The Plaza Inn, May 1985

Here's a trio from Lou and Sue, featuring the Plaza Inn, circa 1985. They have turned a yellowish-orange, and my attempts at color-correction didn't turn out so great, but they are still nice pictures from over 30 years ago.

The Plaza Inn began life as the Red Wagon Inn (seen in yesterday's post!), sponsored by Swift. It had a private club in the back (sort of a pre-Club 33) where alcohol was served. In 1965, the restaurant was remodeled with crystal chandeliers, just like the kind I have in my grand dining room (the table seats 40). 

Stroller parking! And so it begins. I'm looking at the shield on the awning and trying to discern what the design is, but... no can do. Do you guys eat at the Plaza Inn? I only remember eating there once, and the food was pretty good - not sure why I haven't gone back.

And here's one final look... I've always liked the yellow and white striped umbrellas. And look at all those empty tables!

As always, many thanks to Lou and Sue!!

Red Wagon Inn, 1956

I recently scanned some nice photos of Disneyland, circa 1956, and am looking forward to sharing them with you over the next several weeks (or months). 

Perhaps the fanciest eatery in the park in those early days was the Red Wagon Inn. A number of Disneyland Main Street buildings (Main Street Station, City Hall) were based on actual structures, I wonder if this one was as well? 

Over at Werner Weiss's wonderful Yesterland site, he shares a quote from 1955: The Red Wagon Inn is one of several charming eating places in Disneyland. It is resplendent in the elegance of a by-gone area reminiscent of the famed eating houses of yesterday. All appointments are authentic mementos of the gay and glamorous 90’s—including the stained glass ceiling, entrance hall and foyer taken from the St. James home in Los Angeles, one of the West’s most noted old mansions. Atmosphere, however, is not confined to the building alone. The menu itself brings back visions of historic good eating—featuring steaks and chops.

I love details like the weather vane that looks like (what else?) a red wagon being pulled by a horse. Hey, there's a helicopter! Darn paparazzi. 

Here's a view from the Inn's steps, looking past the attractive sign toward the Plaza and Sleeping Beauty Castle. So much grass! So many trees! So few Wookies! While this is not an exciting scene, it conveys how beautiful the park was in those early days.

Stay tuned for more pix from the 1950's!

Random Scans From Lou and Sue

Sue B. has sent a bunch of wonderful scans from the large cache of photos, slides, and other artifacts that belong to her dad, Lou Perry. Some of them were stand-alone images, so I decided to combine a few of them into one post.

How many of you went to Disneyland's 25th birthday party in 1980? I didn't, but it's amazing to me that they had the park open for 25 hours straight. I wonder how that worked with cast members? Imagine having the midnight to 8 A.M. shift, yikes. Were there people who attempted to be there for the full 25 hours? I suppose there would be some bragging rights, but at some point I think I would have found a nice comfy flower bed and fallen asleep.

If there's one thing Donald Duck knows how to do, it's lose his temper. Another thing he's good at is posing for photos. He learned this pose from Shirley Temple, I'm guessing.

A series of snapshots from 1958 had turned so pink that I was unable to restore the color, but I figured that some of them were nice enough that they were worth posting, even in black and white. Here's the Fred Gurley, which was pretty new to Disneyland, even though the locomotive was built in 1894. What's that fellow doing up top?

Here's a wonderful color snapshot of Sheriff Lucky (circa 1958) - one of the characters seen in Frontierland in the early years. I don't think I have a single photo of him! Some hotshot has Lucky right where he wants him.

Thanks to Lou and Sue for these fun pix!

Photos From Huck

Huck, long-time friend of the GDB, contacted me recently and included scans of some photos that he personally took back on October 9th, 1991. There's some good stuff! Take a look-see:

Wow, it is kind of shocking to see the Mark Twain in such a state of disrepair (or "mid-repair"?). By 1991 the venerable steamboat was 35 years old; I have no idea if it had undergone other significant overhauls in the meantime (though I do remember reading about how some stairs were relocated at some point). I suppose it only makes sense that some wood-rot and other issues would eventually need to be addressed.

I think the foreground might show part of the loading docks for the canoes, what do you think? Maybe the Columbia was being restored in Fowler's Harbor. We've seen more than a few photos of the drained river, but it's always interesting to me. That bulldozer must be scraping the bed of the river so that it's nice and flat.

Everything looks kind of forlorn and desolate. Castle Rock should be teeming with guests (though Tom Sawyer Island was closed of course). Hey, I just realized, the island doesn't float like I always thought!

There was a time when the sign shop would make custom signs for a particular renovation, but this one is generic. Looks like Mickey has a way to go before the Mark Twain (and the River) reopens to the public.

Many thanks to Huck for sharing these photos! There are more to come.

Snapshots, August 1968

Normally my "Snoozer Sunday" pix are pretty unimpressive, but today's examples aren't too bad. The only downside is that these are scans of humble photo prints instead of slides.

There's the famous Disneyland sign, with its big blocky letters; there's no mistaking this place for any other. Go get your Grand Slam breakfast at Denny's before your long day at the park. And when you're done, go see Jack Carter perform his comedy gold at the hotel (I honestly did not know that the Disneyland Hotel ever booked comedians).

And here's a familiar (but welcome) look at Skull Rock, Casey Jr., and the outdoor dining area behind the Pirate Ship.

And I had to include it... a photo of Sleeping Beauty Castle, from later in the day; August days are long, maybe this was six o'clock? 

I hope you have enjoyed today's snapshots!

Space Mountain Construction, Orlando 1973

By pure happenstance, I managed to acquire a few slides that were taken in 1973, during the construction of the Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain - the first Space Mountain ever! Walt Disney World had only been open about two and a half years.

First up is this neat aerial photo, date-stamped "June, 1973", looking down on this former swampland. I'm sure that there are many details that escape me because of my lack of knowledge, but I can see things like the large parking lot on the other side of the Seven Seas Lagoon; the Polynesian resort is also visible on the far side of the lake, while the Contemporary hotel is to our left. One of the WDWRR Trains can be seen in the lower right, and we get a glimpse of a backstage area. I'm not sure if there is anything significant about the three islands in the Lagoon.

Zooming in, there's the early stages of Space Mountain construction. When you compare it to what's nearby, you really get a sense of how huge that structure is. Just to the right of the center of this view (near the Skyway terminal) is what appears to be a tent -  though it might be a permanent building. Any idea what that was?

The next two are date-stamped "July, 1973", though they look like they were actually taken a few weeks apart at least. I assume that they were both taken from the Grand Prix Raceway or its queue. There's the crude structure to our left, with those (pre-stressed?) concrete columns, probably cast on-site. 

Things are moving right along, though it still is a far cry from the sleek white cone of the finished attraction. It's fun to see the Skyway gondolas and Grand Prix Raceway cars, "business as usual". Space Mountain turned out to be one of the most iconic roller coasters of all time, it's almost hard to imagine a time when it wasn't there.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Orlando, Florida!

More Fun at the Fair!

It's time for more "Fun at the Fair"... the 1964 New York World's Fair, that is. We've already seen some nice surprises from this batch of slides (check 'em out HERE and HERE). And there's one more goodie today!

First up is this neat photo from outside the Ford pavilion - there's one of the transparent tubes that the late-model Ford automobiles traveled through as part of the "Magic Skyway" attraction. On the walkway in front of us are some previously-seen Disney luminaries, including Ken Anderson (turning in our general direction), with Les Clark and Blaine Gibson to the right of Ken. It's neat to think of these longtime employees getting to see the big Disney-produced exhibits at the Fair! Presumably they didn't have to wait in that long line.

Next we're on the roof of the "Better Living Center", which was right next to "It's a Small World". And who look who is also there - Annette Funicello! She's looking cute in her pink coat. 

Note the helicopter in the upper right, those things show up in a surprising percentage of Fair pix.

I'm still unsure of the identity of  the gentleman to the left, though it has been suggested that it could be Paul Hartley. Other than Annette, the ladies remain a mystery to me. I'm pretty sure the man next to Annette is Van Arsdale France, and Blaine Gibson and Les Clark are to the right.

Here's an elegant 1964 portrait of Annette; isn't she lovely? She was 21 years old, and nearing the end of her time with Disney (though she did The Misadventures of Merlin Jones that year, and The Monkey's Uncle in '65).

There are still a few additional slides with some Disney friends enjoying the Fair, although those are not as amazing as the ones I've already shared. You'll see them anyway!

More Peoplemover Views, November 1975

It's time for more pictures from a continuing series of photos taken from a trip on the Peoplemover, circa November 1975. 

Let's start with this interesting and unusual view looking down on a Peoplemover train as it passed beneath the Monorail beamway. So much criss-crossing! "Walt, baby..." I said to Walt Disney, "... ordinary people don't like all this jazz, with the crissing and the crossing. In my years in showbiz, I have found that they like two things - trains that go in straight lines, and funny pictures of cats. ". I thought I was pretty persuasive, but Walt didn't listen. Hey, he was paying me a cool million a year, he could do whatever he wanted.

"Walt, bubeleh... nobody wants to ride on a rollercoaster that looks like a mountain. People like two things - flat rides, and the Kardashians". Makes sense, right? Not to Walt it didn't. Sometimes I couldn't figure that guy out. But he had moxie, ya gotta give him that! Moxie to spare.

There are still 12 more photos from this batch! Mostly Peoplemover-related, and all Tomorrowland-related.

Nature's Wonderland, July 1976

Here's a trio of fun pix, taken during the Bicentennial year!

Let's start with this little girl - you may remember her as she was being hugged by one of the chipmunks. She's posing as if she is practicing at the ballet barre, just like I always did. 

A trio of tots has materialized! I love the Nature's Wonderland RR locomotives; it's heartbreaking to think that only one of the still exists (as far as I know), though that one is now in the hands of the Carolwood Society, and funds are being raised to restore it to its former glory.

Now we're aboard one of the plucky li'l trains. I love this especially colorful view of the Rainbow Desert with its geysers and paint pots - what a beautiful ride. It would close forever on January 2, 1977 - just five months after these photos were taken.

Instamatic Rescans

My friend Mr. X discovered some negatives in a drawer, and it turned out that some (but not all) were of photos that we've seen on GDB before - though at the time I only had the prints to scan. It's always better to scan from negatives or transparencies! 

For instance, here's a nice picture featuring a busy New Orleans Square, with that group of girls, all wearing the same paisley shirts and blue jackets (why??). 

The new scan (from the negative) reveals a lot more detail in areas that were washed out in the print, such as the building in the upper right, or the awning to the left. Overall the image is crisper, too.

Next is this nice photo of some original silkscreened attraction posters; Tom Sawyer Island! Swiss Family Treehouse! Adventure Thru Inner Space! The Jungle Cruise! Primeval World! All so great.

They sure look better in the new scan, and we can even see that the sixth poster to the right is for the Carousel of Progress, which narrows down the date that this photo was taken. In the original post (back in 2013), Mike Cozart informed us that this was "taken over near the outside locker area located near the tram stop and restrooms (west of the Disneyland entry).

I hope you have enjoyed these rescans; the rest of the Instamatics from Mr. X will be new, never-before-seen images.