Black and White View of Disneyland II

Another quick post showing a nice landscape type view of Disneyland in Black and White.

At D23 last night saw the Disney Rarities presentation with Destino, but my favorites were Stop That Tank and the Winged Scourge. Also saw the presentation on El Grupo and Saludas Amigos. Saludos is a very short film and looks like shorts just kind of strung together. Today should be an interesting day at the show.

Black and White Views of Disneyland 1959- Part One

Normally this is a souvenir Friday, but I do not have any images of collectibles loaded. Instead, a quick post before I head over to D23.

D23 is an interesting convention, the parks and attraction display is fantastic, the crowd has been pretty good, and I met Alice Davis last night. However, the archives display is underwhelming consisting mainly of costumes and props. Where are all the toys and merchandise? How about any interesting documents? The other issue is that the seminars do fill up quickly as there is not a significant number of them.

Mine Train Entering Station

Quick post today- off to D23 to sell and mingle with the Disney fans.

Posing With Big Bad Wolf and A Pig

Fun photographs taken at the old It's A Small World ride entrance. I like photographs when adults are acting like kids. I also like the landscaped setting for the ride entrance.

Disneyland Hotel Monorail Station

A rather nice image of the Disneyland Hotel Monorail station showing some nice advertising signs for the Monorail Room bar as well as the airline travel signs.

Finale of the Carousel of Progress

A lovely image of the final act for the Carousel of Progress. I like how the photographer included not only the stage, but also the large GE sign over the top and the crowd as well.

Posting may be sporadic for the next week as I am off to sell at the D23 Expo. If you are attending, stop by booth and say hello.

1967 Tomorrowland and a Side of Dwarf

Three photographs found together. The first two are of Tomorrowland, specifically the World of Communication mural by Mary Blair as seen from the Peoplemover.

And Rolly Crump's amazing design for the Tomorrowland stage.

Finally for my neice, her favorite Dwarf.

Walt and Ellenshaw Discuss Mary Poppins

Today's post is a nice publicity image of Walt Disney discussing Mary Poppins with special effects matte artist Peter Ellenshaw. The overview of London painting from the Chim Chim Cheree sequence is sitting under Peter's arm.

Souvenir Friday- Disneyland Opening Day Ad

Each year around July 17th many arguments start over whether the 17th or the 18th is the true opening day of Disneyland. This ad seems to prove that the 18th should be considered the true opening day, with a large banner reading Opens Monday July 18. The ad is from a San Diego newspaper (either the Union, the Evening Tribune or even the Sun) and most likely ran on Saturday. The ad copy is very entertaining.

Frontierland Stockade

Two more early publicity photographs, this time showing the Frontierland Stockade Entrance. The first is an unusual view with Sleeping Beauty Castle in the background and chopped trees in the foreground.

The second is a more traditional view and dates from about 1961. Caption taped to the back reads: Frontierland in Disneyland, gateway to adventures down the Rivers of America on the Mark Twain Riverboat or the sailing ship Columbia; Tom Sawyer's Island; to Nature's Wonderland by Mine Train or Pack Mule; The Golden Horseshoe Revue; and all the romance of frontier America.

Native Uprising on the Jungle Cruise

Publicity photograph of the native uprising during the Jungle Cruise. I believe this image is from 1955 or 1956 based upon the caption. The caption on the back of the photograph reads: Spear upraised to "attack" Disneyland jungle explorers, a tall Watusi warrior "threatens" a passing boat along the Rivers of the World in Adventureland. This true-life safari into deepest Asia and Africa is complete with huge hippos and alligators charging the jungle craft, trumpeting elephants, lions, tigers, tall giraffe and other jungle dwellers-- designed especially for the stay-at-home big game hunter.

Disneyland in Black and White- Landscape Views

Three different landscape views from three different lands. First off is Main Street with a shot towards the Opera House and Town Square. There is quite a crowd in the right hand side of the image.

The second image is from one of my favorite rides. I do like this image of Cinderella's dream castle, it truly does look like a castle sitting on a hill in France.

The last image is from Frontierland and Rainbow Caverns. The design of the mesa looks like a mid-century modern atomic abstract design.

On a side note, I will be selling at the upcoming D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention center. My booth number is C129 and I will have vintage Disneyland items along with other vintage Disneyana. Stop by and say hello.

Disneyland in Black and White- Monkey God and Posing at the Exit

Two nice early images of Disneyland in nostalgic black and white. First up is a nice shot of the Monkey God from the Jungle River Cruise.

The second is an interesting shot of a woman posing in front of the exit. I don't remember seeing the landscaped shrub in the right hand part of the photo before.

River Ride at Busch Gardens

When Busch Gardens opened, the major attraction was a Jungle Cruise like ride through the lagoons, islands and the Gorge. If I remember correctly, the ride was filled with birds and other animals. There were no animatronic figures on the ride. However, the landscaping and rock work was stunning. The family also thought the same with five photographs of the ride and the gorge. First off is an image of the boat.

Next up is a nice Father Son bonding moment. Check out the camera on the son.

A couple of views of the rock work seen at the gorge, the second one being from what appears to be from the lookouts that overlooked the ride.

Final shot is of the son standing in the landscaping. Due to the nice landscaping, it appears the son is standing in the middle of a pine forest, not in the middle of the city of Los Angeles.

Back to Busch Gardens 1966

Two more residents of Busch Gardens. A consistent rumor is that the park closed due to an outbreak of Newcastle disease. Although endemic at the time of closing, the real reason for closing the park was expansion of the brewery operations.

Souvenir Friday- Some Unusual Postcards

I am always on the look out for unusual postcards. These three are some of my favorite finds from throughout many years. The first appears to be a normal postcard front (to be exact, it is D-109, (Nickel Tour #0098.)) A nice postcard, but not that unusual.

However, flipping the postcard and reading the back reveals it was used by INA to promote a conference for local insurance brokers. For those into animation, the beautiful pictures that Mr. Disney had for the recipient are Art Corner cels.

The next postcard was purchased from the file copies of a postcard publisher. The card is a Christmas card for Philippines City Council member and commemorates his trip to Los Angeles (with a stop at Disneyland.)

The last is a favorite of mine, the Walt Disney Park in Marceline Missouri. A spectacular view of the sign and the municipal pool. The Mickey is a little off model, but the train looks great. Postmarked from Marceline in 1958.

Busch Gardens August 1966 Part 1

Once a nice garden spot in Van Nuys, Busch Gardens was built next to the Anheuser Busch beer factory. The theme park was home to a wonderful collection of tropical birds, which is the focus of these images. The factory is still there, but the garden spot has been eradicated due to expansion of the brewery.

Dancing Pinocchio

A quick post then off to catch an airplane to Salt Lake City for my job. I will not be able to post tomorrow. Here is a dancing Pinocchio from a float or stage. Based upon the trees, I believe this is Walt Disney World.

Views from a Passing Mark Twain

Three nice views from the Mark Twain. First off is everyone's favorite piece of infrastructure, Fowler's Harbor. The shot looks like it was an overcast day.

The second is of a place I have not posted in a while, the burning settlers cabin. This looks fairly early as the vegetation is still sparse.

The final one is of the saluting Indian. Here he is on the lower slope and much more visible. In later years, he was moved on to the higher slope and closer to the railroad tracks.

Disneyland Is Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

A nice image of the old Disneyland Marque sign. It appears the poor visitors in the lower left hand of the photograph did not read and are now finding out that Disneyland is closed. Behind the sign is the Park employees parking lot. During this time, maintenance and construction was performed on the Mondays and Tuesdays the Park was closed. Maybe that is why large construction projects (Tomorrowland 1959, Nature's Wonderland, Small World) were completed a lot faster than the construction projects of today?