Beauties From November 1958
Here are a few nice ones from 1958; it looks like it was a beautiful day! The sky is a lovely cerulean blue (Henry Fonda's favorite color), and there is a light breeze from the southwest. See how your left arm feels so nice and cool? This photo was taken at that exciting moment - ticket booths are so close you can taste them (mmmm, enamel paint). Main Street Station beckons, as do the attraction posters.
That's right, I said attraction posters! You didn't believe me, but now I have the last laugh. A "Big 10" ticket book was a mere $3.25 for adults, and that included admission. And while it's partly cut off, we can see that the "Jumbo 15" book was $4.25. Don't be a shnook, spend the extra dollar!
As you can see in the upper left, they also offered a "Golden 20" ticket book, and as far as I know these were only sold for a relatively brief time. Perhaps they were too pricey? Adjusted for inflation, $5.25 was equal to around $45 today (!), I'm sure most people were not willing to spend that king's ransom. A friend who has a few unused Golden 20 ticket books says that one sold on eBay for $1000 a few years ago. Mama mia!
Just to round out today's post, I am throwing in this nice photo of the Monkey of the Sea Pirate Ship at no additional cost to you.
20 comments:
That square panel of chain link fencing right in the center of the turnstiles, just sort of wreaks of cheapness. You'd think by 1958, Walt would have swapped that out with some nicer fencing.
Sea-Monkey Burgers! Mmmmmm, mmmmmmm, good!
Ask any Feejee Mermaid you happen to see,
What's the best tuna? Monkey of the Sea!
Looking at the body language of the arms-akimbo lady in the blue dress,the little girl with the bangs and purse is getting a severe talking-to. "Now listen here, Debbie, no running ahead of Dad and me! You can act like a wild animal at home for all I care, but you're not going to embarrass us in front of Mickey Mouse! And keep your ticket book in your purse, young lady! Why, you'd lose your bangs if they weren't glued down with industrial-strength epoxy!"
Major: those Ticket Booths are not just coated in enamel paint , but rich - anti-chip LEAD ENAMEL paint !! It’s the lead that keeps Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom so brite and fresh looking!!
TokyoMagic: chain link fencing is the FENCE OF THE FUTURE!!! A small preview of Tomorrowland right at Disneyland’s entrance!
I posted some information regarding Disneyland’s Mark Twain Landing structures on yesterday post if anyone is interested.
Even thought today’s pictures are from 10 years before I was born , they still remind me of the excitement Disneyland’s entrance plaza and ticket booths continued to create into the late 1990’s. The mass crowds , security checks and long waits for everything changed much of the old feel. It will be interesting to see what a Disneyland visit POST CoronaVirus year one will be like. The crowds will be greatly forced down ,prices will go WAY up on everything and your visit time with be greatly limited. Parades and Fantasmic shows will probably be a thing of the past. And things like pin trading , face painting and anything “family style” are forbidden. Lines for highly popular attractions take up so much space because of the 6 foot spacing. Children under the age of 8 and adults over 70 are no longer allowed into Disneyland except on special select “ YOUNG AT HEART DISNEYLAND DAYS” held several times a year.
I love these. It's funny how we get nostalgic for an entry control point.
Mike, I've been wondering how our local Six Flags is going to function when it finally re-opens. The post-pandemic environment is going to really hurt the amusement park industry.
TM!, that square block of chain-link fencing is the front vehicle gate. They did a great job of adding visual cues from "Old Disneyland" when they redressed the entrance for Saving Mr. Banks, but I remember smiling to myself when they opened the current gate in the film and thinking "that wasn't there in the early '60s." It didn't bother me, though, because of all of the other details they worked into the scene.
I love the guy staring into the ticket booth. "You're REALLY telling me that Walt Disney isn't driving the train today? What gives?!"
These pictures are really nice, Major, but I think that it's time to bring your blog into the 2020s and start putting hashtags at the end of each post... and lots of them!
#kalamazoohandcar
#chickenofthesea
#mutedcolors
#I<3fantasmic
#chainlinkfencingisthebombDLentrance
Hopefully you get my point. I'm also not completely sure if hashtags work on Blogger... ;-)
Andrew, I thought he was trying to buy a bus ticket to Altoona.
For me the parking
lot and entrance were the first 2 attractions. I always wanted an attraction poster but never did get one.
Cinderella castle makes me want to ride Storybook Land. And that's a fine looking trash can.
Nice scans today, Major.
#zachformerlydzacher;-)
Mike & Chuck, I've been pondering lately how different the world will be for kids growing up in this new reality. I thank my lucky stars I got to grow up in the 50s-60s.
Ah Tokyo...chain-link fencing. The firm I work for designs sports fields, parks and public spaces. Chain-link is in my blood, but yeah, that does look a bit ratty.
Thanks Major for those bright, sunny wonderful pics.
Zach, everybody knows the bus from Anaheim only stops in Azusa and Cuc... amonga.
Chuck, I was just looking online yesterday, and it looks like there’s no set opening date yet for the parks I consider my “locals” (Darien Lake, which is a Six Flags again, and Kennywood). The former is planning on the same reservation/limited numbers system as the other Six Flags parks when they do open, but that is going to be a BIG logistical undertaking, especially since I don’t see them hiring the extra staff they’d realistically need to enforce it
That last shot is a winner! Four attractions in one shot (if you count the "Me and My Monkey Pirate Ship" as an attraction, which, of course, I do! Great stuff!
As to what the parks are going to be like when they reopen, I think they will be getting back to normal much faster than one would think. Universal has already petitioned to open in Florida, and Disney won't be upstaged. People are already tiring of the personal protection stuff, so I think that between people hating inconvenience and Disney's instinct at getting as much profit per square inch as possible, things will be "old normal" much faster than anyone thinks (for better or worse).
I love entrance shots. You have the whole day ahead and once you are in, you head for the attractions as fast as your PF Fliers can carry you. Stu is right, the pirate ship is an attraction and paired with Skull Rock is pure magic. Thanks Major.
Chain link or no chain link, this is the Way.
Attraction Posters: Is this a Disney innovation? I don't recall these at other parks.
I can spot 20K under the Sea, Rainbow Caverns, Autopia (duh), Rocket Jets, and two more that I can't make out.
The ticket booth trim design is vaguely echoing the Victorian style that will predominate when you pass under the tracks. I love the fussy scalloped trim and the little balls on the corners. I'll take that 15 ticket book, please.
The tuna boat looks so lost and alone without Skull Rock, which is still 3 years in the future. See the walkers in the right background in the future dining area. Enjoying the scalloped fence that manages to look festive, deter climbers and sitters, and be cheap, all at once.
Major, your southwest breeze has died down already from the looks of the flags, but the day is young, judging by the shadows and the lack of riders on the Skyway. That was always something we did at the end of a particular "land", use it to scoot over to the next. So no surprise no one rides at the start of the day.
Thanks very much for a nice visit to Disneyland at the end of the week.
JG
Once again, Blogger told me that my reply was too long, so I am cutting it into two parts.
TokyoMagic!, I know what you mean, and yet… maybe chain link fences were considered to be kind of nice in 1958? “The fences are light and airy, and people can see through to the other side, while still keeping freeloaders out!”.
Melissa, I need a genuine “Feejee Mermaid” for my cabinet of curiosities. Maybe there’s a sale at Walmart. Just look at Debbie, you can tell that she is trouble with a capital “T”. No wonder Aunt Zelda is giving her a piece of her mind. I’ll bet Debbie was snapping her gum, a sure sign that she is anti-social and will soon be doing some time in Juvie.
Mike Cozart, mmm, lead enamel paint! Back in the good old days when added lead was a good thing. I still remember my old hand-me-down Buick needed leaded gasoline. And yes, “Fencing of the Future”! I think you are joking, but maybe in those years it really was considered to be something pretty swell. Your thoughts about how the parks might be forever changed seem valid, and the thought of a place like Disneyland attempting to have a friendly atmosphere while still keeping some sort of social distancing sounds almost like an impossibility. Maybe they’ll insist on taking people’s temperatures before they are allowed in the park, ugh.
Chuck, the turnstiles were the last obstacle before people were really, truly iinside the park; just a few steps through the tunnels beneath the railroad tracks and they were there - possibly after months of planning, and a long drive, and maybe even scrimping and saving. I wonder what kind of vehicles drove through that front gate? Obviously nothing very tall. Like you, I had fun looking for anachronisms in those scenes from “Saving Mr. Banks”, but the mere fact that they put a bunch of reproduction posters out front made me so happy.
Andrew, now I want to ride the DLRR with Walt at the controls, too! And believe me, plenty of people have told me that I need to get with the times and put GDB on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, but I already spend enough time just putting it on Blogger. And I’d rather have a small but nice readership than a large one full of trolls and weirdos!
zach, maybe that gentleman was ordering lunch? “My kid won’t eat onions, do your hamburgers have onions?”. I agree with you, the parking lot (and tram) and the entrance were attractions all on their own, at least for a kid so excited to be at the park. Change is hard for me, but I guess I’m just going to have to accept that I will no longer be typing “dzacher”!
DrGoat, I worry about my niece, who is the most wonderful young lady. She just graduated from her university, only to find a world that is in chaos. I know she is worried too! Now I’m going to have to do a deep dive on chain link fencing. I’ll probably discover that it’s been around since the 1920’s or something.
Melissa, the thought of amusement parks opening up, even with a cockamamie “reservation” system, seems so wrong-headed. To me, anyway. What do I know.
stu29573, well gosh, I thought of the first one as the stunner, and the last one was just another image to round out the article. But I am always glad when people enjoy any of the pictures! I think you’re right about Disney not wanting to be upstaged by Universal, though usually it seems like Universal follows Disney’s lead (i.e. if Disney raises their prices, Universal does it too). Like everyone, I want to get back to normal very much - if nothing else, to get a darn haircut!!
Jonathan, yeah, shots of the ticket booths, turnstiles, etc, all make me happy. I’m trying to think, if I was at the park entrance in November, 1958, what attraction would I go to first? The Disneyland Railroad was a traditional first ride for my family, but I might be tempted to run to Tomorrowland before it got too crowded and take LOTS of photos.
JG, hmmm, interesting, I don’t know if any other park had attraction posters. As far as I know, Disneyland was the first, and they certainly had the talent and wherewithal to make them; I’d imagine that many other parks wouldn’t bother to spend the money. There is a Columbia poster behind the lady with the red top, and a Rocket to the Moon to the left of that; Storybook Land is to the left of Rainbow Caverns. And I am guessing that a Jungle Cruise poster to the right of the Rocket to the Moon, even though it is 90% obscured. "Freedomland" in New York had six unusual silkscreened posters, but they were clearly following Disney's lead. Don’t you want one of the “Golden 20” ticket books? I do! Heck, save one and sell it for $1000 eventually. I didn’t notice that beyond the scalloped fence in the last photo is nothing but trees, kind of fascinating!
Wow, Major. Good eye on the posters!
I didn't see the group to the left. Now I do recognize the Rocket, and the Columbia, but the blue one right under the PASS ENTRANCE has me stumped. I was guessing the yellow one on the right was Storybook Land because of the yellow background, and now I can see Monstro.
I did not know about the Golden 20 book. Now I see the sign. I'm not sure I would buy 20 tickets in 1958, were there that many things to ride? When my 15 tickets run out, I will sit on a bench and admire the surroundings, much as I do now, when Indiana Jones and Space Mountain are both broken*.
*That still irks me from my last visit, I had two fastpasses, one for each of those rides, and couldn't use them because they were both 101.
JG
Other parks that also used attraction posters include KNOTT’S BERRY FARM and FREEDOMLAND..... however both were after the introduction of them at Disneyland.
FREEDOMLAND used silkscreened attraction posters from their opening - they are very rare ..... and very ugly. I’m positive FREEDOMLAND was copying Disneyland in a much simpler design.
KNOTT’S BERRY FARM used hand painted attraction posters at its main gate and around the shops and Berry market in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Several of these were sold as souvenir posters reproduced at a 18”x24”. The park used ones were painted from originals by artist Bob Bates. Up until about 10 years ago two lonely, forgotten posters remained near the bakery and the pay phone seating area . These included one for WHEELER DEALER BUMPER CARS and INDEPENDENCE HALL.
Interestingly Disney never referred to the “attraction posters” as such but were inventoried by decorating and the sign shops as GATE POSTERS and TUNNEL POSTERS.
When I firsts started collecting these posters in 1984 , collectors and castmembers called them RIDE POSTERS . I knew from all my reading of Disney News and VACATIONLAND as a kid , Disney didn’t like to use the word “ride” but rather “attraction” , so I always called them ATTRACTION POSTERS .... to be proper.
I guess it makes sense that Disneyland, designed by people with backgrounds in the motion picture business, would use posters to plug attractions the same way they're used to plug movies.
Like everyone, I want to get back to normal very much - if nothing else, to get a darn haircut!!
Major, I'm still chuckling about the story you told us about your mom and the loaf of bread (at least that's what I think you said she was holding). :)
JG, I spent years fairly obsessed with the attraction posters, and was lucky to be able to get a bunch of them through auctions and a few fellow collectors. It was fun, but I have the feeling I won’t be buying any more… the prices have skyrocketed. I can’t imagine that you’d run out of things to do if you bought a 20-coupon ticket book, but your plan to sit on a bench and admire your surroundings sounds pretty sweet too! And cheaper. I’ve had fastpasses that I couldn’t use, mostly due to time constraints, and wound up giving them to random people who looked like they could use them.
Mike Cozart, I agree, the Freedomland posters are kind of ugly. Interesting! But ugly. I didn’t know anything about the Knott’s posters, which surprises me; I feel like I would have at least heard about them somewhere. It occurred to me that P.O.P. also had a few posters, though they were woodcuts (or linoleum cuts?), I have one, but I think there were four or five. Maybe more! I’ve actually never heard Disneyland attraction posters referred to as “ride posters”, but hey, it works just fine.
Melissa, yes, that’s what I was thinking too. Back then they had some truly amazing artists who produced posters for the park.
Lou and Sue, for those who don’t know, back in the 70’s I refused to get a haircut, and my mom got so mad at me she hit me with a loaf of bread. I think it was Wonder Bread, or some other very soft bread, so I escaped with only minor injuries (-;
"If I can slice this bread, I can cut your hair, you heel!"
As I was looking at this pics I noticed that all of the castmembers are male. Also noticed that they are not in themed costumes. When did costuming become part of the Park?
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