15th Anniversary!

Way back on May 12, 2006 I decided to try my hand at posting a photo on a Google blog - just to see how to do it, really - but also with the thought that perhaps it would be fun to share some of my vintage Disneyland slides with fellow fans. By now most of you have probably seen that first post; humble beginnings to be sure. And here we are, FIFTEEN YEARS later. WHAT? Please explain to me how time works. All of the other anniversaries seemed big, but fifteen... that's a lot of bad writing and so-so pictures, with some good stuff sprinkled in by accident.

GDB has never had a huge readership, but I am very grateful for the small community of nice, friendly, supportive people who seem to be drawn here by some miracle. So THANK YOU to all of the regulars who read and comment and make this endeavor so satisfying and enjoyable. And thanks to those who have helped by contributing their own family photos and stories, those personal touches make such a difference. I never would have imagined that I would still be blogging in 2021!

On to today's pictures. I'm starting with this very nice aerial shot (dated "January 1962"), presumably taken from one of the L.A. Airways helicopters as it commuted to (and from) LAX airport. What a view! Notice the Christmas star atop the Matterhorn. There's so much to take in that I decided to zoom in on several areas. 

In this northernmost view, we can see Sleeping Beauty Castle, and the surprisingly large buildings that contained some of Fantasyland's shops and attractions, including the classic dark rides. The Pony Farm is visible just above Storybook Land's "Cinderella Castle", while other mysterious outbuildings can be seen nearby. It's fun to look for tiny details such as Skyway gondolas and Matterhorn bobsleds. We even get a tiny bit of the Rainbow Desert, and can see the mist of a geyser (Old Unfaithful?). Oh, and the Monsanto House of the Future of course.

In the northeast corner, there is a lot of unattractive sprawl, industrial areas and office parks, perhaps. The Monorail roundhouse is there, along with two very long buildings - not sure what those were for exactly. I believe that the grassy field is where the later (and current) railroad/Monorail roundhouse would go, as well as some of the "it's a small world" show building. Do you think that the Global Van Lines headquarters would be built around where that dirt lot is?

Oh yeah! The Land of Tomorrow, with the Yacht Bar, "Hobbyland", and Art Corner (upper left), the Flight Circle, the Flying Saucers, Rocket to the Moon, the Space Bar, the Autopia, and the Subs and Monorail to boot. Notice the Carnation truck parked backstage in the lower right.

And this view is mostly backstage parking, though still fascinating to a guy like me! The round building held the 20,000 Leagues walk-thru (the giant squid was in that rectangular shed), while the Monsanto Hall of Chemistry is to the left of that.

Next is this pretty photo dated "April, 1959" with folks strolling along a curved walkway, with Sleeping Beauty Castle out of the frame to our left (and a bit behind us, I suppose). The nutty house o' plastic can be seen to our right...

... but of course the big star of the show is the Mighty Matterhorn, under construction but still far from completion! Only the top 1/5th seems to be done, and the rest is steel and wood scaffolding and framing. Pretty neat.

I love this 1956 shot of the Harbor Gate entrance to the parking lot! Just seeing this makes me start planning all the things I want to do for the day. The Disneyland Hotel can be seen way off in the distance (beneath the "YLAN" of the sign). Some people would say that the parking lot is the first attraction that guests experience, but I would argue that going through this gate is the first attraction, and that the parking lot is the second attraction. It's possible that I don't know what an "attraction" is.

The next two photos are rare interiors of the Market House, circa September, 1966. It was sponsored by Swift and Company from the very beginning, but by 1966 there was a co-sponsorship with C&H Sugar, which explains why you can see C&H products on the wall at the back (with "antique" boxes out of reach on the higher shelves). That nice lady is taking a breather next to the pot-bellied stove, because Disneyland is so cold in September.

Here's the lady's hubby, his socks match his shorts, which is how they did it in Milan that year. Right behind his head is a display of colored sugar crystals - healthful food dyes to make you strong. I've seen pictures of people actually playing checkers on the board nearby... who goes to Disneyland to play checkers??

And finally, check out this beautiful photo, from 1973 as far as I can determine - from a lot of negatives generously given to me by my friend Mr. X! The Carousel of Progress was still going strong, though I'm sure many guests would be surprised to learn that it would close in September of that year; the ride would reopen at the Magic Kingdom in January of 1975. I love the bustling crowd, this must have been near "peak Summer".

I hope you have enjoyed today's photos! Once again, thanks to everyone who reads (or looks at) GDB on a regular basis. If you only look on rare occasions, you can go to heck! (Just kidding). I still have hundreds of slides to scan (much reduced from when I had many thousands), so I'm sure the blog will continue for a while - who can predict anything? Not me!