If you happen to like nice photos of Disneyland (and I'm guessing you do...), then you are in luck, because both of today's examples are "supoib".
I love this guidebook-worthy picture of the Red Wagon Restaurant - formerly the Red Wagon Inn. I believe that the name was changed on the sign in 1962, or perhaps 1961. The slide is date-stamped "June, 1962". Notice the cute couple holding hands like kids, and the large triangle ("Come and git it!") hanging out front. As usual, the islands of green grass and plentiful benches (and that blue, blue sky) make this look like a very pleasant place to be.
Next up is this swell picture of Main Street as seen on a winter day in 1966 (it is dated "March 1966). The trees are mostly bare (though some new leaves are popping out) - it really makes Main Street look different! We have such a clear shot of the Castle at the end, and unlike so many vintage photos, there are a surprising number of folks walking in the street. I love seeing all of those familiar old lessee names, such as Eastman Kodak, Swift, Hallmark, and Sunkist.
I love some vintage people-watching! Zooming in, we can see two boys to the extreme right holding their souvenir maps from Tom Sawyer Island. And a lady in dark blue, just to the right of the nearest lamp post, is holding one of the wonderful souvenir wall maps that I love so much.
Here's the cover of the Tom Sawyer Island map....
... and here is a nice jpeg of the map that the lady is carrying! This is the 1964b version (green border with stars) - there is another map with the 1964 date on it that also has a green border, but no stars. The differences are minor - a few sponsorships have changed, and the miniature of the U.S. Capitol was added to the foyer of "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln".
Major-
ReplyDeleteThose images are beauties. And... in the view of Main Street, we have a pair of nuns-! It must be a perfect day.
Thanks, Major.
Two nuns AND a babushka!
ReplyDeleteBeautimus stuff today, Major. I am loving the map, a work of art for sure. I l know I have said it before but dang that's cool. I love Main Street crowd photos. You can study the fashion of the day, and spot something new every time. Is that a tiger striped tam on the lady on the sidewalk? I am so jealous. Check out the guy in the Century 21 sport coat crossing the street, looks like he is in a hurry to get to Carnation for a snack. Now where is my faux leopard skin Stetson?
ReplyDeleteThe first think I noticed was that kid looking at his TSI map intently. Great capture.
ReplyDeleteI always liked the Hallmark Crown on the Hallmark Communications Center building. So much beautiful signage on Main Street, U.S.A. in today's pics. Thanks, Major.
Melissa, before I forget, thank you for the link yesterday.
ReplyDeletedz
Disneyland as it was meant to be.
ReplyDeleteSplendid stuff, Major. Thanks for the map image. I had one of these from about 1975, just before the Bicentennial edition. Wish I knew where it was, I can't imagine throwing it away, but this one I can put on my iPad.
Also had a TSI map, but that's probably long since gone. I probably tossed it thinking I would get another one on next year's visit. Daveland has a good version posted somewhere, it crossed my screen saver yesterday.
@Melissa, What David Zacher said. Amazing video. Thank you.
Main Street was so interesting then. Some of the shine has come off, partly from "updates", but also somewhat because there are so many similar experiences now. Back then, the idea of connected shops with themed storefronts was new and exciting. Now, almost every city has something similar. The 1966 Disneyland version is still the best.
Red Wagon Inn, the Plaza Inn when I knew it, was a beautiful restaurant inside, in spite of the cafeteria style service it felt "fancy". I still vividly remember the dinner with Mom and Dad, there was a strolling violinist who would come by your table and play special requests. My Dad called him over and tipped him to play "My Little Alice Blue Gown" for my Mom, while she blushed. Just a grand memory. Thanks for bringing it to mind.
JG
A time when you could immerse yourself into the theming of the Park. So happy that I got to experience it the way it was originally intended. KS
ReplyDeleteNanook, how could I have missed the nuns??
ReplyDeleteMelissa, a thing like that only happened once in a century.
Jonathan, those maps are some of my favorite vintage Disneyland merchandise. Think of the millions of kids who spent hours poring over each land, remembering their day at the park, or planning their next visit! Ha ha, I noticed that tiger-striped tam as well, it’s pretty sporty.
K. Martinez, I love seeing familiar old brochures in people’s hands (or pockets), it really makes me feel a connection to the past when I look at my own collection of Disneyland items. I like that Hallmark crown too!
David Zacher, yes, I would imagine that the hoop dance was much like what was performed at the park.
JG, I had a 1968 wall map from childhood, but it literally fell apart into a dozen pieces (the folds had given out completely). But I kept the pieces! My mom eventually taped them together with masking tape, but even that gave way and turned everything brown. I still wake up in a cold sweat thinking about it at night! I posted several different Tom Sawyer Island maps not that long ago. Main Street is still nice, but I truly love the colors that were used back then; rust reds, moss greens, slate blues, and so on. Colorful, but tasteful. I wish I had enjoyed the Plaza Inn when it was still so elegant and had table service.
KS, you must have hundreds of happy memories from your days as a CM!
"A time when you could immerse yourself into the theming of the Park. So happy that I got to experience it the way it was originally intended. KS
ReplyDeleteI was reading an article the other day by someone who got to preview the Galaxy's Edge expansion. They kept going on about how innovative it was that every detail was calculated to make you feel like you'd actually gone to another place and not an amusement park. My first reaction was, "Yeah, that's what the whole park used to be like! That was the point!"
Melissa, I think I read that same article (on io9?). Obviously the author is a bigger Star Wars fan that I ever was; I wish I could feel as excited about "Galaxy's Edge" as he does. The big Millennium Falcon looks cool, even I have to admit!
ReplyDeleteIt does seem to me that Disney feels the need to step up their game with GE (a direct response to the Harry Potter stuff at Universal), I like that Disney has some competition to make them try harder. Maybe GE really will be stunning. I hope so.
Major-
ReplyDeleteAnd then there's this... "Some of those experiences are “is part of Imagineering’s goal to turn shopping into an attraction.” When a visitor builds his own lightsaber, for example, it will take about 20 minutes and the finished result currently costs between $100 and $200. This kind of playful, immersive environment harkens back to Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer Island, that lets guests play instead of buckling in for a ride."
Yes, who needs "real" attractions, when 'shopping' can stand-in just as well for that 'experience'-! It's still just about the money, after all.