56 Years Ago Today: The Gift of a Flag

Today's 56 year old photo comes from the USC Digital Library and shows Prime Minister of Afghanistan arriving at Disneyland via helicopter, July 1, 1958. From left to right: Sardar Mohammad Daud (Prime Minister), Jack Sayers, Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal, and Abdul Rahman Pazhwak. The vintage caption reads:

Arrival of Prime Minister of Afghanistan at Disneyland. His Royal Highness Sardar Mohammad Daud, Prime Minister of Afghanistan, is presented with a Disneyland flag on his arrival at the Anaheim amusement center. Presenter was Jack Sayers, Chairman, Park Operations committee. In the group are His Excellency Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal, Ambassador of Afghanistan and His Excellency Abdul Rahman Pazhwak, permanent representative to the United Nations. Party of 25 were flown from the Santa Susanna missile testing area by two USAF helicopters.

A closer look at the flag:



which is like the one that flies over the Main Street Train Station:





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

Vintage Disneyland: Barren and Low-Tech!

This 1950s image of the front gate at Disneyland looked like a lot of the other ones in my collection until I closed in on the little red truck barely visible in the center of the photo. I have no idea what this could have been for, other than possibly a delivery cart of some kind for the Disneyland Newspaper or perhaps some Park brochures. It sure is cute, though! And it's also fun to see RETLAW 1 pulled into the station, awaiting its next batch of guests for the Grand Circle Tour.



Compared to this contemporary shot, the entrance of the past looks positively barren!



This shot caught my eye because of the balloon seller's costume. Looking at the background, surprisingly he is standing in Tomorrowland, not Fantasyland. The costume seems very much out of place for the land of Tomorrow!



Let's take a closer look at the balloons in this January 1960 photo:



They look extremely low-tech when contrasted with the balloons sold at Disneyland today:



It should come as no surprise that I prefer the low-tech versions!

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

The Main Street Train Station

The batch of faded slides that this image came from was undated; the 22,000,000 million guests on the sign puts it somewhere around 1960.

Every summer, the station gets draped with patriotic bunting, as seen in this July 1960 shot:



A closeup of the Kalamazoo Handcar:



Also from 1960, with Retlaw 1 on the tracks:





Two more from 1960:





The station has seen few changes over the years, other than some stylistic choices in the color scheme.



On the Town Square side of the station, June 1965 guests enter the building to board a train for The Grand Circle Tour:



Zooming in for a closer look at the ticket window, strollers, and 60's fashion:



These two guests from July 1959 are waiting patiently for the train to pull into the station:



The train finally arrives in this January 1959 photo, and patience is rewarded:



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

Venus in Tomorrowland, 1958

Walt wanted some futuristic transportation. He wanted something fast. AND he wanted it cheap. The short-term solution was The Viewliner, which barely lasted a year. This guest is standing at the Tomorrowland Viewliner station, in front of the Venus car. The Tomorrowland Viewliner cars were a reddish-salmon color and named after the planets; the blue Fantasyland cars were named after various Disney characters.

This photo is probably one of the most bizarre looking ones in my collection. The past meets the future as Retlaw One runs parallel to the Tomorrowland Viewliner.



From the Skyway, a guest snapped this January 1958 shot of the Viewliner from overhead:



The Viewliner ran until construction began on the Matterhorn, making it one of the shortest-lived attractions in Disneyland history.

See more vintage Disneyland Viewliner photos on my Viewliner web page.

2000th Post Extravaganza: Disneyland Train Station

We've paid our admission, and now we are officially in the Park. With my time machine, I would want to see the look on my face during my very first visit back in 1970. I would probably also tell myself to pick up some cool souvenirs and keep them well preserved for the next 40 years!

How many people have posed in front of this Mickey Floral? I am sure the numbers would be staggering. These next two shots are from 1955.



Here come the Retlaw (Walter spelled backwards) 1 Disneyland Railroad passenger cars, including the Grand Canyon car (last one on the right), which has been repurposed as the VIP Lilly Belle Passenger Car.



We have obviously moved forward in time for this shot, as the Kalamazoo handcar has now been added to the scene.



It always feels so good to enter the Park and have a train ready to take you on a Grand Circle Tour.



Compare and contrast this year one shot with the empty panorama of a fence in the background...



with this later shot showcasing all of the various attractions at Disneyland. There's probably over $10,000 worth of vintage silkscreened posters out on display.



Moving closer to the Town Square entrance, there's nothing on the left in this 1955 shot (except some renegade guy standing up on the wall)...



but not much later, you can see that the Disneyland News Stand has been added. Get your souvenirs & guidebooks, folks!



So much to see at Disneyland in 1959, as these banners can attest to. Walt sure knew how to drum up the excitement for guests just entering the Park.



For me, one of the greatest excitements is standing up on the Main Street Train Station platform and watching one of the trains pull into the Station.



The engineers are always great with the guests; you'd be hard pressed to find a nicer bunch of cast members.



Both of these 1955 photos show guests dressed to the nines, patiently waiting for their turn to board the train.





You can feel the summer heat as this little girl attempts to open the window of the passenger car.



A color interior view; not much different from a vintage school bus!



What? Two trains? Yep...back in the day, for a portion of the Grand Circle Tour, Disneyland had two trains that could run parallel to each other. You can still see a remnant of the track at the Main Street Train Station today.



As a teaser for Friday's post, here's a view of the wonders that await you on the other side of the tunnel into Town Square.



See more vintage & current Disneyland on my Disneyland website.

2000th Post Extravaganza: The Entrance

In part two of my time-fluid-perfect-day-at-Disneyland, my Disneyland Hotel Tram has just arrived at the entrance and I am ready for a fantastic adventure!

I'll need to approach a ticket window to get my entrance and attraction tickets.



How about zooming in to check out the signs first...



Closed Monday? What? Who's running this joint, Walt Disney?



A couple of zoom-ins to see the signage and the cast members hard at work keeping the park spic and span:





Maybe I can cut in line while these nice people are posing for photos.



Hmmm...these prices...now I know my Time Machine is working!



Hmmm...what to see, what to see...so many choices! Better check that Skyway attraction before those pesky legal types have it removed.



Walking towards the entrance...



can you feel the anticipation?



Finally...on the other side. I better buy a guidebook so that I know what attractions have been built and haven't been built yet. This guidebook salesman seems busy; I better find another one.



This 1957/58 guidebook should work just fine, unless I want to see the Matterhorn, Monorail, or Submarine Voyage.



I can always rectify that when I get to Tomorrowland.



In the meantime, I'm going to check out the Mickey Floral and Main Street Train Station. Be sure to come back tomorrow!

See more vintage & current Disneyland on my Disneyland website.