Disneyland in Focus: '59 & The Matterhorn, Pt. 2

As promised, here are some colorful shots of the Matterhorn. These three were taken 10 days after opening, on June 24, 1959.





See more vintage & current Matterhorn photos at my regular website. Meanwhile in media-land, “Sleeping Beauty,” the Platinum Edition, is being released on 10/7, and boy is it a beauty (pun intended)!









The section of extras on the Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle Diorama is not to be missed.

Disneyland in Focus: '59 & The Matterhorn, Pt. 1

What do Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and the Matterhorn have in common? Dirt! The dirt that was removed to create the moat around the castle was used to create Holiday Hill, the predecessor to the Matterhorn. Walt was inspired by a visit to Switzerland during the filming of "Third Man on the Mountain" starring Michael Rennie, James MacArthur, & Janet Munro. He decided then and there that he was going to have his own Matterhorn mountain in Anaheim, albeit 1/100 the size of the original. Walt’s 147' foot version holds the distinctions of being the tallest structure inside Disneyland and the first tubular steel roller coaster in the world. The first two photos for today show the "skeleton" of the Matterhorn, which is a steel framework (note the "American Bridge" on the steel).



This early Storybook Land photo of Pinocchio’s Village shows the Skyway pylons that the Matterhorn was able to coverup, removing an eyesore that Walt was never very happy with. Talk about killing a few birds with one Mountain!



Flashing forward to this shot from the same area on May 9, 1959 we can see the mountain under construction. It practically blends into the miniature mountains from Pinocchio’s Village.



And the colorful attraction poster, followed by a vintage Matterhorn costume.





Opening day ceremonies on June 14, 1959 featured a lot of music & dancing:



Come back tomorrow for colorful June 1959 photos of The Matterhorn. See more vintage & current Matterhorn photos at my regular website. Meanwhile in media-land, “Sleeping Beauty,” the Platinum Edition, is being released on 10/7, and boy is it a beauty (pun intended)!









The section of extras on the Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle Diorama is not to be missed!

Disneyland in Focus: '59 & The Monorail, Pt. 3

2 more glorious images from June 1959, showing the brand new Monorail speeding over the Submarine Voyage attraction in Tomorrowland.



Last vintage shot of this batch is one of my faves:



This plaque can be found at the Tomorrowland Monorail Station:



Monorail 7, the newest version of the 1959 transportation attraction, has gotten a lot of press for its engineering flaws. However, both Monorail Blue & Red have gone through rigorous testing and are now actually carrying passengers through the park. It is easy to understand that 50 years later, with different rules, regulations, and a 50-year old track, that some problems are going to occur. Just be patient, folks,, as I am sure the bright folks at Disney will (to quote "Project Runway"'s Tim Gunn) "make it work."





See more vintage & current Monorail photos at my regular website. Meanwhile in media-land, “Sleeping Beauty,” the Platinum Edition, will be released on October 7th.









The section of extras on the Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle Diorama is not to be missed.

Disneyland in Focus: '59 & The Monorail, Pt. 2

On June 14, 1959, in an elaborate ceremony, The Richard Nixon family presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Monorail. First graphic is of the original attraction poster, followed up by a photo of the Nixons, including wife Pat and daughters Julie & Tricia.



This color view was taken on June 24, just 10 days after the official debut of the Monorail.

The other 2 shots for today are also from June 1959. Was the film stock more colorful fifty years ago or was the world just brighter? Sure does seem like there was more optimism back in 1959 and that people dressed accordingly.





See more vintage & current Monorail photos at my regular website. Meanwhile in media-land, “Sleeping Beauty,” the Platinum Edition, will be released on October 7th.



The section of extras on the Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle Diorama is not to be missed.

Whatever Happened to Baby Sarah, pt. 3

More progress, and actually adding a color other than black (as long as you can count gray!). World of Wonder is at it again, this time, with an exhibit entitled "HOLLYWOOD D.C: LIGHTS... CAMERA... ELECTION!" With the fine line between celebrity and politics, WOW thought they’d put together an exhibit highlighting some of the wacky possibilities as the two categories blend together. Opening night is October 23rd. Stay tuned! To see more of my art, visit my regular website.

Disneyland in Focus: '59 & The Monorail

1959 was one of the most exciting years in the park, and even garnered its own TV Special, entitled "Disneyland ’59." Today’s entry into this series focuses on the Monorail. First came the Viewliner; as you can see from the photo, Walt was purty excited about this narrow guage miniature train, but as I have said before, it looked like a toy. Walt knew that this train was not going to be the wave of the future of transportation.



According to this drawing, the original Monorail would have hung from a beam rather than glide on top like it does today. From what I have read, Walt was not happy with this version.



On a trip to Germany, he saw the Alweg Monorail in Cologne and realized that what he had in mind was actually possible:



This John Hench rendering was more to his liking, and shows the Monorail that we all know and love today:



In this shot, you can see the construction of the track shortly before opening, as the workers rush to meet the deadline:



Walt truly believed that this mode of transportation was the wave of the future, and that city traffic would be greatly reduced when Monorails were installed. What I wouldn’t give to see a Monorail installed here in Southern California to help alleviate the mess on the freeways! As a little tease for part 2 tomorrow, here is a gleaming image from June 1959, the opening month of the Monorail; it just doesn’t get better than this, folks!



See more vintage & current Monorail photos at my regular website. Meanwhile in media-land, “Sleeping Beauty,” the Platinum Edition, is about to hit the streets, and boy is it a beauty (pun intended)!









The section of extras on the Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle Diorama is not to be missed.

Whatever Happened to Baby Sarah, pt. 2

Lettering is a bitch. What else can I say? World of Wonder is at it again, this time, with an exhibit entitled "HOLLYWOOD D.C: LIGHTS... CAMERA... ELECTION!" With the fine line between celebrity and politics, WOW thought they’d put together an exhibit highlighting some of the wacky possibilities as the two categories blend together. Opening night is October 23rd. Stay tuned! To see more of my art, visit my regular website.

Disneyland Time Capsule: August 1958, pt. 4

Yet the end of another Daveland series, with today’s entry located in Frontierland. The majestic Columbia is sitting at the dock, awaiting another journey around the Rivers of America. If I were a betting man (and for the most part I’m not), I would bet that this shot was taken from the tables in front of Don DeFore’s Silver Banjo BBQ Restaurant, looking out at the Bandstand on the Rivers of America. The Strawhatters are keeping the guests entertained in this shot.



If you were to sit in this area today, this is what you’d see:



Back to August 1958, we have a view of the Canoes, manned by real Native Americans (known as Indians back then). Note guests doing some actual fishing on the pier, before this activity was removed from the park.



Naturally, it wouldn’t be a Frontierland series without one of the Mark Twain:



Naturally, this shot arrived AFTER I did my post on the Petrified Tree. This one gives a view of the signage for the Frontier Gun Shop:



See more vintage & current Frontierland. photos at my regular website.