Main Street, 1970s

Here are two nice views from Main Street USA, from sometime in the early 1970s. 

It was a busy day - presumably Summer - and even though the sun is already slightly in the west, a surprisingly large number of guests look like they've only just entered the park and are heading northward; just think, the Haunted Mansion was still new at this point, I'll bet a lot of people were going to head straight to New Orleans Square! The patriotic bunting makes me think that this was close to the 4th of July.

A young boy poses with Mickey Mouse - the kid looks like he has "Bonkus of the Konkus". Tragic!  Other guests are being surprisingly orderly as they wait to meet The Mouse. In the background, to the left, is a souvenir stand. We can mostly see plush dolls for sale on those top shelves - I think I see a Thomas O'Malley from the Aristocats, as well as a "Lady", Pooh, Mickey, and Pluto.

More Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom - September, 1972

Today I am posting the last five scans from Lou Perry, featuring a very early Adventureland from the Magic Kingdom in Florida - scanned and shared with us by Sue B! 

Having never been to the Florida park, my knowledge is scant, so you guys can chime in with whatever you know. We've seen variations on some of these views before, which makes me think that Adventureland is rather small, or maybe it was back in 1972? Here we see "Traders of Timbuktu" again, I'd love to know what sort of stuff was sold in there - I'm picturing lots of imported, non-theme park items from Africa; carved and woven goods, leather items, and such. 

I'm assuming that Lou was in the park bright and early, the place is practically deserted, it's incredible. To our left is a mysterious structure, but the cannons make me assume that the Swiss Family Treehouse is in that direction. Otherwise I have no idea what most of these buildings held.

I thought that this structure with the red roof might be a restaurant, but there's no sign to help; could it be the entrance to a ride? Help!

While Disneyland's Adventureland has its arched entryway, I guess this planter with carved tikis (?) and that sign were all that was needed in Florida. I kind of like it, but admit that it feels a bit underwhelming also. Note that to the extreme right we can see what might be part of Fantasyland (or Liberty Square?) in the distance.

Maybe it's just my imagination, but the tikis look a bit Crump-ish to me (as in Rolly Crump), though of course they might have been purchased at Oceanic Arts in Whittier. 

 Many thanks to Sue B. for sharing these great scans! I'm hoping she has more from Lou's 1972 trip to Walt Disney World.

Previously Skipped

Here are two more "previously skipped" slides - rescued from eternal damnation, and now heading to internet paradise! It's an inspiring story, really.

First up is this undated picture of the Mark Twain as it returned from its trip through the frontier, avoiding rocks and snags and rabid skunks. It's kind of a nice photo, really, I don't know why I skipped it years ago. Probably because it seemed so much like many other scans I'd already shared. That doesn't stop me now! 

Another undated slide scan shows the old Nature's Wonderland Mine Train as it chugged past along the Rivers of America (I believe Cascade Peak is out of frame to our right) before heading deep into the wilderness for a fantastic tour!

A Pair From April, 1974

Boy, it's taking forever to use up scans of slides from April, 1974 - a slide lot that is generally full of underdeveloped (i.e. dark) images. There are four more after this, and then I'm FREE! 

That being said, this first one isn't too bad - it's a nice view of the Autopia, showing how that ride went over water, and through "woodlands" for a very pretty ride. Looking at the two yellow vehicles, I'm guessing that the second car kept bumping the car in front. I used to hate that when I was a kid! Sometimes you'd really get rear-ended pretty hard. But it was just a fact of life on that ride, as you can see to the extreme left, cars just had a way of bunching up. 

Here's one of the "too dark" photos, it looks like our Skyway gondola has just launched from the Tomorrowland Terminal, and is heading toward Fantasyland. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Some of you may have noticed that our friend Melissa has been silent for a while; I got an email from her, and she gave me permission to share it with all of the Junior Gorillas. Here it is: 

The days have all been running together so much lately  that I hadn't realized how long it's been since I visited the fine primates at Gorillas Don't Blob. The old cornea trouble has been flared up like a pair of pants from 1974 for the last month or so, and my vision is so blurry that all the images on the blog look like double exposures of the Bloblong Blobsled Ride at Blobb's Jell-O Farm and Amoeba Ranch, and the text looks like a font based on doctors' handwriting (I proofread this comment one letter at a time!) My regular doctor can't fit me in until January, but another doctor has squeezed me in next week, so fingers and eyeballs crossed. Feel free to share or summarize the whole magilla with the junior gorillas; I just didn’t want anyone to worry. Ook ook,  Melissa

It goes without saying that I miss Melissa and hope that her cornea troubles are taken care of SOON; and that she will be back with us in two shakes of a lamb's tail. Or even one!

Father's Day

It's Father's Day! And some of the Junior Gorillas have graciously shared some of their own precious photos of their dads, which will make for a fun tribute.

Let's start with this scan from JG, from a photo date-stamped "September 1965"; A tow-headed JG stands with his father at the edge of Disneyland's Submarine Lagoon, gazing into the mysterious depths of "Liquid Space". JG's dad has a ticket book in his shirt pocket! And to the right of his head we can see the Yacht Bar, while the Douglas Moonliner can be seen in the distance. What a great picture!

Next is this charming photo from Chuck Hansen; Chuck says: This was taken in our townhouse complex pool in Columbus, Ohio, in August of 1969.  My dad was finishing up training at nearby Lockbourne AFB (today’s Rickenbacker International Airport) in preparation for a 12-month tour as an AC-119K aircraft commander in Vietnam. I was 9 months old. Wonderful! I have vague memories of swimming with my dad, he'd sort of catch me as I "dove" into the water.

Here's a wonderful portrait of David W. and his father, who you might remember from two past blog posts (see them HERE and HERE). David thinks that this photo could be anywhere from 1962 to 1964, and that the car is a 1958 Ford Fairlane 500 (NICE!). And that the picture was taken "somewhere in California".

And finally, here's a picture of your's truly, at the age of two months, in the lap of my dad. We lived in Evanston, Illinois at the time, and my dad was teaching NROTC classes at Northwestern University. You can see his cool "Popeye scar" on his bicep, from when he battled a vampire! I didn't remember seeing this photo before, so it was a fun discovery.

Thanks to everyone who shared their pictures, and Happy Father's Day to dads everywhere!

 

1964 New York World's Fair

It's time for yet another June birthday celebration; this time let's all wish JG a very Happy Birthday! Sue B. sent the following scan. We can't decide if the baby is a girl or a boy (I mean, I still wear a bonnet when I want to feel fancy), but the important thing is that cake! It's a tribute to pylons, if I ever saw one, and perfect for JG (since we could find no cakes with trashcans on them).

Now, on to our "Anything Goes Saturday" post! I'm using up some random scans from the 1964/65 New York World's Fair - always fun if you ask me. First, from 1965 we see this marching band on the a bridge that passed over the Long Island RR tracks, heading toward the entrance to the Fair. This photo gets an additional 75 points because of the Nun!

Next is this view from the Bourbon Street area, which had been the Louisiana Pavilion in 1964, but (apparently) that was not a success. The official guidebook described the area thusly: A variety of restaurants, plus sidewalk artists, Mardi Gras parades and an organ grinder with a monkey, lends atmosphere to this street. Shops feature Louisiana products such as pralines and hand-blown glass. Nightclubs offer music and dancing as well as other kinds of entertainment, and the restaurants include a French Quarter sidewalk cafe'

Next is this fun view of a father and daughter up on the undulating "Moon Deck" of the Eastman Kodak pavilion. Notice the Tower of the Four Winds in the background, part of the Pepsi Cola/UNICEF pavilion where guests could enjoy "It's a Small World".

Speaking of the Pepsi Cola pavilion...! There's Mickey Mouse, safely ensconced above the fray (no switchblades up there). He can still greet guests with a friendly wave. The aforementioned Tower of the Four Winds was a famous Rolly Crump kinetic sculpture with lots of pieces that spun and twirled with the breeze - I like how the sign to the right even has a little wind-powered element on the end!

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to the New York World's Fair.

Tomorrowland In Da 50s

I have a pair of 1950s Tomorrowland beauties for you on this Friday! Starting with this swell look at the entrance to the Rocket to the Moon attraction. That cowboy in line is more used to riding a pinto through the rugged plains; won't he be impressed! He's looking for his bag of tobacco, but smoking is strictly forbidden on this journey. I love the details in this picture, especially the little ticket booth that looks suitable for punishing Cool Hand Luke.

Signage! I love it. A factual and thrilling ride through space at 13,716 miles per hour! Experience the “feel” of space travel - see the Earth below and the heavens above as you pass space station Terra, coast around the Moon and return to the planet Earth.

The initial blast-off, phenomenal acceleration, sounds and visual sensations are all realistically simulated aboard a rocket.

This venture into space is under conditions as calculated for the year 1986 by Willy Ley and Dr. Wernher Von Braun, internationally known scientists and authorities on space travel. Their vivid conception of this eight hour flight in ten minutes is based on technically and scientifically coffect data.

ROCKET TO THE MOON is today’s revelation of outer space travel in the future.

Next is this different look at the corner of Tomorrowland where the Skyway Terminal was located - gondolas come and go, I hope they don't disturb Screechy and her (?) egg. Meanwhile, we get another fun ticket booth... 

... this one has a bit more of an overhang, presumably to help shade the poor CM inside on hot days. I like the graphic paint scheme, resembling something rocket-y, somehow. The signs are just a bit too hard to read, but it appears that an adult coupon book was a mere $2.50, while a child's coupon book was $1.50.

 I hope you have enjoyed today's Vintage Tomorrowland pix!

Toontown, 1998

June is a big birthday month! Today we are celebrating JB's big day! And as usual, Sue B. sent along a vintage birthday photo. From the 1960s? Maybe early 1970s? A family gathers around a boy who is about the blow out the candles on his chocolate cake. 10 candles! I love the decor, especially the pictures on the wall, presumably somebody (Mother?) is an artist. Happy Birthday, JB!

It's time for more photos from the Dream Team (Irene, Bruce, and James)! I realize that it hasn't been that long since the last DT installment, but that's how life is sometimes. Today I will share a trio of photos that I am assuming is from not long after Toontown opened - it debuted June 18, 1988. It was the first new "land" at Disneyland since Bear Country (later "Critter Country") opened in 1972.

There it is, looking a bit murky in these old photo prints - I'm sure the color was actually much more saturated and clear. The green hills with the TOONTOWN sign are a nice deep green, it seemed that this feature tended to fade, or at least it was more noticeable when it did so. Notice Gadget in the lower left, I admit that she looks kind of scary!

To the left is the entrance to Gadget's Go Coaster, a roller coaster for kids; can an adult even fit in those little cars? I rarely wander back to Toontown, so I'm not sure what that building is right in the middle. Maybe Mickey lives there? It's nice to see the Jolly Trolley, before it became a static prop. 

We get a much better look at the Jolly Trolley here, along with the crowds that were common in those early days. I thought that the wonky blue structure might be Donald Duck's house, until I saw that the tower is topped by Goofy's hat. He obviously built that house with his own gloved hands, and he did quite a good job.

Many thanks to the Dream Team!

Rare 1956 Disneyland Hotel Brochure

I have a number of older Disneyland Hotel brochures, and I generally don't know much about paper items from the Hotel. I knew that today's example is particularly early, but hoped that some research would help. And it did! Don Ballard, author and expert on all things relating to the Hotel, has his "Original Disneyland Hotel" blog, and he wrote a brief blurb about this brochure: This is the elusive brochure that was the most difficult to obtain for me... this is the first brochure to use actual pictures of the Disneyland Hotel. It's the second 1956 brochure and is very rare. I love the 50's colors and the 50's look of this brochure. It's kind of amazing to think that this cover image might have been the first photograph that many people had seen of the Hotel.

200 luxurious, air-conditioned rooms and suites! "Large screen" (14"?) televisions, private patios or sun decks. Gourmet restaurant and cocktail lounge! And look at those prices, boy-howdy.

The Disneyland Hotel was low (nothing over 2 stories) and sprawling, typical in many ways to nice SoCal hotels in the 'burbs. I love the way it is still surrounded by orange groves! Wouldn't you love to check out the "16 smart shops"? They even offered baby-sitting services. What a place!

Twainapalooza

I'm continuing to share the many Mark Twain images (there's a lot of them, folks) shared with us by the Mysterious Benefactor! 

Let's start with a look at the Cuisinart blade in the back, it will chop, shred, and julienne whatever you throw into it. Ducks, wallets, dark glasses, ANYTHING! No more need to do this chore by hand like Grandma did.

"Ahoy up there! My name's Shifty Bill. Where can a pilgrim find a good honest poker game in this town?". "I don't know, Shifty, I've been raised in this tiny pilot house my whole life". 

It's nice to see Captain Mike again after so long! "Over yonder is where I rassled a bear for a $5 gold piece when I was 10 years old!". Obviously Captain Mike won, and now keeps his cigars in a humidor made out of the bear's skull. HARD FACTS!

Another day, another pilot. This one was famous for making the Mark Twain do a "wheelie"! You wouldn't think that would be possible, but I merely report the facts.

Captain Mike, you sly dog! He knew just how to charm the ladies. And what gal wouldn't be impressed by a real riverboat captain? She's having the time of her life.

 THANK YOU, Mysterious Benefactor!

Even Yet More Randos

If you have had trouble concentrating, and life has seemed kind of "blah", maybe these randos will liven things up for you! This first one is date-stamped "September 1977", and is a nice view taken aboard the Peoplemover as our train returned to the ever-rotating station in front of us. To the left, "America the Beautiful", and one of the Mary Blair murals. The Rocket Jets are not in the air, but you can't have everything. I don't really remember noticing those three flagpoles in the distance, though they have probably been in many pictures.

Next is a not-very-exciting photo from the vast parking lot, from a slide dated "September 17, 1970". There are only two VW Beetles here (including the one in the lower left corner). In spite of this rather "blah" view, I still kind of like it!

 

Sunday SNOOZLES™

I've been slaving over a white-hot scanner for days, and have a folder full of stuff to share with you over the upcoming months. And much to my amazement, there are not very many total Snoozles to deal with. Sure, there are some that are less interesting than others, but I don't have the real duds that sometimes show up on Sundays. For now, anyway!

Which is all to say that today's photos (from sometime in the 1970s) are not that bad, really; just kind of dull. We all love the mechanical clock that "performs" every 15 minutes in front of It's a Small World. But there are truckloads of photos of that whimsical feature, making it feel a little less special in picture form. 

This one was taken from the Disneyland Railroad looking toward the Matterhorn on a busy day. There's no intrusive gift shop in the way, which is nice. It looks like this might have been a pleasant Summer day. Let's stay until 1:00 AM!

Random Knott's Berry Farm

I have a random selection of vintage slide scans from Knott's Berry Farm today. Enjoy! This first one is date-stamped "January, 1963", and shows a very happy kid aboard one of the little coin-op antique autos. It would shimmy and shake just like Jack Benny's Maxwell! He'll need an unguent or nostrum from the apothecary when it's all over.

Next is this undated shot, certainly from the 1950s, with several nicely-dressed ladies checking out a corner of Ghost Town. I'm discombobulated, any idea where they are? What's that building to our left? I like pictures like this, I always imagine that the ladies were in their Sunday best, and were killing time before a table opened up at the Chicken Dinner Restaurant.

And finally, an unusual shot from the early 1960s, I don't believe I've ever shown Mrs. Murphy's Boarding House before. Good meals! Fish on Fridays! I assumed that this building contained one of the wonderful "peek-in" scenes, so I did a little Googlin'. The OC Historyland website has a nice article that says that Mrs. Murphy's... was the post office in Downey, California. It was moved here in 1952 and remodeled. (The Church of the Reflections, now located on the other side of Beach Blvd. also came from Downey, which was growing rapidly in the 1950s). For many years, Mrs. Murphy’s featured an animated family dinner scene. In 1967 it became the Calico Spice Shop. Later still, it was Grandma Botts’ Bonnets.

Stay tuned for more KBF!

A Pair From February, 1964

I just happened to have two scans from February, 1964 - different photographers, but they belong together, don't you agree?

This first one is a fun look at Fantasyland on a sunny late afternoon. Two ladies are amused to have discovered a REAL ELF. Will the elf grant them wishes? We can only hope. The bowsprit of the Pirate Ship can be seen, and Monstro the Grumpy Whale's starboard side looms. Let's head over to the Fan 2 Snack Bar for a hamburger. 

Now we're in Tomorrowland, at the area behind Monsanto's plastic House of the Future. As if you hadn't already had your mind blown by the futuristic house, there was more to see once you exited. Kids could climb on that amorphous sculpture (I thought it was concrete, but fiberglass seems more apt), very "Henry Moore". Along that back wall, advertisements for various manufacturers who contributed to the HOTF can be read by dad. "Well, I'll be!". On the other side of the wall, you can see an upside-down 1963 souvenir guidebook - I guess they just sold those until they were gone before introducing the newest iteration. 

Three From January, 1977

Let's start today's blog post by wishing GDB friend Nanook a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Sue B. is always on top of everything, and she sent this vintage photo just for fun (Thanks Sue). A tiny child holds a big cake! This almost looks like a Dorothea Lange image. Hey Nanook, what's that car?

BUT WAIT! Sue sent two later additions for Nanook. A veritable cornucopia. First up is this fun photo of a celebration of some kind at a place called The Blue Banjo, which was in Los Angeles. So many Mickey Mouse sweatshirts! What does it mean??

And Sue also sent along this scan, from a photo taken by her dad, Lou Perry. It shows some sort of high-tech "command center". Banks of computers with magnetic tape data reels! A typewriter! Swivel chairs! Plenty of buttons to push! Sue knows of Nanook's love of technology, this is probably what his dream home looks like.

AND NOW, here's a trio of scans from a lot of slides date-stamped "January, 1977". They aren't the greatest, but fun can still be had. 

Oh boy, look at that palm tree, and those pennants and flags - the winds were fierce on that day. Yuck! But you take what you get, and just have to deal with your funny-looking mess of a hairdo. Why, I'm chucking just thinking about it! Besides the Jolly Roger, we can see that flag that has come up in conversation before.

A small crowd enjoys a lunchtime musical performance over at the Carnation Plaza Gardens; there's a banner against the wall to the left, and it took me a while to decipher it, but I believe that it says "The Strawhatters". Those guys used to perform at the old riverfront bandstand in Frontierland, but they've moved to Main Street. 

You can make fun of It's a Small World all you want, I still like it! It's colorful, playful, and charmingly mid-century in its designs, thanks to the artistry of Mary Blair and Rolly Crump. The song doesn't bug me, either.

There are more scans from this batch, coming up!