Souvenir Friday- Anaheim Chamber of Commerce Letter 1955

A nice item from the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce with information regarding the new theme park Disneyland. Note the lovely letterhead and also the appearance of Andy Anaheim in the lower right hand corner. Note that the Disneyland Hotel had not opened yet and there were only a small number of Motels and Hotels. The Motels were more expensive when compared to the Hotels.

Sea World 1978

Three views of Sea World in San Diego taken in 1978. First up is one of the smaller petting pools. I like the three boys in the background wearing sailor hats.

Next up is a view of the Shamu stadium. The set pieces are rather large. The stadium is now about twice as large. Check out the kids running to see Shamu swimming in the tank.

The last view is of a neat attraction that I remember going to every time I visited Sea World. I remember entering the darkened building escaping the heat in the air conditioned comfort. Then the water show would start and the water would dance. Sponsored by GAF and then by Sparkletts, it was always a treat to escape the heat of summer.

Adventureland 1965

Three views from Adventureland in 1965. First up is the entrance with the Enchanted Tiki Room and the Adventureland gate sign. Notice the number of signs for the Tiki Room.

Next up are two views of the big Adventureland attraction, the Jungle River Cruise. First up is the elephant bathing pool.

And the African Veldt with all the animals.

Laugh O Gram Studio Building Kansas City, Missouri

Last week I was in the Kansas City area for work and had a chance to visit the location of the Laugh O Gram studio building. Basically a vacant industrial building, it is still quite a site. The building has been stabilized and decorated with artwork from various artists. A foundation called Thank You Walt Disney is raising funds to restore the building and create a new museum showing the history of Walt in Kansas City. Located close by is the house where Walt lived with his family.

Opryland 1975

Traveling to a park I never experienced, Opryland USA located in Nashville, Tennessee. Based upon the theme of American Music, the park featured thrill rides, themed areas and lots of shows. The first images show a musical extravaganza on the stage themed to a showboat called the Opry Belle. The show looks like it was quite entertaining.

One of the main attractions was the Wabash Cannonball. A steel double corkscrew roller coaster manufactured by Arrow Dynamics.

Three Disneyland Slides From 1965

These three slides were found in a collection purchased at a Swap Meet. These were the only three Disneyland slides. However, there was a nice grouping of New York World's Fair slides. First image is a nice view of the Rivers of America with the Mark Twain circling Tom Sawyer's Island. Quite a nice shot with lots of activity.

Next up the Mekong Maiden successfully returns to the dock. It looks like all the passengers are still on board.

The last image is of the underwater kingdom as seen from the Submarine Voyage. I like the fish in the middle of the image.

Souvenir Friday- Disneyland Opening Day Parking Pass

An item I have been chasing for many years is this Opening Day Parking Pass. A friend of mine had purchased a nice grouping of opening day items and he ended up with 2 of the parking passes. When I saw him at a show in California, we discussed the parking pass and he decided to finally sell it to me. A great piece and fits into my collection of opening day items.

New York World's Fair State of Mind

Three new views of the New York World's Fair in 1965. One of the neat things about this set of slides is that they were developed by Sears and have a nice mount. First up is a view of the Avenue of Flags with the Unisphere in the background. The crowd is taking some great pictures.

Next up is a shot of a rest area with the Coca Cola Pavilion in the background. I like the bubble structures that were the snack bars.

One of my favorite attractions was the US Rubber Royal Tires Ferris Wheel. I wish that the ride was still operational.

Sailing Ship Columbia

I don't always circumnavigate the Rivers of America, but when I do, it is aboard the Mighty Sailing Ship Columbia- the most interesting man at Disneyland.

Mine Train and Mule Ride Nature's Wonderland

Two views of Nature's Wonderland. First up is the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland showing the train passing by the twin sister's falls. A neat feature was that each car was named for a different land in Nature's Wonderland.

Next up is a you are there view on the Pack Mules. The pack is just heading out to the attraction.

Autopia 1965

Three views of the Autopia in 1965. The two ladies look like they are having some fun!

Look out, here comes a yellow car right towards us.

Souvenir Friday- Gibson Greeting Cards Main Street

Finally found one of the Gibson Cards I am missing. This one features Main Street with the vehicles stopped in front of City Hall.

Views From the Skyway 1965

Two nice views from the Skyway. First up is Fantasyland with the souvenir stand in the middle of the image. Look at all those postcards on the rack!

Next up is an image of the Submarine Voyage, the Yellow Monorail, and a touch of Tomorrowland. Note the mermaids in the lagoon with the large speaker.

Two Nice Views

Two nice views from 1965. First up a daytime scene of Skull Rock in Fantasyland. Note the bit of Kodak sign and the Exit sign from the dining area.

Next up is a nice view of the Nature's Wonderland loading are with the Rainbow Ridge Opera House.

Flying Saucers Post 2

More views of the two little girls riding the Flying Saucers. The last image shows a very crowded attraction.

Flying Saucers Part 1

A couple of nice views of the Flying Saucer. The two girls look like they are having fun...but may not be big enough to pilot the saucer.

Souvenir Friday- Final Two Blueprints For Timex Shop Main Street

The final two blueprints for the Timex Shop on Main Street. The first is the sheet showing various elevations. This one is nice as it has some revisions made on site of some changes to the window display.

A close up shows the blueprint information from WED.

Two closer views of the drawing showing some of the nice details.

The last sheet is the rough sketch of the interior layout of the shop.

Bath House Frontierland

A couple of more images from the same contact sheet with pictures of buildings that were being looked at to rehab. This one is of the restrooms that I believe was located at Nature's Wonderland, themed to the bath house for the town of Rainbow Ridge. If anyone can place this exactly, please let me know.

Del Monte Preserves On Main Street

One of the sponsors and tenants on Main Street in the late 1970s and early 1980s was Del Monte. Del Monte is a major producer of fruits and vegetables. The shop is now the Market House, note Rings and Things next door. I assume these shots were taken when the Market House was going to be rehabbed.