More Special Event Mini-Posters
It's been fifteen months since the first installment of SPECIAL EVENT MINI-POSTERS! Was it worth the wait? I say yes!
This first example is a bit different, dating from March of 1967; ROHR Family Night. What the heck is Rohr? After some Googling, I am guessing that this was Rohr Steel, located in Pomona, California - about 30 minutes from Disneyland. Or maybe I'm wrong! Participants could enjoy the new It's a Small World, explore New Orleans Square (though Pirates of the Caribbean would not be open until one week later!), and the wonderful Primeval World scene along the Disneyland Railroad, which had debuted on July 1, 1966. Plus Bill Elliott, the Mustangs, the Date Niters, and so much more! I have a "blank" just like the background for this poster, see it HERE.
I shared this one before, and have seen it reposted (without credit of course) all over the place. It's for the October 1970 NAVY NITE, which I just happened to attend as a child! My dad was still in the Navy at the time, working at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, and going to Navy Nite was one of the highlights of my year. I remember being VERY scared to ride the Haunted Mansion after kids at school told me that "ghosts go right through you". I DON'T WANT THAT! But it was all OK of course. I've seen a few other items from the same time period with Mickey as a ghost, though some have pointed out that it looks like he's wearing a Splash Mountain poncho.
Next is this 1971 mini-poster for North American Rockwell Management Assn. and their FAMILY NIGHT. A mere four dollars gets you unlimited attractions, music, dancing, and "shows" (perhaps meaning the Tahitian Terrace and Golden Horseshoe, and possibly others?). Such a deal!
September, 1972 was the night of the FAMILY FUN PARTY for the Retired Officer's Association. The price has gone up 25¢, which is outrageous. What am I, made of money? All of the typical goodies are available again, but there is the new "Bear Country", and the "Country Bear Jamboree" too.
Perhaps the recession that was going on in 1973 explains why this '73 poster for Public Employees Night was printed in black and white. Notice "Sparkie" in the upper left, the mascot for the Orange County Employees Association. The price for attendance was back down to $4.00.
And finally, here's the December 1974 poster for Sears FAMILY FUN PARTY. Toughskins optional! In spite of the continuing recession, the price is now an astronomical $4.50. But we'll do it for the kids. This is one of the earlier uses of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. Pooh had been introduced (Disney style) in "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree" in 1966 to much acclaim. Next was "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" in 1968, and as you can see, "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!" was released in 1974.
I hope you have enjoyed these Mini-posters!
6 comments:
Major-
I assume the Rohr Family Night refers to Rohr Aircraft Corp. / Rohr Industries in Chula Vista...
I guess The Retired Officers Association Family Fun Party was a mix-in, based on the hours.
Thanks, Major.
Wonderful artwork on the first image! It really is beautiful! (And exciting!) So, these mini-posters were 9" x 12"?
"ghosts go right through you". It's funny how kids shorten their descriptions to deliberately emphasize some aspect of an experience to make it even more vague and confusing (and scary) than it is. Looking at the fine print on the mini-poster of Ghost Mickey, you must've been soooo angry and disappointed that the shooting galleries were not included in the Navy Nite admission. ;-)
I'm not sure why, but I always get a little joyful and excited whenever I see colorful Disney characters in printed media, like the car with Mickey, Donald, And Goofy on the Retired Officers Association poster. I guess I've been conditioned like one of Pavlov's dogs. [JB wipes the drool off his computer keyboard.]
Also interesting, is that I don't particularly get the feeling described above with the black & white poster. The lush color makes all the difference!
Special event posters make this a special event post today. Thanks, Major.
Reminds me how much I miss the Magic Kingdom Club, with its nifty brochure and optional subscription to Disney News. In fact, around the turn of the century, our HR office also had employee discount cards for Universal Studios, Santa Cruz Beach & Boardwalk, Marriott's Great America, and I think Winchester Mystery House. Magic Kingdom Club was one of the last to fold up shop.
I love these flyers! I’ve got a collection of them myself. Some of yours are the same artwork as mine but I have different companies or events. Some of the mini-posters are of great design -almost like attraction posters! The attraction based ones are some of my favorite like for the opening of America Sings … even describing “the swinging carousel theater “!! The opening of the 1978 new Matterhorn is a favorite too. These mini posters were certainly designed to be extremely colorful and eye catching to employees walking past a notice board on their way to lunch. In the mid 1990’s there was a proposal to reproduce some of these as larger posters for Disneyanna … the 1959 expansion was one of the most popular with merchandising … the 1967 new Tomorrowland also had been selected and a Main Street electrical parade debut 1972 and a really neat 1978 “what’s gotten into the Matterhorn” flyer poster. The posters were altered to remove lots of the text etc but they looked really sharp! I got to keep a printers proof of the 1978 Matterhorn one … but they were done 1/2 the size of what the final sizes that would have been sold to guests .
Major: a friend of mine grew up in the east coast and was obsessed with the Haunted Mansion .. Walt Disney World had not opened yet … and he had not been to Disneyland . He begged family to go the WDW …. And they did a family trip in December of 1971. The first thing he forced his family to do was go to the haunted mansion . They waited in a substantial line and his grandma was a bit overwhelmed by the wait. He was so excited but once they entered the foyer of the mansion he started to freak out and get scared .. when they got on the doom buggy he tried to keep his eyes shut but his mom and grandma yelled at him to open his eyes!! His mom : “You’ve talked about this ride for a year and we spent lots of money to take you here!! .., you better open your eyes!!” His grandma :” I waited in that long line for you ! Open your damn eyes!!” Lol!!!!
I love these mini posters and their artwork So "Sparkie" is a stick figure with an orange for a head, and he's wearing what? A sombrero? Odd!
It's interesting that something coming from Disney is calling "Country Bear Jamboree," "Bear Country Jamboree." Oh, well.
Major, it does look sort of like a rain poncho that Mickey is wearing in that one poster. But because the sheet kind of has a cone-shaped top, it also looks like he could be starring in "Birth of a Nation. :-(
We went to Disneyland in August of 1969, and like an idiot, I passed up going on the Haunted Mansion. My brother said a friend of his had gone on it and told him that "things jump out at you." If his friend had not told him that, or if my brother had not repeated it to me, I probably would have gone on it. I went on it the very next time we visited the park, and didn't have any problems with it. I remember the line being long, but it wasn't overflowing out of the front gates of the queue. My mom and I went and got mint juleps and then rode the train around the park. I have a very clear memory of a lady who was riding the train by herself, talking to my mom. The things we remember! She was there with her daughter's family, but I don't know why they weren't with her. Maybe they were waiting in line for the Haunted Mansion, and she didn't want to go because her grandchildren told her that "things jump out at you."
Nanook, I used to LOVE mix-ins! When we would go to the park in the off season, the closing time was usually 6 p.m. (I think). But often times, when 6 p.m. came around, we would realize that even though most of the guests were heading towards Main Street and the exit, the cast members weren't "corralling" everyone in that direction, and the rides and shops weren't shutting down. After asking someone why they didn't seem to be closing and having the concept of a "mix-in" explained to us, we would start asking if there was a mix-in, once we set foot in the park. It was always a nice surprise when there was one, and it was always disappointing when there wasn't.
DBenson, I miss the Magic Kingdom Club and Disney News Magazine. I guess NOBODY gets a discount anymore! Maybe they'll even be taking discounts away from their cast members. Have you seen all of the benefits they are now trying to take away from them? The money-grubbing so-and-sos!
Thank you for sharing your special event mini-posters with us, Major!
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