Vintage Disneyland Paper
Vintage Disneyland paper? Yes please!
First up is this somewhat scarce brochure, undated but surely from 1955. We all know that Santa Fe sponsored the Disneyland Railroad, you'd see their distinctive logo on Main Street Station as you walked into the park. It only made sense that they'd advertise this new park in order to get the most out of their investment. Perhaps the sepia-tone ink was supposed to evoke and olde-timey look, but I admit that I wish this one was a bit more colorful. It's nice to see that shot of the C.K. Holliday and the E.P. Ripley side by side in Frontierland.
The fact that they mention the opening date is a clue that this brochure was released before then; notice that admission for adults is a cool $1.00! An "elephant train" will transport guests from the parking lot to the main gate. Minimum walking distance, 1.4 miles? I mean, OK. Last year I walked over 10 miles (according to an app on my phone) on one particular day! I'm also noticing a mention of buckboards as a ride option - other than seeing opening-day use of buckboards, I'm not sure that they were used, otherwise.
Next is something perhaps a bit more mundane - a flyer that I believe is from the 1970s - possibly 1973 - with advice to new (and not-so-new) guests on the best way to see Disneyland. "With your segmented eyes", would be my answer. Professor Ludwig Von Drake is the character used here, very unusual.
Note to graphic designers: red type on a pink background is hard to read! But oh well. Here are your ticket book options. Go on, get the Deluxe 15, it's only one additional dollar! What a value. Are there really "more than 25 fine restaurant and refreshment centers"? I had no idea.
Most of the advice on the inside is perfectly reasonable. Though even if I had a room at the Disneyland Hotel, I'd have a tough time taking an afternoon break, as nice as it sounds. How about a dip in the Olympic-size pool, followed by a light lunch and maybe even a nap? Return in the evening to watch the fireworks, dance to the top-notch musical acts around the park, and catch the late performance of the Main Street Electrical Parade. Not a bad way to spend a day!
11 comments:
Major-
The Santa Fe brochure is pretty swell. I found it amusing how the number of ride 'conveyances' was called-out for each attraction, where applicable: cars; horses; galleons; boats; trains; seats; cups; stages; packs; and even Dumbos-!
(My eyes are still recovering from the red on pink-!) Whew.
Thanks, Major.
"Perhaps the sepia-tone ink was supposed to evoke and olde-timey look". Orrrr, maybe they had a boxcar-load of squid they didn't know what to do with.
The "Pleasure Dome" sounds interesting. I'm picturing travelers lounging on plush floor-cushions, being fed grapes by scantily-clad young ladies, ancient Roman-style.... but probably not.
Looking at the Main Street "Rides and Amusements", Disney missed a bet by not including horse-drawn horses.
Seems odd that they state a specific number of Autopia cars available: 32, plus 4 police cars(?) and one 'Special' car(?). I just assumed that they used whatever number of cars was needed, based on how busy the Park was on a given day. Then again, they also give specific numbers of cars, trains, mules, teacups, etc. for all the other rides and attractions. "8 cups" for the Mad Tea Party? Perhaps they meant 18?
I couldn't read the entire "Best Way To See Disneyland" flyer. My eyes started to hurt and I got a headache. (Not really, but like you said, it was too difficult to read.) What were they thinking? I guess they chose these colors because it was the psychedelic seventies... and the graphic designers were on an acid trip.
Thanks for the 'vintage paper', Major.
Wow!! For a brochure from 1972-1973 it looks very very “1962-1963”!! …. The use of Ludwig Von Drake also harkens back to the early 60’s… ironically the 1974 “Best Ways To See Disneyland” brochure is hand scribed by Monks from The 1200’s.
There's that listing for the Shooting Gallery, inside the Main Street Penny Arcade. I need to see a picture of that! You hear me, I NEED to! :-)
Thanks for sharing your "vintage Disneyland paper" with us, Major!
I forgot to mention that I like that little drawing of the Main Street Electrical Parade's original dragon, before it was replaced by "Elliot" from Pete's Dragon.
Whoever wrote copy for the Santa Fe brochure was transportation-obsessed, kind of like me with trash cans. I approve. I like the old-timey color scheme.
Red on pink is much of a muchness, a Kim Irvine forerunner. Dr. Von Drake makes up for some of it, but not enough. The day agenda described does sound luxurious, and again, I approve. Also the wonderful little sketches brighten up what might otherwise be dull reading. More of this please.
Thanks for the paper goodies today, Major. A contrast in comparisons.
JG
These brochures certainly are both SCHMART. It took me a minute to figure that out....but coming from Ludvig...well, it made sense. I'm all about an afternoon nap and dip before returning to the Park for dining and dancing. Seems like it would be nice to be that spontaneous these days. I think the admission price dictates to get in every second, and it would be nice if there was "nap land"...kind of like a human kennel...with Japanese style "pods" to rest for an hour or two. Or perhaps something like a lovely peaceful garden...like the "Quiet Car" on Amtrak. No loud talking, no phones, no amplified sounds, comfy chaise lounges in the shade....perhaps that is what Tom Sawyer Island should become..."Fort Wilderness Pods and Zen Garden." The red and pink is an odd choice...very odd in fact...The Electrical Parade - the best thing since sliced bread in Disneyland in 17 years. That it's now 70 years...in a few days...boggles my mind. I LOVE the Santa Fe brochure...and especially like how they describe each attraction aspects in gory detail. Do we need to know how many "Galleons" are flying around Peter Pan? I suppose since the concept was so unheard of and new, the people writing this brochure didn't even understand what it was they were describing...so the only information they had was metrics. I don't think I ever saw a photo of the Autopia police cars, and the "special car" perhaps was "Walt's Car?"...could be.. I would sooo go on the Super Chief from Chicago to LA...the longest train trip I took was Boston to DC...thinking that it would save time with airports/hassle/etc. Well....it does save you all that "be there 2 hours before et al"....but that Acela (high speed) train is unforgiving. First Class does not help...it's kind of like "crack the whip". I felt like I was on that train for days after. Don't get me wrong...I really prefer the rails...it's just a wee "jiggly". I looked up the Turquoise room...which was a private dining room/lounge...with a public lounge next to it...the Pleasure Dome on top...and the Main Lounge next to that. How very civilized. Looks like they anticipated up to 60K people on a busy day in Disneyland....which even 25 years later would be considered a very very very busy day....not sure if 1955 Disneyland could really accommodate that many people...but up for discussion. I want to ride the Explorer's Boat Ride...even if there are no "rides" in Disneyland. Seems like there were "Rides and Amusements"...when did that officially change over to "Adventures and Attractions?". There's a lot in these two brochures, as a kid I would be studying these pieces of paper like cramming for a college exam...I suppose nothing has changed in 50+ years. Thanks Major!
I of course love the Santa Fe brochure. Looks like they got their locomotives mixed up, however, with the Ripley stopping at Frontierland with the Freight, and the Holliday stopping at Main Street with the passenger train.
Nanook, I also liked the mention of “Dumbos”! Before the park opened, I wonder how many people read that and thought, “What the heck??”.
JB, I mean, we all have boxcar-loads of squid, so that’s not exactly unusual. “Pleasure Dome” really is kind of odd; it sounds very “Caligula”. For a while the Autopia really did have a few cars painted up in black and white like police cars. I’m not sure what they mean by “one special car” - I think I also have a photo or two of a two-tone car (not the police cars), or else they mean “Walt’s Car”. These early brochures are party fun due to inaccurate “facts”, remember that one that told us that Mr. Toad wound up at the “pearly gates”? I agree, that red and pink flyer is painful to look at.
Mike Cozart, I was curious as to when Ludwig Von Drake was introduced, it turns out he goes all the way back to 1961, when he sang “The Spectrum Song” on Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. As Disney characters go, he was pretty new! Newer than Scrooge McDuck, even.
TokyoMagic!, in the Main Street Shooting Gallery, you shot the hats off of men wearing straw boaters, and knocked over horseless carriages and even the “town drunk”!
TokyoMagic!, oh cool, I didn’t know about the “pre-Elliot” dragon. Elliot seems so iconic to the Electrical Parade, I had no idea that he wasn’t introduced until five years in!
JG, I guess you can’t blame a train company for being “transportation-obsessed”. I’m kind of surprised that the red on pink passed any kind of final review, but maybe it seemed “hip” for the early 1970s? Gotta appeal to the kids, and they are all smoking those funny cigarettes. Back in the days when the park was much less crazy, it really would have been amazing to show up in the morning, hit some attractions, and then rest or swim!
Bu, I wonder if people even know who Ludwig Von Drake is anymore?? He’s not used in any capacity that I am aware of. It’s too bad, because I always liked him, and he was well-animated! “Spontaneous” is a bad word at Disneyland, you have to pre-plan so much; make your meal reservations three months in advance! Ha, those Japanese pod hotels are so fascinating, but I don’t think they’d work in America because people have to respect for anything, so they’d trash the pods. Just my opinion! Plus they’d have to be cleaned and sanitized between clients. Still, imagine getting to take a nice nap during the hottest, craziest part of the day! Ha ha, the words of somebody “not young”. Hey, I’d rather keep Tom Sawyer Island in some capacity rather than have it ripped out for some crummy IP. Unlike most parades, I always liked the Main Street Electrical Parade; the “Paint the Night” parade is definitely a big loud “in your face” update. That being said, I actually enjoyed “Paint the Night”, though a person whose opinion I respect seemed to truly dislike it. I can’t imagine the original Disneyland with 60K people. How many showed up on the Press Preview day (when there were supposedly a bunch of counterfeit tickets printed)? Probably not even half that number. There just wasn’t enough to do to entertain that many warm bodies.
Steve DeGaetano, mixing up the locomotives seems to have been a somewhat common thing back in those early days. Good eye though, I didn’t even notice!
Ludwig Von Drake is my most favorite character ( second only to Sandy Duncan) he was EXTREMELY popular in the 60’s but mostly vanished from use - so in 1972 unusual to see him being used in marketing material . Ludwig does still appear in employee manuals and employee stock purchase plan brochures throught the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. But you won’t find him in a Disneyland guide today. He of course was voiced by Paul Freese.
The pre Elliot dragon Electrical Parade dragon is referred to as “THE ANGRY DRAGON” and was noted in the parade soundtrack with Radom , heavy pounding on the Moog Synthesizer - and he puffed steam smoke .
Back in the 80s I took the Coast Starlight from San Jose to LA, leaving in the morning and arriving in the evening. Another train took me to the Anaheim station, then barely a Greyhound stop. My motel sent its Courtesy Shuttle, aka station wagon, to convey me the final two miles or so.
When I finally repeated the rail trip in 2019 the Anaheim stop had been upgraded to something like a modern airline terminal, with an extensive bus system connecting to Disneyland, the convention center, hotels, etc.
Yes, flying from San Jose is likely cheaper and certainly faster, but the train is way mellower.
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