Back to 1956, Pt. 2

This first photo shows the Storybook Land boat as it returns to the dock. The area it is passing is currently the underwater kingdom of King Triton from The Little Mermaid. In the back of the photo is the Fantasyland Depot.



Shot #2 shows Dumbo, Storybook Land, and the Casey Junior area with the cool retro-round Skyway cruising overhead. It is still hard to imagine the park looking so young.

Shot #3 is a rare one; the loading area of Peter Pan. Although it is a little blurry, since it shows a rare view, I will include it anyway.



This last photo is another view of the Merrie Men that I posted about a week ago, apparently promoting a re-release or a TV debut of the Robin Hood movie that Disney made in the 1950’s.



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

Back to 1956, Pt. 1

Today’s first shot from 1956 shows the defunct Tomorrowland/Phantom Boats (dig the retro Batman-like fins!). Anonymous was kind enough to point out that this was not the Motor Boat Cruise, rather a short-lived attraction that resided in the lagoon that became the Submarine Voyage attraction. The Phantom Boats have the dubious distinction of being the first attraction removed from the park (due to their apparently faulty/unreliable engines). Photo #2 brings us back to the heart of Tomorrowland, with a few people looking for shade while guests ride overhead in the Skyway and buzz around on the Astro Jets.



Shot #3 is one that really gives a sense of being alive for me; it looks like the guests in front of the Rocket to the Moon entrance just heard something and all turned to look at it. If I could only pan to the left and see. I have also included a detail shot of the RTTM entrance area.





Last one for today shows the Autopia.



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

Tabloid Blonde: 50’s Style

In the wake of the ANS “news” overload, I have decided to post this pic of another famous tabloid blonde, Jayne Mansfield. Here she is in 1957 with daughter Jayne Marie, enjoying Dumbo (floppy-ear version).

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

August 1962 Series: Pt. 3, Fantasyland

The 1962 series ends today with a few photos from Fantasyland, starting off with the obligatory Skyway shots of the Chicken of the Sea Ship and Skull Rock, moving on to a King Arthur Carrousel shot, and then bringing it home with a rip-roaring finish of Casey Junior and the Patchwork Quilt at Storybook Land. If the park were torn down and rebuilt today, would there be a tribute anywhere to the Silly Symphonies? Probably not.







See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland Main Street, U.S.A. photos at my main website.

August 1962 Series: Pt. 2, Main Street

Today begins with a parking lot shot, showing some cool retro cars, the Blue Monorail, and a few school buses for good measure (how was that Field trip arranged?!?).

Shot two is another shot of the whole fam damily as they are about to enter the park.

Mickey is pretty much surround for this one; and no, I don’t know what’s up with the braces around the 2 kid’s necks; maybe a dangerous ride on the Parking Lot Tram.

Entering Town Square, you can see Hills Brothers to the right, and amazingly enough, it looks like they pretty much have the park to themselves.

By the end of the day, back at Town Square, a few hats have been purchased and there are definitely more people at the park.

For more Main Street photos, visit my regular website.

August 1962 Series: Pt. 1, Tom Sawyer Island

It has been big news amongst the Disneyland fans that Tom Sawyer Island is currently receiving a makeover. The Island was supposed to shut down yesterday for its face lift, and will be closed for a few months so that a few million can be spent to “spruce” it up. So far, the changes I have read about seem good and will probably breathe a little life into the island while still maintaining the homespun Tom Sawyer theme. Still, in the defense of simplicity, when I was on the island Sunday, the plethora of little varmints running around the island seemed to be having a blast, without ipods, video games, or any other kind of electronic stimulation. They were having the time of their lives EXPLORING. The caves, the treehouse, looking into the Fort...it didn’t matter whether they were familiar with Tom Sawyer or not, it was just a cool place. These 2 photos are from August 1962, and show two young lads enjoying their first trip to the Island. The treehouse doesn’t look that much different today. The last photos shows the whole durn family sitting along the Rivers of America.





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

The Burning Cabin: The Progression

Because I'm a little twisted, I really miss this wacky detail of Disneyland: the dead man at the (no longer) Burning Cabin along the Rivers of America. This first shot is from an undated slide, and there is NO man-with-an-arrow-through-the-chest. The second view is from September 1959, and there he is, with a big ol' nasty arrow sticking out of his chest.



Fast forward 10 years to 1969 and the wind must have blown the poor varmint clear around. The last shot shows you what you view today as you ride past on the Mark Twain: just a quaint cabin with some laundry hanging to dry; not really anything that would catch your eye. C'mon Disney: bring back the dead guy!





For more Burning Cabin photos, visit my regular website.

Disneyland 1956, Pt. 7: The End

This trip back to 1956 ends today with a shot of Frontierland and The Golden Horseshoe. Hope you had a nice trip; I'm off to TSI today for one last trip before its semi-extreme makeover (and a Grand Circle tour, too, since it’ll be 86’ed for about a month, too).



Any idea what this guy is doing up here, or how he got here? He looks like a regular DLand guest, not a cast member in the show.



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

Disneyland 1956, Pt. 6: The Castle

Upon closer inspection of this 1956 Castle shot, I noticed two Robin Hoods and/or his Merrie Men taking a breather nearby.



The 2nd shot is another 1956 view of the Castle, this time from the side, with the edge of the Omnibus appearing on the right side.



Anybody else heading over to TSI for the final weekend in its current state? For more Castle photos, visit my regular website.

Disneyland 1956, Pt. 5: Fantasyland

Today is a trip to Fantasyland, specifically Storybook Land. I have zoomed in on the 1st shot so you can have a better look at the Storybook that used to be in front near Monstro and the Ticket Booth.



After your ride around Storybook Land, you may crave a little Tuna, so head on over to the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship (pre-Skull Rock days).



Today’s trip to Fantasyland ends with a very wide mural shot from November 1956—be sure to scroll to see the whole thing. It's purty darn cool, if I do say so myself.



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

Disneyland 1956, Pt. 4: Tomorrowland

Today I’ll finish off the Tomorrowland portion of this visit with a shot of the Astrojets as well as a few classic posters for other attractions (Skyway and Peter Pan). And please be sure to note the futuristic chicken wire protecting the young vegetation.
For today’s last photo, we’ll mosey on over to Fantasyland, and I have included a close-up of the shop window for all of you that like to vintage shop.





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

Disneyland 1956, Pt. 3: Tomorrowland

You should be relieved to know that based upon today’s first photo from 1956, balloons ARE part of the future. You just know this poor guy is sweating his $%# off. The open-mouthed gal in photo 2 is either shocked at the man in the spacesuit or she has just found out what Tomorrowland is going to look like in 50 years.



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

Disneyland 1956, Pt. 2: Tomorrowland

Today’s 1956 excursion takes us to Tomorrowland, with a great view of the Monsanto Hall of Chemistry, which would close in 1966 (today the building is Star Tours). I have also included a detail shot of the front directional signage.



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

Disneyland 1956, Pt. 1

Here goes another series; this lot is undated, but most likely 1956. I’ll start off with, what else, Main Street (I hope those Legionnaires didn’t come from Philadelphia) and end with Central Plaza (that popcorn looks mighty tasty). I sure love Technicolor/Kodachrome 50s slides; they rarely need color retouching.





And for all you Knott-heads, I have added a Knotts Berry Farm page to my website. No, I am not collecting these, but often with the Disneyland slides come a few from Knotts. Enjoy.



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

A Day at Disneyland, 1965 Series, Pt. 3

Today is the last post of this series, and your last chance to see the gray tooth (even a white chiclet stuck in front would have helped). This duo really seemed to love the grittiness of the Rivers of America, including the Burning Cabin and the AA Indian Village. Obviously, Fantasyland was not there cup of tea (pun intended). Of this whole faded bunch, the shot of Cascade Peak and NW Train are pretty much my fave.











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