Disneyland 1963 in BW

This series of negatives from 1963 yielded some very clear shots of Disneyland, beginning with this view of the entrance. Oh those vintage attraction posters are magical!



This lovely lady is about to mail a letter, bragging to her friends back home about what a wonderful time she is having at Disneyland...while they're not. Oh, that hurts.



Made in St. Louis. Wonder if these are the same lamps there today? Banner Iron Works closed in 1986; looks like most of the buildings belonging to it have been demolished.



Wish I could read that address!



This cast member is assisting the guest onto the Amazon Belle (just for you, Matthew!).



Posing with an Indian at the Indian Village.



That wobbly old bridge at Tom Sawyer's Island!



I believe that's a bit of Rainbow Ridge visible in the background!



More vintage and contemporary Disneyland photos at my main website.

Frontierland, September 1960

This is the last of my color-shifted September 1960 images, all of which hail from Frontierland. Presented in chronological order, it would appear that our guest was waiting for the mighty Mark Twain at the dock while snapping these photos that included the thunderous falls of Cascade Peak.



From the boat itself, this shot was taken of the undulating pontoon bridge on Tom Sawyer Island:



followed by this stunning closeup of Cascade Peak; you can almost hear the falls!



As the Twain was floating back to the dock, Rainbow Ridge was captured from above:



Zooming in for a closer look:



And finally, home again at the dock, with the Golden Horseshoe Saloon in the background:



Nothing like a journey on the Twain to start the weekend!

UPDATE: Here are some contemporary photos of the pontoon bridge on Tom Sawyer Island:





See more vintage Disneyland Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant photos on my main website.

Daveland Goes Atomic, Pt. 2

Janey from Atomic Redhead takes us aboard the Big Thunder Mountain Mine Trains for the thrill ride of our lives!



Time to exit the attraction for a spin around the Rivers of America.



This particular view looks as if it were taken from the top of the Mark Twain, or it might have been taken from the Treehouse on Tom Sawyer's Island.



Here's a great shot of the entrance to Fort Wilderness. I'll let Janey take over the storytelling from here.



Here we have Fort Wilderness, located on Tom Sawyer’s Island. Originally, Fort Wilderness (built out of real hand-hewn logs!) was home to a rifle roost where you could pretend to shoot as well as museum-style set ups of what a military outpost would have looked like, including a dummy of Andrew Jackson. However, over the years, Fort Wilderness became more and more dilapidated. The wood needed constant maintenance, a girl lost part of her finger in an accident, and in 2003 the large gates shut for good. In 2007, Tom Sawyer’s Island was taken over by pirates, and many changes were underway, which included tearing down the original Fort Wilderness that stood since 1956. A new Fort Wilderness was erected, however it was no longer open to the public. Instead, Fort Wilderness is now home to a cast member break area as well as serves as storage for the nighttime show Fantasmic.



A few more shots taken from the Island:



Here you can see kids who have found the joys of the Suspension Bridge:



This image appears to have been taken from one of the rafts:



Looking back over to Frontierland you can see the Golden Horseshoe in the background:



These last two shots were most likely taken from the Mark Twain or the Columbia:



Looks like the Burning Cabin had ceased burning by the time Janey's family photographed it:



The last two for today's installment showcase New Orleans Square, starting with an exterior shot of The Haunted Mansion.



From Janey: Original entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean. This changed in 1997 when they also altered portions of the inside to be less suggestive.



For Part 3, we'll visit Fantasyland, courtesy of Atomic Redhead.

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

The Thrill of Exploration

One of the things that helps keep us young is continuing to have a sense of exploration. Walt Disney understood this, and built his park around that concept, allowing guests to walk through the past and then experience the hope of the future. Tom Sawyer Island has undergone a number of transformations over the years (some for legal reasons, others for the love of all things Sparrow), but it still remains a living testament to our inner yearning of discovery. This is why I prefer to go to the park when the crowds are low; it is easier to imagine that I am the first one to see the treehouse perched high over the top of the island (shown here in this vintage 1950's photo).



Without the crowds, I can also take the time to imagine the back story to the Old Mill and why it has been abandoned.



The rickety-nature of the bridges on the island also contribute a bit of danger, adding a bit of a thrill as you traverse the shaking planks.



Castle Rock harkens back to the days of old when kids would build forts to ward off imaginary villains. Today, this would most likely be done on a Sony Playstation.



The ultimate area of exploration on Tom Sawyer Island was Fort Wilderness. Sadly, this area has not survived the years, and only exists as a restroom tacked onto the exterior of the reworked structure.



So much of our imagination is spoon-fed to us today with video games and other technically impressive sources of media. Personally, I prefer to be given a few tools and allowed to come up with a story myself. But that's just me...and as I get older, I feel more like the dinosaurs and old farts that I used to make fun of when I was young.

See more vintage and current Tom Sawyer Island photos on my Tom Sawyer Island web page.

TPE: Tom Sawyer's Island

My last stop in ol' Frontierland is Tom Sawyer's Island. This vintage map should help you get the lay of the land:





Besides being a great place for exploration, the Island also had characters, such as Tom Sawyer himself:



This guy looks like he wandered off the set of "F-Troop"!



Becky Thatcher was on hand for opening day:





Even before the Swiss Family Robinson moved in, Disneyland had a treehouse:



This young lad from September 1958 is loving his birds-eye view from the treehouse:



In this August 1956 photo, the Matterhorn is absent from the background landscape:



Two vintage views of The Old Mill:





An August 1958 shot of the old fishing pier, back when you could catch fish:



Besides a lack of vibrant characters, today's Island is also missing authentically rustic signage:





I can feel my knees wobbling as I view these three photos of the suspension and pontoon bridges:







The first time I saw a photo of Castle Rock, I didn't even recognize it. It has been modified so much over the last few years that today it is almost unrecognizable. The teeter-totter rock is a thing of the past. Rocks are too dangerous nowadays!







Back when the Island had a real fort, open for exploration:



Come on in, the gates are open!





You can catch a glimpse of the cemetery through the open door:









The trashcan in this photo eventually found its way to Orlando's Fort Wilderness Campground:



The upper level of the Fort gave guests some great views, too:







I believe this barbed wire fence blocking the "Indian Territory" was also on the Island:



That concludes our vintage tour of Frontierland; come back again to see where my Time Machine takes us to next.

See more vintage & current Disneyland Tom Sawyer Island photos on my Tom Sawyer Island web page.