10 Months Til Christmas, Pt. 2: 1984 Holiday Memories

The Disney Holiday Press Kit for 1984 trumpeted out a ton-o-fun for guests who wished to celebrate Christmas.

TRADITION BLENDS WITH SOMETHING NEW DURING HOLIDAY SEASON AT DISNEYLAND



Tradition will blend with something new during the Christmas season at Disneyland this year, as the Park’s ever-popular holiday pageant Fantasy on Parade will be highlighted, along with a newly created “Audio-Animatronics” show, the “Country Bear Christmas Special.”



During the Dec. 22—Jan. 6 holiday season Disneyland will be transformed into a winter wonderland, with seasonal decorations and musical entertainment adding to the festivities. Fantasy on Parade will be showcased daily, featuring marching toy soldiers, prancing reindeer, snowmen and snowwomen, and classic scenes from favorite Disney motion pictures. The lively procession will also bring together two of the world’s most beloved characters—Santa Claus and Mickey Mouse.



During the Christmas season the Magic Kingdom will also display its dazzling holiday centerpiece—a 60-foot-tall tree in Town Square embellished with 3,000 sparking lights and 2,800 ornaments. A turn-of-the-century Christmas will be re-created along Main Street, U.S.A., with strands of garland arched over the street and with lampposts, doors and windows trimmed with della robbia wreaths. Enhancing the atmosphere will be the harmonious melodies of strolling Dickens carolers.

A variety of talented entertainers is also scheduled to perform during the Christmas season. Orrin Tucker and his Orchestra will appear at Plaza Gardens Dec. 22 and 23, and Jack Morgan and the Russ Morgan Orchestra will perform at the same location Dec. 25–30. Rock ‘n’ roll entertainment will be provided by Krash at the Tomorrowland Terrace and Papa Doo Run Run on the Space Stage on Dec. 22–23 and 25–30. The Magic of Christmas, a musical variety show performed on the Space Stage, will also be featured. A Christmas version of the Fantasy Follies, which stars many of the Disney characters, will be performed at Main Street’s Plaza Gardens.



All this holiday entertainment will be presented at no additional cost for Disneyland visitors who may also enjoy the Park’s 55 major attractions.

Finally, Disneyland’s annual New Year’s Eve Party will be held on Dec. 31 from 8:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. Helping to ring-out-the-old and ring-in-the-new will be special entertainment, complimentary hats and noisemakers distributed to partygoers and a spectacular fireworks extravaganza presented at the stroke of midnight. As this is a perennially popular event, tickets should be purchased as soon as possible. New Year’s Eve Party tickets will be available at all Southern California Ticketron and TicketMaster outlets for $20 per person.

Disneyland’s hours and Fantasy on Parade times for the Christmas season are Dec. 22 and 23, 9 a.m. to midnight (2 and 9 p.m. parades); Dec. 31, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (4 p.m. parade); Jan. 1—5, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (4 p.m. parade); Jan. 6, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (4 p.m. parade).



As a believer in "less is more," the photo of the castle shows that there’s something to be said for understatement. I’m just saying...

See more Disneyland Christmas photos at my main website.

10 Months Til Christmas, Pt. 1: Country Bear Jamboree!

That’s right readers! Get ready for everyone’s favorite time of shopping stress, as it’s only 10 months away. In honor of this momentous occasion, I will be "celebrating" with holiday-themed posts for the next few days.

Long before Nightmare Before Christmas and the small world Holiday overlays, there was…

The Country Bear Jamboree. These 1984 publicity shots showcased the Holiday Themed special presentation of the CBJ, which was eventually replaced by Pooh. Literally. As you can see in photo #1, only the latest in technology was used! I am sure some of my younger readers will be baffled by that strange looking console and those circular thing-a-ma-jigs labeled "Scotch." No, it's not a type of whiskey.

From the Disney publicity machine:

A brand new addition to the Park’s holiday lineup is the “Country Bear Christmas Special,” which features the “Audio-Anmatronics” stars of the popular “Country Bear Jamboree”attraction in a special holiday show. Marking a first in Disneyland technology, the bears have been re-programmed and specially dressed to create a fun-filled musical salute to the holidays.



The real star of the show, Big Al—in both black-and-white & color:





The much loved Teddi Barra:





I sure do miss the homespun corn-pone humor of the CBJ. It was one of the first attractions I went to see when I was at WDW a year ago.

See more Disneyland Country Bear Jamboree photos at my main website.

"Big, Bad" Disney

And the dumbest headline goes to...this July 1954 blurb from the New York Bureau which accompanied this photo:

WHO’S AFRAID OF THE 'BIG, BAD' DISNEY

HOLLYWOOD: The creator of Mickey Mouse, Pluto, and Donald Duck, Walt Disney, with gun in hand, halts a stagecoach bulging with smiling youngsters in the Frontier Land realm of Disneyland in Orange County, California. The youngsters are (left to right): Carolyn Graybill, Pamela Sue Bornemann, Joan Graybill, Richard Graybill. When completed in 1955, the amusement and educational center will cost an estimated nine million dollars.

Obviously those with sharp eyes will see that the Stagecoach is actually located at the Disney Studios in Burbank, not at Frontierland in Anaheim. I believe the $9 million figure was off by about $8.5 million if you go by the accounts published on opening day.

Here’s another shot of the Stagecoach backstage at the Disney Studios well before opening:



For more Disneyland Stagecoach photos, visit my main website.

West Baden Springs Hotel Tower

Spent about an hour on this tonight; can't believe this canvas sat with the sketch on it for over 10 years!

You can see photos of this historic resort on my West Baden page. For more Daveland art, visit my main website.

The Disneyland Hotel

Imagine having the Monorail drop you right off at The Disneyland Hotel at the end of a busy day at the park. Back in the day, you didn’t have to imagine. For some reason, the current layout of the Hotel means that guests still have a little bit of a walk when they hop off of the Monorail at the Downtown Disney station.

The vintage images shown here are all from April 12, 1960. The Disneyland Hotel pictured here is a far cry from what it is now. These colorful shots show a much simpler complex, one more akin to a motel than a hotel.





Despite the simplicity of the hotel, the grounds boasted beautifully landscaped walkways.









Hungry? The Gourmet Restaurant was your number one option back in 1959. Check out those prices!



This Summer 1967 ad from Vacationland Magazine boasts of the ease that guests will have in getting to the restaurant directly from the Monorail. That chef sure loves the ladies...in a semi-creepy sorta' way!



For more Disneyland Hotel photos, visit my Disneyland Hotel page.

Screen Gem Saturdays: Vivien Leigh

Vivien Leigh was an incredible beauty AND a talented actress who played two of the most coveted roles in Hollywood: Scarlett O'Hara & Blanche DuBois. After a much publicized search for the perfect Scarlett (much of which was a lot of studio fluff in order to drum up interest in the movie), Leigh took on the part of the southern heroine who had a passion for survival.

Without her, this 1939 classic would most likely seem extremely dated today. Her performance is still fresh, gritty, and relevant even 70 years after it was filmed. Despite the heavy censors of the day, everyone in the audience was well aware what had happened the night before in Scarlett's bed when they saw this bewitching look on her face in the morning.



Although the film (and the original book) left audiences hanging, you would have to be fairly dense not to know that the resourceful Scarlett would eventually get Rhett back.



As Blanche in Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Vivien showed much of the fire from her previous role of Scarlett, but this time with a heavy layer of vulnerability.



Unlike Scarlett, Blanche has obviously been damaged from the loss of her genteel southern lifestyle. Love has not been kind to Blanche either, and she has lost any ability to find a healthy relationship with a man.





For both of these roles, Leigh took home well deserved Academy Awards in The Best Actress category. One of her final films was also based on a Tennessee Williams play, “The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone.” Starring opposite Warren Beatty, Leigh gives yet another riveting performance.



See more Vivien Leigh photos on my main website.

Dopey Loses His Rod

Recently, I was scanning a batch of images from April 1963 and actually noticed a detail at the park that had previously escaped me. As you can see from this first shot and the following closeup, Dopey at the Snow White Wishing Well is clearly holding a large fishing rod.



4 years later on April 26, 1976, Dopey is still fishing.





Over 4 years later than that, we have entered the 70’s and Dopey still has his rod...



which although Dopey isn't in the shot, you can still see the fishing rod when you zoom in.



However, by October 1995, the rod was gone. Somewhere in between 1971 and the shot I took in 1995, Dopey stopped fishing.





Still gone in 2006:



and in June 2010:



It doesn’t appear to be a temporary refurbishment issue, so I am baffled as to why it disappeared. Any of you know what happened to it?

See more Disneyland Snow White Wishing Welling photos at my main website.

Traveling Thursdays: Historic Hollywood Courtyard District

When I travel, it isn’t unusual for me to carry my camera with me. Who knows what might need to be documented on film? Going back after the fact just isn’t the same; things look different the second time around, and often, that beautiful lighting and rare situation that caught your eye in the first place is gone by the time you return with camera in hand. On a recent trip to Hollywood, I shot some of the historic courtyard district in West Hollywood. I love these classic 1920’s/30’s apartment complexes. They are not the cheaply built sterile buildings that you encounter being constructed today; they are works of art. The beautifully landscaped courtyards, the fountains, the details in the exterior...amazing. Here are some of my favorites, including the El Palacio Apartments, where the unsolved murder of 20 year old oil heiress Georgette Elise Bauerdorf occurred in 1944.















To see more Hollywood photos, visit my main website.

Disneyland Hotel Sign

These two vintage shots of the Disneyland Hotel and Monorail platform from October 1966 have probably already been posted on here.



Zooming in, you can see the Monorail Station sign...



and here it is today! I was recently emailed by the owner, attempting to verify its authenticity.



Here’s his description of the sign itself: 

The sign is made out of 3/16" thick yellowish plastic that is not too fragile, and still has a lot flexibility to it.  There are a few splashes of whitish paint on the sign.  The letters are attached to the sign by glue (no screws), none of them are loose or misaligned, and they are of uniform color.  The sign measures 43 1/4" by 20 3/4".  The cracked off and missing piece in the lower right corner is 12 3/4" across and 6" down if measured along the sides of the sign.  The letters on the top line are 2 3/4" by 1 1/2", and the bottom letters are 4" by 3".

You could hang the sign on the wall as is, or you could easily but carefully display it as a working sign.  In the nighttime picture I show, I simply propped two 50 watt bulbs behind the sign.  You would use fluorescent light instead and build a case to contain the light.

For more Disneyland Hotel photos, visit my Disneyland Hotel web page.