Welcome to Disneyland, 1956

Fans of vintage Disneyland paper items are familiar with today's brochures, a 1956 gate handout: WELCOME TO DISNEYLAND, with Tinker Bell as our hostess. They are surprisingly common considering their age; everybody’s mom put them in their desk drawer and there they stayed, for decades. Here's the cover, with a greeting from "The Disneyland Staff":

When unfolded, you get three panels of useful information. Where to eat; phone availability; rest rooms; what to do if you lose your kid; and a list of various sponsored exhibits such as the Wurlitzer shop and the Crane Company "Bathroom of Tomorrow" (though they don't call it that here - maybe "bathroom" was considered to be a bit naughty?). 

I love this spot illustration of Tink!

The other side features a nice map of the park, along with Walt Disney's dedication speech from July 17th, 1955. I've seen eBay sellers claiming that this is an "opening day item", though it clearly is not.

"Say Major, you must be hittin' the sauce, you've posted the same scan two more times! Maybe sleep it off!". Well, I appreciate your concern, and yes, I did drink a bottle of A-1 steak sauce. Thanks to blogs such as Matterhorn1959's seminal "Stuff From the Park" I learned that there are, in fact, THREE different versions of this 1956 item. Things changed quickly in those early days! And I love variations.

"You don't really expect me to read that whole thing three times, do you? I got cartoons to watch!". 

The easiest way to tell them apart is to look at the exhibits listed under "Main Street"; as you can see, they all vary slightly. In my experience, the example to the left, with only five exhibits, is by far the scarcest, I'm guessing it must have only been available for a few months at most. I believe that it is the earliest of the three. The middle example shows the addition of the Yale & Towne "display of the locksmith's art". And the example on the right loses the Hollywood Maxwell Intimate Apparel shop (home of the "Wizard of Bras"), and replaces it with the North American Companies information center (also known as the "INA Carefree Corner").

In 1957, a smaller brochure with the same Tinker Bell artwork was produced, but we won't talk about that one! I hope today's post was not too nerdy for you. This is the stuff I love!

OK-zles

Today I have some OK-zles for you (not Blurzles, not Snoozles - it's important to know the difference). Both of these are perfectly OK! We'll start with this totally fine look at the Mark Twain (from October 1971). If it feels familiar, it's only because we've seen 10,000 photos that are just like it. And yet... it still sort of surprises me at the "forest" behind the steamboat. Where is everything??

Next is a decent picture (from August 1961) looking up at the Matterhorn, while two climbers ascend up the icy slopes. Watch out for abdominal snowmen!

In Memory of JFK

Today's scans are not the usual fun or silly subjects I tend to share, so I hope that you find them interesting, at least. Years ago I found some slides mixed in with other random stuff; they were taken a day or so after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated (on Friday, November 22, 1963) while his motorcade traveled through Dallas. So these were taken almost exactly 61 years ago.

This first one shows the sign to the Whittier Quad (now called "The Quad at Whittier"), which is located at the corner of Whittier Boulevard and Painter Avenue. In Whittier, in case you hadn't guessed! It was built in 1953 and expanded in 1965 with the addition of a 3-story, 248,000-square-foot May Company California department store. Arcadia-based Hinshaw's and Pasadena-based Nash's were other major tenants.

Here's a photo (from Wikipedia) showing the current sign for The Quad at Whittier.

This next photo is also from the city of Whittier - Sackett-Peters was a hardware store, located at 15214 Whittier Boulevard. I like their sign! It appears that the location is now a Harbor Freight store. 

Randos!

Here are two swell randos to brighten your Friday. TGIF, am I right? I don't know what "tuhgif" means, but it seems to be some sort of powerful incantation. 

Let's start with this view (from January, 1964) taken from the top step (?) of the Monsanto House of the Future looking down on our close personal friends. They're afraid of THE FUTURE, but not me! I welcome it, and all Soylent products, with open arms. The ladies appear to be holding souvenir guidebooks, and the one in teal has hers open in a manner which I find unbecoming. But I forgive her because she might be using it as an actual guide as she made her way through the park.  

Next is this very nice January 1971 shot (souvenir guidebook worthy?) of the Rocket Jets (extra points added because the rockets are UP), along with busy Peoplemover trains. Wowee, Tomorrowland was THE place for me in those days. The folks down below are a bit hard to see, I guess the film stock had a tough time with the brilliantly lit area above and the bit in shadow on the ground level.

 

Main Street, July 1964

If you could transport somebody from the 1870s to Main Street USA, they would be aghast at this busy big city! "What an eyesore, forsooth!" (I assume that's how people spoke back then). But to our 2024 eyeballs, Main Street looks pretty wonderful. Look at all those beautifull buildings, containing shops of all kinds. Do you need a Yale key made? Or maybe some home-made candy? Or candy with a Yale key in it (for your uncle who is in jail)? You're in luck! No need to walk, either, there are plenty of forms of public transportation; Surreys, Horseless Carriages, Omnibuses, and Horse-drawn Streetcars. The Firetruck will even give you a ride if you ask nicely.

Those guys to the left wear matching outfits, I wonder if they worked at the Wenmac Flight Circle? Thank you for your service, fellas! A boy near them is entranced at the sight of the Streetcar, or maybe at the sight of the horse. Let's stop at the Hallmark Store on the corner for some humorous greeting cards, and then get an orange juice bar at the Sunkist Citrus House.

 

It's a Small World, August 1981

Nobody ever took a photo of "It's a Small World" before August, 1981. It seems hard to believe, but it's true. They didn't want to be rude, you see. And I appreciate it. 

Here are two striped little girls enjoying the afternoon August sunshine with their souvenir hats. The hat to the left says something about looking at the world through rose-colored lenses, and sure enough, the lenses look like roses! The girl in the middle prefers a floppier style that protects her from harmful UV rays. 

Enjoy the GAF Photo Trail, as well as the second photo ever taken of IASW!

Character Parade, November 1968 - Part Two

I tolerate a parade! I admit it's not as catchy as "I Love a Parade", but I cannot tell a lie. Parades from 1968 might get special dispensation based on their antiquity, I can almost imagine televised footage of the event pictured below with Walt Disney's narration (though of course he was gone by then). 

When we last checked in, Baloo and King Louie had just marched by, and now we have the Three Little Oinks and the Big Bad Wolf . Mr. Smee is just behind, I assume Captain Hook is hidden by the BBW. Further back, Gideon, Honest John, and Pinocchio follow!

Seeing all Seven Dwarfs together is practically like a Beatles reunion. For a while they didn't get along, but after all, time heals all wounds, and now they're pals again. They don't wash much anymore, much to Snow White's chagrin, but she's not the boss of them! She's living in the castle, while they remain in their smelly cottage in the forest.

Lastly, here's Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox, from that movie that must not be named. I'm not crazy about the movie, though I do like the animated segments. It looks like the Strawhatters are trailing behind, possibly playing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah". And way, way in the distance, I think I see Donald Duck!

I hope you have enjoyed this vintage character parade.

 

Beautiful Frontierland

Today I am sharing more photos from the Mysterious Benefactor! There's no Mark Twain or Columbia in sight, either. Instead, all of these photos show the Rivers of America.

First up, two young women gaze across the river toward a passing Canoe and the Old Mill, while two Rafts and a Keelboat can also be observed. The Haunted Mansion peeks up from above the treetops!

This one is from a different angle, perhaps from the area in front of the Golden Horseshoe? We're seeing the Mill from the side, with a non-operational Tom Sawyer Island Raft at the landing. There's the French Market (now "Tiana's Palace") to the left, while only a few columns of the Haunted Mansion can be seen.

The next four scans show the River at its prettiest, not to mention the fact that it is very convincing as a real river, and not something that was carved out of orange and walnut groves in 1955. The Canoe in the foreground tells us that this was taken from the Canoe landing; I'm a bit surprised that we can't see the Friendly Indian Village in the distance, though it might be just around the bend. 

Now we're looking southward, with the Canoe landing on our right, and Tom Sawyer Island on our left. 

The water reflects the sky in peacock-blue hues, while normal nice ducks that never explode rest nearby. Only experts can tell the difference, non-experts have to tap on the heads of the ducks. I can just see some collapsed patio umbrellas to the left, and perhaps a bit of the Hungry Bear restaurant too? Not sure.

And finally, another beautiful view, I believe that this was taken from TSI, though I am uncertain about that. It truly is hard to believe that a bustling theme park was mere steps from this scene!

THANK YOU, Mysterious Benefactor!

Main Street Nite, August 1970

A good night shot from 1970s Disneyland is a rare thing indeed. I have two night photos from August 1970, but they are "just OK". 

Looking south from the Plaza, we can see the streetcar tracks reflecting the lights of the Main Street buildings, including the INA Carefree Corner ("We don't care!" was their motto). We can also see the Eastman Kodak shop, the Coca Cola Refreshment Corner, and the Beef Jerky Shoppe.

Gee, why does this one look so yellow? And this is after I tried some color-correction. Then I remembered that the popcorn carts had those yellow bug lights (or at least I believe they did), nobody wants a moth in their handful of popcorn. You can see the Toasty Roasty Man, whose real name was "Mitch". He dreamed of being an astronaut when he was a kid.

Mystery Trains

I've been looking at my various "train related" slides, and decided to scan some, including today's mystery train from May, 1966. This miniature train looks typical of the kind of thing you could find at scores of amusement parks and zoos around the country, I don't even see any useful clues for the armchair detectives out there.

This boy has learned to "smile for the camera" well, the expression hardly looks strained at all! But I'd be smiling if I was about to ride a tiny train. A neighborhood appears to be at the top of the slope; it's driving me crazy not knowing where this was!

The boy is doing a pre-ride inspection to make sure that it is safe for all the other boys and girls. "I'm not sure this meets up with my standards, I will have to make a full report". In the distance, a Sinclair gas station. The buildings look older, possibly east coast or maybe midwest.

OK, when I first put today's blog post together, I had no clue about the beautiful locomotive pictured below. And then I did some sort of very basic blog search, something like, "tourist steam locomotives United States", and discovered that this is one of the Roaring Camp locos (at this website). Roaring Camp Railroads was the brainchild of Norman Clark, who came from a family of railroad builders and who dreamed of preserving both the spirit of early California and the state's stunning redwoods by constructing a park where logging would be off limits. The company, opened in 1963 in Santa Cruz County, operates two lines, both about a 75-minute drive south of San Francisco. The Santa Cruz Beach Train, which goes from Roaring Camp down to the Santa Cruz boardwalk, runs along the 1875 Santa Cruz & Felton route. The Redwood Forest Steam Train, meanwhile, runs along a wooded route with trestles. The 19th-century geared locomotives are better able to negotiate steep inclines than conventional steam trains.

Here it is as it looks today!

Nice 1950s Views

I have a pair of better-than-usual scans for you today - early views, likely no later than 1956. Check 'em out!

This first photo fascinates me, mostly because I can't figure out where our photographer was when he/she snapped it! We've got the train tracks to our left, along with that crossing that took guest back to the real world (aka "backstage"), and that roadway that parallels the tracks. THEN we get an interesting look at the Passenger Train making a turn. There's no river in sight, so this can't be Frontierland (or can it?); the berm to our right is puzzling. Looking at vintage aerial photos didn't help me. Is the train approaching Tomorrowland? Chime in if you know!

Meanwhile, let's enjoy this nice early view of the Passenger Train.

Also from the same batch comes this neat shot of a Stagecoach, it appears to be returning from its journey through the wilderness. This brings back good memories of when I took a stagecoach to school every day, boy what fun! We'd eat candy made out of tallow and sorghum. But I digress. One website mentioned that For its first year of operation, the Rainbow Mountain Stagecoach was known only as the “Stagecoach Ride”. The Stagecoach adopted its longer name in 1956 when the Living Desert expanded and become the highlight of the trail ride. I believe this is from before the Stagecoach went through the Living Desert, but could be mistaken.

And, why not enjoy a closer view? I love that there's nothing in the background except rugged hillsides, it really does feel like the WILDERNESS! Hey, could that be Day Sechler at the reins?

Main Street, August 1968

I've said this before, but when I was a kid, Main Street was just a nice place to walk through on the way to the stuff that I really wanted to see at Disneyland. Oh sure, we might stop to watch "Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln", but otherwise I dreamed of other lands. But now, I am older and wiser, and my appreciation for Main Street, especially vintage Main Street, has grown considerably. 

This first picture is really great, lit by the morning sun (I admit that the warm tone gives it a more "afternoon" feel); the variety of details and shapes on all of the buildings is top-notch, and I love the tasteful-yet-still-colorful hues. The family to the right has mom, dad, and four kids - two girls dressed alike, and two boys with identical shirts. It's probably a bit early for an orange juice bar from the Sunkist shop, but man does that sound good right now. The man in the middle of the picture looks like he could be management. He's upset because everyone laughed at his "Broccoli Mountain" suggestion. If you look closely, a single tear is running down his cheek. 

This next one appears to have been taken at around the same time, but it looks so much brighter, it must have been cleaned with Windex. Clippety-clop... that's the sound I make wearing my big wooden shoes. The horse pulling the Streetcar gives me a knowing wink. Another Streetcar heads toward the castle, after the two passed each other at that... uh, what do you call that part of the track anyway? The passy-thingy? Anyway, it's the most exciting part of the ride, and I always like to high-five the people going the other direction.  

Special Guest Photos!

Today marks the first of a series of blog posts featuring photos from the personal collection of JG! There are 18 images in all; I'll begin by sharing the scans of black and white photo prints from 1965. Walt was still with us! JG was kind enough to provide his own recollections for each picture; here's his intro: 

These photos were all together in an envelope with my Mothers handwriting Summer 1965. I have separated out the Disneyland and KBF pictures, there were other shots of campouts and similar events. Major already published the 3 KBF pictures on October 22, 2024, and one of the Disneyland pics for Fathers Day, 2024. To follow are descriptions of the Disneyland shots. I have no idea in what order they may have been taken, so I am just following the order of the file names that I gave to the scans when I made them. The photos are dated September 1965, but were probably taken around the end of August 1965. The farm work slowed down around this time, before the first of September when school started, so we traveled or camped often in the last week of August. 

First up is this great picture of a young JG and his father (Russ) next to a Mine Train! My Dad and I on the railing of the Mine Train load platform. I'm wearing the same shoes we saw in the KBF photos recently posted.  The KBF pics were probably taken the day after these Disneyland pics. Back then it was possible to do most of Disneyland in one day, and KBF was a half-day, so we could go there and still get home late that evening.

I wasn't sure if JG was on a Keelboat, or the lower deck of the Mark Twain, but he was in a canoe! Note the Friendly Indian Village in the distance. This is a fairly cool atmospheric shot of me in an Indian War Canoe silhouetted against the Friendly Indian Village. I absolutely don't remember this at all.

Lastly (for today) is another great photo of JG and his dad, this time next to a Keelboat: My Dad and I in front of the original Gullywhumper two-window keelboat from the show. I shared this photo with Dave DeCaro several years ago since he was collecting pictures of the two versions of the keelboat. It is in his permanent collection on the Daveland site.

MANY THANKS to JG for sharing these precious personal photos; when looking at so many of the vintage Disneyland pictures on this blog, I try to imagine myself walking around, enjoying myself, taking in the sights and experiencing attractions that have been gone for years.. But JG has actual pictures of himself doing just that! Stay tuned for more from him.

Vintage Disneyland Ephemera

Paper! Vintage Disneyland paper, that is. It's some of my favorite stuff! Let's take a look at two more examples, shall we? 

First up is a bag from the Gibson Greeting Cards shop on Main Street, an opening-day lessee that was there until sometime in 1959, when they left and Hallmark Greeting Cards moved in (opening on July 1, 1960). I'm only aware of a few items that are specifically from the Gibson shop - some of which I am still looking for. But a nice shopping bag from the store is pretty cool! I love the very 1950s look of this item, which is actually a bit generic if it wasn't for the added "Disneyland Card Shop" bit.

Greeting cards are the "miracle medicine",  in case you didn't know. My mom still has a "birthday list" and dutifully sends cards to what seems like hundreds of people a year, including relatives that I have never met.

If this next item looks familiar, you may be remembering Nanook's example, which he shared with us long ago. You have a good memory, because that was 13 years ago! Well, I have an example too, and it won't kill you to look at it, so here it is. As you can see, You're Invited to DISNEYLAND DAY at Holidayland, the now largely-forgotten picnic/play area to the west of the main park, taking up much of what is now New Orleans Square (including the Haunted Mansion show building area). This event was for the 81st Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association on August 27, 1958.

Get there at 2:00 PM, and enjoy some BBQ and "special entertainment". I wonder if that meant that the Strawhatters or the Disneyland Band might perform? Or maybe attendees could go to the big striped circus tent and watch Professor George Keller and his FELINE FANTASTICS. Favorite line: "Will wonders never cease: NO SPEECHES!". 

The back cover has a typical map telling folks how to get to Anaheim from as far north as Santa Barbara and as far south as San Diego. Not to mention bus schedules, info about ticket books, and don't forget... Holidayland is a "no booze" zone.

I hope you have enjoyed today's Disneyland Ephemera!

 

Fantasyland Views, June 1969

I have a series of slide photos from June, 1969 - they're nice pictures, though marred a bit by some gray skies. Still, some fun can be had!

I'm guessing that our photographer was standing on the poop deck (heh heh) of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship (Chicken of the Sea would end their sponsorship in August of '69). Fantasyland is awhirl with activity and movement, with more stripes than you can shake a stick at. Try it, I dare you! Overhead, Skyway gondolas are surprisingly close, while below the Mad Tea Party and the Carrousel dominate the middle area, and Peter Pan's Flight and Mr. Toad are in the background.

Oh, Chicken of the Sea mermaid, we love you, but you'll be swimming away in a matter of weeks. At least Skully aka "Skull Rock" will still be with us for another 13 years.