experts?



As a follow-up to Gorilla's post about the Disney World Submarine ride (no longer there), here are 2 views from January 1972 showing the Orlando version of the Nautilus in action:





See more vintage & current Disneyland Nature's Wonderland photos on my main website.

Upjohn Pharmacy Interior, Nov. 1955

One of the greatest things about doing this blog is being able to “meet” (or whatever the word is for the online equivalent) people who worked for the park and other Disneyland fanatics who are just as much into the history of the park as I am. One such person is CoxPilot. Having worked at the Flight Circle in Tomorrowland, he has been a fantastic resource for photos and information. He has willingly shared his memories and allowed me to post them to my site, for which I am extremely grateful. Here are 3 photos from his collection, starting off with an interior of the Upjohn Pharmacy on West Main Street, from November 1955. Picture 2 is from the 20K Exhibit that was in Tomorrowland, showing off some of the actual suits used in the movie.



Pic 3 is a little short on detail, but still a rarity: a pencil sketch of the Nautilus, from the same exhibit:



Many thanks to CoxPilot for making it possible to view these rare images.

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