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.

1959 Monorails Publicity Photograph

A nice Disneyland press release photograph of the red and blue Monorails over the Submarine Lagoon. The posed shot is nice in that you can see the side of the Monorail and the front of the Monorail. On the back is the publicity tag reading: Transportation of omorrow is here today at Disneyland. Two trains of the Disneyland-Alweg Monorail System, first passenger carrying monorail to operate continously in America, cruise silently over a concrete "highway in the sky" in Walt Disney's Tomorrowland. Part of its journey takes passengers aboard the electrically operated trains high above the coral lagoon of Disneyland's new Submarine Lagoon.

For more Monorail happiness, check out Gorillas Don't Blog and The Pickle Barrel posts for today.

Red Monorail Speeding Over the Submarine Lagoon

For comparison, here is a similar view to yesterday's post, only this time it is a red Monorail going over the lagoon. It is hard to tell if this is a four car or three car monorail due to the angle.

Yellow Monorail Speeding Over the Submarine Lagoon

I enjoyed showing a weeks worth of Disneyland Band images, that I have decided to focus on the Monorail this week. The first shot is an image of the Yellow Monorail speeding over the Submarine Voyage. I like the sensation of speed with the blurriness to the Monorail. The Imagineers, especially Bob Gurr and John Hench, were some of the most creative designers around the and the streamlined Monorail is one of their best designs.

SOP Saturday- Entertainment Division

As a wrap up to the Disneyland Band week, I present the University of Disneyland SOP and Guide for the Entertainment Division. This SOP is a later version from the late 1970s. The focus is also more global to include Walt Disney World. It is still a nice booklet filled with great images, especially the Golden Horseshoe. The design though makes it hard to view as single pages as there are a lot of splash pages and images.

Souvenir Friday- Christmas Parade Route Map

Well I was originally going to post this ad for Martin Instruments featuring the Disneyland Band, but I could not find it. So instead here is a rare piece of paper from 1957, the parade route for the Christmas Parade. Since the band is always part of the parade, I thought it appropriate. What is interesting is that the parade route ends in Frontierland so the image I showed yesterday could have been from this parade.

While looking for the Martin instrument ad, I came across this hang tag that once was buttoned on a kids shirt. I love this graphic and the travel poster featuring this is amazing, but it is nice to see it on a small size.

Disneyland Band in Frontierland October 1959

Photos of the band off of Main Street are pretty tough to find. It seems the band spent a lot of time marching up and down Main Street. But every once in a while they would make a detour and march through another land. This time it is Frontierland. The image shows a nice view of the Disneyland Band patch and the drum head. And in the background is Casa De Fritos along with a group who seem to be totally blase about the band marching through and playing music. They must not have been music lovers.

Mickey Mouse Leading the Disneyland Band 1960s

This is a slightly later photograph than the previous images of the band, probably dating from the mid 1960s. The band now has the red uniforms and the hats with large feathers and brass hat pieces. The hat pieces are pretty cool as the early ones have Disneyland and the castle logo. It appears that the Disneyland Band patch has now been removed. I do like the gold braiding on the front. If you look closely, the drum head has the Disneyland Band logo with the castle.

Flag Retreat Ceremony Town Square

Now wearing their trademark red band uniforms with the large triangular shaped (hmmm, just like Disneyland's outline) patch on the shoulder, the Disneyland band plays the flag retreat ceremony for a large crowd. I like the group of girls in the middle, one wearing a souvenir hat. All the dads and granddads are sitting down, taking a breather after a long day at the park. This is the classic Disneyland of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

I am happy to see that the band now participates in the flag retreat ceremony. For years, it was just canned music through the speakers. One of the most blatant scenes of commercialism under the Pressler/Harris management was when I watched the Popcorn seller continue to sell popcorn during the playing of the National Anthem. And the popcorn seller was right there in Town Square. I am not an ultra patriotic person, but that just seemed so wrong.

Vesey Walker Leading the Band Down Main Street

A slighter later photograph of Vesey Walker marching the Disneyland band in their blue uniforms down Main Street. The photo shows the wonder a marching band can be with a large crowd watching and also how alive Main Street once was, but not anymore. The uniforms have now acheived some of the brass buttons and filligree of a sucessful band and look very sharp in the late afternoon sun. Now if I could only see what the bag the man in the center is holding, it would be a perfect slide.

Disneyland Band Town Square Concert July 1955

After looking at Major Pepperidge's slide of the Disneyland band in blue uniforms on his blog Gorilla's Don't Blog, I searched my slides and came up with this early image of the Disneyland Band performing the flag retreat at Town Square. The band uniforms here have not acheived the brass button splendor they eventually became. I still like the simplicity of the band uniforms and the brass instruments. Unfortunately the slide is somewhat scratched, but it is still one of my favorite Disneyland Band shots. Look for more photographs of the Disneyland Band this week.

SOP Saturday- Submarine Voyage

This weeks Standard Operating Procecure (well technically Story Guide and Operations Procedure) is titled Setting Your Course on the Submarines. The booklet is dated 1966 and is filled with all the information on the Submarine Voyage in its prime. The illustrations and photographs are great.

Souvenir Friday- Haunted Mansion Press Pin

Today's souvenir is courtesy of a very great friend and loyal reader. It is the press pin used for a preview of the Haunted Mansion on August 11, 1969, although the Mansion was open on the 9th. Does anyone know why this has the later date? Was Disneyland doing soft openings and then doing a Grand Opening a couple days later like they did with the Buzz Lightyear ride? The 9th was a Saturday and the 11th was a Monday in 1969. Inquiring minds want to know!

I like the fact that not only does it have the date but the added grinning skull with the eye patch at the bottom. The pin appears to have been worn and then was spirited away to a drawer to be found 30 years later. I wish I could have been a Press Ghost on that day, I would have definitely kept this rare souvenir that was handed out.

Snow Whites Scary Adventure

Continuing on with the creepy, scary theme is this image from Snow Whites Scary Adventure in December of 1955. Well, okay the image is not that scary but the ride was pretty frightening in 1955 with the witch, black light and sudden flashes of lightening. I can remember as a kid reading the handout guidebooks from INA that Snow White was scary and parental caution was advised. The photo does show one very rare pennant, one for the Mickey Mouse Club circus at Disneyland. And the reason for the funkiness of the image is that it was used by an artist to create a line drawing to accompany an article published in 1955. Stay tuned tomorrow for a creepy souvenir!

Dia De Los Muertos In the Pirates of the Caribbean

Celebrating the Mexican Day of the Dead are these skeletons from the cavern scene in the Pirates of the Caribbean. One of the symbols used in Day of the Dead celebrations are skeletons doing activities that the living perform such as bands, dances, cleaning, feasting and many other things. In Pirates there are similar scenes maybe even inspired by the Day of the Dead figures, so I thought it appropriate to use this image to celebrate Dia De Los Muertos. The tag on the back of this 1968 publicity photo is as follows: Dead Man's Cove -- Boat-borne guests in Disneyland's "Pirates of the Caribbean" sail past "Dead Man's Cove" where there is evidence of past pirate activities. Who knows what may be buried beneath the red-tinged sand. Guests explore eerie caverns like this one in preparation for witnessing the buccaneer's attack on a Caribbean port village.