Movement on a Monday

This overhead view taken from the long-gone Disneyland Skyway attraction was snapped by a guest on February 21, 1958. At least that's what they wrote on the slide. For all we know it could have been February 12.



SOOOOO much great movement going on here with the Autopia attraction, the Viewliner train, and the Skyway buckets floating above.



If you’re new to Disneyland history and don’t know what the Viewliner is, it has the distinction of being one of the shortest-lived attractions at the Park, running from June 26, 1957–Sept. 15, 1958. The Monorail took over less than one year later and guests didn’t shed a tear about this tiny little train biting the dust.



See more Disneyland Autopia photos at my main website.

A Stagecoach for Thanksgiving

To all who celebrate, Happy Thanksgiving! And for those who don’t...we can all still be thankful for the many blessings we have. Today is a medley of vintage Disneyland Stagecoach photos, beginning with this 1950s classic. Digging the cast member name tag!



Oh to ride on the back of a Stagecoach at Disneyland without a seatbelt. This teen was able to do that back in 1956.



Two consecutive shots from August 1959. I don’t know if the cool composition with the paper hat in the foreground was intentional or not, but I’ll go ahead and give snaps to the photographer anyway.



Stagecoach Number 5; not to be confused with Chanel.



See more vintage Disneyland Stagecoach photos at my main website.

When Two Worlds Collide: Wax and the Mouse

I don’t know the story behind this image, but that’s the Movieland Wax Museum’s Rolls-Royce parked in the Disneyland Parking lot, circa October 1964. Check out the decal on the side:



Here’s a previously posted shot of the vehicle parked where it belongs:



The new defunct museum once housed a collection of lifelike (and not so lifelike) wax statues and tableaus featuring scenes from classic movies. Did Shirley Temple ever pose on an ark loaded with stuff animals and candy? Hellz no.



See more Movieland Wax Museum photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley on Location, Pt. 2

Welcome back to the Shirley Temple film location tour that Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) and I put together. In the 1934 movie “Bright Eyes,” Shirley sings her signature song “On the Goodship Lollipop.” The occasion is a Christmas party that her mother and friends put together for her. Naturally, no party would be complete without a cake. Melissa and I were determined to be as authentic as possible in re-creating a key scene from the movie where Shirley’s screen-mom bites the dust. WARNING: Melissa and I both have a VERY dark sense of humor. If you offend easily, it might be wise to move on.

Right near our destination, we came across Federico’s Bakery on Colorado Boulevard and Allen St.



Melissa and I took it as a good omen that we’d picked the right bakery as Judith ALLEN played the romantic lead in “Bright Eyes.”



Here’s the mansion Shirley lived in with her mother in the movie. Her mother was a maid for the Smythes, a snobbish rich couple who had a bratty daughter named Joy, played by Jane Withers.



Flash forward over 80 years later, and you can see that other than the landscaping and trees, the San Marino house looks virtually the same.





Shirley’s and Jane Withers’ characters were rivals in the movie. For this scene, the two play dress-up and can be seen pushing their doll carriages up the driveway.



A publicity still of the same scene at the point the two had moved around to the backyard of the house:



In this scene, Judith Allen runs out the front of the house to tell James Dunn’s character that “she's on his side.” In other words, she wants him bad.



The very same front door today.



Jane Darwell, who was in a number of other Shirley movies and also played the Bird Woman in “Mary Poppins” tells Shirley’s screen mother to “Have a good time” as she rushes off to take the cake to the Christmas party. Pronounced “PAHTY.”



The Colonel beams with excitement as she takes our Frederico’s cake to...well, maybe a Thanksgiving Pahty?



Actress Lois Wilson who plays Shirley’s mom dashing to catch the bus.



The Colonel, who has developed lazy habits and bad values from watching Woody Allen movies, goes at a much more leisurely pace.



Uh oh...



The driver of the car tries to stop!



In the movie, Lois Wilson goes off to that big Pahty in the sky.



The Colonel faithfully recreates that moment, as any diehard Shirley fan would do.



Our Frederico’s cake, decked out to match the one in the movie...only smaller:



Interesting to note: the scene where Shirley’s screen mom gets hit by a car must have been filmed a few times. You can see the skid marks in the road that follow the exact path that the death car follows:



A sneak peak of Part 3!



See more Pasadena photos at my main website.

Munchies on a Monday

What better to take care of the munchies than a bag of delicious Fritos Corn Chips? When the Casa de Fritos reigned supreme at Disneyland, you could have received free samples from the lovely lady in this August 1962 shot.

At this popular restaurant, you could have had the Frito Chile Pie (a bag of corn chips sliced open and topped with chile and melted cheese) or the “Ta-cup” (ground beef, cheese, lettuce, and sauce in a fried corn dough cup). Yum.



This previously posted shot from May 1962 appears to be the same woman.



I can’t tell if this August 1967 image shows the same lady, but she looks darn similar.



See more Disneyland Casa de Fritos photos at my main website.

The Woolsey Fire

Almost a week after it started, the horrendous Los Angeles Woolsey fire is only at about 57% containment. The loss of lives and property is devastating to the residents of Malibu and surrounding areas. The Woolsey Fire is now one of the largest on record for Los Angeles County, dating back more than 100 years. The fire has destroyed at least 504 structures, damaged 96 others, and burned 98,362 acres according to the L.A. County Fire Department. Approximately 57,000 more are still threatened.

The cause of the Woolsey Fire remains under investigation.

See more Los Angeles photos at my main website.

Lurking in the Bushes, July 1960

It’s time to show off my newest acquisition in the Scary Mickey/Minnie collection. Yes, these two lurking in the bushes by the Main Street Train Station at Disneyland would scare the s$%t out of most people. Especially Minnie, with her hands wrapped around the railing and her nose perched on top of it.



In case you crave more (you know you do, dahling!), here’s Mickey circa March 1960:



Undated in the 1960’s. He’s sucking the life out of this guest while tightly holding her hand.



Still, not quite as scary as Mickey and Minnie from January 1959.



Hope you enjoyed this morning’s blog post. More of a jolt than a cup of java!

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

Temple Tuesday: Shirley on Location, Pt. 1

Shirley Temple created most of her movie magic within the confines of a soundstage; it was a rare occasion that her films were shot on location. However, as with anything in life there are a few exceptions. Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) and I drove all over Los Angeles hunting for these somewhat hidden gems. For regular readers, today’s post will be a bit of a rehash, but if you stay with the series, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed! For part 1, it’s back to the Los Angeles Arboretum where a brief scene from 1940’s “Young People” was filmed at the former Santa Anita depot.



Since it was my second visit here, I focused on the details:





Melissa was busy soaking up the experience and trying to wrap her brain around the fact that Shirley filmed her last childhood movie at 20th Century Fox here.



We also explored the rest of the Arboretum which was jam-packed full of whimsical creatures for the Magical Lantern Art Festival. I am imagining it is much more spectacular at night.







We both felt that this display of lollipops and candy was a nod to Shirley’s theme song, “On the Good Ship Lollipop.”



On the previous visit, I got to see the house used at the beginning of each episode of “Fantasy Island”:



This time we also checked out the nearby stable, with matching architecture:





Beautiful interior woodwork:





And a few vintage vehicles stored inside:



A peacock bade us farewell as we left the Arboretum to head to our next destination.



Stay tuned for part 2 as we venture to the house used in 1934’s “Bright Eyes”!



See more LA Arboretum photos at my main website.