More Views of Rainbow Ridge December 1960

More views of the buildings at Rainbow Ridge. The last image shows the entrance tunnel to Nature's Wonderland Railroad with the Opera House on the right hand side. The detailing on all the building is wonderful and very detailed, especially considering that guests never walked that close to the buildings. These are only set pieces to be seen from across the loading area. I also like the fresh look of everything. The illusion of a real mining town is very convincing, setting the stage for the ride to come.

Rainbow Ridge General Store December 1960

Nice scenic view of the General Store at the little mining town of Rainbow Ridge. I love the detailing with the toys out front and dolls in the window. It almost appears that for Christmas and the Holidays, the set decorator added more toys. Anyone know if they did this or if it always had that many toys out front?

One of the best moves by Disneyland when they constructed the Big Thunder attraction was to keep the little mining town rather than just totally lose this scenic touch. Nature's Wonderland Railroad which left the mining town had just been open approximately 6 months and was still a ride that was crowded.

Mark Twain at Dock Early In the Morning

An early morning, and very early Disneyland picture of the Mark Twain arriving from the cruise on the Rivers of America. Can you imagine that the only fence between the River and guests is the samll gardening fence? This scene has changed dramatically with the addition of New Orleans Square and the change with the brick walkway and the brick levee work. This shot does show how rustic Frontierland used to be.

Over Thanksgiving I spent a couple of days at Disneyland and was amazed at how crowded it becomes, as well as being shocked at the parking price-$11 to park at Disneyland. It is amazing that even without the 50th events, it still pulls in a crowd.

Main Street Posts

Since I will be going away for Thanksgiving, I too have decided like Major Pepperidge to post multiple images. This is kind of a tour of the entrance and Main Street. The first image is of the Main Entrance with Jordan's and Dave's lamented parking lot.

Nest we go to the old ticket booths that seemed so much more efficient than the current ticket booths. You can almost feel the anticipation about entering Disneyland. The center group appears to be debating which ticket plan to purchase.

Then you see the Main Street Station on the raised berm with the Mickey Mouse floral centerpiece. This view predates the hanging of the posters on the railing, which I believe they did in 1958.

Last stop is the Bank of America Building on Main Street. I have included a close up of the sign for purchasing Souvenir Guide Books. Enjoy and have a happy and safe Thanksgiving every one.

Captain Hooks Captive on Peter Pan's Pirate Ship

Captain Hook appears to have taken the new pirate to the Peter Pan ride and had her climb the rigging. At least he let her put her shoes back on for the long walk through Fantasyland.

I would guess that the image was taken at the end of the ride as Skull Rock is in the background. Seeing this shot almost makes me believe this was an approved photo shoot at Disneyland. Sadly, this is the last image I have from this collection.

Hijacked to Be Part of Captain Hooks Crew on The Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship

After harrassing the old lady on Main Street, the model then was hijacked by Captain Hook, made to take off her shoes and climb the rigging of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate ship. Of course if a Disneyland employee sees her with her shoes off, she may be kicked out of the park. Then again, they may be mesmerized by her long legs and just let her stand there.

The photographer is Jacques Delangre (what a great name for a risque photographer) and this image may have been published in one of the many pin up and girlie magazines of the time. I wonder where and what the model is doing thses days?

The Old Lady On the Porch and a Visitor Main Street

On the Pickle Barrel Blog , Jordan laments about the loss of stuffed people at theme parks. Seeing the post, I had to dig out this picture of the Old Lady who used to sit on the porch on Main Street and a visitor. The visitor was a model hired by a photographer who specialized in pin up photographs in the 1950s. A friend of mine purchased a large collection of vintage risque photographs and found this image and two others of the model posing at Disneyland. I assume this must have been done on the sly as I don't think Disney would have approved...but you never know. So for Jordan, and all those other lovers of stuffed people and vivacious girls, this post is for you.

SOP Saturday- Monorails

As a finish to the spotlight on Monorails, the SOP is the 1966 version of the Highway in the Sky Story Guide and Operations Procedure. This SOP was owned by Ken Kohler who was a Club 55 Member and also heavily involved in the operation of the Disneyland trains throughout the years. He was also involved in the predecessor to the Monorails, the Viewliner. Enjoy reading everything you need to know to run your own Monorail.

Souvenir Friday- Disneyland Railroad and Monorail Gate Flyer

This is one of my favorite Disneyland souvenir gate flyers featuring the Disneyland and Santa Fe Railroad and the Disneyland Alweg Monorail. The colors and design are just so cool and very 1950s. The flyer uses the images from the attraction posters. The size of the flyer is also unique in that it is rather long, but that allows the images to play off of each other. This flyer was handed out in 1959.

Monorail at the Station 1959

Unfortunately this lovely slide is one that has turned extremely red. I have worked to restore color but this is the best I could do. It is still a nice image of the Monorail red parked at the station with the majestic Matterhorn mountain in the background. Taken during the opening year of the attractions. The signage is very nice. There is a large size postcard that is very similar to this image.

Lots of Monorail Track 1960s

Although not showing the Monorail itself this image is interesting and nice as it shows the winding track throughout Tomorrowland that the Monorail would travel. The way the track wraps over and under itself, over the Submarine Voyage and boats and around the Matterhorn made the ride much more interesting than just a single track in a loop. The image also shows the engineering of the single concrete beamway. This was so impressive that engineers have designated the Monorail as a historic landmark.