Disneyland Is Open View From Main Street Station

I believe this is another pre-opening ceremony shot of the park. It appears that the KABC-channel 7 camera (conveniently placed on a forklift for those dramatic overhead shots) is being moved into place, the lucky individuals with early tickets are exploring Main Street, what appears to be the Fire House 5 Plus 2 are relaxing in the shade on the Town Square lawn and in the background can be seen balloons that are flying over Tomorrowland to add a festive air. I believe the International Street has a Grand Opening year of 1956 at this time. For such an early time on opening day there sure is a lot of activity going on.

Both Sides of Plaza Pavilion Pre-Opening Day

Another pre-opening image showing the Plaza Pavilion. Clearly seen is the transition from the Victorian gingerbread roof to the Adventureland thatched roof and A Frame style. I can just imagine the architects response when the designers came to him and said "We want to have a restaurant with one side being Victorian style and the other side to be Polynesian style." The finishing touches seem to be placing in windows and touching up some of the paint. Seeing modern vehicles on Main Street is always a neat visual.

Souvenir Friday- Mad Hatter Shop Art Plus End of Parade

This is a wonderful color sketch of the Mad Hatter Hat Shop located in Fantasyland. Done as part of the 1983 redo of Fantasyland, the art depicts the side of the shop with the entrance door for the White Rabbit. I believe this piece was either done by Ken Anderson or Kim Irvine as I have seen color artwork similar to this piece by both artists. And since this is a hat shop, it really ties into my hat fetish.

And as a bonus, here is the last slide of the opening day parade...the crowd following the parade clogging Main Street. It looks almost as bad as the 50th Birthday event, just with everyone wearing a nice shirt and tie and dresses and heels. Lots of the visitors have cameras so there must be a lot more pictures of opening day out there sitting in families photo albums....

Horse Drawn Surry and Carnation Milk Truck in Parade 1955

At the end of the parade was a Horse Drawn Surrey and the Carnation Milk Truck. The Carnation Milk Truck is one of my favorite Gurrmobiles (designed by Bob Gurr and constructed by Carnation at their truck maintenance yard for Disneyland.) Although it did not get to motor out very often, it is seen in many images with little kids sitting in the C Cab. I have also been told that this was Walt's favorite vehicle to drive and have a picture of him driving it with a Carnation Milk Man sitting next to him.

Just behind the Milk truck is the crowd of people following the parade down Main Street with security keeping them a safe distance from the truck. And this shot is a little closer and you can see a lady shading herself with the first guidebook in the mid lower left hand corner. I think tomorrow may be the last slide of the opening day parade (unless I find more.)

For more information on the Carnation truck, read this post from Bob Gurr on Laughingplace.com: http://www.laughingplace.com/News-PID108035-108036.asp

Native American On Horse Opening Day Parade

Another one for Major Pepperidge, this time a Native American Indian on horseback. I love the war paint on the horse trying to make the Indian look more savage. And behind him are the Indian dancers and drummers. Frontierland was definitely a very happening land at this time.

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but in all the photos are two kids hanging and standing up on one of the windows. They are right about in the middle of this slide. Their arms must have been tired by the time the parade was finished.

Stage Coach and Revolutionary War Soldiers in Parade

Continuing the series of parade images, this is the Disneyland Frontierland Stage Coach on Main Street with the Native American Dancers behind them. In front though are Revolutionary War soldiers. They may be promoting Johnny Tremain, or just another group to add color to the event.

Native American Indian Dancers Opening Day Parade

For Major Pepperidge, here are the Native American Indian dancers participating in the Opening Day Parade. It must have been quite a sight to see all of the units and the variety, from the Firehouse Five Plus Two, Horse Drawn Wagons, Antique Automobiles, Knights in armor, the Mousekeeters, Autopia Cars, a Spaceman and more.

Frontierland Square Dancers Float Opening Day Parade

One of the more unusual floats in the opening day parade was the Frontierland float featuring square dancing. Check out the caller in his string bow tie and the band behind him. Also, the next section is Tomorrowland as seen by the banner. The crowd looks as mashed together as some of the current fireworks shows.

Tomorrowland Section of the Opening Day Parade

I was trying to go through the parade in sequence, then I saw this image and knew I had to post it. This is the Tomorrowland section of the parade with the freshly manufactured Autopia cars driving down Main Street. Leading this section is also the spaceman mascot for the land. And one of the drivers of the Autopia cars is the designer Bob Gurr. He loves to tell the story of driving the cars up Main Street in the parade.

Souvenir Friday- Disneyland Santa Fe Railroad Color Studies

Keeping in the theme of pre-opening items are three small color studies done for the Disneyland and Santa Fe Railroad. The studies are not very detailed nor very large. I believe they were done in late 1954 as the trains were being constructed. I purchased the sketches many years ago from a Howard Lowery auction and have enjoyed them since them. Unfortunately the only marking on them is a phone number written on the back so I do not know who painted them.

In other news, I am working a posting thread on Tiki Central showing my collection of Tahitian Terrace items. Check it out: http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=20627&forum=1&0 .

Horse Drawn Fire Wagon Opening Day Parade

Next up in the parade is the Horse Drawn Fire Wagon (appropriately enough.) Behind that can be seen one of the surreys and also the Carnation Milk Truck. Both the Fire Wagon and Surrey were actual rides, the Carnation Truck sat in front of the Carnation Cafe and was one of Walt's favorite toys to drive around. But it was never used to provide rides for guests. If you look closely you will see an early Dapper Dans group hanging out the second story window of the emporium.

Firehouse Five Plus 2 Marching in Opening Day Parade

One of the most enjoyable parts of watching the opening day ceremony on the Disney Treasures DVD is the performance of the Firehouse Five Plus Two. The band was Ward Kimball's baby who recruited other talented animators such as Frank Thomas, Harper Goff and soundman Jimmy McDonald to play classic Dixieland Jazz. For many years the band was a fixture at Disneyland and appeared every year at the Dixieland at Disneyland events. Last year Ward's famous train collection was auctioned off along with a couple of the Firehouse Five Plus Two fireman hats. The hats were sold for very good money, one ending up at the Walt Disney Barn in Griffith Park. I wish I could find one of those hats....maybe one of these days.

Puffin Bake Shop and Sunny View Farms Stores Opening Day

View of the Puffin Bake shop and Sunny View Farms store being finished on opening day. This was the two stores directly across from the rooftop perch the photographer had on opening day. Once again there is lots of activity and workers rushing around to complete the myriad of tasks so the park could be opened. I am willing to bet that for may weeks after, finish construction was still taking place even in the shops. Both shops would not last for very long, Sunny View Farms approximately 4 years and Puffin Bakery a bit longer.

Cars, Trucks and People on Main Street July 17, 1955

Another view of the activity on Main Street prior to the Grand Opening. I love the hustle and bustle of not only the workers on the sidewalk, but also the vehicles on the street. I have a feeling that the last days of construction were hectic and very stressful especially for Admiral Joe Fowler who was tasked with this enormous construction project.

Cars on Main Street July 17, 1955

This is the opposite view of the park on opening day in the morning for the photographer. The profusion of cars on the street for the various construction and park lessees shows the hum of activity that was happening on the opening day. In the background you can see the parking lot is starting to fill up with expectant visitors. For some of the employees, this was their first time they were able to see the park and their work location. As Major Pepperidge has stated it would be wonderful to be able to crawl into this image and feel and see the excitement of opening day.

Sleeping Beauty Castle Morning of Opening Day

Wonderful view of the activities that were going on opening day July 17. The satellite dishes on the right hand side of the image are very archaic, but did the work they were required and sent the image of the live television broadcast throughout the world. I believe this is the location where the photographer stood to take the images of the opening day parade which I will show all next week.

Souvenir Friday- 1966 Scarf

A wonderful graphic scarf made in 1966 featuring the Enchanted Tiki Room, It's A Small World, New Orleans Square and Sleeping Beauty Castle. I love the graphics of the birds and of the Small World characters. And the colors are just so 1966. Scarf is made in Japan and measures 12 by 12 inches (larger than my scanner bed so I merged two scans together.)

Los Angeles Airways Helicopter at Disneyland

What a great way to get to Disneyland: fly into Los Angeles Airport, walk to the Los Angeles Airways Helicopter pad and be flown to Disneyland. The overhead view of the park must have been great to see. And landing at the back of Tomorrowland would have been one of the best experiences of a trip. Walt was definitely thinking about transportation of the future when he created a Helicopter landing pad. At this time, helicopters were still being tested and in limited use in the Military. It was not until the Vietnam war that helicopters were used with any great frequency for transport. And now every news channel has their own. I kind of wish that this service was still available rather than trying to fight the California traffic to get to Disneyland.

Lost Children

With as many people who visit Disneyland on a daily basis, they had to create a place where Lost Children and Lost Parents could meet. What better place than First Aid with sick and bleeding people as well? I guess it was more efficient and nurses are trained to be understanding and compassionate. This location appears to be where First Aid is still located, the access road between Plaza Inn and the shops of Main Street. I have always liked the idea of a Lost Parents meeting area, taking the blame away from the kids.

If you look at the lower right hand shot, you will see artist renderings for New Orleans Square in the window. These pictures were taken in 1966 just as the new land was opening prior to any rides in the area.

Alice In Wonderland Ticket Booth 1966

Today's post for Major Pepperidges blog Gorillas Don't Blog is of the Alice In Wonderland ride showcasing the Caterpillar ride vehicle and in the background can be seen the ticket booth. Here is the front of the ticket booth with the window closed with a similar sign to the Storybook Land Canal Boats. Notice that this ride was also a D ticket at the time.

Also shown is the top of the Mushroom themed ticket booth with the great Alice In Wonderland posters on top. The story is the Alice ride posters without the Fantasyland tag on the bottom were screened for the top of the booth and since only two were used at a time, they are the more common version. Once again this scenic element still exists as a beacon for the ride, but has been moved to make it more prominent in the new Fantasyland of 1983.

One other interesting fact is that the ride has always been late, not opening with the rest of Fantasyland until 1958 and then during the rehab of Fantasyland it opened a year after the other dark rides in 1984. Maybe the White Rabbit should have been the project manager?