Friday, March 19, 2021

Parking Lot, August 1966

I forgot to add a note before, but today and tomorrow I will probably not be able to respond to comments as per usual. Sorry! I look forward to reading everybody's thoughts on Sunday. Thanks!

Photos of Disneyland's parking lot are always surprisingly popular. I mean, it's a parking lot! But those acres of cars and asphalt became associated with so many good things to come. Today's scans are not so much of the parking lot as they are from the parking lot. Fun with prepositions.

My goodness, what a sight! The yellow Monorail scoots along the beamway toward the Disneyland Hotel. At first I thought that maybe our photographer just arrived late in the afternoon for a visit - it happened more often back when the park didn't cost an arm and a leg. But you can see that the gentleman is holding a Donald Duck cap, the kind with a squeaky bill, so he is on his way home. I have one of those hats from my own childhood, still in good condition. 


I wonder if our photographer had just been dropped off by this tram that is heading away from us? We can see a female CM on the back, in her red and white striped shirt, blue skirt, red cap and red stockings. Notice the row of oleanders, flowering in alternating pink and white. Much nicer than chain link.


And it's kind of neat to see the wonderful Anaheim Convention Center, resembling a large spaceship, under construction in the distance. It would open on July 12, 1967.

21 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

Why is the Matterhorn in Adventureland? ;-)

TokyoMagic! said...

It looks like the guy in the white pants (second pic) is carrying the large square 1965 pictorial souvenir book, which JG shared with us three years ago. The back cover of the book is facing us:

https://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/2018/06/disneyland-souvenir-guidebook-1965-part_28.html



Chuck said...

Kind of amazed that in 1966, that wall of oleanders still hid an orange grove.

Check out this 1965 picture I stumbled on this morning at Vintage Disneyland Tickets. Not only does it show the orange grove, but it also shows the foundations of it's a small world, the second monorail maintenance facility right next to it, and a bit of the grading work for the realignment of the SF&DL RR (all of which we discussed recently here and here), plus a host of other amazing historical details too numerous to mention. I have bookmarked this baby for future reference.

"Lou and Sue" said...

Nanook, that Matterhorn shot is from the short time when they were trying out the Matterhorn in various new locations - before settling on Fantasyland as the final, ideal spot.

The 'slip and slide' tram - my favorite!

Thanks, Major (and all)!

"Lou and Sue" said...

^ oops, I meant to direct my comment to TokyoMagic! (Sorry, Nanook.)

Stu29573 said...

Ok, I'm going to go WAY out on a limb here and take a shot at the four cars in the last shot. My guesses (because that's kind of what they are) are, from left to right:
1966 Chevy Impala
1964 Chevy Nova Wagon
1959 Ford Fairlane
1966 Cadillac Fleetwood
Ok, Nanook, tell me what I messed up, lol!

zach said...

Are those Gillig school buses? I've ridden a few miles in those.

I always saw the parking lot as the first 'land' with it's own attraction. Add the Monorail floating by for added excitement.

Stu, I'm pretty sure that's a 59 Ford. We had a couple in my neighborhood back in the day.

Thanks, Major

JC Shannon said...

Prepositions are fun, Major. What a great shot of the Bananarail. When we all get in the Wayback Machine and visit Disneyland in the past, we can make a few rounds of the parking lot and Nanook can point out all the cool cars. If for some odd reason, he gets stuck, Mr P. and Sherman can assist. Our whole neighborhood in North Hollywood was lousy with Oleander. I remember my mom giving us the lecture about not eating them. Great stuff today, thanks Major.

Major Pepperidge said...

TokyoMagic!, the Matterhorn was constructed in Adventureland and eventually moved to Tomorrowland using 1000 skateboards.

TokyoMagic!, YES! That is definitely what he is carrying!

Chuck, I can only imagine the pressure that the owner of that orchard must have been under from the Disney company. Imagine if he sold it to somebody who built a motel there instead! That 1965 aerial photo is great, I have several versions of it; I wish we had one for every year!

Lou and Sue, yes, you are correct, and once they moved it to Tomorrowland, they used the world’s biggest hot glue gun to stick the Matterhorn in place permanently. I’ve seen the footage.

Lou and Sue, I’m sure Nanook is furious!

zach, Since I have no idea, we’ll need to hear from Nanook (knower of all cars) to verify your guesses!

zach, I don’t know what a Gillig school bus is, so I’ll just say SURE. I’m sure that many people think that the nostalgia for an old parking lot is basically insane, but that just means that they never saw it with their own eyes.

Jonathan, I am almost done with my time machine, but can’t find the right sized Phillips-head screw for one part. Darn! Apparently SoCal oleanders are being decimated by a parasite called the “glassy-winged sharpshooter” (no joke!), even near my mom I’ve seen large oleander bushes losing their leaves and being removed.

JG said...

The Anaheim convention center building seen here makes a short appearance in the new Star Trek - Picard show as Star Fleet HQ.

Remember when alternating oleanders lined all the states freeways? Hwy 99 from Fresno to Bakersfield was a solid wall of them.

Zach, I rode many a mile to Disneyland and other places in a Gillig bus.

Tokyo, thanks for the shout out! Any new gorillas who want a copy of the book, LMK!

Chuck, thanks for that link, I’m glad that blog is still visible, even if regular posts have stopped.

JG

"Lou and Sue" said...

Major, I can’t keep track of that mountain! Now, they moved it back to Tomorrowland?

JG said...

Chuck, that aerial you found is pretty wonderful. Thank you.

See how much of the north backstage area was also still farmland.

In the orchard behind the oleanders the owners house is still intact, and the trees are healthy and thrifty compared to the spindly stand of the orchards north of the roundhouse. The variable sizes of the trees in the same plot can usually be attributed to differing soil.

JG

Pegleg Pete said...

Nice pics, today – thanks, Major. By the time I made it to the West Coast some twenty or so years ago, the parking lot was already gone, but I can completely understand the nostalgia it evokes for those who experienced it. For those of us on the East Coast, the monorail ride past the topiary en route to the Magic Kingdom from the Transportation Canter at WDW would be the equivalent – ah, the heady rush of anticipation!

And thanks, Chuck, for the link to the aerial photo. I really miss Vinatge Disneyland Tickets – it was my second favourite Disneyland blog (after the Major's, of course). Anyone know what ever happened to Tim? Did he run out of Disneyland ephemera or just get tired of posting?

DrGoat said...

JC, Also never make a campfire out of Oleander sticks, and never cook anything over that fire. Sometimes I think that 35% of Tucson is walled off with Oleander.
Lou & Sue, I think they should move the Matterhorn to Galaxy's Edge and move Galaxy's Edge to El Centro.
Interesting pics Major. Thanks.

Nanook said...

@ Stu29573-
I posted the car info early this morning (I swear I did-!) but it seemed to disappear into the vast internet ether...

Stu - don't be too hard on yourself - you only missed the first one - and I struggled with that for some time. At this resolution, I'm gonna say it's a 1965 Buick - if indeed it is a station wagon. (But it could be a 1966 Buick, if it's a 'regular model').

Anonymous said...

Pegleg Pete.... I believe I had read somewhere years ago when the Vintage blog abruptly ended that the blogger had unexpectedly passed a few days from his last posting. Hopefully I am wrong but that's my story.

Oleanders and freeways. I recall being told they were a perfect marriage. They thrived in the smog, bloomed most of the time and were practically indestructible. Who would want to eat that? Great nostalgia in these pics. KS

Stu29573 said...

Yay! I'm trying, Nanook. Of course I'll never be as good as The Master!

Sunday Night said...

JC Shannon - My mom told me the same thing!

MIKE COZART said...

I don’t think Tim ( VINTAGE DISNEYLAND TICKETS ) passed away ....I remember at a party he was saying after his Disney News scan posts he was basically running out of collection material to post. I also recall he was about to take a new job and was moving out of state. I know he had also sold some of his collection off - Disney anyhow . He has a big KISS collection I understand .I hope Tim didn’t pass.

Anonymous said...

Mark...I believe you are correct. Upon review, I got that confused with Disneyland Postcards and a blogger with the first name of Ken. That blog ended 8 years ago and is no longer available. Thanks for the correction for me and the benefit of Tim. KS

Pegleg Pete said...

Thanks for the info, KS and Mike. It's a relief to know that Tim is still with us. Maybe one day he'll return to blogging.