Bali Hai, July 1964

I hope you are in the mood for a Hurricane or a Mai Tai, and maybe some Martin Denny or Les Baxter tunes, because we are visiting the Bali Hai tiki bar, operating since 1954 on Shelter Island in San Diego. From Wikipedia: (Shelter Island) is actually not an island but is connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land. It was originally a sandbank in San Diego Bay, visible only at low tide. It was built up into dry land using material dredged from the bay in 1934. It was developed in the 1950s and contains hotels, restaurants, marinas, and public parkland. Notice the stern (?) visage of Mr. Bali Hai to the left - there is a statue of him as well, restored by Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily in 2001. The sign to the right says "Exotic Cantonese Dinners : DANCING TONIGHT : Polynesian Floor Show".

Up on the roof, a fearsome (but friendly?) fellow known as "The Goof" surveys the landscape below. Apparently there had been another "Goof" on Balboa Island in Newport Beach, and this example is a copy of that one.

Here's a great photo of Alice Hudson, who apparently was instrumental in bringing The Goof to the Bali Hai restaurant. A replica of a giant Tiki statue known as the “Goof,” which had long stood atop Christian’s Hut in Balboa, was hoisted to the roof of the elaborate new “Tiki temple” on Shelter Island, constructed from timbers hauled down from backcountry San Diego mountains. You can read an extensive history of Shelter Island's Bali Hai HERE.

Beautiful Tomorrowland, August 1960

Oh boy, vintage Tomorrowland, it's like catnip to me (these photos make me drool and roll around on the ground and act goofy - goofier than usual I mean). There's nothing that we haven't seen before, and yet... the park looks so exciting and beautiful. The colors are so nice, you can practically taste them. Go ahead, lick your computer screen, it's a free country.

It's August 1960, and the Matterhorn was only a year(ish) old, but wow, what a sight. No wonder over 50 photos have been taken of it (maybe 60)! By the looks of things, our photographer was going up the steps to the load platform of the Skyway terminal - maybe they were seconds from boarding their luxury gondola. After being handed a glass of premium champagne, they'll be whisked up into the clean, fresh Anaheim air. 

Here we are, whisking. WE'RE WHISKING! I love the hues of the early Skyway buckets, especially my favorite persimmon orange pal. Down below, the Autopia, and Screechy who stopped by to say "hello" (well, he just screeched, but we know what he meant). The red Mark I Monorail is at the station, and to the left, the Astro Jets are in the astro-jetting. 

More "America Sings", September 1983

Hopefully you've seen the first installment of photos (taken by Lou Perry and scanned/shared by Sue B) from "America Sings". They are unusually nice, with some startling closeups that you don't tend to see elsewhere. Great job, Lou!

Here's a disreputable piano-playing pig; Wikipedia says that you'd see him during the "Gay 90s" section during the song "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay". I believe that this animatronic was later repurposed as a female pig for the big showboat finale scene in Splash Mountain.

One of my faint memories from America Sings is these Cancan chickens (again, "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay"?), and their rather slow and arthritic kicks - the limits of technology did them no favors. These gals also appeared in the Splash Mountain finale. 

There was a Geese Quartet that performed several songs, including "She May Be Somebody's Mother" / "The Bowery" / "After the Ball" (from "The Gay 90s"), "Ja-Da" / "Darktown Strutters' Ball" / "Singin' in the Rain" (from "Modern Times"), and more. 

From the "Headin' West" portion of the show, this "Sombrero-wearing dog" sang (wait for it), "Who Shot The Hole in My Sombrero?". 

And finally, another scene from The Gay 90s, with a bird in a gilded cage singing "A Bird in a Gilded Cage". Who could have predicted it!

MANY THANKS to Lou Perry and to Sue B. for sharing these wonderful photos of a long-extinct attraction!

Three From January, 1974

Well... I have some "nice but boring" scans from January 1974 for you today. There's nothing really wrong with them, as photos go. But after viewing many thousands of Disneyland pix, these are very run-of-the-mill. Are they "Snoozles"? Kinda. 

It's that nutty old Mark Twain, with Cascade Peak still looking pretty good just behind it. I could almost see a picture like this showing up in a souvenir guidebook of the time. And yet... SNORE.

The Columbia, the first American vessel to circumnavigate Oxnard. It makes you proud. When it's in Fowler's Harbor, it ain't circumnavigating nuthin'! 

And lastly, you knew it had to be in this batch... a view of the Castle later in the day (in January that means 2:00). Again, there's nothing particularly wrong with this photo, but we've certainly seen many nicer and more interesting images of this feature over the years.

I promise to have something more interesting for you tomorrow!

Disneyland Hotel Brochure, March 1961

I love paper Disneyland ephemera, and today's example seems to be pretty scarce. It might look familiar though, stay tuned to the end of today's blog post.

SO... there it is, from March 1961 - a brochure designed to get you hyped for your stay at the most exciting resort in the World! Hey, it's subjective. I love the drawing of "Li'l Stubby", the Mark I Monorail, which (as it says in small print) was projected to open in June. You could be whisked to the park in the blink of an eye!

Here's one side, unfolded. The list of room rates is crossed out - yes, it drives me crazy, but there was a reason for this brutal defacement. Meanwhile, enjoy the spot illustrations to the left, SoCal has everything you need to be entertained. 

It's too bad we don't get color photos of the way the Hotel looked back in those early days, but you can't have everything.

Here's an insert showing the newest room rates, which explains why that portion was X-ed out of the main brochure. The prices are amazing, but don't forget that we must adjust for inflation. Multiply by 10, that's a good general rule. So a deluxe room is $30 per night (vacation rate) - that's around $315 today. Not cheap by any means, but a bargain compared to what you would actually pay in 2025.

I have no doubt that some of you remember the somewhat-more-common coral-pink version of the same flyer (printed a few months later) - "common" meaning "still pretty rare". Here's a comparison of the obverses:

And the reverses:

Frontierland Frolics

It's time for another selection of scans, courtesy of the Mysterious Benefactor! From a massive archive of Frontierland images that he graciously shared with me to share with you.

We'll start with this photo of the old fishing dock on Tom Sawyer Island - I believe this is also the location of the restrooms (the only restrooms on the island??). Some of the trees have taken on fall colors - not terribly common in California. 

Here's a lovely view of the Old Mill, enveloped by vines - it's not kudzu, but we can pretend. In the distance is Big Thunder Mountain - even today part of my brain thinks of that ride as "new" - never mind that it is 46 years old.

There is nothing more terrifying than a Graveyard Duck. There was actually a deleted scene from The Exorcist that was deemed to be WAY too scary. Why? Graveyard Duck (and pea soup).

The ancestors of Spanky and Alfalfa had a thriving sign-painting business, and made a small fortune, specializing in signs for secret clubhouses (Were girls allowed? What do you think??). Here is an example of their more mature work, when they figured out the right direction for the letter "S". 

Here's an unusual angle, from the embankment above the Old Mill, where a sluice channeled water to the big water wheel. As far as I am aware, guests were not supposed to be up there, but I'm not 100% certain.

Oh no! A Graveyard Duck is on top of the men's room! As you know, GDs can only be killed with a silver bullet, or a stake of white oak. I left both of those things in the car!

 MANY THANKS to the Mysterious Benefactor.

Nicer Snoozles™

Here are two Snoozles that are better than most - still flawed of course, but they have something to offer anyway. Let's start with this photo of the C.K. Holliday circa April 1958 - the locomotive is pulling into Tomorrowland Station. The berm kept giant moon cows away (always an issue). The "Fred Gurley" (No. 3) debuted on March 28, 1958 - just a month before this slightly-blurry photo was taken; I wonder if that has anything to do with the bunting seen on the side of the passenger cars?

Next is this July 1961 shot of the yellow Monorail as it zipped over the Sub Lagoon. It zipped so fast that it was mostly a blur! At least the nose area is in focus, I guess.

Vintage Cars

I enjoy finding vintage photos of automobiles, even though I famously know very little about the cars themselves. They are industrial works of art! Stylish, and sometimes even exuberant. Today's examples have me stumped, I tried to ID them, but had no luck. I know that YOU guys will figure them out, though!

First up, a little kid poses in front of a coppery beauty, with classy white-walls and plenty of chrome. The photo is dated "May 1961". I think the child is a girl, with the pink coat and the stuffed bunny. Maybe she caught the bun-bun with her bow and arrow!

Next is more of an overall "look at all them dang cars" picture, from the 1950s. The beautiful Wisconsin Dells are still a popular tourist destination, though you won't see so many American autos there today.

And here's another unlabeled, undated photo of two boys posing in front of a two-tone (red and white) beauty on a Winter day. Whoever can identify that car will win the fair hand of my daughter, Griselda! Terms and conditions apply.

I'm still infiltrating the spy network of an evil villain (as opposed to a nice villain), but will be home soon!

 

Two From 1967

I have two undated slide scans for you today; initially I was going to guess that these were from the late 1960s, or early 1970s. But then I noticed some interesting details in this nice image from the entrance to Tomorrowland!

The Peoplemover is overhead, but there are no passengers on any of the trains, so I assume that they were not in motion. They also lack some of the safety bars added later. At the bottom of the picture, there is a display of various ride sponsors, including Bell, Monsanto, Coca Cola, Goodyear, General Dynamics,  General Electric, and General Ennui. Pretty cool! So presumably this photo is from before the official debut of the Peoplemover (July 2, 1967), I guess?

From the same lot comes this neat view from the upper reaches of the Swiss Family Treehouse, looking toward the Haunted Mansion, which would not open for another for another two years or so.

I'm still on a top-secret mission, but I'll be checking in on my two-way wrist radio on a regular basis!

Flying Saucers, August 1961

I never get tired of viewing photos of the Flying Saucers attraction in Tomorrowland - it doesn't look like anything else! It's interesting that all of the riders in front of us are children (and one teen?), though there appears to be one adult on the other side of the barrier to the left. Maybe this attraction wasn't that popular with grown-ups? I can't think of a single photo of this attraction that shows a long line, in spite of its infamous low capacity.

It's a shame that they couldn't iron out the bugs, it looks so fun! Folks who experienced it say that it was difficult to maneuver, but I'm sure I would have been the best at it, and all the pretty girls nearby would have fallen in love with me. 

Note: I will be out of town for the next few days. A secret mission! I probably shouldn't have told you that part. Talk to you all soon!