Chuck Stuff!

For those of you who like old Disneyland ephemera, GDB reader (and pal) Chuck Hansen has shared these scans of some of his treasures from his personal collection. 

Let's start with his Annual Passport! He says, "I'm sure many of us have fond memories of getting these at the Bank of Main Street. We picked ours up on an uncrowded Tuesday in October - no line. Note that we paid for the absolutely cheapest AP we could - and we only paid for one parking pass". 

So THAT'S what they look like! I've never had one.

More from Chuck: "1995 saw the debut of the last new E-Ticket ride at Disneyland - the Indiana Jones Adventure. One of the really neat details that the Imagineers worked into the attraction was the repeated use throughout the line queue of a "foreign" alphabet used by the people who had supposedly built the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Fortunately, they possessed a 26-letter alphabet and wrote in English, so all that was needed to decode the messages was a key.

As you exited the ride, hopefully a bit younger, richer, or wiser (although that never happened to me  thanks a LOT, Guy in the Third Row who couldn't keep his eyes to himself! Yeah, you know who I'm talking to), a CM or two would hand out cards with an AT&T ad on one side and the key to the Mara alphabet on the other side. Not only did this encourage repeat visits, it also helped pass the time while you were waiting in that inevitable line. I kept a card in my wallet just in case, and another lived in the glove compartment of my car for 12 years, although after some study you began to notice that most of the characters were just heavily stylized English letters and you didn't need the card anymore.

I found two distinct card designs in my collection. The first - which I have two examples of - is the one labeled "1995". This is the one that lived in my car and wallet, so I know for a fact that it was from that year because we left in October of 1995 and that car never returned to California. 

The second, with a more orange cast, is harder to place. It may have been from right when the ride opened - the code is harder to read on that background and might have been quickly replaced - or might have been from a 1997 visit. I really don't know; maybe you or one of your readers does".

Well, I don't know, but somebody out there does! By the way, I think I might have yet another decoder card… if I recall correctly, it features the giant snake terrorizing one of the transports. Wish I could find it.

And lastly, here is "…. a Blue Bayou reservation card from the summer of 1995. We went to the Park one Saturday evening to celebrate my wife's birthday, and I surprised her by pre-positioning a fancy outfit for her and my mess dress (tuxedo uniform) in a couple of lockers just outside the main entrance. Fully dressed to the nines, we then had a wonderful dinner in water-side seats at the Blue Bayou, followed by dancing at the Plaza Gardens. I was actually asked by the waiter if we were going to a prom… because, I guess, most high school lids wear rank and medals on their tuxedos. :-)".

Chuck is kidding, but I wear rank and medals on my clothing every day, for all occasions. I demand to be saluted, and prefer to be referred to as, "Your magnificence". 

THANKS to Chuck for sharing his Disneyland treasures!