Disneyland, July 28, 1958, Pt. 3

Welcome to Frontierland, circa 1958! The Columbia is all the rage, as you can see from this promotional banner hanging from the gateway into Frontierland. In fact, the excitement of the new ship has caused this guest to sit down and rest for a bit.



A vintage/contemporary compare & contrast view:





Pendleton was eventually replaced with the Bonanza Outfitters. I think I'd rather have Pendleton; they make great sweaters!



If you’re afraid of the water, you can just sit back and gaze upon the beauty of the Mark Twain:



Perhaps from the area of this quaint little gazebo/bandstand that was typically the home to Dixieland-style music:



A shot of Tom Sawyer's Island and a raft full of guests:



For all you Gladys Kravitz-types, here's a closeup of the guests so you can critique what they are wearing:



2nd only to the back side of water is the back side of the Twain:



And the Columbia, fresh as a daisy!



The best way to work off those churros:



I wonder if the rafts ever crashed into the Twain?



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

Disneyland, July 28, 1958, Pt. 2

What could be better than a Sunday in vintage Fantasyland? Let's cross over the drawbridge and get to it! A trip in a Skyway Bucket can give you a beautiful overview of the scenery between Fantasyland and Tomrrowland...and is only steps away from a tasty Tuna Boat luncheon!



What a tease...you can see the Viewliner Tressel...but no Viewliner! Instead, we see guests taking a (very) leisurely cruise in a Motor Boat.



And now a few birds-eye view shots taken from the Skyway on the way to Tomrorowland.







Monstro looks as if he could eat the lighthouse ticket booth for Storybook Land!



Kudos to an Anonymous reader today who noticed the Viewliner in the upper-right-hand corner of the Monstro shot:





Anybody notice that we cruised right through the Matterhorn? No? Well, perhaps that's because these were shot almost a year before that famous mountain was completed.



Zooming in on the previous image you can get a better view of the Tomorrowland Depot.



This was also back in the day when there were multiple Autopias at Disneyland, including the Junior Autopia featured here:



The final two shots from today are from the same batch, but I am guessing that they are from two separate trips on the Skyway. Our photographer must have loved The Skyway!





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

Screen Gem Saturdays: Titanic

Today's post is a tribute to the tragedy that occurred over 99 years ago. Even today, the public is swept up by the true story of a luxury liner that was advertised as unsinkable and a modern technological marvel yet sunk on its very first voyage. With a false sense of security for the vulnerability of his ship, Captain Smith ordered that the Titanic travel at full speed in an area of icebergs because he felt pressured to break a record of speed for his company, The White Star Line. Built with too few lifeboats, even those weren't filled to capacity because so many of the guests on board didn't believe the Titanic would sink before help ever arrived.



James Cameron’s blockbuster movie “Titanic” received almost as much press before it was released as after. Any movie with a budget that soars out of control like this particular epic is sure to garner a place in the news as being plagued by trouble and other sundry sordid details. However, once released, “Titanic” fever hit the world as the box office went out of control. I still remember sitting in the theater, watching the beautiful imagery and noticing all of the authentic details that Cameron painstakingly included in his film.



I also remember the first time I watched it at home on a smaller TV in its first video incarnation. Without the huge splendor of a large screen, I was less than thrilled at watching the movie.



The poor writing was apparent and the inadequacy of Leo D’s character stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb. For a period piece, Leo seemed like a Backstreet Boy stuck in a time warp; very out of place. I also felt that Gloria Stuart could have used a little more coaching on her part as well. Perhaps Cameron was swept up in the spectacle and forgot about the storytelling. Amazing what a big screen can do for a film.



For those of you that still have Titanic fever, you can visit a recreation of The Grand Staircase in Vegas at The Luxor Hotel:







See more Movie & TV photos at my main website.

Disneyland, July 28, 1958, Pt. 1

Time for another vintage series. The color is a little off (you shoulda' seen these before I got my fingers on 'em!), but I still think they're peachy keen. I get excited whenever I see shots of the Kalamazoo Handcar. Can you believe this cool little detail is still at the park? You probably won't be surprised to learn that I have a photo to prove it.



Sad to say only one of these passenger cars still remains at the park (hint: It's painted red and bears Walt's wife's name).



I probably have at least 2-3 of this same photo for each decade that the park's been open.



For the sake of brevity, I'll only share this one from 2006.



A nice overall shot of Main Street U.S.A., which includes a White Wing and a promotion for the newly launched Columbia.



See...I wasn't making it up!



Don’t want to walk to the castle? Take your pick of transportation:







More 1958 fun coming your way soon! See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland Main Street, U.S.A. photos at my main website.

Traveling Thursdays: Mom Goes To Europe, Pt. 5

Today, we say “bonjour” as we spend some time in the romantic country of France, circa 1955. The first few photos that my mom snapped are from September 16, and show the Tuileries Garden, located between The Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde in Paris. Created by Catherine de Medicis as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was first opened to the public in 1667, and became a public park after the French Revolution (maybe the peasants ate their cake here!).



Speaking of the Louvre...mom had the next 3 shots marked as “The Louvre,” probably one of the most famous art museums in the world, and home to the mysterious “Mona Lisa.”







The Seine River:



You can enjoy the vintage cars AND the Eiffel Tower, which I remember being told the Parisiennes HATED! Ironic that most of us associate this city with that iconic landmark.



The Seine Bridges:





Some spectacular views that mom took from the Eiffel Tower:





And a fun shot of the Tower as she was descending:



Chateau de Malmaison (“the evil house”) was first used as a hideout for Norman invaders in mid 1200s. Josephine and Napoleon Bonaparte lived at Malmaison for a number of years.



The Palace of Versailles:



The grounds of the Petit Trianon were laid out by Marie Antoinette, the Queen of Louis XVI, who was extremely partial to this villa as a residence, and used to entertain her guests there, living there as a shepherdess. I guess it made her feel closer to the peasants without actually having to smell them.



See more vintage and contemporary photos at my main website.

Cruella de Vil

A quick interlude from the West Baden painting to do one for a friend. She is a Marc Davis classic and was fun to do.

For more Daveland art, visit my main website.