Three Gate Handouts, 1959 & 1960
Upon arriving at Disneyland, guests were handed what seems to be a number of useful and wonderful flyers/brochures with information about guided tours, ticket book options, and (usually) special events that were going on at that time of the year. I've shared a number of these, which I have filed under the category of IMPORTANT! flyers. See some past posts HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. In no particular order (I couldn't even locate all of them on the blog).
Going through my scans of paper ephemera, I saw that I still had three of these IMPORTANT! flyers that I have not shared. I think my concern was that, other than minor details, they are all so similar that they might not be of much interest to most Junior Gorillas. But then I threw all caution to the wind and decided to just combine them into one post. Some say I am mad, but it is THEY who are mad!
Here's a pinkish example from the Fall-Winter of 1959. Presumably attendance dropped off after a busy Summer.
I don't really expect you to read all of this, but if you do, it might provide some fun details. There was no "Nature's Wonderland" just yet, so one would enjoy a trip through "the Rainbow Desert and through Rainbow Caverns on a Mine Train". The new Submarine Voyage and Monorail were options; but you could still enjoy classics such as "Satellite View of America". And you get a souvenir guidebook!
The park is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but "Date Nite" was in full swing. Bring your sweetheart for a night of fun, music, and dancing.
Next is the pink and blue version for the Spring of 1960. I once saw a variation on this one on eBay, and it went for a shocking amount, so it must have been exceptionally rare.
I like the updated graphics on this one, with much of the same info as before. A "Jumbo 15" ticket book for adults was $4.50, roughly $50 in today's money. I'm sure more than a few dads grumbled about the cost!
So much for special events in the Spring.
And finally, here's the "Winter 1960" flyer, in icy blue.
It seems odd to me that they reverted to the same graphic style as the first flyer. But I'll get over it.
And again, no special events are listed. No Christmas parades? No nothin'??
10 comments:
Major-
I think the most IMPORTANT! piece of info can be found in the Spring 1960 version and the convenience of using our BankAmericard. The other card - the International Credit Card sounds like a phony to me. I'd steer clear of it.
Thanks, Major.
Went there twice in '81-'82 as a kid 'on convention' with my pop, and those Monday and Tuesday closings made staying at the Disneyland Hotel all the more special...
Thanks yet again Major!
Seeing these brochures got me wondering, what sort of people would want/need a guided tour of Disneyland? Not 'regular' folks, surely? Important VIPs would, I guess, to keep the riff-raff away. Foreigners who don't speak English, or aren't familiar with American culture, would too. But for ordinary people, exploring Disneyland on your own would be half the fun, right?
$4.50 for the "Jumbo" ticket book, which not only got you into the Park, but also included 15 rides... I wonder if there's anything in the Park today that you could get for $4.50? A 'small' cup of pop or juice? A bottle of water?
Thanks for sharing more of your Disneyland 'paper stuff', Major.
Major, just FYI....clicking on that second image, opens a larger version of the first image. I like those little illustrations of Donald Duck! And that's nice that they were giving a Disneyland pictorial to the people who went on the guided tour. I wonder when that stopped?
JB, today, the only things in the park that $4.50 will get you, is a cup of ice, or admittance into the pay toilets. ;-)
Thanks for sharing these, Major!
I, for one, miss a lot of the paper stuff they used to hand out at the parks. I didn't go in the early 60s (not being born yet put a damper on things) but even in the 70s through the 2000s you got a ton of stuff to remember your visit. Now? Well, I guess you could screen shot your phone... Not nearly as cool.
And get off my lawn!
JB, that old Guided Tour couldn’t amount to much, since “In Bu’s Footsteps” and the Matterhorn Basketball Court was not included. It would better to go now, only $5,000.00 a day.
I really like those little vignettes of the various rides ( which had not yet graduated to attractions) in the borders, and the Spring edition is printed in “Tehachapi Dawn”, my favorite shade of pink.
Major, you can make these flyers interesting, when I wouldnt give them a second thought, thank you!
JG
Nanook, I still use my International Credit Card at all fine establishments that don’t know any better!
walterworld, I would think it would be frustrating as heck to be at the Disneyland Hotel, but you couldn’t go to the park two days a week! Maybe the Hotel itself was quiet and pleasant on those days?
JB, that is a good question, and one that I can’t answer. As far as I’m concerned, I agree with you, exploration is half the fun. But if one’s time was limited, and as you said, if you were from another land, or maybe if you had a group and you wanted to make sure they got the “full experience”, perhaps a guided tour was the way to go. Maybe Bu can chime in with the sorts of people he guided. The Jumbo 15 ticket book was a good deal, though I’m sure it still seemed very expensive to many - I know that early on, some newspaper articles complained about how pricey Disneyland was.
TokyoMagic!, thanks for the heads up, I fixed the wonky picture link at 4:30 in the morning. I was thinking that in the early days, a souvenir guidebook was only 50 cents, but then realized that this is the equivalent of about $5 today, so there’s no way Disney is going to “give away” something like that. The pay toilets were the most popular “ride”!
Stu29573, it is true, they used to give out SO much great paper stuff, a new arrival might have three or four flyers/booklets before they even walked into Town Square; there are still flyers and such, but they have a glossy, sort of generic look that I don’t find very appealing.
JG, an “In Bu’s Footsteps” tour would be great, though I do wonder if the powers that be would see an unauthorized tour and shut it down? I participated in a fun unauthorized tour a few years back, and we did get security guards on our butts, but the guy giving the tour was a Club 33 member, and (it goes without saying) rich, so they let him get away with it. And that pink is essentially what I imagined “Tehachapi Dawn” to be!
That $3.50 15 ride ticket book in 1960 equates to around $38 today. We considered going to Disneyland a wonderful luxury and at best went no more than twice a year. If admission was just held to inflation, that $38 today would be a tremendous bargain. The Park would be overrun with people Yet at today's prices it is overrun as it is. What gives? KS
Feh! on your International Credit Card. I want to use my Carte Blanche charge plate.
KS, pricing of Disney Parks is interesting. The parks are still pretty crowded, but they've raised prices to a point where only the wealthiest 20% of Americans can afford it. It was recently in the WSJ using data from TouringPlans. Some commenters have pointed out that for west coast customers, flying to Japan and visiting the better-run parks there is a better alternative now.
Growing up Disneyland never seemed insanely expensive - meaning as a kid I wouldn’t be directly aware of the costs … but I have this conclusion based on memories of my parents reaction .. I don’t recall them ever complaining or making surprised comments about high prices . And I know they would have had it been an issue . I think at the time the prices were agreeable to all parties … lol. Now as a kid we didn’t eat at the Blue Bayou … etc. but I remembered eating a moderate lunch and then we had a nicer dinner. Now yes there were costly exceptions: window display figures at Disneyanna, a 1870 Albany Sleigh at One-of-a-kind Antiques …. Or imported diecast models from Germany at Tinker Bell Toy shop were obviously going to be expensive. But there was price points for everyone. An example of Disneyland price differences on imported toys :
EXINWEST toys from Spain sold in the Davy Crockett Arcade from 1975 to 1987 : a SALOON or HOTEL construction playset at Disneyland in 1981 was $17.50 ( at toys International & Santa’s Village :$ 15.00) EXINWEST double building playsets at Disneyland were $38.50 but $27.50 outside of Disneyland …. EXINWEST figure and wagon sets at Disneyland : $9.95 …. $6.95 at Tinker Things Toys & Santas Village .
In 1987 you could purchase an original Disneyland vintage silkscreen attraction poster for $300.00 …. And about 150.00 - 225.00 from a private collectors..
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