Posing With A Character

Two different snapshots from two different locations of families posing with a character. The first is marked for the location of Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado. Lookout Mountain is the home to Buffalo Bill's grave and there is a cool trading post and museum located at the top of the mountain. In 1955, there was a small Indian village where tourists could pose with an Indian Chief. Note the TV tower in the background as the mountain is home to the transmitting tower for local Denver TV stations.

The second is from Disneyland and features a very skinny and scary looking Mickey Mouse. The photograph was taken in 1960 on a very cold day.

Souvenir Friday- Vinyl Matterhorn Wallet

Some of my favorite souvenirs are those featuring the Matterhorn attraction. This is a nice vinyl wallet with an interesting shield design. The design features three great rides, the Skyway, the Monorail and the Matterhorn. Although the wallet is used, the condition is still nice. I think a T-shirt featuring this design would be fantastic.

Frontierland Directional Sign In Front of the Golden Horseshoe Saloon

One of my favorite styles of directional signs are the ones with a number of signs for all the attractions. These signs remind me of the TV show MASH with it's directional sign in the camp. This is a great sign featuring a listing of the many attractions in Frontierland. In the background is the Golden Horseshoe Saloon with its many signs. Unfortunately this side of the contact print is the dirtiest, but as a Facebook group loves to post pictures of Disneyland dirt, I post actual Disneyland dirt (from the paint shop.)

Rainbow Mountain Desert Route

A nice image of a lovely sign featuring the list of attractions that head out through the Rainbow Mountain Desert Route. Riding these attractions would have been a fun way to spend parts of my ticket book. In the background is the ticket booth for the Conestoga Wagons and Pack Mules.

Stage Coach Attraction Ticket Booth

A similar ticket booth to yesterday's post of the ticket booth for Conestoga Wagons and Pack Mules is the Stage Coaches ticket booth. The ride was one of the highest cost ride at the time period needing a D ticket. (E tickets were not yet in existence.) Two fun details are the next window arrow sign and in the background a Stage coach (you can see a horse through the windows.) I also like the striped canvas on top of the porch.

Frontierland Pack Mules and Conestoga Wagon Ticket Booth

Another image from a contact print of various signs in Frontierland and Adventureland is this view of the ticket booth for the Conestoga Wagon and Pack Mule attractions. The wagons were a bargain only costing 25 cents or one B ticket with the Pack Mules cost doubling for adults. Note the dirt and large splotch of Disneyland sign paint on the print.

Souvenir Friday- Market House Ashtray

A very early Disneyland souvenir is this glass ashtray with a graphic for the Disneyland Market House on the bottom. The ashtray is made out of clear glass and the design is just a paper label with green felt behind the label. Since Disneyland was not a guaranteed success, many of the early souvenirs were generic with just Disneyland on the item. The graphic is one I would expect to appear in Knott's Berry Farm souvenirs.

Davy Crockett Arcade Frontierland

The largest store in Frontierland in the 1950s was the Davy Crockett Arcade. Now the Pioneer Mercantile, the store carried all the Davy Crockett merchandise of the time period, along with other Western themed merchandise. There was also the BoneKraft store that made decorative items carved from bone. I like the themed lights for the sign and also Gaston's decorative antler touch. I know the image is dirty, but that is Disneyland sign shop dirt so I left it.

Adventureland Direction Sign

The backside of the Frontierland Direction sign I posted yesterday is the sign directing guests to Adventureland and the Jungle Rivers of the World. The image features a nice look at the transition of building designs and theming of both Frontierland and Adventureland. Gaston was also here as noted by the use of antlers for decoration. A nice touch is the restrooms sign. Note the image has some yellow paint on it, which is vintage Disneyland sign paint so I did not remove it.

Frontierland Direction Sign

At the juncture of Adventureland and Frontierland this sign directed guests towards Frontierland and the Frontiers of America. The photo also offers a neat peak at the various lights used to illuminate one of the Frontierland buildings.

Adventureland and Frontierland Signs

At the juncture of Adventureland and Frontierland a plethora of signs direct guests to the attractions of each land. The photograph showcases the great layering and depth of Disneyland theming, with tiki totems and rattan designs in the background. I am going to assume that Amazon Belle is now wanting to see a series on the phone booths at Disneyland.

Souvenir Friday- Marc Davis Lecture at Walt Disney Imagineering

Marc Davis is one of Disney's Nine Old Men as well as one of my favorite Imagineers. In 1992, Imagineering had Marc as a guest lecturer. In order to promote the event, WDI created this great poster featuring a sketch of Pirates. This poster has been signed by Marc to Leon Janzen. I miss Leon's friendship and the long discussions we would have about Disneyland at the local swap meets.

Mark Twain Landing Sign in Frontierland

A nice view of the dock on the Rivers of America in Frontierland. This is prior to the addition of the Columbia, so the landing is known as the Mark Twain Landing. I like the moose horns on the side of the landing adding to the rustic feel of the landing. Even at this time, the landscaping is pretty barren around the landing.

Plantation House Sign Frontierland

This contact print shows the lovely Southern Gothic sign for the Plantation House in Frontierland. The wheel motif is a nice touch on the top and the oval Chicken Dinners sign is great. The best part is to look in the background and see a number of Jungle Cruise launches docked at Fowler's Harbor. There was a recent Facebook post showing the same situation and discussion that there was only one dock at the time and the launches were being worked on. I think the ride of moving the launches to Fowler's Harbor would be a fun one.

Frontierland Attractions Sign

Sitting at a small park besides the Rivers of America was this large sign with the various attractions found in Frontierland. I like the peek of Tom Sawyer's Island buildings in the background.

Unknown Amusement Park Car Ride- Mercedes Benz Cars

Two vintage black and white snapshots of an unknown amusement park car ride. The cars look like 1950s era Mercedes Benz roadsters and the park is set in a lovely forest location. The track is interesting, looking like a plank road with a single bus power source. The young drivers look very happy to be on the ride.

Late Souvenir Friday- INA Insurance Advertising Poster

A delayed souvenir Friday post...this is a nice poster published by INA to promote their various insurance programs. Since INA was a proud sponsor of Disneyland, the advertising ties the joy of Disneyland to the joy of being insured. I believe there are two other posters featuring Disneyland and INA insurance.

Guest Photographs Part 2- Bandits and Steam Train

Two more photographs from Matt of Vintage Disney Alice In Wonderland Blog. First up is a shoot out in front of the Golden Horseshoe Review. Quite a crowd of guests watching the action.

The second image is from Edaville, I believe. I like the pose and the water tower in the background. Let me know if you have a specific location for this image.

Guest Photographs Part 1- Frontierland and Monstro

Two nice photographs from Matt of the Vintage Disney Alice In Wonderland Blog. We saw each other at the Disneyana Fan Club show and he handed these lovely images to me. Thanks Matt! First up is a view of the Kodak Picture Spot on the shore of the Rivers of America in Fontierland. The sign has my favorite silhouette of the photographer on top.

The next image is of the same young girl posing in front of my favorite whale- Monstro! I like the shadow cast by the ticket booth. Both of these images are circa 1963.

Frontierland Directions

The directional sign that stood in the middle of Frontierland in front of the Pendleton shop in 1957. Note one of the directional signs is for the Davy Crockett Frontier Museum. The old Frontier miners lamp is a nice touch on top of the directional sign.

Mark Twain Tree Sign

A nice image from the 1957 contact print of signs showing a very faded set of signs that promote the Mark Twain. The signs read Steamer Mark Twain leaves from foot of Frontierland pier for a cruise on the historic rivers of America. The signs appear to be nailed to a tree.

Souvenir Friday- Strombecker Rocket to the Moon Models

A two-fer on souvenir Friday featuring a couple of versions of the Strombecker Rocket to the Moon models. The models are the same as are the instructions, but the boxes are different. One cover is very colorful and the other is a nice illustration in blues and red. The box sides are interesting with information on Disneyland and Tomorrowland. The color box features various models from Strombecker.

Walt Disney World 1977

Two Polaroids from 1977 featuring the sister park to Disneyland, Walt Disney World. First up is a very storybook like picture of Cinderella's Castle. The landscaping is quite colorful and also expansive.

The next Polaroid is the family posing in Frontierland with Liberty Square in the background. This is quite a slice of life image, I like the pose of the family.

Columbia and the Matterhorn

Two nice views from Disneyland from 1961. First up is a nice view of the Columbia at the Frontierland dock. Note the fishing shack in the background. Of course my eyes focus on the figure head.

The second image is of a dapper couple posing in the landscaping with the Matterhorn in the background. I love the Ike jacket and tie combination. I can not make out what the girl in the right hand side of the picture is holding, maybe a brochure from the Monsanto House of the Future?

Views From Disneyland Flower Market 1961

Two somewhat dark views of the Disneyland Flower Market on Main Street. First up is a dapper group posing in front of the flower cart surrounded by great flowers. All the guests in the background are also dressed in their Sunday best.

The second image shows a better image the Disneyland Flower Market cart and lots of lovely fake flowers.

George Washington and Princess Aurora

Two slides from 1961 featuring Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. First view is a nice shot of the Submarine Voyage with the George Washington taking center stage. In the background is the colorful world of tomorrow including the kinetic skyway sign and the Monorail station.

The second image is of the guest posing in front of the Sleeping Beauty Castle. The guest is in a fifties staple of clothing, the patio set based upon the Navajo clothing style. She can be seen posing in the same outfit on my other blog- The Corner Cafe. She is a model for those readers thinking what should I wear for Dapper Day?

Souvenir Friday- Playland at the Park Advertising Poster

Another recent find is this advertising (one could call it an attraction) poster for Playland at the Park located in San Antonio, Texas. The park was open from 1947 until 1980. The major draw was a fantastic wooden roller coaster named the Rocket. The coaster first hill was 78 feet high and 3200 feet of track. When the park closed in 1980, Knoebbel's park in Pennsylvania purchased the coaster and rebuilt it as the Phoenix. The poster features the coaster and the Dipsy Doodle with a nice clown face. The poster would have been placed in windows of local stores to advertise the amusement park.

Even More Knott's Berry Farm Snapshots

The last two snapshots from Knott's Berry Farm. First up is a guest posing by one of the many rusty farm vehicles and implements that were on display throughout Ghost Town. I do not remember this piece of International truck sitting in Ghost Town or even seeing an image of it prior.

The final image from this trip is the Old Prospector with his mule in front of the Ghost Town Gold Mine. Knott's had lots of walk around characters at this time to add flavor and entertainment to Ghost Town.