Two Beauties from '56
I've got a couple of especially nice vintage photos for you today! They're from 1956, but they are crisp and crunchy.
Check out this great image of the Autopia! I love the very first Autopia vehicles... simple yet elegant. Tomorrowland had lots of empty space back in those days, as you can see. You do get a nice view of the berm, though! To the left is the lake that the Phantom Boats conked out on, presumably they had already seen their last day by the time this photo was taken.
Here's another super nice photo showing the ticket booths at the entrance to the park. This looks like a perfect day to go to Disneyland! What kind of outrageous prices did folks have to pay to get into the park back in those days?
Well, it's a bit fuzzy, but for the sake of argument, we'll say that adult admission plus a 10-attraction ticket book would run you $3.50. Forget it! Let's go to that nearby Alligator Farm instead, or to Knott's (which was free!).
6 comments:
Ok Maj we can go to Knotts, if you're payin'. Sho, Mr. Knott don't charge no admission, but you've got chicken dinner to do and you haveta pay the Mrs.
Little blond boy by the ticket booth is probably texting. Or scraping some snot off the railing who knows... the gal in the booth behind is talking boys with the blond lady in the ticket booth, older boys, sorry kid. Peeps just strolling in past the turnstyles, after turning thier styles, are looking over those great vintage - but then brand new and current! - attraction posters.
Can smell the gas and oil in that early Autopia pic. Ah well, at least it's from Richfield!
Unfortunately, Tomorrowland has reverted to having some empty space in these days. They gotta pour more into DCA instead y'know.
I know the park hadn't been open long in '56, and I know it borders on heresy to write the word in conjunction with Disneyland, but the Autopia looks downright tawdry in this picture. The immature plantings are one thing and perfectly understandable, but the rest just looks wretched, like some third-rate, poorly-tended, down-at-the-heels kiddie land. There, I said it, and I'm not taking it back!
2 True beauties, Major.
Just look at the road rage in the eyes of those people on the Autopia! With no guide rail, odds are an accident happened right after the picture was snapped. Another tragic, senseless motoring accident in S. Cal. Oh the humanity!
Two awesome '56 shots! Me loves Ticket booth pictures :-) Thanks!
The Autopia does look a little beat up, the roadway looks like the runway surface at LAX! Of course, that's 1/2 its charm. HEY, there's that fence! (link)
Growing up, we used to go to Knotts all the time and Disneyland rarely because as you said, Knotts was free. You could go for an evening, ride one ride and hang out. But when they started charging the same entrance price at DL, we went there more often. If we had to pay, we paid for Disneyland.
Post a Comment