Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Unknown Western Themed Attraction in Florida 1972

Three images from the same group of photographs I posted yesterday. The photographs are dated July 1972. The attraction has a nice Western street with a covered boardwalk, various commercial establishments and a photo opportunity location.

The tourist spot also included a Native American village.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Some 1972 East Coast Images

Skipping over the Walt Disney World in 1972 for today's post. First up is a nice image of a character meet and greet on the beach by the Contemporary Resort.

A view of the Monorail system from the top of the Contemporary.

Meeting Sneezy at Cinderella's Castle. I am always amazed at the size of Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom.

Breaking the rules with flash photography in the WDW version of Mr. Toads.

And another flash image from Snow White.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Things From the Gate- Summer and Fall-Winter 1958

Disneyland decided to change the graphics in mid-1958. I guess the "Thrifty Dumbo" was not catching the guests attention. Disneyland did economize by using the same graphics and just changed the hours on the back. An interesting observation is that the ticket books are being specifically marketed to adults, with the assumption that the parents would buy ticket books for their kids.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Ground Control to Major Tom

Great view of the old Mission Control for the Rocket to the Moon attraction. Check out the image on the screen of the monitor.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Joy on King Arthur's Carrousel

Wonderful and happy image of a guest on King Arthur's Carrousel. This is a publicity photograph from the early 1960s.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Souvernir Friday- Nash Airflyte Magazine July 1955

For those lucky owners who had purchased a Nash in 1955, they received a subscription to this nifty magazine. Nash was one of the original sponsors in Tomorrowland promoting the Nash Circarama Theater. In fact after the movie, there was a showroom featuring Nash Kelvinator refrigerators and Nash automobiles. Of course Nash wanted to promote their investment in Disneyland so the July 1955 magazine cover story is a visit to Disneyland. The cover is nice featuring the Sleeping Beauty Castle model and the article is very interesting. My favorite picture is of Walt standing with the Nash car marked with Disneyland on the door.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Frontierland As Seen By Brazil

More photographs from Brazil featuring Disneyland. This time the focus is on Frontierland and even more specific Tom Sawyer's Island. First up is every ones favorite- the burning settlers cabin.

A close up of the poor settler who has been killed with an arrow.

A view of a friendly native American waving to the river traffic.

A nice view of the friendly Indian village on the river. I wonder when the fishing boy was added as he is not in this photograph.

Final photograph is a view of Fort Wilderness in all its glory. Boy do I miss this structure!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Close Up Animals in New African Veldt Jungle River Cruise

Three publicity images from the opening of the new African Veldt on the Jungle River Cruise. First up is the pack of lions feeding on a zebra. The press tag reads: Jungle Law-- This group of hungry jungle kings in Disneyland's new African Veldt region helps tell the age-old story, "Survival of the Fittest", as jungle launches cruise by only a few feet away. Completely life-like in appearance and movement, these Disney-created beasts are among 50 in Disneyland's newest attraction.

A closer look at the lions from the previous image.

Of course other animals were also added when the new African Veldt was created. The press release reads: Howling Jackals are among many wild beasts in Disneyland's new African Veldt region as seen by adventurers aboard the Jungle River Cruise. Life-like in appearance and movement, these Disney created animals are among 50 new beasts which provide extra excitement for one of Disneyland's most popular attraction.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Jungle River Cruises from Brazil

A set of three photographs taken for use in a Brazilian newspaper. I think the images are neat due to being so close to the animals, making the Jungle look more real. The photos are printed on some funky thin paper and are very silver in color.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Things From the Gate- Going Backwards 1957 Summer Fliers and One More

The ticket fliers can be tough to figure out....so every once in a while I may go out of chronological order. This post will also show how obsessive I can be in regards to these fliers. So starting off this is a summer 1957 flier with the "Thrifty Dumbo" design. The last post of this series was the Fall 1957 flier with the same graphics and text.

Now the obsessive part, here is the back of the second summer flier with the time change that Disneyland was open.

When I began this series, I asked for copies of ticket fliers I may not have and one of my loyal readers sent in this 1955 ticket flier. This is the second 1955 gate flier. Note the text on the sheet with the dates the flier was effective.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

A Fun Playground

Today's find at the local swap meet was this series of five photographs of two young brothers at a fun playground. I believe this was probably somewhere in the greater Denver area, but may have been anywhere in the US. First up is a picture of the slide and a steel walkway to a slide.

A cute turtle structure to crawl on and one of the classic rocket ship structures in the background.

A fantastic sea monster sculpture and play structure.

My favorite image is of Sparky the Kangaroo trash can sculpture.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Big Head Characters

Quick post showing the big headed characters from Disneyland in the early 1960s. First up is one of the 3 Little Pigs getting some love from Japanese dancers.

Next up is Mickey and Minnie enjoying the fake flowers on Main Street.

A group of the characters getting a handshake from a guest. I am amazed that Goofy and the Big Bad Wolf look on model while Mickey and Minnie are big head characters.

The last image is a fun one showing all of the entertainment personnel working at the park in 1961. I have left this image large so you can scroll across the photograph and check out all the people....such as Wally, Betty, Roy, and more.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Souvenir Friday- Kodak News and Davey Crockett

A wonderful magazine cover of the newly opened Nature's Wonderland Railroad. Unfortunately the inside story on filming at an amusement park does not feature Disneyland. I believe the images in the article are from Fantasy Island in Long Island, New York which had just opened. The magazine is a fun look at Suburban culture in the 1960's. I can see Mr. Cleaver reading this magazine.


I was saddened by news that Fess Parker passed away yesterday. He was a great Disney personality and one of the nicest persons I have ever met. He will be missed and I will sing the Davey Crockett theme in his memory...and drink out of the Fess Parker winery glass tonight.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Columbia Gem of the Ocean

A full size replica of the first United States sailing ship to circumnavigate the globe was an odd choice to add to the Rivers of America and float with the Mark Twain a Mississippi River steam boat and the two Keel Boats used on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. However I do not have any complaints as the ship is majestic, especially with the full sails. First up is a nice promotional photograph of the front of the ship.

This next image is the other side of the front of the Columbia under sail on the river.