The Back Side of Water in Fantasyland

I'm a collector; a completist; a crazy kind of guy who once he starts picking up a hobby has to have EVERYTHING to make his collection whole. It is for this very reason that I let out a “whoop” when I saw this August 1967 image come up for purchase. Why? Because I had almost every single view of the Skull Rock Cove waterfall feature at the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant in Fantasyland EXCEPT from the back.

I had the front:



I even had a few side shots:





NOW I can sleep at night. Thanks for suffering through my neuroses here.

See more vintage Disneyland Chicken of the Sea photos at my main website.

The Skyway, Summer of 56

This Summer of 56 batch has yielded some amazing vintage views of the Park, including this journey on the Skyway attraction. For all you newbies, the original attraction had buckets that carried you from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland (and vice versa!).

At first glance, this just looks like an unfortunate composition of the buckets.



This zoom in view provides a glimpse of one of the Mickey Mouse Club Circus wagons.



I also did a close-up of this guest with his camera. Where's that footage now?!?



Sailing over the Storybook Land attraction:



Looks like maintenance is doing some landscape work:



And here we are at our final destination, the Fantasyland Skyway Station:



This gorgeous little structure had a long life, even lasting many years after the attraction had shut down.



Thanks to Ken at Stack's Liberty Ranch, we have this additional view of Robin Hood (this time without Will Scarlet). Looks like they posed with guests for $$. I wonder if they gave the proceeds to the poor?



See more vintage Disneyland Skyway photos at my main website.

Summer of 56

These images were shot during the Summer of 1956. The Park had already welcomed over 5 million guests in just one year.



Over in Town Square, you can see the Horse-Drawn Streetcar...



as well as guests gawking through the peepholes to see what was going on at International Street. Sorry folks...it never came.



Over by the Castle it appears that there was some kind of Robin Hood show going on.



A closeup of the two performers:



Previously I posted two other shots in the same vicinity and the same time period:





And back to the “new” batch that I was featuring, I end this post with a shot of the character cutouts that were located near the Red Wagon Inn. How about that Disneyland pennant?



Make sure you order your copy of “Walt Disney's Disneyland” which features photos from the collection of yours truly.

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

Daveland Gets Published

The other day I awoke to a text from an east coast friend who alerted me that photos from my collection were being used in a CNN travel article. Jumping online I discovered that the article was touting the upcoming coffee table book by art publisher supreme Taschen which uses a large number of images from my archives (and yes, Taschen had worked with me to acquire the images for publication). What a great way to wake up!



The team at Taschen alerted me that my copy would be arriving soon which was even more exciting. What follows are a few images of the interior pages of Chris Nichols' book titled “Walt Disney's Disneyland.”



Here’s the promo copy for the book:

Discover the story of Disneyland, Walt Disney’s visionary theme park in Anaheim, California. This bountiful visual history includes stunning color photographs, concept drawings, as well as ephemera from the historical collections of the Walt Disney Company and the golden age of photojournalism, to trace the park’s development and immersive world of magic and wonder, from Main Street, U.S.A. to Tomorrowland.



This bountiful visual history draws on Disney’s vast historical collections, private archives, and the golden age of photojournalism to provide unique access to the concept, development, launch, and enjoyment of this sun-drenched oasis of fun and fantasy.



Disneyland documents Walt’s earliest inspirations and ideas; the park’s extraordinary feats of design and engineering; its grand opening; each of its immersive “lands” from Main Street, U.S.A., to Tomorrowland; and the park’s evolution through the six decades since it opened. It is a treasure trove of original Disney documentation and expertise, with award-winning writer Chris Nichols drawing on his extensive knowledge of both Disneyland and Southern California history to reveal the fascinating tale of “the happiest place on Earth.”



Who is this Chris Nichols guy you ask? He’s a writer and historian specializing in Southern Californian architecture and culture and the author of The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister and a long-time historic preservationist whose work has been profiled in Smithsonian magazine, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and LA Weekly. Nichols also serves on the board of directors of the Hollywood Heritage Museum, and his live appearances, lectures, exhibitions, and tours have enjoyed sell-out crowds. He currently writes Los Angeles magazine’s “Ask Chris” column.



This colorful volume is a hefty 328 pages and measures 9.4" x 12.9"



Ready to order this GORGEOUS volume yet? Head to the Taschen website where you can get your own copy!

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

Return of the Ruby Slippers

“The Wizard of Oz” is still making headlines, almost 80 years after its 1939 release. The news was abuzz yesterday with the announcement that an original pair of Ruby Slippers stolen back in 2005 had been returned, thanks to the work of the FBI. I wonder if the designer of the shoes, Adrian, could ever have imagined that his shoes would cross paths with that famed organization of crime?

Most had given up on them ever being found, as the common story was that they'd been stolen by pranksters who got scared and destroyed them/dumped them in a lake/mining pit to avoid leaving any evidence that might land them in jail.



The story has all the makings of a riveting crime caper: stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, back in August of 2005, there was no security camera video, the alarm had not been turned on, and the thief left no fingerprints and few clues, other than a smashed display case and a lone red sequin. The blame game was played and everyone (including owner Michael Shaw and the museum) was a suspect.



The FBI has released few details so far, simply stating that all is still under investigation. Whether or not the full story will ever be released to the public remains to be seen. For me, the big question is where will they end up? Michael Shaw was paid $800,000 by the insurance company for his loss in 2007, so technically the insurance company owns the shoes.



Would Shaw want them back if that were possible? Back in 2015, he stated:

“There’s more to my life than a pair of pumps. I have no desire to have them again. After years of bringing joy and happiness to so many thousands and thousands of people by being able to see them, now to me they’re a nightmare. I’m not going to talk about it anymore. I’m sick of it. They’re gone. Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

It appears that Shaw has now changed his tune and wants them back, but their value is well over the $800,000 that the insurance company paid him back in 2007. Recent estimates say they could fetch more than $2 million.

Personally, I hope they land at the Smithsonian or some other institution that has the backing to restore them and put them on display for the public.

For a current article with the few details available about the recovery, visit CBS News.

For one of the best articles on the web pre-recovery, visit the Newsweek website.

See more photos at my main website.

A Phantom in the Lake

In August 1955 The Motor Boat Cruise attraction at Disneyland received a cosmetic makeover when the boats were redesigned by Bruce Bushman. Holy tailfins, Batman! Despite the new look, mechanically the boats were prone to break down easily, stranding guests in the middle of the lake. Removed at the end of 1955, they were put back into the lake for their last hurrah during the summer of 1956 when this photo was taken. Here’s a closeup of two of the boats:



See more Disneyland Phantom Boat photos at my main website.

A Christmas Story House

“A Christmas Story” was a sleeper hit that has become an annual holiday classic. Naturally if you go to Cleveland, Ohio, you MUST stop by the Tremont neighborhood to visit this 19th Century Victorian home that was used in the film for exterior shots in the movie.



There’s even a leg lamp sitting in the window as you enter...



just like the movie!



I couldn't resist.



Although the interior shots were filmed on a soundstage, the owners of the house have done a masterful job of reworking the layout and acquiring vintage furnishings to make it look as much like the film version as possible.





Hiding behind the tree is the Red Ryder BB gun that was coveted by Ralphie:



The museum has the screen-used prop:



The upstairs bathroom, where a number of key scenes in the film occurred:



Few details have been overlooked, including this gnawed on bar of red Lifebuoy soap:





If you pick up the upstairs phone, you can hear a conversation from the movie!



The staircase was reconfigured to match the one in the movie:



Who could forget poor Ralphie descending in his Pink Bunny suit from Aunt Clara on Christmas morning?



The pattern used to make the suit is also in the museum:



Another key location for the movie was Higbee’s department store in downtown Cleveland:



Although Higbee's is now Jack's Casino, the sign still remains:



Kitschy and fun, this home is a must on your list of things to do in Cleveland!

See more photos at my main website.