1960 Trip to Disneyland in Color

Disneyland in 1960 was a good year....the Matterhorn, Monorails and Subs were a year old and the new Nature's Wonderland was opening. Unfortunately, this family did not ride any of those attractions. But they still took some interesting photographs. The first shows the Insurance Of North America Carefree Corner. Notice the tour guide off to the left of the photograph.

A nice view of the two story Jungle Cruise dock. The typestyle on the sign makes it look like it was printed rather than painted.

One of the steam trains at the station. Notice the brand new attraction poster for Nature's Wonderland.

My favorite image of the Disneyland Sanitation Department with his lovely umbrella. The tour guide and teenage girls in the background are highly amused.

Panoramic Views of Disneyland

From four different time periods and different photographers come these panoramic views of Disneyland. Instead of focusing on one specific ride, attraction or person, the photographer shot a wide scene. The first photo has a date of February 1965 shows the Fantasyland Theater area from the Skyway.

The second photo with the date of September 1968 is a ground level view showing the Fantasyland ticket booth and more.

The third photo is dated Xmas 1959 and shows the entrance ticket booths.

The final photograph is dated August 1967 and shows the rare view of the Monsanto Home of the Future and the New Tomorrowland of 1967 being open at the same time.

Photos From the Mark Twain

One of the more popular photography spots is to take pictures of the scenes along the Rivers of America while aboard the Mark Twain. The riverboat travels slow enough that a skilled photographer can take some very interesting images. One of the most common photos found is of the burning settler's cabin.

The suspension bridge is fun for the guests on Tom Sawyer's Island. The presence of twins wearing identical outfits makes this photograph very whimsical.

Finally a ride aboard the Mark Twain is not complete without an image of the Indian Village nestled along the banks of the river.

Larry at Disneyland July 1957

A fun set of photographs all obviously marked to show where Larry was posing. The first image is Larry riding the Horse Drawn Fire Wagon on Main Street.

Larry riding the Teacups.

Larry on the Mark Twain Steamboat. He is on the top deck.

Larry piloting the Chicken of the Sea ship. The western get up he is wearing is absolutely fabulous!

Larry getting ready to leave the park eating an ice cream bar.

Theming With Tiki

Today's images show the theming in Adventureland. The first image shows one of the original Tiki statues that could be found. This was prior to the Tiki Room.

The second image shows the fence around the Tiki Room. This is the theming that I am most nostalgic about and love to walk by every time I visit Disneyland.

Souvenir Friday- Frontier City, USA Guidebook

Many different tourist attractions and theme parks opened soon after Disneyland and its success. Many were located on or near the fabled Route 66 road across America. One such theme park is Frontier City, USA located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The park opened in 1958 and is still operating. The Main streets have been maintained and several coasters and other rides have been added. The guidebook is from 1958 when the park opened. The main draw was the gunfight, but there was also a train ride and an autopia type ride using the German cars that were proposed for Disneyland. To attract visitors, there was a burning Conestoga wagon sign and the parking entrance is a log fort stockade. The design of the Guidebook appears to have been done in house by the park. The interior illustrations have a nice mid century modern look. The local ads and establishments are also fantastic, my favorite being the Ricksha drive in restaurant and gift shop.

Indian War Canoes and Dancing

Given the number of images of Indian Dances (just ask Major Pepperidge at Gorilla's Don't Blog), I see some pictures of the Indian Village that are different. The first image meets that criteria, the ticket booth for the Indian War Canoes with a lovely maiden manning the booth.

The next image is a view of one of the dancers. The redeeming aspect is that the photographer was at the front.

Finally Mr. Cool in front of a teepee. Unfortunately the white dots are in the image....

New Years Eve Party 51 Years Ago

I know I usually post souvenir items on a Friday, but today feels like a Friday although it is only Wednesday. This is one of the coolest little fliers I have found in a while. The 1957 New Years Eve Party to welcome 1958 cost $3.95 per person and included all rides and attractions, music of popular bands until 2:30 AM and a special fun package of streamers, party hats and noise makers. Tickets for the event were on sale at all the ticket offices in each land as well as the Penny Arcade. Group pricing was available at City Hall. Let's all get together and go to the New Years Eve party at Disneyland in 1957, I can get discounted tickets!

Douglas Rocket to the Moon

In 1962, Douglas Aircraft assumed sponsorship of the Rocket To the Moon ride at Disneyland. At the time, Douglas was a major supplier to the United States Space Program and constructing engines and rockets to be sent into outer space. The red and white color scheme and TWA logo was removed and the blue and red color scheme with Douglas and the Douglas logo was applied. The first image shows the Rocket as the main focal point. On the right hand side is the Flight Circle sponsored by Cox (and home to Cox Pilot when he worked there.)

The second image is a bit more abstract. However, it captures the icon and also shows the rocket's destination in the background.

Post Number 1000

After a little over three years of posting images, I have come to post number 1000. For this post, I have chosen a very rare set of photographs from a Disneyland trip in 1958. The first image is of a busy day on Main Street with all the vehicles on the move.

The two boys in the family next head to Frontierland to check out the stockade fort entrance.

Heading into Frontierland they spot the newly opened Columbia Sailing ship.

But rather than ride the sailing ship, they decide to board the Mark Twain. The boat looks rather full.

The older brother with prescient knowledge recreates a scene that will be acted several years later by Leonardo DiCaprio on a larger boat while a syrupy sweet pop song plays on the soundtrack.

Deciding to ride another boat, the family moves to Adventureland and the Jungle River Cruise. Both of the boys have the distinction of riding up front with the fearless jungle skipper.

The two boys of the family then decide to spin the afternoon away by enjoying the Mad Tea Party ride in Fantasyland.

The younger spies the pond at the Chicken of the Sea restaurant and decides that it looks like his swimming hole back home. He starts to disrobe to jump into the cooling water.

Finally the boys board the train and get to ride in the caboose. (The collector in me is coveting the fantastic drum head sign with the early Disneyland script.)

The train ride was not just any ordinary train ride, but a special one with Walt Disney in the cab. Here Walt exits the C.K. Holliday after the ride.

I want to thank everyone who has commented, corrected and supported me with this blog. I do want to thank my Dad and Brother for helping to find images to fill this blog. I also want to acknowledge Dan from A Sampler of Things for his inspiration and for images he has sent to me. Thanks everyone for a fun 1000 and I promise to continue to post items.

Unusual Angles

Every once in a while I go through my slides and am struck by some of the unusual angles or views in the photographs taken over the years. I do not believe that the photographers meant to make artistic statements, but somehow they do. The first is a view of the clock tower on It's A Small World.

The next image shows the heights of the Indian Village with the Northwest Pacific Indian Totem Pole. The totem pole and other Northwest Pacific Indian items were added to Disneyland with the opening of the Columbia Below Deck exhibit in 1964.

Keeping the vertical theme of the last is this view of Royal St. in New Orleans Square.

Unfortunately the photo was dark and I lightened it to show detail.

The Majestic Matterhorn Mountain 1960

My favorite attraction at Disneyland is the Matterhorn Bobsled ride. A unique at the time roller coaster and the father to all the steel coasters at amusement parks today. Unfortunately this set of three slides have turned a bright shade of red. Fortunately, two of them were able to be color corrected, but one is still a little on the red side. The first slide shows the end of the ride with the Swiss Chalet dispatch tower in the background.

A view from the Skyway as you approach the mountain.

A figural portrait of man holding 1960 guidebook and passerby eating ice cream. There is nothing better than having a nice ice cream treat at Disneyland.

Souvenir Friday- Monsanto Adventure Through Inner Space Costume Patch

One of the innovative concepts of Disneyland was that the ride operators and employees would be wearing costumes themed to the individual ride and land. Along with the unique costumes, they also wore unique patches. This patch was worn by operators of the Monsanto Adventure Through Inner Space attraction. I like the gold metallic thread and the atomic design.