Keelboat Krazy!

Daveland is absolutely Ka-razy with Keel Boats today! Don't know what a Keelboat is? Let me educamacate you: A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. Thanks, Wikipedia! Can you believe Disneyland once had yachts? Well, not the type of yachts you might imagine, but still lots of fun. The first shot for today is from the 1950's and shows a Keelboat parked in Fowler's Harbor, ready to pick up another batch of guests, including a dad holding a baby on the right giving stink-eye to the photographer.



Image #2 is from 1955; doncha' love the feet dangling over the edge of the Mark Twain?



The first closeup shows the Chicken Plantation Restaurant; if it looks familiar to you then you've probably eaten at the Blue Bayou Restaurant.



Let me make the comparison easy for you:



Back to 1955, here's the closeup all you Keelboat nutz have been waiting for:



This somewhat faded 1950's shot shows a different loading area:



The paper hats definitely upstage the Bertha Mae in this 1950's image:



I wouldn't be surprised if one these ladies was named Bertha Mae.



This lad from June 1967 seems very excited about the prospect of riding on a keelboat; note the Native American cast member standing behind him.



One more keelboat shot for you, showing a March 1968 view:



Let's cut to the chase and zoom into the important part of this photo!



Hope you got enough keelboat shots to last you through the day!

See more Daveland Disneyland Keelboat photos at my main website.

Yvonne Craig as Batgirl

Growing up, I used to love to watch the 1960's TV classic, "Batman," starring Adam West and Burt Ward as the Caped Crusaders. The powers that be decided that Season 3 of the wildly popular show needed a jolt of estrogen; dancer and actress Yvonne Craig fit the bill perfectly. As mild-mannered librarian Barbara Gordon, she was privy to all of the Caped Crusader's activities, thanks to her father being the Police Commissioner. In this first photo, we see some serious goings on with Neil Hamilton on the left (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (as Chief O'Hara), and Craig. Barbara was a smart cookie who somehow was able to afford a very chic apartment in Gotham; was daddy subsidizing the rent for her?

As this photo shows, there was no denying that Craig as Barbara Gordon had appeal.



But when she transformed into the ginger-wigged Batgirl, sporting a very form-fitting purple lycra costume, she was a literal knockout. Craig's training as a ballet dancer served her well when fighting criminals. Her high-kicks were legendary.



Sadly, the powers-that-be decided to stick with a decidedly 1960's chauvinist approach to the Batgirl character. Inevitably, Batgirl got captured by the criminals (in this case, Cliff Robertson as Shame) and it was Batman and Robin that had to save her. Still, Craig did her best to play Batgirl as a very liberated yet sexually flirtatious heroine.



If only the writers had been allowed to have Craig be the rescuer; maybe the show would have lasted a bit longer.



Holy Toledo! Want more Batgirl photos? Ride your Bat Cycle on over to my main website.

White Glove Service

The rare shot above shows a very young writer/musician/comedian/actor Steve Martin working the typesetting machine in the Magic Shop on Main Street, U.S.A. It appears to be Christmas time (note the Santa cutout on the left side of the photo). Martin was about 15 or 16 years of age. He was a typesetter, putting guests' names on “Wanted” posters and The Disneyland News. Martin didn’t want to get ink stains on his hands since it would look grubby when he did card magic tricks. Wearing garden gloves helped him avoid the stains, but also caused him to be mocked by the resident pro.

The Disneyland News was an early Park publication which kept guests up to date on the latest Park happenings. Here's the front page from a September 1956 edition. Imagine having your very own name as the headline!



Here are some of the Wanted Posters available, as seen at the Disneyland News Stand near the entrance of the Park, circa July 1960:



A few could be seen in Frontierland, like these two at Rainbow Ridge, July 1962:



The photo below shows Jim Kurz doing the same thing, in the Frontierland print shop. You can read more about Kurtz at the amazing Gorillas Don't Blog.



Zooming in for a closer look at Kurz' handiwork:



See more Daveland Disneyland vintage & current Magic Shop photos at my main website.

Tiki in Adventureland

For all you Tiki-nuts out there (and I know there are a few), here's a May 1961 shot of a rarely seen Tiki figure located in Adventureland.

Zooming in for a better look, it appears as if the figure is springing to life from the base of a concrete palm tree.



Meanwhile, the gent on the left doesn't seem all too comfortable about being in this photograph. Still, it's nice to see the brochure and attraction ticket in his shirt pocket! I assume his left hand is clutching a leather-cased camera.

Want to see what’s in his pocket? Of course you do:

The pink block of color is from a ticket book.

How many of you would put this Tiki statue in your backyard?

See more Daveland Disneyland vintage & current Adventureland photos at my main website.

Mickey Sees Double, May 1961

It's not "The Parent Trap," but Mickey Mouse is definitely seeing double at the entrance of Tomorrowland.



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

Shadows in Frontierland

…is the Frontierland Shooting Gallery! Just imagine a world before video games…or even Candy Crush…or Farmville! Instead of those games, peeps at Disneyland did a little pretend shoot 'em up at the Frontierland Shooting Gallery, seen here in this circa 1960's photo. Let's zoom in a bit…you know you want to.



Yup. Still dark. Those shadows are just killin' me. I need details! Here's a semi-contemporary shot of the Gallery at night:



A closeup of the targets:



I'd take this over Farmville any day.

See more Daveland Disneyland Shooting Gallery photos at my main website.

Spaceman circa 1961

There's something very odd about seeing this Disneyland Spaceman standing out in the Southern California sunshine. This May 1961 image shows the attraction posters for the Grand Canyon Diorama and the Submarine Voyage. The closeup makes it appear that he has his eye on a guest and might be about to vaporize them his futuristic belt controls.



I bet they ran over his shoes with a stroller.

See more Daveland Disneyland Spaceman photos at my main website.

Meet Me at Coke Corner

Instead of meeting at "The Hub," we typically meet at the slightly quieter Coke Corner. It was early enough that it wasn't officially opened for business, which is my favorite time to snap a few shots!



The inner workings of the ragtime upright piano:



A look at Bob Penfield's Main Street window:



The awning located above the piano:



which looks like it might still be the original piece when comparing with this 1962 image:



Later, Patrick appeared to entertain guests at the Park with his lightning-fast fingers on the keys:



Stepping inside, I took one shot of the revamped Candy Palace…and one shot was enough.



See more Daveland vintage & current Coke Refreshment Corner photos at my main website.

Tour Guides in Frontierland

An undated 1960s image shows two lovely Tour Guides walking through Frontierland. Let's zoom in for a closer look at them, shall we?



Houston, we might have a match here: compare the Tour Guide on the right with the one in this other image from my collection, circa October 1963:



Back to today's original photo, this closeup shows the corner of the infamous Petrified Tree:



…which can still be seen at the park today:



See more Daveland vintage & current Frontierland photos at my main website.

Disneyland For Sale!

Well, not so much the Park, but plenty of AMAZING original pieces that were part of Disneyland's early history. The Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks, specializing in Animation Art, is mounting an auction for February 28th and March 1 that will blow Disneyland geeks away. The Exhibition itself starts February 7th. Let's get to the good stuff, shall we?

How about an actual skeleton prop from the original Pirates of the Caribbean attraction (estimate:$ 60,000-$90,000)? I'm sure there will be more than a few takers for this iconic prop...



that is located here on the attraction:



When it comes to Disneyland memories, this Frontierland Cigar Store Indian from the 1960s should stir up more than a few:



Jordan from Perky Pickle Productions once gave me some background on the "Wooden" Indian:

The Indians were made out of fiberglass from a mold. They still are. In fact, I'm always amazed how flimsy they seem in the park. In fact, that's the problem. The fiberglass guys take a lot of wear and tear. They actually would be replaced every five to seven years from what I've heard. I actually bought the second Indian that the poster mentions. It was in San Francisco with an antique dealer who purchased it directly from the Disney prop warehouse. I heard there was another. The one I have is from Frontierland with the green cape. I believe the other one was from Main Street. My Injun is in pretty good shape with the only damage being a light crack in the rifle top which was always the first to go. Indian Joe was originally supposed to look like a carved Cigar Store Indian from the Victorian era. The old Disney Indians were painted that way...even with a simulated patina to look like old polychromed carvings. Original turn of the century cigar store Indians don't have flesh or wrinkles. They are meant to look like carvings. I have an original 1900s carving and it's AMAZING how much my Disneyland Indian looks like the early 1900s carving!

Here's a vintage 1965 photo of my dad and two brothers posing with this very Indian in Frontierland:



How about this rare early concept for Tomorrowland by Bruce Bushman? All I can say is "wow." How fantastic if Walt had been able to afford to create this entrance into Tomorrowland. Bushman was one of the major designers working by Walt’s side during the park development and construction. The artwork is a very early concept and was actually featured in the 1954 series premiere of Walt Disney’s “Disneyland” television show (estimate: $50,000-$70,000).



HOW TO BID



Register at vegalleries.com/storyofdisneyland.html. The Story of Disneyland Collection Exclusive Catalogs (see photo above) may be purchased at the same link. Get your credit cards ready!

See more Daveland vintage & current Disneyland photos at my main website.

Disneyland Railroad and Haunted Mansion detail, October 1962

I am digging this October 1962 shot of a Disneyland train heading into the Frontierland tunnel! Zooming in, you can see that construction of the exterior of the Haunted Mansion attraction building is fairly far along.



A previously posted shot from November 1962 gives an overall view of how the area looked:



Back to our original image for today, it gives us a nice glimpse of the cab area.



See more Daveland Disneyland Railroad photos at my main website.