Souvenir Friday- Freedomland Employee ID Badge

Today's post features a very rare employee ID badge for Freedomland. The theme park was located in the New York City borough of the Bronx and was built by C.V. Wood. Wood was originally one of Walt Disney's closest employees who built Disneyland until he was fired by Walt. Wood then went on to create other theme parks similar to Disneyland across the United States. The parks include Magic Mountain in Denver, Pleasure Island in Massachusetts and Freedomland. In this case, the ID badge even resembles the early Disneyland ID badges.

To Adventureland

A nice view of the signpost for Adventureland in 1957. Disneyland during this time period used lots of these multiple sign posts listing the various attractions in each land. This sign extols what a guest would see when riding the Jungle River Cruise. On the left hand side are attraction posters to add color to the scene. The white picket fence seems a little incongruous.

The Junction of Adventureland and Frontierland March 1957

Continuing with the vintage Disneyland sign documentation, this time from a contact print sheet of images dated March 1957. The location is the junction of Adventureland and Frontierland. On the left side is Adventureland as the nice painted sign directs you, and on the right side is To Frontierland featuring many rides such as Western Freight Train, Steamer Landing and Keel Boat Rides. A nice touch is the Letter box in the lower left hand corner.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride Entrance and Ticket Booth

A favorite ride is Mr. Toad's and this view of the front entrance and ticket booth is spectacular. In fact, so spectacular, I am speechless. Just note the lovely admission signs and the fantastic waste can.

Casey Junior Ticket Booth Fantasyland

One of my favorite attractions and ticket booth is this nice cartoon version of a depot for Casey Jones Junior Railroad. This ticket booth has been maintained and is now the building used by the ride operators to store their stuff. I absolutely love the schedule sign with the price written over the schedule. The details are nicely oversized and carictured.

Dumbo the Flying Elephant Ride Ticket Booth and Entrance

A lovely image of the entrance and ticket booth for Dumbo. The circus theme is well executed and the large sign is nice. Let's pull out a quarter and ride a flying elephant!

Fantasyland Skyway Ticket Booth

A very lovely ticket taker counts her drawer at the Fantasyland Skyway Ticket Booth. The painting mimics the design seen on the Chalet used for the Skyway roundhouse. It appears the turnstyles received a lot of usage and wore pretty fast.

Jr. Autopia Ticket Booth

A very rare image of the Jr. Autopia ticket booth. This attraction was open from 1956 until 1958 and then was rehabbed into the Fantasyland Autopia. The lettering is nice with the white shadowing.

Mad Tea Party Fantasyland

This photograph is of the lovely ticket booth and sign for the spinning tea cups of the Mad Tea Party. The couple appear to be arguing, maybe she wants the purple cup and he wants the yellow cup!

Main Street Cinema Ticket Booth

A ticket booth still seen in Disneyland today is this booth for the Main Street Cinema. I wonder if this mannequin is the girlfriend of the mannequin seen in the Satellite View of America ticket booth. I like the movie stills in the booth and the turnstile.

MIckey Mouse Club Theater Ticket Booth Fantasyland

A great and obscure image of the Mickey Mouse Club Theater ticket booth with a fantastic sign for Pecos Bill cartoon being shown in the theater. Note the ornate bench sitting in front of the theater. So far every booth has had the shield shaped sign for ticket books.

Astro Jets Ticket Booth

One of the fun attractions in Tomorrowland was the Astro Jets. A sleek ticket booth in gleaming steel, blue graphics and colored fabric panels, the booth calls out to several guests. The little boys hat is a Donald Duck squeaker and his sister's pants look right at home in Tomorrowland.

To answer Major Pepperidge's question, this series of ticket booth images are all dated 1958.

Stagecoach Ticket Booth in Frontierland

A really rare view of an obscure ticket booth, the ticket booth for the Stagecoach ride. The theming matches the nearby Casa De Fritos restaurant. Of course the booth is closed as this ride would soon be. I wonder where the closed sign is today.

Tom Sawyer Island Indian War Canoes Ticket Booth Close Up

A close up of the Frontierland ticket booth I posted yesterday. The admission prices for each attraction is clearly marked for both adults and children. Note that the large sign lets all guests know that Tom Sawyer Island closes at dusk, although the placement of the pricing obscures part of the sign. I love the yellow light bulb and the discussion amongst the ticket seller and two of the Indian War Canoe guides.

Rafts to Tom Sawyer Island Indian War Canoe Ride

Another favorite large sign for a ticket booth is this one for Rafts to Tom Sawyer Island and The Indian War Canoe Ride. Yes, the Canoes were a ride and not an attraction. Note the Indian War Canoe driver speaking with the ticket taker. This is also another great example of the theming of all structures at Disneyland.

Storyland Asbury Park New Jersey

The first thing that comes to mind when most people here Asbury Park, New Jersey is Bruce Springsteen and beach boardwalk. However in the 1960s, it was home to a small Fairy Tale and Western park called Storyland Village. The park closed in the late 1960s as far as I can tell and was redeveloped into a Sear's store. The park sold this small set of souvenir postcards featuring images of the various scenes from the park. I will let the postcard booklet describe each of the scenes found at this cute park. The sets and buildings were designed by cartoonist and illustrator Russell Patterson. Russell was an illustrator including designs for Broadway, covers for College Humor, Judge and Life, window displays for Macy's and the comic strip Mamie. First up is the cover with a nice die cut feature showing the entrance to the park.

Next are 10 views of the park along with the descriptions. (Make sure to click on the image for a larger scan.)

Rainbow Caverns

One of the coolest ticket booth signs is the sign for the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train Ticket booth. The booth is a modified Frontierland themed building, but the sign on top is a plethora of color accenting the Rainbow part of the ride. Another nice detail is the lantern shaped light at one end of the booth.

Mark Twain Ticket Booth

On the shores of the Rivers of America sat the Frontierland ticket booth for the steamboat Mark Twain. The booth has a great sign in the middle of a life ring with a gorgeous painting of the Mark Twain. I wonder if this was saved? The many different United States flags creates a very colorful and kinetic draw. This ticket booth was removed and the landing area for the dock has been opened up in the front.

Close Up View of Peter Pan Ticket Booth

Note that due to technical difficulties, there are two posts today. This one features an image of the Peter Pan dark ride ticket booth. The way that Peter Pan is painted on the load mural, it appears he is supervising the ticket taker. Note the line of pirate ships waiting to head to Neverland.

A Visit to Marineland

This post was ready to go yesterday, but I ran into some technical difficulties, so you will see two posts today...make sure you read them both! Two nice images of Marineland which was an unassuming theme park featuring a plethora of sea animals. The first image shows one of the dolphin pools with guests feeding the dolphin. In the background are the rolling hills of Palos Verde.

The second image shows the arena featuring trained dolphin jumping up to ring a bell. Note the large stadium in the background which featured Bubbles the trained whale.

This park is now closed and is being developed as housing.