Aerial Postcard Views
For years, I was an avid (or rabid) Disneyland postcard collector. Trust me, it was ridiculous what I wound up paying for some rarer cards. But that's another story! Today's post was inspired by another blog, the Disneyland Postcards Blog. I decided to share three other postcards that have nice aerial photos of the park. All of these photos were taken on the same day, during a single flyover, which is sort of interesting. The cards all credit photographer James Blank (any relation to Jerri?) and were printed by a company called "California Scene".
Since we can see that Mickey's Toontown is under construction, it seems pretty safe to guestimate the date of these photos at around 1992. If anyone sees a clue that can narrow things down more accurately, please chime in! "It's a Small World" is covered in scaffolding, I wonder if this is when it was repainted in the pastel palette that I don't miss? You can also see the roundhouse for the Monorails and Trains in the upper right, and there is still a Peoplemover in Tomorrowland.
This one is kind of odd... of all the aerial views that one could take, and then publish, why this one? Half the fun of an aerial photo is using your imagination to "walk through" the park, the same way I did when looking at the giant maps when I was a kid. I guess the card's title doesn't lie when it says "Anaheim" rather than "Disneyland".
Due to my bionic vision (not to mention my kung fu grip and lifelike hair), I could spot some of the same cars in the parking lot that are in the previous photo. This shot gives you a nice view of the "backstage" area between Main Street and Tomorrowland. Does anybody know anything about a backstage road called "Shumaker (sp?) Road"? Can it be seen in this photo? 
I hope you've enjoyed these bird's-eye views, I will see what other neat postcards might be of interest to you.
13 comments:
Schumacher Road is parallel to Harbor Blvd, behind Tomorrowland, you can see it on the last card, on the right passing under the monorail guideway.
Kewl. Tho' I dispute that you hair looks life like. teehee! Just pullin' your prehensile tail.
James Blank originally aspired to be an artist, but he always drew a...
I like the yellow swirl flower design in the top pic around the Tomorrowland entrance. You're right, that second one is a real odd pic to pick. I also see Videopolis I think. Or was that still going.
Thanks for sharing these. :)
those are just wonderful and I wish I had them in my collection. I do like the shot of Anaheim, they show aspects of a park visit and preserve an 'any given day' aspect to the surroundings.
i liked them all and thanks.
The "Anaheim" card is puzzling: Nobody goes to Clark County - they go to Las Vegas!
Maybe there was a contractual obligation to feature the city this way.
Anonymous is right: Schumacher Road could be entered off of Ball Rd (a gate at that point was used to stage some parades, and crossed the tracks to enter Fantasyland (now the location of Small World). It continued outside the berm (along Harbor) until it reached the backside of Tomorrowland (another gate is still there there), and finally ended in front of the employees parking entrance and lot off Harbor. I used zoom around that road a lot as a shortcut to work.
I think it looks like the Skyway is gone in the first picture - I know it closed in November 1994 but off the top of my head I can't remember when the hole in the Matterhorn was patched . . . and no TDA building? When was that built? Maybe we could narrow it down that way?
Now that I look at all the postcards (especially #3), I think the Skyway is gone for certain. There is no Christmas Tree on Main Street (postcard #3) so I think this might mean we're looking at a time after December '94 / Early January '95.
I also think in Postcard #1 it appear there are "Disney Walls" blocking entrance to anything beyond Storybook Canals.
OR - I'm completely wrong and have no idea what I'm on about (which is certainly the most likely scenario).
Now - I'm REALLY confused - I just read that Toon Town opened in January of '93. How can the Skyway be gone - (late 1994 according to Yesterland) but no Toon Town?
I give up. These are pictures from a Disneyland is an alternate universe.
Hrundi, the Skyway towers that held the cable are still there if you look closely...it just doesn't appear to be running. The Skyway closed in October of '94 and the towers were removed by the very next day.
I have these three postcards and have tried to pin down a year for them myself. Major, I think you are probably right in guessing 1992. That construction could be Toontown being built, or maybe it's the removal of Baloo's dressing room from the Disney Afternoon Avenue. The train tressel was already in place before Toontown was built because Baloo's dressing room sat on the other side of the tressel. The Disney Afternoon Avenue was at DL in 1991 and at that time, the Small World Clock was still painted in shades of blue. We need to find out when exactly the facade was painted in pastels because that is probably what's going on in those postcards. could they have painted Small World at the same time they removed the Disney Afternoon Avenue props? That would explain the whole area being walled off.
Just my two cents! :-)
It’s always nice to see views that give you a behind the scenes look. Fun to realize that Main Street is really just a few steps from Tomorrowland and Adventureland.
Akkk! You're right TokyoMagic! I see the towers in Fantasyland in the 3rd picture now.
As I surmised earlier:
I'm completely wrong and have no idea what I'm on about (which is certainly the most likely scenario).
These are not the droids you're looking for.
Move along. Move along.
these views always remind me of how big Disneyland really is, tho it never seems so when you are there on the ground
thanks for sharing!
Major - Great post!
Hrundi - "These are not the droids you're looking for. Move along." thanks for the Sunday morning chuckle!
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