Today I am sharing two images that I thought I'd shared before... but I've looked and looked and can't find them on GDB. Maybe I rejected them at the last minute, but that is hard to believe. If they are there, I know that you guys will find them in no time! But the slides were still worth rescanning and revisiting.
I particularly like this beautiful twilight photo of the entry turnstiles and Main Street Station. The clock tells us that it was 7:40, so this must have been in the summer, or thereabouts. It probably wouldn't truly be dark until 9 o'clock - fireworks time! Anyway, this one just has a great mood, and unusual color. I don't have anything else like it!
This next one is from 1958, and is a great look at Fantasyland as seen from the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship. The color is a bit faded, but there is still plenty of stuff going on to keep things interesting. Some details that I enjoy: the Skyway bucket in the upper right; the people on those funky oval benches; the guy pushing the cart full of... something mysterious. And I love the variety of patterns on the flat dark ride façades.
Major-
ReplyDeleteBoth of these images are gems - but the first one is really "a honey"-! The lighting, the time of day and the camera angle, all make for this great image. (Now, who has access to General Admission prices so the photo can be reasonably-dated-??)
Also, love the Skyway bucket, seemingly floating in space in the 2nd image.
Thanks, Major, for the 're-discoveries'-!
I also love that Skyway bucket and the way it looks "photoshopped" into the picture.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMajor, that guy in the second photo is pushing a cart full of fresh, steaming meadow muffins. Unfortunately, they didn't sell well and were quietly discontinued in late 1958.
Nanook, I wasn't able to find a definitive guide to Disneyland admission pricing (I seem to remember seeing one once, but can't find it now), but using photographic evidence we can place it in the 1956-59 timeframe.
While adult admission was $1 on Opening Day, it dropped to 90¢ in the summer of 1956 with the repeal of the 10% Federal Admissions Tax (http://matterhorn1959.blogspot.com/2010/02/things-from-gate-1956-price-reduction.html).
This photo shows prices unchanged in July of 1958 (http://www.davelandweb.com/entrance/images/50s/KTPBKYC_7_58_N30B.jpg), but by 1959 adult and student/serviceman/clergy admission had risen to at least $1 (hard to read in this photo, but the best I could find: http://www.davelandweb.com/entrance/images/50s/75_Kodachrome_9_7_59_N02b.jpg).
(Many thanks to Dave DeCaro and Matterhorn1959 for sharing their collections with us and making this research possible!)
The castle being the tallest thing in the second photo reminded me that way back when, the castle could easily be seen from the freeway.
ReplyDeleteRe prices, admission prices have gone from 90 cents to 90 dollars. Disneyland's pricing mantra seems to be, "To infinity, and beyond!"
@ Anonymous-
ReplyDeleteYou know Disney - always keeping things simple-!
I can remember the days of 25-50 cent parking and $2 general admission. Seemed like a bargain even then. KS
ReplyDeleteNanook, I really love that one too, and was so sure I had scanned it years ago. And yet… I can’t find it on the blog or in what I laughingly call my “archives”. Glad you liked these!
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, joke’s on you… the Skyway bucket was the only thing in that photo… I Photoshopped in everything else.
Chuck, it seems so crazy that admission to the park was so low (even after adjusting it for inflation). I’ve often wondered if somebody showed up with a priest’s collar, could they get that big big clergyman’s discount? Or did they have to recite a bible passage as proof?
Anonymous, wow, I didn’t know that the castle was ever visible from the freeway… I thought that the berm would have hidden it. But maybe in the early years, it was so empty around the park that you could see all kinds of things.
Nanook, I am looking forward to the day when I have to make a lunch reservation 6 months ahead of time, like they do at WDW.
KS, I think it WAS a bargain, without question.