It's time for another fun piece of Disneyland paper ephemera! In this case it is a flyer, given to each guest as they passed through the gates of the park (along with their complimentary INA guidebook).
This is from 1965, when "Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln" was still playing to amazed crowds at the New York World's Fair; Walt seemed to be in a particular hurry to show off his Audio-Animatronic triumph at Disneyland... Mr. Lincoln debuted on July 18th of 1965 - the tenth anniversary of the day that the general public was admitted to the park. I have always wondered where this show would have gone if the Opera House wasn't already there for the taking.
The handout resembles an old-fashioned broadside that might have been seen a century before; I love the variety of fonts, contrasting large, ornate lettering with smaller type. And the addition of a pointing hand is always a plus!
At the bottom of the flyer, we see that the new Plaza Inn was going to open that same summer.
There must have been many thousands given to guests, and yet these flyers seem to be rather scarce. I am very happy to have one!
Wow, and no creases in it....what a nice piece of ephemera, Major.! I have a few of the "complimentary admission" tickets that the flyer mentions being included with the main entrance ticket. They were attached on top of the A thru E tickets in the ticket books. I'm guessing that parents had to use a regular ticket if they wanted to accompany their kids into the attraction? Which ticket did Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln require for adults? I forgot and I'm too tired to check right now.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should have referred to the attraction as "The Lincoln Talking Statue." ;-)
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, I just woke up, so I'll be happy to look it up for you. :-)
ReplyDeleteIn 1965, the Talking Lincoln Statue was an "E" ticket attraction for adults (http://vintagedisneylandtickets.blogspot.com/2007/12/1965-ina-guide-book-complete-post.html).
In 1967, it was downgraded to a "D" attraction for adults (http://vintagedisneylandtickets.blogspot.com/2007/12/e-ticket-part-3-late-1960s.html). Children were admitted using a special coupon attached to their ticket books.
The following year, it was downgraded again to a "C" ticket for adults (http://vintagedisneylandtickets.blogspot.com/2007/12/c-ticket-part-3-late-1960s.html), where it stayed until it went on hiatus in 1973.
When it came back in 1975 as part of "The Walt Disney Story Featuring 'Great Moments With Mr Lincoln,'" it was a free attraction and remained that way until tickets were discontinued.
I guess "free" is a relative thing - you still had to pay to park and to get through the main gate. :-)
ReplyDeleteWonderful piece of ephemera! I think Frontierland would've been more appropriate for the Lincoln attraction due to the period the 16th U.S. president lived in, however the Main Street Opera House probably fit the bill for housing the attraction.
ReplyDeleteMr. Lincoln must've not been drawing them in to have been reduced over a four-year period from an 'E' to a 'C'. I love reading about American history and visiting historical sites, but attractions like this don't do much for me.
TokyoMagic!, it actually does have a single horizontal fold right in the middle, but it is very subtle and doesn’t show up in the scan. I got this from ebay, and I expecting to get one, but there were two in the envelope! I have a bunch of Lincoln tickets from when I was a kid, they are in in a box somewhere. There are also a number of Adventure Thru Inner Space tickets as well! I first read your comment at four in the morning, and knew that by the time I actually wanted to get up and respond to comments, somebody else would look into the adult ticket situation.
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, I have to admit that the coloring book is the only place I have ever heard of Lincoln being called a “talking statue”.
Chuck, I figured it was a toss-up as to whether you or Nanook would do the research on this one! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I sure wish “Vintage Disneyland Tickets” was still a live blog. At least all the info is there for us to access.
Chuck again, I suppose that “free” counts when it could have been an additional charge, like the Tiki Room was in the early days.
K. Martinez, you’re right, Frontierland makes complete sense. I wonder if there was ever a plan to put Abe there? It’s hard to believe that the popularity of “Great Moments…” waned so fast, but the ticket changes do seem to back up your theory. I really do need to see the show again, it’s been a while.
Major-
ReplyDeletePerhaps Honest Abe's 'waning popularity' was due to a condition I once observed many years ago. Each time he turned his head to the left (or was it to the right-?), a hissing sound could be heard emanating from his neck. Talk about being rude to your audience-!!
Chuck, thanks for doing the work on that one! I wonder if the attraction would be any more popular today if they had swapped out the show for "The Hall of President" as was planned at one point. Ever since they got rid of the Golden Horseshoe Revue in Frontierland, I have thought that would be a good venue for Lincoln.
ReplyDeleteNanook, at Walt Disney World, Lincoln did more than just hiss at people: Lincoln Malfunction
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic! - I don't know when I laughed so hard. Thanks! I also like your idea about the Golden Horseshoe.
ReplyDeleteMajor, I think the attraction is fine for what it is, but it just doesn't have the repeatability factor like Pirates, Haunted Mansion or Space Mountain does. Now if they did a variant of "The American Adventure" from EPCOT, that might be cool.
@ TokyoMagic! -
ReplyDeleteYeah - that's our Honest Abe for you - Always leave 'em laughing-!
Thanks.
Nanook, that’s hilarious! I’ve never heard of Abe’s hissing neck before. After doing some research, it turns out that the real Abraham Lincoln had the same issue.
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, I would still like to see a rollicking live show at the Golden Horseshoe, but I guess that’s just not going to happen. I saw Billy Hill and his Hillbillies once, it was surprisingly fun - was the the last hurrah for live entertainment in that venue?
TokyoMagic!, I remember seeing that on “America’s Funniest Home Videos”, and was amazed that it didn’t win the big prize!
K. Martinez, I agree with you about the repeatability (or lack thereof), although I know a guy who sees the show regularly - he does not like the current speech selections! I haven’t heard it, so I don’t really know what he is complaining about.
Nanook, I guess Abe liked to tell a funny story, in spite of his famous melancholia.
Great Limbos with Mr. Lincoln
ReplyDelete