Disneyland Hotel, 1970
GDB friend Sue B. has been slaving over a red hot scanner, and she sent me a bunch of new scans featuring photos taken by her father, Lou Perry. Hooray! Among the various scans were these shots taken on the grounds of the Disneyland Hotel back in October of 1981. (NOTE: I have no idea why I said that these were taken in October of 1981, when I clearly say in the title of today's post that they are from 1970, which is correct. Sniffing glue??).
First up is this pretty image of the lovely landscaping near the "garden apartments". How nice to have some greenery to sooth guests after a hectic day at the park. I believe that the garden apartments were razed in 1999.
My knowledge of the Hotel grounds is practically nonexistent, so I'll have to rely on somebody smarter than me to ID where this scene was. It appears that the landscapers were trying to use plants that didn't require as much water in this particular area.
A friend of mine loved to get up early in the morning and go for a stroll around the walkways that meandered through areas like this one. Does the Hotel have any open areas like this anymore? Or did somebody realize that grass doesn't put money in the coffers?
I have seen some rocks in my day, and that is one quality rock! Some people could go a whole lifetime and never see a rock like that.
Among the amenities available at the Disneyland Hotel was this Piper Cherokee airplane! Need gum, but don't want to walk to 7-11? Fly there! Might as well buzz the park while you're at it. Some of you may recall another Piper Cherokee on display in the parking lot in THIS PHOTO.
Next is this photo of the Marina, built (I believe) in 1970. Remember Lou's night photos from the Disneyland Hotel? I have more DLH photos (especially the Marina area) for you coming up, courtesy of Lou and Sue!
THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!
EXTRA! EXTRA! Most of you remember yesterday's post, with a pretty girl who blinked during her Pitchur Gallery photo shoot. David W (at Sue B's suggestion) was nice enough to add some open eyes to the girl! I got home so late that I wasn't able to add it to yesterday's article, so I'm sharing it today. Thank you, David W!
26 comments:
The happiest rocks on earth!
Thanks, David W!
Thanks, Major! (1970??)
FYI: Major, I just checked my scans...1970 is correct. It's the "October of 1981"(??) that threw me off.
I think the second photo was taken from the path in the left center of the third one. Note the plantings as well as the overhanging porch roof in the background.
David W., holy cow, you did a fantastic job with the eyes in that Pitchur Gallery retouching! You even matched the catchlights with the ones in her mom's eyes. Bravo!
Thanks again, Lou & Sue!
I believe the overhang in the second and third photos, which Chuck pointed out, is on the front entrance of the Marina Tower (now the Fantasy Tower).
That should also be the Marina Tower behind the airplane, but the backside of the tower...the side facing the Marina. We can even see a railing around the Marina and a couple boats in the water. By the way, where were you supposed to board that plane? The Hotel did not have a runway. Was that just an example of a plane you could rent at the nearest airport?
That large structure on the water (sixth pic), is still standing. The top level is divided and is now Tangaroa Terrace and Trader Sam's. It was originally the Shipyard Inn Restaurant. In later years, it was Hook's Pointe Restaurant and the lower level was The Wine Cellar. When they redid this area some year back, they filled in the area around that lower floor, so now there is no guest access to it and it really doesn't even look like a two story building any more.
I forgot to mention that the tower behind the Shipyard Inn Restaurant building, is the Sierra Tower (now the Adventure Tower). Also, they filled in the Marina when Downtown Disney and DCA were being built. At that time, you could still see a bit of the lower level (where The Wine Cellar was located), as seen in the pic below from 2010. Shortly after this photo was taken, they brought the land next to the building up even higher, and added a patio/terrace outside of Trader Sam's and Tangaroa Terrace. The grassy area in the photo is the spot where the hotel's "Monorail" water slides and pools are today:
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KyBL-2TyB34/TDevemdXEQI/AAAAAAAAEIU/yal8JShXkZw/s1600/01+Marina+(4).jpg
I also forgot to thank Lou, Sue, and the Major, too!
Lou and Sue, those rocks are happy, you can just tell.
Lou and Sue, ol’ Major Pepperidge must have been on the sauce again (for those who don’t know, I barely drink alcohol), because I honestly have no idea why I typed the “October of 1981” thing. It was months ago, not that this is an excuse. Thanks for the correction!
Chuck, I do believe that you are right about the second and third photos. Judging from the dewy look in that girl’s eyes, she is in love with me. Get in line, sweetheart! ;-)
TokyoMagic!, gosh, you know almost as much about the Disneyland Hotel as you do about Knott’s Berry Farm. Just a guess, but I think that Piper must have had a deal with the Hotel to display their planes in the hopes that well-heeled guests, or maybe corporations, would possibly buy an aircraft. You could just use Harbor Boulevard as your runway, everyone driving on it would be polite enough to pull over and let you take off. I had no idea that the structure in photo 6 was where Trader Sam’s is located. For some reason I imagined that that popular bar was all new construction. It’s weird that they filled in the lower area so that it now looks like a one-story building. I wonder what the reason for that was? Thanks for all the info!!
TokyoMagic!, do you visit the Hotel area a lot? Or are you just a fan, and have a good head for dates and such? I am very impressed at your knowledge of the area and its history!!
Major, I don't visit the Hotel grounds very much these days, not since they ruined it, just like they ruin everything! ;-) But I did used to go over there quite a bit with friends, in the days before annual passes. We couldn't just pay to go in the park whenever we wanted to, so we'd go to the hotel and look around the shops. We'd also walk through the waterfall area, which they have also since removed. And we would buy a "round-trip" ticket to ride the Monorail. With the purchase of the round-trip ticket, they would lock you in the rear nose cone of the Monorail train, and they would not unlock the door when it arrived at the Tomorrowland station. It was torture to be "inside of" Disneyland, but not get to "set foot" in Disneyland....but hey, it was better than nothing!
Below is a link to a post that shows some more comparisons of the area around that building and how they converted it to Trader Sam's and Tangaroa Terrace. I forgot to mention that the smaller building, to the right of the big building (the Shipyard Inn Restaurant) in Lou's pic eventually became "Croc's Bits and Bites" snack bar. I'm not sure what it was way back in the day. It was torn down in 2010/2011 and is now the location of the large outdoor fireplace and patio, next to Trader Sam's. At the very end of this post are three more links to even more before and after photo comparisons of the hotel areas with the koi ponds, the caves and waterfalls, and also the Seaports of the Pacific shops. Probably more info and "before and after" shots, than anyone really needs:
https://meettheworldinprogressland.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-stuff-disneyland-hotel.html
Once again, I forgot something. I forgot to thank David W. for adding eyes to ol' Sleepy Time Gal, from yesterday. Great job, David W.! But Major, I would still take a Sharpie to the original photo, and at least give her a cool "Is that you behind those Foster Grant's?" look.
Nice pics Lou & Sue. Did a lot of walking around the hotel during the past many years. Either a break from the park or just meandering around. It was a pleasure, especially in the 80's because I actually remember a lot of it. My memory seems to have archived a lot of the day to day stuff that happened before then.
Looks like Lantana in that second pic. Very hardy and doesn't require a whole lot of water. It's all over the place here in the southwest. Yeah, those are pretty happy boulders and Yucca in the backround.
Tokyo, thanks for that link to the May 30, 2011 post. I don't drink but stopped in Trader Sam's a few times during that period for a refreshment. My wife loved the Canton cocktails. Ginger liqueur and something else. That Tiki print shirt is cool. Not into red Tiki shits, but that print would look great in blue or green.
Nice job on the eyes, David. Eyes wide open and looking for trouble.
Thanks Major and Lou & Sue.
That’s Skull Rock’s cousin Egg Rock. Extremely hard boiled.
Nice peeper-grafting there, David W!
TM!, the Monorail round trip sounds so exciting and frustrating at the same time!
Thanks to Lou & Sue & the Major too!
Thank you for confirming that I'm not crazy, yet. I remembered a Piper at the Hotel and not the one in DCA. My dad was a private pilot and he always walked over to stare in the windows and dream of a new plane.
Many people have already forgotten that West Ave (now Disneyland drive) functioned as a runway for the DLH, just watch out for those pesky power lines crossing the parking lot.
It is said that crime doesn't pay, and neither do beautifully landscaped open spaces. So I guess it all had to go. Lou has nailed it once again with these stunning photos. Thanks Lou and Sue. A guy I knew many years ago, was taking his family for a ride in a Cherry like the one in the pic. He took off on Runway 12, stalled, made it across the highway, and crashed in a field. Not to worry, he and his wife and kids were ok, but the aircraft had to be written off. He forgot to put his flaps down. The FAA took his license the next day, of course that was nothing compared to the wrath of his wife. Yowee! Thanks Major.
Happy, well-adjusted rocks and plants.
While I do not have the encyclopedic knowledge of the Hotel and it's history, Like Tokyo (Thank You!), I can say, Major that there are still plenty of lovely garden spaces around the tower bases and the landscaping is different, but still lush and beautiful. Each tower base garden is themed to the tower, so the Frontier tower has pines, ferns, and cedars, the Adventure tower has palms and philodendron, and so forth. I can't recall what the Fantasy tower had, but it was different from the others, probably giant mushrooms and talking violets.
David W, did you do Lasik surgery on her too? Brilliant work.
MRaymond, my Dad was the same way, he could never pass a small plane without wanting to look at it, but never upgraded from the Cessna 150, Eight-Zero-Tango. Weird that I can recall the tail number after 45 years. Could have used those brain cells for something else.
Thanks Major, Lou and Sue, very entertaining today.
JG
Does anyone remember that Video Adventure arcade down under? I do slightly, but have no real vivid memories of it.
Nice pics. Thanks Sue and Major!
Proof that the Disneyland Hotel ROCKS!
As I recall, the Marina tower, Marina and all the surrounds were quite new, including the restaurant buildings. On the night the Park closed because of the 'Yippee Invasion', I asked a cute co-worker at Hills Bros (she as waitress and me the chef) if she wanted to go out on a date. It was so impromptu because of the closing...we were getting a paid night off. So as the crowd streamed out of the Park, we jumped in her car and then found ourselves caught in a mass of traffic in the Lot heading for the West Street gate...and we were in the middle of the Yippees being pushed out of the Lot by the police. We got as far as the Hotel where I parked the car. We walked around the Marina, ending up at a closed, empty, Galley restaurant, sitting and talking into the wee hours on the deck. I can easily recall looking across the Marina to the new hotel tower. It was the beginning of one of those late teenage romances we never forget. But within weeks, she was one that I let slip away. 50 years later we reconnected on social media. Hard to think she's a grandmother now. I'm still 19 going on 20, right? Wow, thanks for posting Lou and Sue! KS
That is the most romantic story I’ve heard in I don’t know when.
Great story, KS thanks for sharing that.
JG
@ Dr. Goat-
I certainly remember the Atari Adventure underwater arcade. Thanks to the MagicalHotel, you can read about it HERE
@ KS-
Awwwwww... Does it get any sweeter than that-??
Thanks, Lou & Sue.
Thanks folks...it's one of those treasured secret moments I keep in my heart that I revisit every August. This pic is about as close to that time as can be and really got to me... I'm just an old romantic...and I guess it's no longer a secret now too. :) KS
TokyoMagic!, I can totally understand your long-ago trips to the hotel, to walk around and visit the shops - just to be in that close proximity to the park! And I think I’d heard about how they would lock hotel visitors into the rear nose cone of the Monorail (probably from you), but it’s such a crazy idea! Thank you for the link to your article about Trader Sam’s and Tangaroa Terrace. I see that I commented on it way back in 2011, but as usual my brain doesn’t retain anything. Who are you again?
DrGoat, did you live near Disneyland at one point? You probably have mentioned it before. I only walked around the hotel one time back in the 1990s, so I missed out on much of the glory days. I know people often too “a break from the park”, and maybe if I was there for more than a day I would have experienced such a thing. But at that point I probably wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere but inside the berm! As I mentioned earlier, I don’t drink very much (can go for months with no alcohol), but I do like a good tiki bar! There’s a tiny one in L.A. called The Tiki Ti that is famous, it’s a fun place to go. I hope someday to experience Trader Sam’s.
Melissa, I thought Egg Rock was in my mom’s backyard! I guess I was mistaken. And yes, as much as the trip on the Monorail would have been fun, the stopover in Tomorrowland would have been like placing a feast in front of a starving person’s face, and not allowing them to eat.
MRaymond, I would never say that you are crazy. Not out loud, anyway! ;-) With the memory of your father gazing at the Piper, I would have been confident that you had really seen such a thing. And I only knew about the changes to West Avenue through research - it’s an interesting footnote!
Jonathan, I haven’t been over to the Hotel in years, and many changes have occurred in the mean time - I wonder if there are still beautiful, garden-like areas for guests who want to decompress and maybe enjoy a little quiet time? I’m glad your friend (and his family) were unhurt after his crash, they were very lucky all things considered! That’s the thing with flying… a small mistake can be a disaster.
JG, thank you for the info about the landscaping as it is today! Ha ha, I’d love it if the Fantasy Tower had giant mushrooms, or a “dark forest”, or some such thing. A haunted swamp! A friend of a friend recently got an airplane (yes, he and his wife are rich), and they have offered to fly my friend and I to any location within reason. My friend wants to go out to the Channel Islands, which sounds good to me. Impressive that your dad had a Cessna!
DrGoat, Lou and Sue had some pictures of the ATARI arcade, take a look HERE.
Grant, it sounds like you must have spent a lot of time at the Hotel!
KS, aw, so nice that you reconnected with that young woman 50 years later! While I think that social media can be pretty awful in many cases, it is stories like yours that show that it can still be used for good!
Melissa, more romantic that “Star Wars”?!?!
JG, ditto.
Nanook, thanks for the link to the Magical Hotel blog, a nice addition to Lou and Sue’s photos.
KS, ha ha, there is no shame in being a romantic! It’s one of the best things about being a person.
Lou and Sue- Thanks for the great hotel photos. Living in the area, I have lots of memories visiting the shops, marina, etc. with family & friends.
Sue, Chuck, TokyoMagic!, Major, DrGoat, Melissa & JG- thanks for the comments on the Photoshop work. The pretty young lady was at Knott's, but with her far away look, she was definitely thinking of Major... ;)
JG- Her eyesight is now 20/10...
-DW
KS, you just made all the female junior gorillas swoon! You are sentimental, romantic, worked at Disneyland and, now, rescue beautiful horses. The question probably going through most of those female junior gorilla's minds is: Are you available?? ;)
Thank you for sharing that wonderful memory. Major has more photos to share, from that same location and date, so keep watching here!
Major, I think KS's story is in the running for most-romantic memory of the year, on GDB!
I'll be back later, to comment more - when I have time to re-read everyone's comments and look up the links. (Lots of great stuff from everyone!)
At the risk of getting further off-topic, I used fly Pipers like that one in the late 80's (rented, never owned), and I had forgotten how annoying that the right-side door you see was - it was the only one it had! That means the rear passengers had to fold down the front seat to get in and out, and as pilot you had climb up on the wing, get in the passenger side, clamber across the passenger seat with all your gear to get in the pilot's seat. Fun to fly, but a pain to get in and out of. Oh - and I always dreamt of myself down from San Jose to Disneyland, but never did. Flying commercial was a lot more affordable.
DW, you and Grant McCormick sure were lucky to be so close to the park! The only time I lived close enough to potentially visit it often, I was too young to take advantage of it. Oh well! It’s sobering to thing that the sweet young girl is probably in her 80s today (if she is still with us, of course)!
Lou and Sue, I guess there is something wrong with me - while I have remained friends with one or two ex-girlfriends, once they are out of my life, I generally have no desire to contact them again. I wish them well and hope they have happy lives, I mostly don’t like the “What have you been doing?” questions.
DanSt3/SkyMagic, I wonder if there was a (supposedly) good reason for the Piper only having a single door? Structural integrity? I guess I wouldn’t necessarily expect the most luxurious of amenities in a small plane like that, so as a passenger I probably wouldn’t have minded the issue of folding down the seat. Hey, I used to drive a VW beetle! How long would it have taken to fly from San Jose to Anaheim? It would be fun, but then you have to land it somewhere away from the Disneyland, pay for “parking”, and still find transportation to Harbor Boulevard. I do remember the days when I could fly up to San Jose from Burbank to visit my sister, it was relatively cheap!
TokyoMagic! Thanks for all the hotel area info and, especially, the link to your 2011 post. Great photos and info!! I've walked around that area many times but still have never been in Trader Sam's or Tangaroa Terrace. I have to get inside them, soon, before they get torn down or something changes, again.
Chuck, TM!, DrGoat, Melissa, MRaymond, JC Shannon, JG, Grant, KS, Nanook, DW, DanSt3/SkyMagic: Thanks for commenting today and all the fun! (DanSt3/SkyMagic: Welcome aboard! Hope to hear more from you!) Thanks, especially, to Major!
I'll see everyone at Major's big celebration, here, tomorrow!!
Lou and Sue...thanks! I'm blushing. Nope, I'm 43 years attached now. Wow. The reconnects have happened in interesting ways as old Disney folks reconnect. What is fascinating is how we all have changed over the years...yet remain the same. It is that journey of life we have all taken that fascinates me. Truly a Rip Van Winkle moment.
KS
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