All Aboard! Casey Jr. Circus Train, circa 2007

Take a ride aboard the Casey Jr. Circus Train at Disneyland, circa February 2007! Based on the circus train from Disney’s animated classics “Dumbo” and “The Reluctant Dragon” (both 1941), it has been part of Fantasyland since pretty much opening day; technical difficulties caused a brief shut down for repairs.



Even seventeen years ago, establishing shots were important to me, including the original ticket booth (photo #1), the entrance sign, and of course the engine itself!



How Casey looked pulling into the station:



I scored the backseat on this ride, which provides unfettered views of Storybook Land:



…without any other guests, flailing arms, or selfie sticks to get in the way. In 2007, cellphones had yet to invade the world to the degree that we are unable to enjoy living without them.



The Matterhorn looks even larger against the back drop of the miniature landscape of Storybook Land.





An overview of the homes of the Three Little Pigs, the Three Windmills, and Toad Hall.



Gepetto’s Village:



Zooming in for a better look; who wouldn’t like to be able to walk around at their leisure to see all of the little details here?



Alice’s Village:



The French Village below Cinderella’s Castle:



The details of this still blow me away; even decorative items sitting in the windows.



Hope you enjoyed your ride aboard Casey Jr.!

See more Disneyland Casey Jr. Circus Train photos at my main website.

Disneyland Has Character, Pt. 1

A June 1970 shot of the Three Little Pigs. This version of the Pigs is special to me because this is exactly how they looked when I met them at my first visit to the Park, December 1970.

Here’s a closer look at one of them:

Here I am, posing with my cousins:

…and how The Pigs looked during the early years, circa 1959:

See more Disneyland Character photos at my main website.

Further Tales from David M.

Former cast member David M. gave me MORE great stories to share from his days at Disneyland. Enjoy!

Tales from the Park

One time, my supervisor called me from my duties on Tom Sawyer Island to help supervise the Main Street Parade. He told me that my one duty was to keep people from climbing onto the raised flower beds near the entrance to Tomorrowland in order to get a better view of the parade. So, in my Cavalry Trooper uniform, I stood at my assigned station and soon, sure enough, a woman had climbed onto the flower bed and was trampling the petunias. I politely asked that she step down whereupon she replied that she couldn’t see the parade from street-level. I told her that nonetheless, she was killing our flowers and she had to step down. She replied, “You son of a bitch.” I said, “Yes, ma’am, that may well be, but you still have to get down from that flower bed.” She complied, and another guest who had watched the whole thing, said, “Buddy, well done – but I wouldn’t want your job.”

 A few weeks later, my supervisor again called me off the Island with an unusual duty. It seems that someone in Entertainment thought it would be fun to have The Big Bad Wolf (who wore loud and intimidating cleats on his shoes) march the Three Little Pigs though the park. The Pigs would be in front with the Wolf following – and with a big club slung over his shoulder. The problem was that little kids hated the wolf and they would come up behind him and kick him in his tail and legs, which of course could be painful. My job was, in my Cavalry Trooper uniform, to follow closely behind the Wolf and protect him from the mean kids.

 And speaking of the Three Little Pigs: girls in the know always stayed away from them. Why? Well, because the Pig costumes were made in such a way that the body and the head of the Pig’s ended at the shoulders of the actor inside, with the actor’s head above & inside the Pig’s hat with the hat made of a black gauze material so he could see out. The Pigs all had the job of merrily wandering the Park (at least when the Wolf was not herding them) and happily bouncing into guests. Well, few people knew that the Pig’s nose was as flexible and soft and the actor inside could put his hand inside, almost as if inside a glove and the nose thus became an appendage. This resulted in many a female guest’s being bumped into and providing the actor inside the Pig costume with the proverbial “free feel.”

I also heard from fellow staff who supervised Monsanto’s Ride Through Inner Space in Tomorrowland that when viewing the attraction through unseen slits in the set, that they would see some pretty heavy make-out sessions between the start and the end of the ride through the attraction.

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