Tomorrowland, September 1977

After a few years in Pennsylvania, my family returned to California; it took another year or so before I was able to get back to Disneyland (going with friends from before our move to the east coast) - the year would have been 1977. I still remember how strange it felt walking into Town Square! It felt smaller than I remembered. The same, but different. Favorite attractions had close in the interim, replaced by new ones. The Carousel of Progress, replaced by "America Sings"; the Pack Mules (not replaced of course); Santa Fe ended its sponsorship of the Disneyland Railroad; "Mission to Mars" replaces "Flight to the Moon". "Nature's Wonderland" closed near the end of '77. And so on! 

Today's photos, from 1977, show what I must have seen on that first return trip. Tomorrowland felt pretty familiar, for the most part, with the always-wonderful Peoplemover and Rocket Jets, and the Mary Blair tile murals were still in place; and Adventure Through Inner Space was still there, one of my favorite rides ever.

However, Space Mountain was BRAND NEW, having debuted to much acclaim on May 27, 1977! I remember being blown away by the whole experience, and I remember the very long queue - nobody likes long lines, but it somehow added to the experience, ramping up our anticipation. Obviously, seeing today's scans really takes me back to a specific time in my life!
 

Da Subs, June 1967

Here's a pair of fun views of the wonderful Submarine Lagoon on a perfect June day. As always, I love the expanse of turquoise water; here at the load area, the lagoon is roiling with bubbles from undersea vents. The ramp up to the Monorail platform is to our right (looks like the ramp could use a few paint touch-ups). An R2-D2 trashcan observes the mayhem silently. Beep-boop!

The lady with the white sweater and red skirt must be related to the photographer, she smiles in our direction just before she boards the genuine new-kew-lar sub (I assume the girl next to her is her daughter, waving at us). Why wouldn't the person who took the picture be in line with the rest? Maybe they suffered from claustrophobia, or ichthyophobia, or aquaphobia. Or all of the above. 

 

1950s Views

Today's slides were from a batch that was very faded - I don't know if they were always this way, or if the emulsions diminished over the past 60+ years. But, luckily, Photoshop can help in a big way! As I said in an earlier post with slides from this batch, I wish I'd remembered to save "before" images, but I forgot to do it. Durnit!

This smiling woman reminds me of one of my 2nd grade teachers, which makes me automatically like her. I wonder if she worked with kids?? I could see a photo like this showing up in an early souvenir guidebook.

Next, she and her mom (?) smile as they gaze at the wonders within the Ruggles China and Glass Shop on Main Street. I need several ceramic figurines to put above my kitchen sink, and perhaps one or two in my den. If they have decorative salt and pepper pairs, there is no telling how much money I'll part with!

More Stuff From the Box

I've grabbed a new box full of fun for the next few "Stuff From the Box" installments. It's a pretty nice old lithographed tobacco tin, with the stern countenance of Daniel Webster, oozing solemnity. He was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th U.S. secretary of state under presidents William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Millard Fillmore. Inside the box, there's the usual selection of random objects, along with a few "gems".

I used to have fun bowling with various family members when I was younger, even though I was not particularly good. I could never throw the ball any way other than "dead straight and fast", which led to a lot of splits. But it was a good excuse to eat hot french fries with lots of ketchup, and there's nothing wrong with that. For whatever reason, bowling's popularity seems to be waning year by year. The pin below is a nice example from 20th Century Lanes (wherever that was) in celebration of somebody scoring 225 - not too shabby. I love the rocket theme.

I've mentioned my fondness for old employee pins and badges (in fact all of the rest of today's items fall into that category). This next object is an ID badge that belonged to a fellow who worked at General Electric's facility in Schenectady, New York. I guess he was hired in 1949? (GE's) company's roots in Schenectady go back to Thomas Edison, who moved his Edison Machine Works there in 1887. GE's Schenectady facility is known for its manufacturing and service center capabilities, particularly in areas like steam and generator rotor services, and advanced generator manufacturing.

Here's a cheerful orange name tag (sans name) from a Rexall drug store. I assumed that Rexall was still a thing, but Wikipedia says Rexall was a chain of American drugstores, and the name of their store-branded products. The stores, having roots in the federation of United Drug Stores starting in 1903, licensed the Rexall brand name to as many as 12,000 drug stores across the United States from 1920 to 1977. They've been gone since 1977?

Here's an attractive employee badge from Pabst Breweries (in Milwaukee, Wisconsin), date unknown. The Pabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and was, by 1889, named after Frederick Pabst. The brewery's best-seller was a lager, Best Select, which began public sales in 1875. By 1893, Pabst became the first brewer in the United States to sell more than one million U.S. barrels (120 million liters) of beer in a year. The beer was also the favorite of Frank Booth from "Blue Velvet"!

I really like the design on this tiny pin (small enough that it was hard to photograph) given to a Convair employee in honor of that person's fifth year with the company. Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, was an American aircraft-manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft. In 1953, it was purchased by General Dynamics, and operated as their Convair Division for most of its corporate history. It also manufactured the first Atlas rockets, including the rockets that were used for the crewed orbital flights of Project Mercury. The company's subsequent Atlas-Centaur design continued this success and derivatives of the design remain in use as of 2025.

Stay tuned for more STUFF FROM THE BOX!

La Goon, May 1960

I love the old Sub Lagoon, but today's photos aren't the best representations of that feature - the day was gray and kind of dreary, and let's face it, the compositions are fairly "meh" as well. But... we must soldier on. 

Does this look like the kind of lagoon a mermaid would live in? No way! Which is why they aren't there. They moved to someplace with bright sunshine (leaving a couple of seashells behind). There are almost no guests in the queue, and two (?) bored CMs. We don't even get a passing Sub or Monorail. In fact, even the Monorail queue (on the top level) appears to have a mere four or five people waiting for the next train. I would appreciate having no lines, but a slightly bigger crowd does add to the energy and fun.

I suppose this one is a little bit more interesting (though even more gray), with some foreground Subs, hatches open to let out the bats (a common problem with all submarines). One good detail - we get a clear view of FUDGIE! It's so good to see him (her?) again! I wonder if the Skyway was down for maintenance? It's unusual to not see one single gondola.

Storybook Land Snoozles™, March 1961

I've been scanning slides from a box that seems to have a lot of duds (unfortunately); especially this batch from March, 1961. They've been blurry (a lot of them!), or poorly-composed (kind of a lot of them, too). I almost wonder if they weren't taken by a child with a camera. Anyway, Here are three Storybook Land photos that are lousy!

"Up ahead, you'll see where the Three Little Oinks lived. There's the house of sticks, and the house of bricks, and one Oink ate his house, which happened to be a house of pancakes". (Guests in the boat mutter to each other in amazement - "Pancakes? Well I never!"). You can tell that the fellow to the right is can't stop thinking about his TPS reports... double-spaced, perfect indents and margins... things of beauty!  

"Next we see Geppetto's Village, which the toymaker rules with a wooden fist. The streets are deserted because they are afraid that if Mr. G sees them, they'll be iced". (More excited murmuring from the guests. "My Uncle Leonard was iced!").

Never take a photo if it 1/3 of it is going to be the backs of people's heads, OK? Listen to your pal, the Major. "To the left I'm sure you'll recognized the village where Cinderella lived with her wicked stepsisters, Monkey-wrench Mary and Head-lock Harriet" - yes, they were both professional wrestlers". (Gasps from nearby: "Wrestling is the Greatest Sport, everyone says so!"). 

The Magic Kingdom

Here are three Magic Kingdom RANDOS for you! Starting with this photo from November 1973. If you wanted, you could have your poor kid sit still while an artist drew her portrait in pastels. The look on her face speaks volumes. I wonder how long a typical drawing took? It seems to have been a popular feature, but it's possible that, over time, guests passed it by.

Next is a beautiful photo, dated "November, 1978"; the sun has just set, and the sky is all pinks and violets. The Tomorrowland entrance pylons/fountains look striking at this time of day - the castle moat reflects them in a wiggly way. Which is the best way to do anything, you must admit. 

And finally, an undated and unusual night photo showing the Tomorrowland entrance looking straight in from the Plaza. I love seeing the Star Jets Saturn V rocket spotlit as if it was on a launchpad at Cape Kennedy. 

Tomorrowland - March 15, 1957

Oh boy, vintage Tomorrowland! My favorite. This first picture is so colorful and clear that it's hard to believe that it was taken nearly 70 years ago. The Flag still has 48 stars, Moosylvania and West Dakota were not States yet (notice the little girl with the white sweater looking up at the banner). The plucky orange tree is loaded with fruit, I always love to see those survivors from the days before there was a Disneyland. The beautiful blue sky (the flags indicate a breeze from the south) makes this look like a perfect day to visit.

Next, a Skyway view as our photographer looked to his/her left, due southwest-ish. It's hard to resist taking a picture of that Moonliner! Do you have any idea what that building is in the distance (to the left of the rocket)? I believe that the roof of the Space Bar is in the lower left, 
 

Two Fun Ones From June 1967

I really like today's photos, featuring some girls that you will see a few more times in future posts.

In this first one, two sisters spin and spin on the legendary Mad Tea Party attraction - little sis is doing all the work, but she seems to be having a lot of fun, so it's OK. I love the color and implied movement, this one's almost SOUVENIR GUIDEBOOK WORTHY.

Mom finally let this girl get her ears pierced, and I'll bet she was darn happy about it. She's munching on popcorn, holding one of those classic striped boxes that were recreated many years later. Popcorn and braces don't mix well, but sometimes you just have to say "What the heck"!

More Knott's Berry Farm Train Postcards

Recently, GDB pal Steve DeGaetano generously shared scans of his collection of vintage Knott's Berry Farm postcards, all relating to the two KBF locomotives. You might not know this, but Steve loves trains! See those three posts, HERE, HERE, and HERE. Now we have a bonus PART 4! What does Steve have to say?

So, since the last installment on my series of Knott’s Berry Farm postcards focusing on the Ghost Town a& Calico Railroad, I’ve managed to pick up a few more cards. Again, some are pretty common, but I’m saving the best for last.

I know the Major is big on variations, and that’s exactly what this one is. It’s nearly identical to one I posted previously here with one big exception: It’s got “Knott’s Berry Farm” prominently printed in yellow in the lower right corner. The shot is also cropped a little more, resulting in a cut-off cow catcher. Grrrr. Still, a nice portrait of Green River. The two lamps on either side of the smokebox below the headlight are “classification” or “class” lamps.  They tell ground personnel whether the train is on the timetable, or running “extra,” or has other trains following behind it in sections. They usually have clear or green lenses—never red or orange as seen here—but those look cooler. This card is copyrighted 1993.

The next two don’t focus on the trains per se, but the trains do occupy the center of the shots, so I’m making exceptions. This one is a nice image of Calico Square, with some costumed cast members in the foreground, and Ol’ 41, Red Cliff, in the middle distance. A whisp of steam indicates the whistle has just blown. Someone hand wrote “1969” on the back of this card.

I always liked this view of the farm’s townsfolk milling about, while an engineer oils his steed, in the form of No. 40, Green River (this image was also used as the cover for one of the park’s souvenir guidebooks). With the lack of shadows, I’m guessing this photo was taken on a much more overcast day than the unrealistically intense azure sky suggests.

The three cards above I’ve seen many times, but this card is completely new to me. An undated “Plastichrome” card, featuring our beloved Red Cliff sitting front and center, unencumbered by chains, railings or fences. “Come closer,” it seems to beckon. “Some of my surfaces are only 300 degrees!” I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a clearer image of the train station, which, as some of you may know, is the actual Stanton, CA “Red Car” station from the old Pacific Electric Railway, which stood near the corner of Ball Road and Knott Avenue—originally known as Hansen Road.

Thus ends PART 4 featuring Steve's collection of Knott's train postcards. As a postcard collector myself, I really love these artifacts from the past, with their excellent views of features the way they looked decades ago. I even love the way the cards were printed, with their vintage colors, and occasional composited-in  skies. True nerds (guilty) even enjoy the variations on the different card backs! Stamp box? No stamp box? Blue ink vs black (or brown) ink? And so on.

MANY THANKS to Steve DeGaetano for taking the time to scan his cards, and for taking even more time to write up descriptions of each so that we get some facts and context. I'm holding out hope that he finds more cards for a possible PART 5!