Friday, December 30, 2016

Park Entrance!

Here's a nice pair of photos from different batches, each showing the entrance to Disneyland. This was a pretty exciting sight for a zillion kids, and a lot of adults too.

First up is this neat view; it's undated, but I'll take a wild guess and say that it was probably 1958 or '59 - I can just see a Grand Canyon Diorama poster in the distance (just beneath the "N"). Thanks, attraction poster! It was a beautiful day with a cloudless blue sky - maybe a little breezy (look at the pennants).  Don't you wish you were walking into the park with those people??


Next is this photo from August, 1972. The posters are gone - I wonder when they were removed? Once again there is wind from the West - maybe it will keep that summer heat down. Santa Fe is still sponsoring the Disneyland Railroad, I always like seeing that logo. The boy in the red shirt is phasing in and out of this dimension, something that happened a lot in the early 70's. 


9 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

It sure is hard not to love the Main Gate when it looks like this, especially when it's all dressed-up in black & white stripes along its curb. (I think I've just decided on tomorrow's outfit).

Thanks, Major.

K. Martinez said...

I'd want to walk into the Park with those people in 1959 or 1972 any day over the 21st century. Seeing the vintage pics makes me yearn for the Disneyland of yesteryear. Thanks, Major.

Chuck said...

By 1972, that kid should have known better than to wear a red shirt on an away team.

Scott Lane said...

Chuck beat me to it.

Alonzo P Hawk said...

These are some great vintage photos. Thanks as always. I miss the old unclutterd look of the park entrance in days past.

@K.Martinez-ditto, but the wait list for the wayback machine is pretty long since Dr. Browns Delorean got demolished. Why can't General Motors make an affordable auto based time machine?

Good thing I can't quite make out the ticket prices or I really would be missing the good ol' days. Happy Friday Everyone.

MRaymond said...

Seeing these reminded me of the anticipation I would feel when I first spotted the Matterhorn from I-5. It kept building as you entered the parking lot then walked (move it Dad) up to the gate.

Unknown said...

Nanook, I believe that no curb at all, but rather a 1/2" square steel tube suspended from c-stands (located off-camera) to produce a hanging foreground miniature. Well, whether I've been reading too much about in-camera visual effects or it is, in fact, just curbing is left to the reader to decide.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I’ll say one thing for that striped curb - you can’t miss it!

K. Martinez, while I would love to hop in a time machine and go to 1972, I would REALLY love to check out 1959! That was before my time, and Walt and his Imagineers were approaching “peak creativity”.

Chuck, the kid figured he was safe now that Star Trek had been cancelled.

Scott Lane, you have to get up pretty early in the morning to beat Chuck!

Alonzo, don’t forget that Doc Brown has that time-traveling train now! And don’t be so quick to envy those old ticket prices. Why, some people had to pay as much as six or seven dollars to get in. And 25 cents for parking?? Outrageous!

MRaymond, I think almost every kid looked for the Matterhorn from the freeway - my brother and I each wanted to be the first one to spot it.

Patrick Devlin, I believe that the entire train station is rear-projected, while the people are walking around on a soundstage!

Anonymous said...

I wonder how often they updated the population number on the Disneyland sign on the station.