Disneyland, January 3, 1960: Skyway over Disneyland

Today’s post is a visual “you are there” trip on the Skyway buckets from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland. Many of the slides in my vintage collection document this trip. The first few shots show us Storybook Land, beginning with an image of Cinderella’s Castle high atop the miniature mountain.



Being able to look over the berm sure does break that wall of fantasy, and makes a somewhat strong case of why the Skyway had its share of detractors.



As we fly over the Submarine Voyage attraction, we know that our trip in the Skyway is just about finished.



If we hurry, we MIGHT just be able to catch that beautiful blue Monorail sitting at the station!



See more Disneyland Skyway photos at my website.

Disneyland, January 3, 1960: The Matterhorn

For this particular series, the photographer was kind enough to write the date on the slides. Today we also learn that he/she had a little bit of an affinity for the Matterhorn, as can be seen in shot #1 that shows it from Central Plaza. I wonder where the roll of film is now being shot by the dude in the red beret? Note the Monsanto House of the Future somewhat obscured by the trees.

In shot #2, we draw a little bit closer; I am also including a zoom shot of the mountain climbers. Check out the lower right hand corner though; the Christmas “ribbon” is still tied around the House of the Future.





The photographer actually took the time to capture a few shots of guests riding the Matterhorn. They sure are having fun!





Let’s zoom in and see the look on those children’s faces:



Yup. They’re having fun. Meanwhile, this next shot shows a lotta’ layering going on: The Skyway bucket going through the Matterhorn, which is situated near the Submarine Voyage, which has a Blue Monorail cruising over it. Today, all that’s missing from recreating this shot is the Skyway.



See more Disneyland Matterhorn photos at my website.

Tomorrowland on paper

You want more concept art for Tomorrowland? Well readers...here it is, beginning with an “overhead shot” of what Tomorrowland was supposed to look like on day one. The ornate water fountain at the entrance was scrapped in the rush to just get this land open on time.

In image #2, looks like the PeopleMover and the Monorail spliced together in one groovy hanging vehicular transportation system:



As was pointed out yesterday, it appears that the Moonliner was originally to be on a platform, similar to what the Rocket Jets became during the “New Tomorrowland” renovation of 1967. See...if you just hold onto an idea long enough there’s a good chance it may come to fruition.



And finally, the interior of the Rocket to the Moon attraction; pretty durn close to the final concept, as can be seen by the photo comparison posted here:







And although there are some inaccuracies, just for the heck of it, I will give you three shots of the Opening Day Model that resided inside of the Opera House for a number of years:







See more Disneyland Tomorrowland photos at my website.

Bueller...Bueller...

This first image kind of cracks me up. Walt has somewhat of a pasted on smile, holding a teacher’s pointing stick. You can almost hear Ben Stein’s “Bueller....Bueller...Bueller...”. Walt obviously wants to make sure everyone is paying attention before he describes the concept art located on the wall behind him. The Herb Ryman painting of the castle in the upper left hand corner shows the back of the castle, which was intially intended to be the front. Compare with this shot from 1957 and you’ll see what I mean.



Although I don’t have color versions, I do have bw of the 2 Frontierland concept art pieces shown on the left of the first photo:





And here is the previously posted Carrousel concept art shown in the middle above Walt’s head:



So far, I do not have any of the JC concept stuff, so you’ll just have to be satisfied with the Tomorrowland art shown in the lower right-hand corner:



The Tomorrowland images are about the only ones that just really don’t match what was finally constructed, which makes sense since TLand was the last one to be built after the majority of the money spent had already gone to all of the other lands.

See more Disneyland photos at my website.

Upgrading, Pt. 2

Although the quality of my original black & white image is nice, it is also kinda’ cool to see it in color, too...albeit a little washed out:



Can you believe that model still exists today?



The addition of the Snow White Wishing Well area was done recently:



See more Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle photos at my website.

Upgrading

I love it when I am able to upgrade and improve the quality of the photos on my site. Recently, I was able to get not only a clearer version (albeit slightly different pose)of Walt with the Peter Ellenshaw painted map of Disneyland, but in color.

It really is amazing just how much of this map finally got into the park. The circus tent changed locations (seen in the lower right-hand corner), and it took about 7 years for the a hot air balloon to come to the park, but otherwise, pretty much spot-on!



Here is a photo of Ellenshaw himself working on this map before Walt displayed it publicly. Note the storyboard panels tacked on the wall beneath the painting; it appears they are for the Disneyland TV Show.



See more Disneyland Construction photos at my website.

July 18, 1955: OC Police at Disneyland!

Yesterday one of those rewarding things happened; a Daveland reader out of the blue sent me this image, shot on July 18, 1955, which was the first day that Disneyland was open to the public. In the background, we can see the E.P. Ripley at the station, followed by the RETLAW 1 cars. In the foreground is the Police Communications Truck for Orange County. Other than that, not much is known about this image. Anyone out there able to elaborate? MANY MANY thanks for this way cool shot to my DLRR reader!

NOTE: I just discovered that this photo was taken by Mel Kirkpatrick, and want to credit him with it. The reader who emailed this to me notified me after his initial email who had taken the photo.



DVD/BLURAY NEWS: Next week on May 19th, “A Bug’s Life” makes its debut on Blu-ray. When it comes to the Pixar library of classic films, this one is often (undeservedly) forgotten. With the vocal talents of Phyllis Diller, this is NOT one to miss! Plenty-o-extras on this set.

See more Disneyland Railroad photos at my website.

Opening Day at Disneyland, July 17, 1955

These 2 kids, Michael Schwartner and Christine Vess Watkins, seem to have no idea how cool it was to be the first children through the turnstiles on opening day...and to be greeted by none other than Walt himself! Note the Smoke Tree Ranch tie that he is wearing.

In shot #2 you have a birds-eye view of the opening ceremonies held in Town Square. I have also included a closeup of the area where Walt and the others were standing.





This photo gives you a much better look at Walt & Co.; Mrs. Goodwin J. Knight and her husband, the Governor of California, are on the left. I am sure somebody out there can identify the guy standing next to Walt.



My previously posted color shot of the ceremonies and a closeup of Walt (blocked by a lamppost) and others:





Walt, sans tie, is giving his famous opening day speech:



See more Disneyland Opening Day photos at my website.

1000th Post: Opening Day Parade, Pt. 3

It’s official; today is my 1000th post...really hard to believe. To start us off, we’ll follow the Mouseketeers in the Opening Day Parade as they travel from Town Square down Main Street U.S.A. Kinda’ like the Wizard of Oz, watch ’em go from black and white to color.







Next up are some Frontierland images, including Fess Parker & Buddy Ebsen as Davy Crockett & his sidekick, George Russel.











For my last image from the July 17, 1955 Opening Day Parade, you can see TV & Film Star Don DeFore (wearing the white blazer) driving an Autopia car down Main Street:







Many thanks to all you readers out there, especially the ones who have left great comments and helped educate me on some of the finer points of Disneyland History. On another celebratory note, “Zorro” starring Guy Williams, is finally going to be released on DVD in glorious black and white.







See more Disneyland photos at my website.

Opening Day Parade, Pt. 2

Today features photos from the Fantasyland portion of the Opening Day Parade, as witnessed by the banner in shot #1, following the vintage autos down Main Street U.S.A.

Cinderella’s Coach is front and center in shot #2. Who says pumpkins can’t go on to another life? Look at those little kids hanging onto the windows at Upjohn. They could never get away with those shenanigans today!



Some random and scarily costumed Disney classic animated characters in this one: Pinocchio, Chip & Dale, the Mad Hatter, Alice, Dumbo, The March Hare, and Donald Duck.



Snow White is just entering the frame, surrounded by her dwarves. Not sure where the design for this costume came from, as it looks nothing like the Disney Snow that we are accustomed to.



Last but not least, Scary Minnie & Minnie accompany Peter Pan and friends, skipping down Main Street.



From yesterday’s post where I questioned the kiosk-looking things at the Upjohn Pharmacy, Boxcar Mike emailed with a little history:

“When the park was built, these were not kiosks but rather oversized display windows; very similar to the "bay" windows that we see in many homes today. The Upjohn Company used them to display their items. Also back then, there were two planters for some type of decorative plantings located below these windows. This was what the guest was standing on. I have another picture that somebody sent me of this same area taken from another angle and in it you can see the planters as well as the windows, complete with the guest standing on the planter. The planters were an early removal as guests used them for trash cans, and they were a tripping hazard. The windows remain but they are much smaller today.”

Thanks for the info, Mike - much appreciated. Here is a semi-current photo of these windows:



See more Disneyland Opening Day photos at my website.