Transportation: Main Street Style

Today’s post is for Amazon, who has re-emerged from hiding. My first 1957/58 photo shows the interior of the Horse-Drawn Trolley, which oughta’ get Amazon drooling. And for those of you who need to get to Central Plaza a little quicker, you can always hop on this snazzy red beast:



Whatever you do, don’t pick this Carnation Truck (March 1968) as a mode of transportation: it’s a quick ride to nowhere.



If you wait too long to pick a vehicle, you may just have to walk instead. If that‘s the case, you may need to rest at the Coke Corner while grabbing a hot dog and refreshing Coca Cola. This shot is from August 1958.



UPDATE: A few months ago, I posted a floor plan for the Golden Horseshoe and recently discovered that it was the set design for the 10,000th Show (1961) which aired Sept. 23, 1962 on NBC’s “Wonderful World of Disney.” Many thanks to Gene Sands in helping to confirm this.



And while we’re on the subject of Golden Horseshoe, here are a few recent pics I took there,

including two for Amazon:

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

Minnie Through The Years

I had a request from a reader to show the development of some of the costumed characters. Although some of these are repeats, I thought I’d post them anyway as it is interesting to see how their look changed over the years. The first two shots are Minnie from 1960 (Town Square & Tomorrowland). She looks a little scary with her out-of-proportion large head, beady eyes, and painted on eyebrows. And besides that, turquoise just doesn’t seem to be her color.



Jump forward to my 1970 photo of me with Mickey & Minnie and you’ll notice that she has been softened somewhat; “real” lashes, rounder eyes, a more proportional body, and an entire dress that covers her figure, not just a skirt.

By 1977 she is wearing a hat and a snazzy pollka-dot dress, but the mask itself is about the same.



Flash forward to today and Minnie’s eyelashes have been plasticized again and her widow’s peak has been raised. On top of that, she’s a hot little dancer now!



And in case you haven’t noticed, Spring has arrived at Disneyland, and it looks mighty purty.





For more vintage & current Disneyland photos, visit my regular website.

Pat Casey vs. Golden Nugget

Piggybacking on Matterhorn’s post, here’s one of Rainbow Ridge from the 1960’s, and what I believe is its latter day counterpart. I think I prefer the decor of Pat Casey over the Golden Nugget.



See more vintage Disneyland Rainbow Ridge photos at my main website.

Flying Saucers: No April Fool’s Joke

It’s no joke, folks. There used to be Flying Saucers in Tomorrowland! Here’s a shot of the infamous saucers from March 1964. Maybe some newfangled technology could bring this attraction back...WITHOUT the mechanical problems that it experienced before.

See more vintage Disneyland Flying Saucers attraction photos at my main website.

Midget Autopia, Construction, DVD’s, & The REALLY BIG Post

I have a lot of “stuff” for today’s post, so those that are attention-challenged, I apologize. I’ll start right off with 3 shots of the little towheads that were last seen on Alice’s ride; today they are enjoying the Midget Autopia in Fantasyland, February 1960.





This next photo was captured from the current Winnie The Pooh ride in (ugh) Critter Country. If you turn around as you enter the Honey Heaven room, you will see Max, Buff, and Melvin behind you, “hidden” high above. They are 3 characters from the famous Country Bear Jamboree, formerly located in the same area. I can only imagine the commentary they would have today about Critter Country.



Next up I have some photos that I took yesterday of the TSI rehab. Lotsa’ concrete, lumber, and even a gorgeous blue porta’ potty (not shown here...). Yes, there is even work going on over the weekend; guess they are trying hard to get it finished by the May deadline.







So that I won’t offend the vintage photo purists, here are a few of Fort Wilderness during its heyday, February 1960:







Even in today’s sophisticated world of technological toys and gadgets, what child would not have a blast entering into a life-size fort just waiting for exploration?!? Maybe the kind parked in a double-wide stroller with a parent talking on a cell phone mindless of the people around them (rant for the day has just concluded). Meanwhile, over in Tomorrowland, here are 2 shots from yesterday of the Nemo Submarine Voyage area.





Next up is a plug for a very cool collection of Main Street sculptures by Robert Olszewski. Yesterday was the release of the Plaza Inn and Snow White Wishing Well pieces. Future releases will include the Plaza Pavilion.



Olszewski’s attention to detail is phenomenal, and the series has slowly picked up steam and already become a huge collectible; John Lasseter reportedly has two sets, and a Haunted Mansion piece that originally sold for $295 is out of stock, and has recently fetched over $800 on ebay. Yesterday at the release event, the 2 sculptures sold out before everyone in line was able to buy one. And as if you haven’t had enough today, one more exciting announcement. Coming up on December 11, all you DVD fanatics can look forward to Wave 7 of the Disney Treasure series. Many moaned about how it was being discontinued...well, moan no more. 3 more releases on that day include Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Chronological Donald Vol. 3, and Disneyland: Stories, Secrets, and Magic. The Disneyland volume was announced a few years ago as a single disc package and the release date was postponed many times. Looks like it finally found a home on the treasure series, and people who have been waiting for its release will be well rewarded. It will include a new documentary with archival footage, featuring Walt’s own words as well as new interviews. That’s it for today folks...I’m worn out from this post so will probably go back to bed.

See more vintage & current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland web pages.

Submarine Voyage Rehab

If I didn’t know that these were vintage slides, I would think that I was viewing the Submarine Voyage as it looked a few weeks ago: completely drained with a plethora of technicolor coral specimens. However, these first 2 slides are from March 1964 (back when the subs were gray, not Nemo-Yellow). The last 4 are from an undated batch, but I would assume they are from the same March 1964 era (unless this attraction was drained and rehabbed frequently).











For more vintage & current Disneyland Submarine Voyage photos, visit my main website.

March 1964 Medley

Here are a few from March 1964, starting off with a parking lot shot that includes the Disneyland Hotel and a portion of the DLand Sign. Shot two shows good ol’ Town Square with the Douglas Moonliner peeping out from behind (hey Matt, does that Horse-Drawn Trolley make you want to drive to the park today?).





The last shot for today is a Tomorrowland view featuring the Astro Jets swirling around at breakneck speed! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post featuring rehab pics of the Submarine Voyage...circa 1964.

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

Return to the Dog Show at the Bandstand

Here’s another shot from the Dog Show that I featured over a month ago and that was also on the Gorilla Blog and Matterhorn Blog. Looks like Sergeant Preston in this one which shows the old Bandstand in Magnolia Park.

See more vintage Disneyland Magnolia Park photos at my main website.

Black and White

Here’s our favorite Spaceman in Tomorrowland (undated photo), standing near the Circarama. On the right appears to be some kind of double exposure/developing mistake. Not sure what the building is, but looks like if it is Disneyland that it could be in Adventureland. Any ideas?Picture two shows the Junior Autopia, formerly located over in Fantasyland.



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

Rainbow Caverns Mine Train/Nature’s Wonderland, Pt. 3

Yup, it’s another day out in the desert, folks. Here are more from my estimated 1965 batch of slides.









I’ll finish up this series with a little Pack Mule action in Rainbow Ridge.



For more vintage & current Disneyland Nature’s Wonderland photos, visit my regular website.

Rainbow Caverns Mine Train/Nature’s Wonderland, Pt. 2

For those of you not into the Nature’s Wonderland/Mine Train attraction, you might want to just come back in a few days. Today starts off with one more from the May 1958 batch, showing the Devil’s Paint Pots area of the attraction. Next up are a few from an undated batch, most likely about 1965.













See more vintage Disneyland Nature’s Wonderland photos at my main website.