Where To Find The Bacon at Disneyland

I was very excited to acquire a batch of February 1960 slides, as it now gives me two out of three vintage shots of the Storybook Three Little Pig homes.

The first shot taken was of the Practical Pig home, thus named because he built his home of brick. Here's a contemporary comparison shot. If you watch the original Silly Symphony Short, you'll see that the design of the home in the cartoon closely matches what was built.



Here is the vintage shot of Fiddler Pig's house; he wasn't so smart, as he built his home out of sticks and twigs. I guess all of his brains must have gone into his violin playing.



The original structure appeared to have been built out of actual sticks/twigs, whereas the contemporary version looks more like a molded material.



Unfortunately, I have yet to acquire a vintage shot of poor ol' Fifer's house; til then, my contemporary images will have to suffice.



I do have comparison shots for the Big Bad Wolf's abode, this one from June 1969:



I really love the little details like the mailboxes:



The Three Little Pigs had a much bigger presence in the park during the early years:









Today, they are at least honored by having a restaurant named after them on Buena Vista Street at DCA, The Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe:



From what I can remember, I do not believe there is a single picture of the Pigs inside the restaurant. I wonder if bacon is on the menu there?

See more vintage & current Disneyland Three Little Pig Storybook photos on my Storybook web page.

Disneyland Trip Report: Storybook Land

For those not into my trip reports, the next few days could be an extremely painful experience! Today's post focuses entirely on one of my very favorite Fantasyland attractions, Storybook Land. What a great start on this one; as your canal boat gently sails towards the menacing mouth of Monstro, I am sure many a tot has had the living daylights scared out of them (especially at night!).



But never fear, there is peace and tranquility on the other side. And a ton-o-details (which I adore!).



First we encounter the homes of the Three Little Pigs, beginning with Fifer Pig:



Practical Pig (the smart one who used bricks):



and finally Fiddler Pig:



In this wide shot, you can see the new protective railing. I understand the apparent need for it, but not crazy about the execution of it.



The faux stonework is definitely not up to par with what Disney is capable of either; not sure if it's the paint job or the faux stone itself. Either way, it's just not working for me.



After passing Agrabah, guests get a sneak peek of the Genie's Magic Lamp:



Cinderella's Castle towers overhead:



Check out all of the tiny details on this home, including a towel to dry on the railing and miniature flower pots:



Can you see the names of all Seven Dwarfs?



And here's their fanciful cottage:



London Park looks like a beautiful place for a sunny afternoon nap. This is one of the first times I've been on Storybook that the live ducks haven't messed with the perspective of this tableau.





One of the structures near Alice in Wonderland's village:



Near Toad Hall, you find Mole End:





Gotta' zoom in for this one:



Pinocchio's Village is probably one of my favorite scenes in this attraction, as the handcrafted details abound here.



The Matterhorn fits in perfectly as a backdrop.





Here is the residence of Ariel's Prince Eric:



And finally, where Ariel's family lives:



A rare peak without the waterfalls:



I hope you enjoyed this journey through Storybook Land!

See more vintage & current Disneyland Storybook Land photos on my Storybook Land web page.

Evolution of a Pig

Sometimes, one new photo to the collection can spawn a more interesting article by tying together other random images to provide a cohesive tail. Don't you mean "tale"? Well, in this case, I am referring to the curled tails of everyone's favorite pigs: The Three Little Pigs. One of the most famous Disney Silly Symphony cartoons, "The Three Little Pigs" was released in 1933, during the height of the Great Depression. Its theme song, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" (composed by Frank Churchill) became an anthem for weary America during this troubled time. Recently, I acquired my oldest image to date (July 1959) of one of the pigs at Disneyland. Just like the rest of the characters in the park, this costume morphed a great deal over time. Here's a photo history of how that looked.

February 1960:





August 1960:



In August 1962, you can see that the heads are an entirely different sculpt:



These three January 1965 pig photos scare the bejesus out of me; looks like he has swine flu!



Even the Big Bad Wolf made the leap from 2D to 3D at Disneyland:





During my first visit to Disneyland, on Dec. 27, 1970, I had the great fortune of being able to pose with one of the pigs in front of it's a small world:



1971



My last shot of a pig is an undated 1970s image. Rarely will you see the pigs anymore at Disneyland, unless it's a special event. I believe the last time I saw them was at the D23 Fantasyland event back in 2010.



Although sightings of the pigs might be rare, you can visit their homes every day in Storybook Land. Here we have the brick home of Practical Pig:



The abode of Fiddler Pig:



And the straw home that belongs to Fifer Pig:



Hope you enjoyed this post on my favorite sows! See more vintage & current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland web page.