Trip Report, Pt. 1

Just a warning...this could be a long one. I'm still editing the 1,000 photos I took this weekend. Yikes! My trio of friends (aka the Gaggle of Gals) shacked up at the Grand California. I am still blown away by the beauty of this place whenever I see it. Just seeing the stained glass entry doors is enough to make me happy! There are so many cool things to view, that you can easily understand why I blew threw 1,000 photos. Did I mention that I took 1,000 photos?



As a great admirer of the Arts & Crafts style, this hotel is like dessert for me.



And the light fixtures...like manna from heaven.





Many hotels will spend a bundle on the lobby and common areas, but the rooms themselves are shortchanged; not so with the Grand Californian. The Arts & Crafts theme is tastefully done throughout the entire hotel.





One photo of the Gaggle of Gals and I was on my way!



As always, the Main Street Train Station was a welcoming site.



All aboard!



First up, I had to check out the revamped Penny Arcade & Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor. The Gibson Girl has been given more of an Art Nouveau styling. Looking lavishly detailed, I am sure many guests will love it.



Full of details (once again, the light fixtures!) that make the long waits much easier to take.



The charm of Disneyland's Main Street vs. its Orlando counterpart is that its vision of Main Street had a 1950's flair, vs. Orlando's 1970's gaudy version. With each remodel, Anaheim's Main Street seems to go more for the ornate and farther from the quaint. Just a matter of preference.





Some of the Penny Arcade machines can still be found, but with each remodel, there are more items to buy, and less items to marvel at.



This beautiful vintage Welte Band Organ is now a popcorn stand. Honestly, just how much money does Disney need? The Candy Palace's remodel has successfully crammed as much retail space as possible into what was once an attraction all by itself. The Penny Arcade has gotten the fuzzy end of the lollipop on this one. The worst part was the loss of seating at the Coke Corner. Just another semi-quiet spot that his bit the dust at the expense of squeezing out a few more dollars.

Before:



After:



Here are two 1960's photos of this very cool piece:





Mercifully, Esmeralda has survived.



I loved that they used the original Marc Davis Haunted Mansion stretching portrait images for the cards:



Strangely enough, I'd never noticed this detailing on the front of the machine.



Not so lucky was the Green Elephant. Sayonara—the pencil pushers need more money! Here is a shot from a few years back. So sorry that they chose to remove this great conversation-piece.



Next up: a trip to the Caribbean!

See more vintage & current Disneyland photos at my Disneyland website.

Rare Main Street U.S.A. Interiors, Pt. 2

The Penny Arcade had (and still has) a ton-o-musical-contraptions. Here’s a genuine FauxD© look at some of those Rube Goldbergs. This one is a coin operated piano made by the Nelson Wiggen Piano Company, which operated between 1922-1929. Their machines were known for being encased in high quality furniture-type cabinets.



Here’s a Welte Band Organ (just what every home needs!):



With a closeup of the nearby electricity machine; seems a little kinky to me for Main Street!



The photographer took another closer shot of the Welte—it’s almost as if he heard my request from 50 years into the future!



...and here I zoom in to learn that this machine is from 1890. Which one of the 6 tunes listed would you care to hear first?



The Welte Band Organ is still in The Penny Arcade. It appears that the paint was stripped to reveal the beautiful woodwork beneath. Definitely an improvement!



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“The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story” is an intimate journey through the lives of Robert and Richard Sherman, the astoundingly prolific Academy Award®-winning songwriting team. While their songs – “A Spoonful Of Sugar (Mary Poppins)” and “I Want To Be Like You (Jungle Book),” to name a few – celebrated family entertainment and happy endings, their life together was not as harmonious. Go behind the scenes, including interviews with Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury, Roy E. Disney and many more, for a fascinating glimpse into how Walt Disney used the language of music to bring the brothers together, creating a cinematic legacy like no other.





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View more Disneyland Penny Arcade photos at my main website.