Sleeping Beauty Castle, 1956
Let's start today with a nice postcard-worthy photo of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Not exactly a lot of kids running around - there are a couple, though. There's the sign with the map of Fantasyland, for those who might otherwise skip it (or something).
Here's a neat shot taken from a Skyway bucket, looking generally east towards the castle; one interesting detail is the sign/entrance that would have led you to the short-lived Mickey Mouse Club Circus - if it was still open. That thing only lasted about a month, though. You would have purchased your ticket at an ornate circus wagon that was right next to the sign.
Take a look at a scan from the MMC Circus Viewmaster set; notice the steaming calliope heading past!
In this closeup, you can see that there is also a tremendous amount of construction going on just west of the castle. In fact, there is a big candy-striped plywood wall to block people's ways and views. I believe that this construction involves the Rainbow Ridge Mine Train, and the Rainbow Desert portion of that attraction. If anybody has any insights, please share!
13 comments:
I would assume that construction is for Carnation Gardens, not the Mine Train.
The picture of Sleeping Beauty Castle also features a grassy front apron instead of the compass-like stonework that was obvioulsy added at a later date. I've never noticed this in any pictures of the castle that I've seen before.
I also enjoyed the picture of the line to purchase circus tickets, with guests standing in the dirt alongside what appears to be the water feature located in the current Pixie Hollow area.
WOW. Talk about a scene showing DL as a work in progress! Very cool! And you're right about the Castle pic too, it does look old-postcard-worthy. The DL geek in me is lovin' these! :D
Those are very yummy. Good set of pics!
I had no idea there was a View-Master featuring the MMC Circus. Was it a one-reeler, a full three-reel set, or was it a single reel sold as part of another set?
Hi Chuck, there were two MMC circus 3-reel packets. One pretty scarce, the other extremely rare. You can find my email address up by the man in the moon - if you are interested, send me a message and I'll email you scans of the packets along with some additional info.
I'll vote for Carnation Gardens. That's where it should be.
Wow, I had no idea.
Very cool.
JG
What an interesting construction photo! It does look like the Carnation Gardens area but it could also include Nature's Wonderland construction. Nature's Wonderland did back up against the Gardens and Fantasyland.
I believe that Señor Towler is correct, and that the construction is at least for the Plaza Gardens, although it might be for more than that as well. Maybe?! ;-)
Gorgeous photos! I'm trying to catch up on your posts.
love the panoramic views....thanks as usual for great stuff! :D
Thanks Connie & Nancy!
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