Tell-No-Tales Thursdays: Aerial View, February 1966

Today I present to you an aerial view of the park from February 2, 1966. You will also notice that this photo is about 3 times the size of what I normally post, because I figure everyone will want to zoom in on different areas (bandwidth be damned!). I am also adding a close-up that is of particular interest to POTC fans, showing the POTC attraction under construction.



See more Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean photos at my website.

Wednesday WOW: 100 Millionth Guest

Some of you might remember my post from September where I posted an unidentified (to me at least!) photo of a guest with Disneyland Marketing Director Jack Lindquist, standing at the podium at Main Street Train Station. It wasn’t long before a reader identified the mystery girl as Valerie Suldo (sorry, Major - I know you were hoping it was bachelorette #1), 100 millionth guest of Disneyland, in June 1971. I was able to get in touch with Valerie and she was kind enough to send these additional photos from that memorable day.

Here, Pluto, Mickey, and Goofy are changing the sign at the Main Street Train Station. I don’t believe this is something I’ve ever seen in a photo or in person...always wondered who changed the number, how often, and when it occurred.



Here’s Valerie in Town Square looking like a pageant winner with her sash!



Valerie looks like a celebrity being mobbed in this shot that includes the other not-so-lucky guests of the day and Mickey:



Personally, this type of thing is truly a wow. To be able to put something unknown on the web, have it identified in a matter of hours, and then be put in contact with the person in the photo (which was taken 30+ years ago!) is just amazing to me. Another reason to be thankful for this blog and my readers.

See more Disneyland Main Street Train Station photos at my website.

1979 Closeups, Pt. 2

Many of us miss the Peoplemover, so here are a few shots to put a nostalgic lump in your throat. The track still sits in Tomorrowland, as a reminder of what used to be and what is now sadly wasted. Now that California Adventure is being "repaired,” let’s hope that the Imagineers start focusing on Tomorrowland next. This closeup shot also features the sign for the Rocket Jets, back when it was a fun attraction towering over Tomorrowland, not an in-your-face-traffic-blocker at the entrance.



Back in the 1970’s tie-dye was all the rage!



A strange closeup, but hey, I’ll take it!



Eeyore is having as much fun as he possibly can.



Just look into his eyes!



See more Disneyland Tomorrowland photos at my website.

1979 Closeups

Our Time Machine is all over the place these days. Today, we jump ahead to 1979. The photographer sure loved shooting closeups, but considering some of the subject matter there are no complaints here! Zoom in—zoom in! Looks like a lot of guests are interested in seeing Adventure Thru Inner Space. Take your time, folks—you still have 6 years left!



The wait for Space Mountain is 40 minutes! I think I'll pass on that one...



The Mary Blair tile murals are alive and well in 1979:



Anybody up for a little retail therapy?



A few showing the Space-Age looking exteriors in Tomorrowland:





More 70’s Polyester Magic tomorrow! See more Disneyland Tomorrowland photos at my website.

Sailing Through Sundays on The JC: The African Veldt, May 2008

Here are some photos utilizing my telephoto lens. Enjoy!







See more Disneyland Jungle Cruise photos at my website.

What A Difference A Year Makes: The Colony Palms Hotel

Over a year ago, I jogged by The Colony Palms Hotel in Palm Springs one early morning and it reminded me of the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood. Making a mental note, I figured I’d give it a shot on my next trip, which turned out to be over New Year’s Eve. I loved the look and the feel of the place, but the service was somewhat lacking. One year later, I gave it another shot and was very pleased to find that it had greatly improved. Not only that, but the food at its restaurant, The Purple Palm, was also much better.



For my staff’s annual retreat (which they deserve for working at substandard University pay!), we went to Palm Springs (which the University did not pay for, before anyone starts getting their feathers ruffled) and had our luncheon at the Purple Palms. The atmosphere, service, and food were impeccable. A great time was had by all. By the time the molten lava cake dessert came out, everyone was wishing they had booked rooms to take a nap!







The rooms are extremely comfortable, perfectly appointed, and I especially like the toiletry products that they carry now. A vast improvement over what they carried a year ago.





See more Colony Palms photos at website.

Scholarly Saturdays: Encyclopaedia Britannica & Tomorrowland, Pt. 4

Welcome back to Tomorrowland! Susie and Bobby are wandering around looking for a fun attraction to try; they are sick and tired of the exhibits! Seems like they settled on the Phantom Boats—



I can almost hear the putter of the motor as they slowly (let me emphasize “slowly”) leave the dock area.





Okay, enough of that boring stuff...let’s try the Astro Jets!



Bobby’s ready for adventure, but little Susie looks pretty sheepish about the whole thing.





Return next Saturday for Part 5 of our trip back to Tomorrowland! See more Encyclopaedia Britannica photos at my website.

Freaky Fridays @ The Haunted Mansion: Changing Portraits 5

This is the last in the series of Before & After portraits in the mansion: The Evil Medusa. Hope you enjoyed them!



Here’s the effect as you might see it “live”:



See more Disneyland Haunted Mansion photos at my website.

Tell-No-Tales Thursdays: The Blue Bayou

Now that I’ve taken you from A—Z on POTC, it’s time to go back to the beginning of the attraction and fill in the details with shots that I continue to take as I return to Disneyland. This shot of a houseboat on the Blue Bayou is great in giving the atmosphere of the ride as you enter your boat and venture towards the talking Jolly Roger Pirate skull. This same houseboat can be seen in this vintage publicity shot:



Here are two more shots taken from the Blue Bayou Restaurant...of the Blue Bayou.





And a wide panorama shot of the Bayou, including the dude on the porch smoking his pipe. You’ll also notice the same sculpt in the jail at the end of the attraction, as I have mentioned on here previously.



Here’s an atmospheric shot of the bayou area in the attraction queue, restaurant visible in the background.



And now that I have reformed from using a flash at Disneyland, I have been able to capture these shots that do a much better job of capturing the deep-blue darkness that guests experience as they sail towards the first drop:









I can almost hear the frogs croaking now! See more Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean photos at my website.