Thursday, June 06, 2019

Two Flyers From 1958

Hey, fellow gorillas, starting today I will be out of town for a couple of days. I probably won't be able to respond to comments until Saturday, but there will be new posts for you every day. See ya!

Collectors can spend a lifetime looking for the many varieties of paper ephemera from Disneyland. I've devoted many years to doing just that, and feel like I've barely scratched the surface. One of the categories I enjoy is the gate handouts that informed visitors of ticket book info, along with seasonal park hours and events, and so on. Today I'm sharing two similar (but different) flyers.

This first example is from the early part of 1958 - you won't find this blue version very easily, and this one is in great shape, which is always a bonus. I love those spot illustrations along the border.


Closed Monday and Tuesday, holy mackerel! But Winter-Spring was sort of the off-season I suppose.


I'll address the text on the left a little bit later, but I wanted to point out the mention of the "Golden 20" ticket books, which are rarely mentioned, and I think a lot of Disney collectors are unaware that they even existed. I sure wish I had one in my collection.


This next one is dated "September, 1958" on the back, but the front is identical to the previous iteration except for the color.


Fall-Winter hours were the same as the Winter-Spring hours, and Monday and Tuesday were closed.


The ticket book info is the same....


...but it is interesting to compare the Guided Tour details. The blue flyer says that you can take "a cruise on the Mississippi paddlewheel steamboat 'Mark Twain' or a journey across exciting Rainbow Desert aboard the Mine Train", while the red version adds the option of the Columbia, which debuted in June of '58, but omits the Rainbow Desert option. Boo.

The blue version mentions "An authentic preview of man's future in outer space in Tomorrowland", which is rather vague, but the red version is more specific with the "Space Trip to the Moon" (I've never heard it referred to by that name anywhere else).

And the version on the left says that you will take a trip on the Jungle Cruise, while the later flyer doesn't offer that choice. I think the changes in such a short period are fascinating.


I hope you've enjoyed today's souvenir flyers!



14 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

What wonderful flyers-! The spot illustrations you mention are the very-same ones utilized along the border of the One Sheet for Disneyland U.S.A., released in December of 1956. I'll take two of "The Golden 20 Ticket Books", please.

Thanks, Major.

Andrew said...

This is being nitpicky, but the first flyer says "Main Street U.S.A.," while the latter says "main Street U.S.A" with no capital "m." Weird.

stu29573 said...

Well, shoot. I guess we'll just have to keep coming back every few months to see how the tour changes! Not a problem!

DrGoat said...

Those are great, Major! What a neat thing to hold in your hand 60 years later.
We would be at the park in July back in those days. Don't remember what the summer hours for the park were, but I can't imagine waiting till 10am to get into the park.

K. Martinez said...

Nice ephemera! Sometimes reading the text descriptions are as much fun as looking at a photo or graphic. They were good with words and descriptions back then as they contained a certain optimism, sense of adventure and magic to them. Thanks, Major

JC Shannon said...

What do food, water and Disneyland ephemera all have in common? They are all necessary for my survival. These are great pieces of history, and I love 'em all. I am always amazed at how much of it there is out there. Thanks to Major for sharing it.

Melissa said...

"Space Trip to the Moon," huh? "Sorry, we can't afford space on the Rocket for the whole tour group; you'll have to go to the Moon in this repurposed dumpster. But it'll still be a space Trip. All aboard, ding ding ding!"

Nanook said...

@ DrGoat-

Don’t worry - during the summer back then, the Park opened at 9:00.

JG said...

I wonder if Trader Sam was making inroads on the tour guests, leading to him being written out of the script?

It would be interesting to know the backstory behind these changes in the tour itinerary. Were these related to maintenance shutdowns, unbalanced ride capacity, or some other unknown factor? Or just to switch it up so the guides and repeat guests (if any) didn't get worn out with the same things over and over.

The little spot illustrations are so sweet. Those would make beautiful little web site button graphics, or almost anything. Even stamping them on silverware so Jonathan can see them during meals.

Thanks Major!

JG

TokyoMagic! said...

I'm assuming that Disneyland still had a "General Admission" price and they just weren't listing it on the flyer? Maybe it was only listed at the ticket booths? Just the other day, my aunt was telling me how she was reading about all the "Star Wars Land" stuff in the newspaper and also seeing it on the news. She said that she wouldn't mind going just to see the new land and the rest of the park, but that she didn't care about going on any rides. She would just like to walk around the park. It's too bad that when they went to a "ticket-less" system, it eliminated the ability to do just that and pay a lower price.

I might have mentioned this before, but when I first started working at Knott's, they were closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays, in the off-season. They told us that they purposely coordinated that with Disney's schedule, so that someone who might be in town for just a couple days, wouldn't find both parks closed during their visit.

Nanook said...

@ TM!-

I very much remember Knott’s former operating hours, and the (obvious) reason for it.

As many Disneyland annual pass holders long-ago discovered, there’s a lot to be said for merely “being in The Park”, soaking-up all its atmosphere, etc., with little need to ‘participate’ with any of its attractions [or adventures]. Unfortunately, the great numbers of guests seeking-out that particular experience merely conspired to ruin it. Oh well...

TokyoMagic! said...

Nanook, I would like to go to the park and not ride anything. I just want to be able to wear my mouse ears and swing my light saber around wildly, while walking through the park and eating a turkey leg and a Dole whip.....all at the same time. ;-)

Nanook said...

@ TM!-

To each his own. I’d prefer to go to The Park in disguise AS a turkey leg, and see how that goes-!

JG said...

I've got it. Major, Disney should take those little spot illustrations and make a tiled repeat pattern of them, then wrap the pattern around:

Coffee Cups
Aloha Shirts
Plate Rims
Napkins and tablecloths
Wallpaper
Small Children
Small Animals
Churros
Johnny Depp

JG