1980: Disneyland's 25th Anniversary

For Disneyland's 25th Anniversary in 1980, the marketing department released a number of photos from the vaults to stir up the nostalgia factor for guests. Here are a few of those images, accompanied by the corresponding publicity blurbs:

DISNEYLAND DEDICATION—With a coast-to-coast television audience of millions looking on, Walt Disney declared Disneyland officially open during a short dedication speech in Town Square of Main Street, U.S.A. on July 17, 1955.



MOUSEKETEERS CELEBRATE—The original Mouseketeers of television's Mickey Mouse Club Show took part in a gala paraded down Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A. on opening day. Leading the gathering on July 17, 1955 are Annette, Karen and Cubby.



For all you Annette fans, I have zoomed in closer so that you can get a better look at her!



FIRST VISITORS—When Disneyland opened to the general public, the first visitors welcomed through the gate by Walt Disney were Christine Vess and her cousin Michael Schwartner, then five and seven years of age.



LEADING THE PARADE—Four of Walt Disney's most famous cartoon creations—Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy—lead off Disneyland's 25th Birthday Parade" salute. The parade features 150 performers who bring alive a quarter century of memories for each of the Park's seven "theme" lands.

Here are a few color shots taken by a guest of the actual 25th Anniversary Parade:







You can see the decorative anniversary banners that hung outside of the Castle back in 1980. The lighter color palette of 1980 seems to make the castle appear larger than the brightly hued colors used today do.



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

Traveling Thursdays: Philadelphia Half Marathon

I traveled home to Philadelphia over Thanksgiving and ran the Philly Half Marathon (what better way to earn a calorie-laden Thanksgiving meal?). The race was a blast and I loved the course; unfortunately, I came down with a cold a few days beforehand, which put a crimp in my time (not to mention made the rest of the week somewhat miserable!).



Still, I was happy that I wasn't one of the two participants that died! Yes...one 21 year old died just after crossing the finish line, and one 40 year old died just BEFORE hitting the finish line. Glad I didn't know any of this when I was running; I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the hot chicken broth they were giving away at the finish line!



Since I was already downtown, before heading home to the burbs I decided to ignore the pain in my feet and legs and take the camera around for a few shots. Here is City Hall in all its glory, with the famous William Penn statue standing proudly on top:



City Hall was the tallest building in Philadelphia until the construction of One Liberty Place ended the "informal" gentlemen's agreement that limited the height of tall buildings in the city.



Designed by Scottish-born architect John McArthur, Jr., in the Second Empire style, it was completed in 1901 at a cost of $24 million. Designed originally to be the world's tallest building, by the time it was finished it had already been surpassed by the Washington Monument and the Eiffel Tower, though it did have the designation of being the world's tallest habitable building.

Here's a detail shot of a googly-eyed Ben Franklin carving on the building:



And a statue commemorating John Wanamaker, the man behind the beloved department store:





Love the art deco touches still visible in Philly:





One Liberty Place, the building that robbed William Penn of being the highest point in Philly, is definitely reminiscent of the Chrysler Building; an intentional tribute, perhaps?



See more Philadelphia photos on my Philadelphia web page.

Lost in Adventureland

Here's an odd one; the Bekins Van & Storage Horse & Wagon, normally seen in Town Square, appears to be in Adventureland (judging by the rooftops) or someplace backstage that was near Adventureland.

Here's another vintage shot showing where guests normally would see this vehicle:



See more vintage & current Disneyland Town Square photos on my Disneyland Town Square web page.

Disneyland Entrance Sign Blow-out!

With the acquisition of a "new" image of the famous Disneyland entrance sign, I decided to do a post in chronological order showing this beloved icon. First up is a September 1959 view, followed by an undated shot that I also believe is from 1959. Looking at these, I noticed that one side of the sign says "Entrance • Park & Hotel" whereas the other side says "Park & Hotel • Entrance."



From August 1962:



July 1963:



September 1964:



July 1965:



An undated 1960's shot:



September 1969:



February 1971:



Thanks to Chris Jepsen, this photo has now been dated to April 1971; apparently Roy Acuff played there on April 4th for the very first Country Jubilee. Thanks Chris!



July 1971:



October 1972:



And the tragic eyesore that replaced it:



See more vintage & current Disneyland Entrance photos on my Disneyland Entrance web page.

Disneyland Aerial: The New Fantasyland

Connie - Since you love aerial shots, today's post is for you! Here you can track the progress of the 1983 "New" Fantasyland construction, where the original budget conscious Tournament Festival theming of the attractions was dozed so that the Tudor-style designs that Walt intended to have could be constructed. This first shot is from January 20, 1983.

Zooming in, it appears that even the Castle was getting a bit of a makeover. By this time, the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant had been demolished and cleared to make room for Dumbo. Through it all, the Skyway Buckets continue to float overhead.



In this shot, taken a few months later, you can see the progress that's been made.



The Mad Tea Party has yet to be put into place, but the new façades seem to be done.



Even though construction walls block off the Castle, guest riding the Skyway had a full view of all that was going on.



I just had to zoom into the beloved Disneyland sign that used to be on Harbor Boulevard:



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

Disneyland Aerial: No Rest For The Weary

Taken in July 1955, it's not difficult to imagine the amount of blood, sweat, and tears that were needed to complete Disneyland with only a handful of days left. Not sure if it was a matter of saving the best for last, but Tomorrowland was the last area to get started, as the decision of whether or not to include it waffled right up until the last minute. As you can see in this closeup section, there's still a lot of scaffolding and a plethora of pickup trucks. Be sure to notice Snow Hill (top left), the future site of the Matterhorn, as well as the star formation to the left of the Moonliner; this is where the flags of each state were situated originally before they were moved to the Tomorrowland entrance.



Fantasyland also has its share of work left to do. Snow Hill is on the right, an uncompleted Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant in the center, as well as a very raw Storybook Land attraction.



Nature's Wonderland is nowhere near being completed, and the town of Rainbow Ridge is but a pipe dream. The Bandstand has already been moved from Town Square to its second location near the castle (right side of the photo).



1 year to build Disneyland...almost two years to build Cars Land. Huh?

See more vintage & current Disneyland Aerial photos on my Disneyland Aerial web page.

Screen Gem Saturdays: The Rocketeer

"The Rocketeer" is one of those hidden gem classics that never really got the recognition or audience that it deserved. Even though it earned a $20,000,000 profit (as in PROFIT, after subtracting the budget...not just total ticket sales), it fell far short of the blockbuster that Disney had hoped it would be. Sequels were cancelled, and the studio quickly lost interest in the movie that it had once fervently supported.



After a few poor quality transfer VHS and DVD releases, Disney has finally polished off a high-def Blu-ray release that is worthy of this highly enjoyable film, starring the ageless Billy Campbell...



the hissable Timothy Dalton...



...and the sweetly romantic duo of Jennifer Connelly & Billy Campbell. The Blu-ray transfer is absolutely pristine, capturing all of the gorgeous period colors and details that make "The Rocketeer" so evocative of the late 1930's.



On the flip side, this 20th Anniversary Edition is baffling...the only extra is a theatrical trailer. Are you kidding me?



Sadly, this is probably the last hurrah for this film on home video. I doubt that fans will ever be able to expect much else to be done to celebrate this little gem.



See more Daveland Rocketeer photos at my main website.