Disneyland Hotel Snapshots, 1958
Today's photos come from Lou and Sue! Sue B. has sent me many MANY scans recently... so many that I would have probably turned these 9 images into two posts, but I feel like I can be extravagant and share them all at once.
First up is Lou's receipt for his April 16th thru 20th, 1958 stay at the Disneyland Hotel. Ten bucks a day? Who am I, Mike Moneybags? Adjusted for inflation that's about $90 a day, still a bargain. I've heard that rooms at the Grand Californian can easily top $500 a night.
In case it wasn't already obvious, all of today's photos feature the Disneyland Hotel. This first one is oddly interesting, with a sea of empty asphalt between us and that oasis of comfort and convenience.
Hooray for the old Hotel trams, pulled by a small tractor! Who needs a Monorail? Trams will get you where you want to go, with fresh air blowing through your wig.
I love this photo of a friendly herd of vintage cars resting peacefully in front of the Hotel's restaurant, "Le Gourmet". I told Walt they should name it, "Le Glutton", but he ignored my brilliant idea.
Listen, you guys go have fun at Disneyland, I'm going to spend the day in the Olympic-size swimming pool. In fact, I'm not going to go to the park for the whole five days. I REALLY LIKE POOLS! The stumpy palms are adorable.
The last three all feature the Garden rooms. Business was booming, even in April. Maybe it was Spring Break? Maybe I'm crazy, but I seem to detect the influence of Japanese architecture here. Perhaps the walls were made of rice paper.
The Hotel is completely upstaged by those tailfins!
It is clear that much effort was expended in creating a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere, with trees and flowers to add color and beauty. The tree to the right is covered in fruit, perhaps it is one of the original orange trees.
MANY THANKS to Lou and Sue, there's so much more to come from them!
13 comments:
Major-
Ahhh... for the days of hotel/motel statements that were all manually entered-!
I do believe the original slogan for the DL Hotel was "a sea of empty asphalt between us and that oasis of comfort and convenience. At some point, Jack and Bonita gave it the 'thumbs-down'.
Cars, cars, and more cars-! That's a 1957 Plymouth stopped beneath the 'porte cochere'. In the next image, we have a 1957 Chrysler; a 1958 Ford; a 1952 Buick; a 1956 Plymouth; a 1953 Ford; a 1956-? Oldsmobile; I'm not up on those 'foreign' jobs; a 1957 Buick; and finally [would you believe] a 1951 Kaiser-?
In the 6th image, we can just barely see a 1956 Chevrolet; a 1951 (or 1952) Chevrolet; a 1957 Mercury station wagon; a 1952 (or 1953) Ford station wagon; a 1955 (perhaps a 1956) Ford; a 1948 or '49 Chevrolet; just the taillights from a 1954, 5 or 6 Cadillac; and then on the right, a 1958 DeSoto-! [The best dressed car of the year].
The 7th image has a lone, 1958 Chevrolet. And finally, the last image has a 1955 Ford 'Country Squire' "woody" station wagon; and last, but not least, the coveted 1957 Chevrolet.
Thanks to Lou & Sue.
Major, I believe the sign reads, "Disneyland Hotel Restaurants by Gourmet." Le Gourmet was the name of a shop in New Orleans Square, which sold kitchen items....such as refrigerators and microwave ovens.
A big thank you to Lou, Sue and the Major, too!
Nanook, I had the feeling you were going to have a field day with all those cars - and you did! I’m kind of surprised how few cars from the 1940s are to be seen. Everyone was buying cars in the 50s! Gimme that DeSoto. Thanks!
TokyoMagic!, you are right, I was confusing the shop in New Orleans Square with the “Disneyland Hotel Restaurants”. That being said, I still think “Le Glutton” is a good name for a restaurant.
“Le Glutton” should have been the name of Gaston’s Tavern in the Magic Kingdom.
Wow, Lou has done it again. As I have said before, I never got to stay at the Disneyland Hotel. This is the next best thing. I can just see myself swimming after a day at the park, and passing out later in the room. Lots of mid century architecture and very cool rides as well. Thanks to Lou and Sue and Major P.
Major, L+S, these are a lot of fun. I'll take this oasis in the sea of empty asphalt anytime. No way we could have afforded to stay here in this time.
Thanks Nanook for the car IDs, that adds a lot.
I would love to see the last two shots in color.
Major, I think that for a while in the beginning, there was some kind of cross-marketing with Gourmet Magazine and the Hotel. I'm not sure how much or what endorsements were made, but I have seen DH menus posted from this era with the Gourmet logo on them. Gourmet was a huge taste-maker back then, very New York centric, so they would bring a high-society cachet to the new business.
That said, I would definitely get reservations at Le Glutton. I'll have the combo plate with the wine flight.
JG
Major and Junior Gorillas, here is the GDB post with the Gourmet Menu >>
http://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/2019/04/gourmet-menu-disneyland-hotel-august.html
Also, I see I left my menu preferences in the comments there.
BTW, consomme madrilene is "in the style of Madrid", which the French interpret as having tomato juice added to the jellied broth.
Daveland has a color shot of that sign >>
https://www.davelandweb.com/disneylandhotel/images/hotel/50s/PBTStars_11_59_N01R.jpg
And an ad for the Gourmet restaurant >>
https://www.davelandweb.com/disneylandhotel/images/hotel/50s/DHotel_Ad_1959.jpg
Cheers all.
JG
Major, $500 a night would be a bargain at The Grand Californian, nowadays. The cheapest room rate, for next month, is $607.00 a night (and that doesn't include the hotel taxes - which I believe are an additional 18% or more). And, if you need to park a car in their lot, you get charged $25.00 a night for the privilege. And btw, that $607.00 rate means your view is a parking lot.
That 2nd picture sure is strange, isn't it?!
Those palms, around the pool, look like they're having a difficult time adjusting to their new home. Sad looking.
Looking at these pictures reminded me that the hotel tram wasn't the first ride you took when you stayed at the Disneyland Resort, back in the 60's. When you checked in at the front desk/building, you (and your luggage) were taken to your room in a fancy golf cart, escorted through the grounds for a tour of everything. Maybe that was also done in the 50's - but I wouldn't know, as I wasn't around yet.
Ahhh... for the days of hotel/motel statements that were all manually entered-!
Nanook, remember when the bank would type-in each deposit and withdrawal on your bank book and it looked like these hotel/motel entries? I still have my first bank book, when my parents got me started on saving, when I was about 5. There are $1 and $2 entries - probably birthday gift money that I put into my savings account.
Nanook, I AM impressed! Just curious, what is your favorite era of cars? Obviously, not the present, as all today's cars blend together.
TokyoMagic! Did they also sell those formica(?) and chrome tables with the turquoise and peach 'swirly boomerangs' all over the top?
Melissa, speaking of Gaston's Tavern, did you ever get to meet Gaston, when at his tavern? Am serious. I have not, but when I see the YouTube videos of some of the Gastons, they sure are hilarious!
JC Shannon, I have a friend (with 'grown' kids) who goes to WDW and never leaves the hotel area. She's tired of fighting the crowds, so she relaxes at the pool, shops, hits a spa and eats - all at the hotel areas, while her family runs around the parks. Back in the 60's ad 70's, you could easily do the same at the Disneyland Hotel...the shops were especially nice, back then (great clothing stores, too).
JG, it truly is a shame that Disney charges soooo much for everything. Their hotel prices have always been more than what most families can afford. The only way we afforded to do so much was because, for 9 years, after my parents first married, my dad worked two full-time jobs. He had a day job AND a night job, and never had a day off (except for vacations). Some days, he only had to work one job - so those days he would catch-up on his sleep. Then, in the mid-70's, my dad voluntarily became a Magic Kingdom Club Director and promoted 'all things Disney' at the hospital where he worked. Being a MKC Director meant he got A LOT of freebies and discounted hotel rooms from Disney. Even up to about 15 years ago, Disney offered all senior citizens 50% off hotel rooms (and you could get several half price rooms for your family, too).
Really cool shots L&S. And yeah, so many neat cars. We were there in the summer of 58, but forget about staying at the D-land Hotel. We were probably at the Peter Pan, in my Dad's trusty 1950 Plymouth he bought the day I was born (I kid you not). He didn't buy a new one until 1959, when he bought a 1958 Chevy Nomad in Arctic White/Tropic Turquoise.
(I looked it up)
Thanks Major and thank you Lou & Sue. I wish my parents had kept all that stuff from back then.
JG, thanks for those links!
DrGoat, there's a lot that my folks didn't keep (that I wish they had), but at least all of us Jr. Gorillas are sharing our fun memories together. BTW, did you forward your tiki picture to the Major? He said he'll post it, if you do!
Melissa, YES!
Jonathan, I always think that I would have a hard time tearing myself away from the park, but if I knew I had more than one day, AND I had access to a nice swimming pool, I might be swayed.
JG, yeah, I think my Navy family would not have stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, we would have sought out a cheaper alternative on Harbor Blvd. It still would have been fun! But my dream was to get up, eat breakfast, and hop on the Monorail to the park. What could be cooler? I wondered if Gourmet Magazine was connected to the Gourmet restaurants; my parents used to be subscribers, and I liked thumbing through the issues. Now they get “Bon Appetite”. At Le Glutton everything has bearnaise sauce on it - AND melted cheese. And country gravy.
JG II, I have another Gourmet menu or two that I will eventually share here, so you will be able to compare and contrast. I suppose the addition of tomato to “in the style of Madrid” makes sense. Funny how tomatoes, a New-World fruit, became so popular in Europe.
Lou and Sue, oh my gosh, $607 is for the cheapest rooms?? Yikes. I hate that they charge their customers so much to park when they are already paying so much to stay there. Interesting about the golf cart, I think there might have been a photo of such a thing in some of Lou’s photos, but I was unable to adjust them from their magenta state. Photo #2 is strange, but that’s what makes it interesting! I’m not going to comment on your replies to other Jr. Gorillas because that seems unnecessary, but I am glad you replied and am grateful for your generosity.
DrGoat, oh boy, that ’58 Chevy Nomad in white and turquoise sounds like my jam. I’m sure the Peter Pan motel was a perfectly nice place to stay. Kidney-shaped pool and all!
Lou and Sue, because it is after 10:00, I’ll share DrGoat’s tiki photo tomorrow!
@ Sue-
I really don't have a favorite era of cars, believe it or not. I just have a slight penchant for car spotting - and the 1950's & 1960's seems to ring close to home - not to mention it's those model years that were most on-display in my formative years.
Sue, you are welcome. Those links stuck in my mind because I like the old-school menus.
It's cool that your Dad was an MKC volunteer. My mom volunteered at the local hospital and she was able to get the employee discount and purchase of the Magic Key tickets, which were really great.
Hearing your stories about your Dad remind me of my Dad. Both hard workers who loved Disneyland. I've since been fortunate to stay at the Grand Californian and the Disneyland Hotel. Dad would have loved those places.
JG
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