An Early Ride on Big Thunder

In 1979 the wildest ride in the west opened in Frontierland. Here is a publicity photograph showing the ride. Imagineer Tony Baxter was influenced by the towering spires of Bryce Canyon National Park. And coming full circle, the new Cars Land features similar towers and rock structures.

Main Street Elecric Parade in the Warehouse

Here is an interesting publicity photograph. Interesting because the photo shows the parade with the lights on, but with no parade cast members. I like that you can see all the various floats. I believe this image dates from the late 1970s or early 1980s.

Another interesting aspect of the photograph is to look at the shelves lining the warehouse. It appears there are lots of new character heads wrapped in plastic bags sitting on the shelves...

Souvenir Friday- The Pageantry Story VIII Winter Olympics

Watching the Winter Olympics and reading some of the posts by other Disney sites, I decided to pull out this rare program which was dedicated to all the participants of the Pageantry Program at the VIII Olympics in 1960. It is the story of the Pageantry at the Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley California. There are some great stories in here on how Walt Disney pulled all his resources to create the first great pageant at the Winter Olympics. One of the biggest innovations was to hold the medal ceremonies in front of the crowd in one location. Prior to this Winter Olympics, the ceremonies were held haphazard at the various event locations and not in front of the crowd. I have posted the entire program so you can relive the Pageantry from 50 years ago.

Unusual Fun Foto

One of many things I really keep an eye out for is the various Fun Foto's that were taken at Disneyland. This is a recent purchase and is a rather unusual one. First off I have not seen any that have a character in them. Second, I believe this location was in the Opera House where the Mickey Mouse Club Headquarters was located in 1963 and 1964. Most of the Fun Fotos were taken at the Kodak shop on Main Street or the location in Tomorrowland by the Art Corner. Here is the photo in the mailer.

Here is a close up of the souvenir the boy is holding. This is the Mickey Mouse Club card that was given to the lucky kids.

Hula Girls and Monkeys on Parade

From a late 1970's era summer parade at Disneyland the Adventureland float with Monkeys and Hula Girls. Check out the great shields on the float, most likely purchased from Oceanic Arts in Whittier. This image was published in the Disney Times, a newspaper promoting all things Disney for employees of the Walt Disney Productions.

Walt Disney Feature Animation 1988

With the new Don Hahn documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty on Walt Disney Feature Animation of the 1990's coming out in theaters soon, I thought I would share this interesting photograph of the crew for Oliver and Company posing on Mickey's 60th Birthday. I believe this image was taken at the warehouse they worked at after being moved off of the studio. It is quite fun to look at all the animators.

Things From the Gate- 1956 Price Reduction

Still in Summer of 1956, Disneyland actually reduced admission prices. (Think about them doing that today!) Of course, the Government actually reduced the tax on admission so Disneyland passed on the savings.

Santa's Village 1960 in Black and White

Since it is snowing here, I felt that it was a good day to post these three snapshots of Santa's Village from 1960. First up is a nice parking lot shot...don't we all love parking lots! Check out the vintage cars being driven into the lot.

Next up are shots of Mom and Dad in front of a scenic building. I absolutely love the mushrooms and when the auction was held of the park after it closed, I hoped for one. However, it seems everyone else wanted one.

Gun Fight At Corriganville Part 3

The grand finale of the gunfight at Corriganville leaves so many dead they have to use a buckboard wagon to haul out the bodies. In addition, the only ones left in town besides the Marshall are the women, so they have to lift and move the bodies. The bad blood between the gang and the townspeople must have run deep.

Souvenir Friday- Salt and Pepper Shakers in the Box

Today's souvenirs are not that hard to find, but to find them in the illustrated box is a challenge. The box is a fun design looking like Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Based upon the design and the mark on the bottom of the shakers, I would date this as 1957 to 1960. Enjoy all the photos of the box.

Gun Fight at Corriganville Part 2

Continuing the views of the large gunfight at Corriganville. Of course, not all gunfights are fought solely with guns, but rather the bad and good guys went to it mano to mano with fisticuffs. First up is a little rope trick to get the crowd warmed up.

Proof that the west was wild and no one was safe, not even youngsters.