Fort Wilderness, September 1958

Fort Wilderness, on Tom Sawyer Island, was a prime example of an attraction that was built to make the whole Frontierland experience richer and more "realistic" (as absurd as that might seem). Disneyland did not lure additional visitors because of the fort, but it added so much. Tom Sawyer Island was all about exploration and discovery! Rock formations and caves, treehouses and suspension bridges - - even the act of having to raft over was a mini-adventure. The fort evoked images of Indian wars (at times, arrows poked out of the top of the towers) and a welcome safe haven in the middle of an unfriendly prarie. In the scheme of things, rebuilding this fort seems like it would have been a bargain. But it was deemed to be expendable, especially since pirates were moving in. Such a shame! ANYWAY, I love this photo (with its super-saturated colors!) from a happier time, those two little girls are having a good old time!


As a bonus, here's a 1956 photo of the Golden Horseshoe. My favorite detail is that wonderful sign out front featuring the lovely Slue Foot Sue herself. The establishment was owned by her after all! I wonder why this sign was removed?

A Pair from 1956

It sure seem like I been posting a lot of slides from 1956 lately! But they won't last forever. Here's a shot of one of the Casey Jr. Circus Trains way up on the hilltop, while another one loads up in the foreground. I love being able to see the beautiful details!


The friendly Indians are enjoying a sunny day wedged between the river and the train tracks. Those fellas to the left appear to be making something to hold or catch fish. The telephone wires show how close they are to the edge of the park as well!

Souvenir Saturday, Frontierland

It's been a little while since I've posted any vintage souvenir slides. Maybe you don't care! But that's what I'm posting today.

Here's a great view of the C.K Holliday at rest at the tiny Frontierland Station. I love the modest scale; but they've still gussied it up with some nice gingerbread details. Notice the raw, fresh wood on the water tank, it looks like it was built very recently. To the left of the tank you can see one of the teepees of the early Indian Village (is that a pair on nuns walking past??), and a corner of the adobe side of the Plantation House. The locomotive is decked out in patriotic bunting, and waaay at the end you can see a guy (the conductor? I just know I'm wrong) doing something that I'm sure was very important. Notice the parallel tracks, this was in the days when the freight train could only be boarded in Frontierland, and the passenger train (which boarded at Main Street Station) could pass at selected points. Also notice what looks like large quantities of grease on the tracks!


This is a nice, sleepy shot of the stockade entrance to Frontierland. There are the stumps of the very trees used to build the wall! And of course you can see the Davy Crockett Arcade, where Davy liked to play foosball, whack-a-mole, and air hockey when he wasn't out killin' bars.


I'll be out of town for a few days (Bass Lake, near Yosemite), but never fear, I already have several posts ready to go and set to automatically publish. I won't be leaving comments on my favorite blogs (you know who you are), but look forward to catching up when I come home.

An Assortment from 1956

Today I've got three beauties from 1956 for you!

Howabout this shot of the "Nile Princess" embarking on its trip through the mysterious Jungle? After only a year, the foliage has filled in nicely, giving a pretty convincing feeling of rainforesty goodness. The areas of bright sunlight contrasted with the deep shadows, along with the misty river, give this photo a great mood!


The jungle might have filled in, but Frontierland was still pretty raw in '56. Nevertheless, this is a nice photo of Gullywhumper, framed by the ornate ironwork of the bandstand that used to grace the shore of the river. Tom Sawyer Island is obviously open for business.


If I had a nickel for every photo I've seen of the Pirate Ship, I'd have... well... a lot of nickels! But this one is mercifully different, a nice detail looking up at the (heh-heh) poop deck ("the aftermost and highest deck of a ship"). I'm sure many people were drawn to that high vantage point, the same way King Kong was drawn to the top of the Empire State Building. Let's hope that a squadron of biplanes didn't seal this lad's fate in the same way as Kong's! Look at that complex arrangement of ropes, adding to the authentic feel of this fantasy ship.

Pirate Ship Construction, 1955

Ahoy, mateys! The Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship was not ready for prime time when Disneyland opened in mid-July of 1955. It didn't start serving tuna sammiches until August 29. These two photos were taken sometime in the intervening weeks, while workmen scrambled to finish this icon of the park. Here you can see plenty of scaffolding, particularly at the stern-end, where so much of the ship's magnificent ornamentation would be. Looks like quite a bit of painting still needs to be done, even the mermaid figurehead is unfinished.


Here's a closer (blurrier) look!

Two from 1957, Frontierland & Tomorrowland

Mother and daughter pose dutifully at the entrance to Frontierland. Either that gate is very large, or the people are very tiny. Some might even say itty-bitty. I've always liked how the Frontierland sign is made from two rough boards, nothing fancy. Maybe they used an old Disneyland wood-burning kit to add the lettering? You can see the Pendleton shop, the Mark Twain, and the Trading Post as well.


Monsanto's House of the Future made its debut in '57... look at the line to get in! There were plenty of folks who wanted a glimpse of the near future. Women dreamed of ultrasonic dishwashers and irradiated food that wouldn't spoil (plus it glowed in the dark!). Men dreamed of a house that didn't need its gutters cleaned or roof reshingled. Kids pretty much went because their parents dragged them along, but that doesn't mean that they didn't enjoy it!

Three from July 1960

Did you know that the 50-star version of the United States flag made its debut in July 1960? I'm not sure why it took so long, because Hawaii had been the 50th state since the previous August. Anyway, there's a li'l factoid for you to start your day!

Today's three photos were also taken in July 1960, starting with this shot of the Motor Boat Cruise loading dock. The Motor Boats replaced the notoriously unreliable (but cool looking) Phantom Boats, and lulled countless guests into a deep, relaxing slumber as they puttered around. It didn't matter if they were asleep, the boats always returned home. Like magic!


I'm not sure how many people truly appreciated the spirtual nature of the dances performed by Disneyland's Native Americans, but this amazing photo shows this particular dancer summoning an eagle (OK, it could be a pigeon), visible in the sky. Pretty impressive, just like when Aquaman summons the fishes of the sea to do his dirty work.


How do they keep the Mark Twain so sparkling white? My steamboat is always so drab and gray. It's embarrassing. Frontierland looks verdant and lush here, and the Twain is churning the water impressively, probably chopping up a few ducks in the process. You can just see part of the bright yellow banner (to the right) announcing the path to the Indian Village where you could see the guy in the first photo doing his thing!

Tomorrowland, July 1958

There's only one image today, but it's a nice one at least! I'm not entirely sure if this photo was taken from the Skyway or from Snow Mountain (my guess is the latter). As you can see, there's the salmon-colored Viewliner curving around the track. It was the fastest li'l train in the world! Don't believe me? Go find one that was faster. No, I insist! I'll wait...

Anyway, some other photographer might have been lucky if he was standing in just the right place, he would have gotten a nice shot of the Viewliner and the Disneyland Railroad running side by side.

Meanwhile, there is the Midget Autopia, the Junior Autopia, and the Invisible Autopia (rarely photographed!).

(By the way, check out the smog!!)


For the sake of comparison, you might want to take a gander at this beauty recently posted over at Daveland!

Sunday Fun

For today I went through some miscellaneous leftovers and decided to choo-choo-choose three images with a train theme. Because we all love the trains, don't we?

Before the "Nature's Wonderland" expansion, there was the "Rainbow Cavern's Mine Train". There was no "Bear Country" or Cascade Peak yet, and the trains themselves were a very dark green. I believe that this shot was taken from one of Casa de Fritos' outdoor tables (with the palm frond "umbrellas"). You probably don't remember that gentleman and his daughter, but we saw them before in this photo of the Columbia.


The E.P. Ripley chugs past us, I think that the white wooden fence is over in Frontierland, not far from the train station there. Not much to say about it except that, yes, it's blurry.


And here we are, back (roughly) to where we were in the first picture, only now the train cars are a happy yellow hue. And as you can see from the attraction poster, it is no longer just the Mine Train, but "Nature's Wonderland". Wheeee!

Random Stuff

Since there is no theme today (besides "Disneyland" of course), let's jump headfirst into today's post, it'll be like jumping into an ice cold swimming pool!

We'll start with this photo from August 1960, showing the ticket booths at the park's entrance. There's Minnie Mouse to the left, even she has to buy a ticket to get in I guess. You can't read it in this scan, but there are big scary signs warning people that picnic lunches are strictly verboten in the happiest place on earth! The penalty: death by churro.


Yep, it's the castle. And since it's 1958, there are signs on the banners out front advertising the opening of some new attractions like the "Alice in Wonderland" dark ride and the "Columbia".