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?

Storybook Land Ticket Booth and Signs 1966

Yesterday the Daveland Blog posted an image of Monstro the Whale and the Storybook Land ticket booth themed as a lighthouse. One of the questions was if this was truly a ticket booth. Delving into my collection of sign photographs taken in April of 1966, I came up with these four images showing the booth was in fact a ticket booth (albeit a very tiny one.) However, it appears that by 1966 the booth had been changed to just a scenic element with a reminder to remove a D copupon from your ticket book to ride the Storybook Land Canal boats. The lighthouse has moved around a little bit and is now part of the scenic element at the entrance to the line for the attraction.

City Hall, July 17, 1955 In the Morning

A Picture perfect shot of the Disneyland City Hall being prepared on opening day. It appears that on the porch next to the Fire House an important meeting is taking place as quite a crowd of people are sitting there. I would have hated to be the poor construction guy having to sweep Main Street with a push broom!

Rainbow Ridge From the Mark Twain 1956

Another view from the photographers trip on the Mark Twain in the summer of 1956. This is the little mining town of Rainbow Ridge in its first incarnation. The ride entrance and staging area for the Pack Mules in the foreground is something rarely seen in images. This area was completely changed in 1960 for Nature's Wonderland Railroad. In the left hand side you can see half of Mineral Hall and in the background the newly opened Skyway.

Souvenir Friday- Adventureland Tiki Items

Today I present two different Tiki items sold in Adventureland in the early 1960s. The first is a ceramic figure similar to those seen on the Tangaroa god in the Enchanted Tiki Room pre show. Some of these I have seen have added paint details or even some sort of grass necklace. They are very rare, and the best part is that right above the idols tush is marked Copyright Walt Disney Productions. The second is the set of Moai style salt and pepper shakers marked Disneyland on the back in a neat tropical kind of lettering. Though not as rare as the figure above, the shaker set is very nice. Both are wonderful souvenirs of the time when the birdies first started to sing and tikis took over Adventureland.

Opening Day in the Morning July 17, 1955

I like photographs taken when construction vehicles are still in Disneyland. This one appears to have been taken from a twin of the television camera tower directly opposite. I believe the tower was built at the entrance to Tomorrowland for some overhead shots of the parade and of Tomorrowland. I originally thought this was taken from Sleeping Beauty's Castle, but the location is not just right. As can be seen, the morning of opening day was very hectic with lots of activity including a forklift positioning something. I know a forklift was used as a camera stand on opening day as it can be seen in some of the footage.

Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Before Skull Rock

This is the way the Chicken of the Sea Pirate ship should look, freshly painted and gleaming in the morning sun. My memories of the Pirate ship are of a rather old looking ship that was worn and starting to fall apart. Although the slide is undated, from the lack of landscaping and the fact everyone is in winter coats, I would say this slide dates from January 1956, prior to construction of Storybook Land. In the background can be seen the deserted hills of the Canal Boats of the World. I like the posed group and the little boy and his mom in black. Mom is even wearing black gloves. And of course the Pirate ship without very many obstructions to block the details.

Frontierland Mountain Lion 1956

In 1956 the photographer took a trip around the Rivers of America on the Mark Twain Steam boat. During this trip, he snapped shots of some unusual views of items newly constructed for Tom Sawyer's Island and around the river. This is one of the most unusual showing an early animal figure, a Mountain Lion, on top of rocks set so those on the train and the steamship can see it. He also managed to get in the background the Disneyland Horse farm run by Owen Pope and his wife. I am not sure how long this scenic element lasted, but I have not seen it in any other images.

E.P. Ripley Train Backstage On Opening Day

This is a great image of the EP Ripley Disneyland Santa Fe Railroad Engine Number 2 steaming up backstage on opening day. The train set is the passenger train set which is now part of a personal train collection in San Luis Obispo, except passenger car number 106 which was converted to the Lilly Belle now running around Disneyland as a VIP car. The first train to run on opening day was engine number 1, the CK Holliday pulling the freight train set. That is the train seen in the video of the opening day ceremonies. I like the construction trucks sitting backstage on the access road. I believe this was taken on the Tomorrowland side of the park, next to Harbor Boulevard but cannot be entirely sure.

Danielle from the blog Tofubeast has uploaded a 8 mm film made by her dad at Disneyland in 1967. Here is the link to check it out Tofubeast Disneyland 1967. It is a very cool film with the end of the film being especially nice showing Tomorrowland of 1967.

Motor Boat Cruise 1963 For Mr. Toast

Dan of Mr. Toast fame has been working hard at the San Diego Comic Con. So for him, I found this image of the Motor Boat Cruise showing the line of boats getting ready to cruise the scenic white water of the ride. The ride operator costumes are really cute sailor outfits, I wonder if the front had Disneyland patches on the front? Slide is dated 1963 and the photographer actually took about four images of the start of the ride.

Monstro the Whale at Storybook Land

Back from California and found this slide in my collection of goodies stored at my parent's house. I love the look of Monstro at this time, the two boys posing and then the cool guys checking out the cute girl operating the Canal boat. I do not find very many photos of Monstro, especially showing this much. The rock work for Skull Lagoon is very visible dating the slide to the early 1960s.

While at the show I purchased another grouping of slides that includes pre-opening shots of Main Street and the opening day parade. I promise to put them up. It was great to see some of you at the show, Amazon Belle is one great guy. And I hope those I told about the site are now joining in the fun.

Souvenir Friday- Original Art for Art Corner Sign

This is the original art for a sign that was sold at the Art Corner. There is a whole series of these signs with cute sayings and Disney characters. Most have a label on the back with space for an address and the wonderful old Art Corner logo.

This may be my last post for a while as I am heading to California to sell at the NFFC Disney show. If you happen to be at the show, do not hesitate to stop by my table and say hello. I will be the one with boxes of vintage Disneyland paper. Upon my return look for more unusual photographs of Disneyland and of course fun souvenirs on Fridays.

Sign Over Trail to Indian Village Frontierland

Yesterday I posted a photograph of the Tom Sawyers Island raft Huck Finn and in the background could be seen a tantalizing banner hung over the trail to Indian Village. Here is the banner advertising Mike Fink's Keel Boats, Canoes and the Indian Village. If you check out Gorillas Don't Blog post of today you will also see part of the same banner.

Huck Finn Raft Leaving Dock for Tom Sawyers Island

Last week I put up a photograph of the Becky Thatcher raft. Today it is one of the other rafts, the Huck Finn. I like the activity in this photo with all the people on the raft, the Keel Boats, and the people walking by in the background. There are some details such as in the lower left hand side is a tunnel to Indian Village, a little bit over from that there appears to be a sign strung across the walkway and the best touch is the dirt path leading from the loading area to the main path. And to be honest with you, I like the landscaping much more than the concrete wasteland that is there now.

Red Wagon Inn Restauarant

Another very uncrowded day at Disneyland. This time the scene is the front entrance to the Red Wagon Inn, which after some slight remodeling became the Plaza Inn in 1965. I am always on the look out for restaurant items and images of the eating places and this one is rather nice. The sign can be seen on the wall and the showcase out front features the menu. It appears by this time the attraction poster for the restaurant was not in use.

Lonely Frontierland Stockade

Here is a nice early morning photograph of the entrance to Frontierland. The park looks very empty with very few people walking. If I were to try to take this picture today, there would be lots of people everywhere, even at opening. Also if it was this empty, all the online Disney critics would be wondering what is wrong with the park, it is not meeting the financial expectations, they need to build another e-ticket ride to get customers to come in, where are all the annual passholders and etc.

I am happy that the stockade is pretty much unchanged from when this photo was taken. At least they have not tried to change the look of this area.

My Pirates of the Carribean Rant

Like most of you, I went and saw Pirates of the Carribean Dead Man's Chest last night. I enjoyed the movie but felt let down by Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. I felt he was way too weak and too much of a coward to lead a band of pirates. In the first film, he was a scoundrel, but at least showed a backbone. In this film, things happen to Captain Jack and he just reacts rather than him forging and creating action causing things to happen. For most of the film he is running away from everything and everyone, not searching and fighting for his hearts desire. Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann and Orlando Bloom as Will Turner stole the show with characters who showed backbones and fought back and performed action to change their own course. My other rant is there was not as many in jokes. The first film had kind of a smug smile to it as how can we incorporate scenes such as the Bridal Auction Scene into the film and yet still have the story move on. I will withhold comment on the new audio animatronics in the ride until I have seen them.

Rainbow Hall of Enchantment Mineral Hall Frontierland

One of the least photographed structures and area within Disneyland was the Black Light Corporation of America Rainbow Hall of Enchantment Mineral Hall located in Frontierland next to Natures Wonderland Railroad. This photo is probably the best one that I have seen. I did a quick search and found that the Black Light Corporation of America was just a distributor for Ultra-Violet Products in the California area. To me the idea that a local company could afford to sponsor a whole shop is kind of stunning. Today I am sure that it costs millions of dollars to have your name at Disneyland on a shop or an attraction. I have done a little photoshop work and lightened the image to show at least the inside of the shop. There was definitely a lot of signage in the building. And I love the girl and boy looking in the camera in the lower right hand corner- Are we in the Photo?

Souvenir Friday- My Hat Fetish

Just more proof that I have a Disneyland hat fetish. I think I collect the hats because not that many other people collect them and I can find them fairly easily and cheapily and I really like the variety. Plus they fit in with the T-shirts and vintage clothing from Disneyland I also collect. These two examples may not look that exciting, but are definitely unusual. The straw sun bonnet is unusual in all that defines it as a Disneyland hat is the nice hand embroidered script Disneyland. The other hat looks common, but it is a very early version of this hat with just the Disneyland logo. Most of the later versions have the characters around the hat. Here are some views of each hat:

Now if I could only find the Art Corner Beret that is for sale in one of the Art Corner catalogues....

Strollers and Disneyland News Shop Main Street

I like photos that show the various shops throughout the park. This particular shot shows the original location for the stroller and wheelchair rental shop with a stroller hanging up as advertising, the Disneyland News and print shop and then Jimmy Stars Movie shop. Over the years the strollers moved to the front entrance, the print shop and the movie shop closed and this set of storefronts became the exit to the Mr. Lincoln show and a hat shop. I have done a close up of the store windows so you can see into them.

Becky Thatcher Raft Heading to Tom Sawyer Island

One of the most under rated rides are the rafts used to ferry guests between New Orleans Square and Tom Sawyers Island. Most people just see them as a way to get across the river. I feel they add a certain story element and beginning for the guests. The story is that you are truly Huckleberry Finn and Jim riding down the mighty Mississippi on a makeshift and you end up at one of the many islands that are in the river. And this island is big enough that it has caves and possibly buried treasure. Your friend Tom Sawyer and his friend Becky Thatcher may even be on the island hiding out in the Tree Fort.

This image has a great busy feel to it with the Indian Canoe guide out front prepping the canoes, the raft in the middle filled with a 1950s family and the stately Mark Twain in the back. Even though the park is probably 5 years old at the time, the growth of trees and plants is nice to give the feel of wilderness.

Tomorrowland Flags for a Happy Fourth of July

Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s this was the view that guests saw when looking into Tomorrowland. It was very colorful and filled with activity. I wonder if the Disneyland band performed a flag raising and lowering ceremony at this flag or just the Main Street square flag pole? This Tomorrowland is my favorite period with a sense of optimism for the future and that industry was going to take us to the future. Have a Happy and safe Fourth of July.

Birds Eye View of Disneyland 1958

This is a very nice birds eye view of Disneyland taken from the Frontierland side. I have posted the image at a high resolution so you can ooh and ahh over the various attractions shown. In Fowler's Harbor is the hull of the Sailing Ship Columbia. In front of that is the Indian Village, which I have shown in close up as a second image, with a red circle where I believe the photo that was on Gorillas Don't Blog post of yesterday was taken. Other images to look for include the tracks for the Viewliner out in Tomorrowland, and the various houses used for backstage office locations. In the foreground is the picnic grounds of Holidayland. Enjoy spending hours looking at the details.