Monstro and Storybook Land, May 1961

It's time for some very nice vintage Fantasyland pix (circa 1961) - nothing super extraordinary, but just some good solid classic Disneyland, with nice color and composition.

Here's a formal portrait of Monstro the Whale, his skin glistening in the sunlight because he moisturizes with shea butter and aloe. Baby soft! It's part of his nighttime routine. 1961 is when they experimented with loud belching noises played (every 15 seconds) through a speaker placed on the roof of his mouth. Some say that Walt Disney himself recorded the belches, but I think that is just fan theory. 

Notice the man posing next to Monstro's eye. Was it his wife's idea to take the picture, or did he want it himself?

I really like this angle looking westward, with a wonderful view of the Storybook Land canal boats (there's "Wendy"), along with a very busy Fantasyland. The color and general feeling of energy comes through.

I'm not sure I have noticed that the little lighthouse had yellow and red lamps in the lantern room. Paper lanterns can be seen in the distance, you know those looked pretty at night. I'm wondering what was in that wooden bin... extra seat cushions? And there's a fire extinguisher handy just in case.

Disneyland Hotel Construction, September 1977

Yessiree, it's time for more photos from Lou Perry, with thanks to his daughter Sue. B who has graciously shared so many pictures with us. Today we have three from 1977, featuring the Disneyland Hotel. 

First up is this view of the Marina Tower - there is a lovely marina on the other side, complete with boats that guests could take out on the water. There was also a sandy beach and a "tidal pool" for wading. It's now called the Fantasy Tower (*snore*). 

A whole new tower was under construction; it would open on July 1st. 1978 and would be named the "Bonita" tower (after Jack Wrather's wife). It is 13 stories tall, the tallest building in Anaheim at the time. It's now known as the Frontier Tower.

And finally, there's the Sierra Tower to our right, the first "tower" building, added in 1962 (and expanded in 1966). Doing a little research, I was not aware that it was renamed the "Dreams Tower" in 1977; now it is the "Adventure Tower".

THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!

River Belle Terrace Kitchen, May 1978

We've already seen hundreds of wonderful vintage images from the collection of scans generously donated by the Mysterious Benefactor; among my favorites are the many photographs taken in the restaurants, behind the counters and in the kitchens, where the average guest was never allowed to wander. Today I'll share five from the River Belle Terrace, circa 1978!

A hardworking CM is taking breakfast (?) orders. What is that strange implement in his hand? Where are the computers? Notice the Carnation milk cartons and whipped cream, they were still going strong in '78. You know what sounds good? PANCAKES! Did they serve them all day long at the Terrace?

"So you want me to alternate layers of waffles and pancakes until the stack is eight inches tall?". Yes. That is what I want. With a side of bacon.

That poor woman is waving her money around desperately, but you know what? Disneyland doesn't care about her money! They care about giving her friendly service and quality food.  All they require is a sincere "thank you".

"I want a Jumbo Jack, two tacos, and curly fries". "Ma'am, this isn't Jack in the Box". "Well then I'll have a Big Mac, a Filet o' Fish, and a diet Coke". (CM's hat flies off)

It looks to me like this lady is putting the finishing touches on some Mickey pancakes, while the woman in line is wishing she'd ordered those instead of the bowl of plain steamed groats (extra watery). It's a lesson for all of us, isn't it? 

MANY THANKS to the Mysterious Benefactor! There are more River Belle Terrace photos to come.

More From 1937Fan

It's time for more great photos, generously shared with us by "1937Fan"; they were taken by her Aunt during a 1964 trip to Disneyland.

And there she is! 1937Fan's Aunt; she looks like a nice lady. She's admiring woven handbags, hats, knit scarves on display in Adventureland. Auntie is looking for the barrel full of rubber snakes. Is the derpy kid related? Maybe 1937Fan will let us know!

Nearby is the magnificent Swiss Family Treehouse. When they're not home they rent it out as an airbnb (the word "airy" is used in the ad a LOT). I miss those red leaves.

And keeping with the Adventureland theme, here's a jungle launch returning from it's week-long journey through the dark rain forests. When they left there were 30 people on board, now there are only 26. Don't ask! As we learned in "Apocalypse Now", NEVER GET OUT OF THE BOAT.

Many thanks to 1937Fan!

Plaza Inn & Plaza Gardens, 1998

I have more photos from the vast "Mr. X Archives", stored in a climate-controlled vault in Cheyenne Mountain. 

X took some nice pictures of some Plaza features... the Plaza Inn restaurant and the Carnation Plaza Gardens. He loves that Main Street! And looking at this photo, you can see why. Surprisingly elegant for an amusement park - even the outside dining area is lovely, with the wrought iron fence bordered by bright flowers. I can't quite make out what the weather vane is (Disneyland has lots of weather vanes); I could look it up, but I know that one of you knows.

Was this structure based on a historical building, like a number of other Main Street structures? Notice that at this time the restaurant was sponsored by Columbian Coffee. Some strollers are being parked right at the entrance, which seems a little awkward. Why not just to the left or right of it?

Next is a shot of the Carnation Plaza Gardens, with the sign lit up even though it probably wouldn't be full dark for a few hours. Still, it looks great. There are people dining there too; the tent of above the dance floor and stage is to the left; I'm not sure how many classic big bands still performed there by 1998 (though other swing/dance bands played regularly).

Here's an unusual oblique view of the pretty gardens and the small arched bridge (which I believe has been ironed flat in the intervening years), and the northern edge of the Plaza Gardens. It's so strange to see Big Thunder's "hoodoos" sticking up - I have so few photos with that attraction.

Boring Views, 1956

It's another sleepy Sunday, and that means it's time to unload some boring images. Or maybe they're OK. It's subjective!

I'd say this is the better of the two, with a view of the old Indian Village as seen from the deck of the Mark Twain. It's 1956, so the berm still looks rather raw and barely landscaped - still, that hill to the left must be 40 or 50 feet tall. That's a lotta dirt! 

The Indian Chief appears to be talking about the passing steamboat, while a mom and two young watch it pass. 

Another view from the Mark Twain looks across the river to the newly-opened Tom Sawyer Island. Those shrimpy trees would grow much taller in just a few years, helping to make the island feel like it had always been there.

1939 New York World's Fair

Years ago I acquired some fun vintage photo prints from the 1939 New York World's Fair. The Fair had two themes; one had to do with the 150th anniversary of George Washington's inauguration. But the one that most people remember is "Dawn of a New Day", with its "World of Tomorrow" wonder. So cool to see images from 80 years ago! 

This first one isn't so exciting, but it shows the Fair's theme buildings - the Trylon and Perisphere - to give you a sense of scale. The Trylon was over 600 feet (190m) tall! To the left is a zig-zag lightning bolt lamp that tells us that the photographer was near the Westinghouse pavilion. It's fun to look at the people in their overcoats, it must have been chilly. Everybody is wearing a hat!

Next is this neat view from the "Helicline", a curved walkway that led from the Perisphere down to the ground level. Carrier Corporation's giant igloo is hard to ignore; to its right is the Elgin building - maybe go buy a watch or somethin'. Way in the distance (to the right) is the Spanish-deco tower for the Florida Pavilion. The large stadium in the middle is where visitors could enjoy Billy Rose's Aquacade, a swimming, diving spectacular. Way to the left is the "Streets of Paris". Oo-la-la!

There's that crazy igloo again. "Inuit Deco", when will they come back in style? I'll bet this place was a hit in the summer, when they presumably had air conditioning running - a rarity in 1939. Inside the igloo, guests could enjoy complimentary pieces of whale blubber - much more popular than Belgian waffles with whipped cream and strawberries made famous at later Fairs.

Hey, I was just talking about you, Florida Pavilion! Ya look swell; have you lost weight? It resembles   Charles Foster Kane's estate, "Xanadu". For New Yorkers used to freezing their bippies off during winter, tropical Florida with its warm beaches and swaying palm trees must have seemed very appealing.

I have more pix from the 1939 New York World's Fair to come!

Skyway Stuff

Both of today's photos pertain to the Disneyland Skyway, which had debuted in June of 1956; these pictures were taken shortly after that date.

Here's a view that you don't see every day! It's a backstage view, behind the Skyway terminal building; we're looking south (or a little southwest, to be precise), with the big parking lot visible just over the berm. The Disneyland Railroad is returning to Main Street Station - this was years before the Grand Canyon Diorama. It's neat to see behind the domed theaters of the "Rocket to the Moon" attraction. Just beyond the dome you can see a wall and tile roof of the old Dominguez home, which was being used as the Administration Building.

To show how such a photo could be taken, I found this neat 1962 aerial photo. By this time the Flying Saucers attraction had been added, and the building that housed the Grand Canyon Diorama; it also contained offices, such as "Cash Control", as well as employee locker rooms. But you can see that the rearmost part of the Skyway terminal would afford a view of the backstage area if you looked quickly.

Next is a nice ground-level view looking up at the Skyway buckets as they launched (and returned), gliding above the Tomorrowland Autopia (sponsored by Richfield Oil).

Five Great Photos, September 1992

Here's another selection of photos taken by Lou Perry and generously shared with us by Sue B.! These are from 1992 - which was over 25 years ago, much to my astonishment. 

Most (if not all?) of today's images were taken from the Skyway, I believe; such as this look at a single "clover leaf" curve on the Autopia. The "Mark VII" vehicles were still being used - possibly my favorites of the various Autopia styles. The "Mark V" Monorail ran for a long time, but I was never that crazy about their look.

There's the Peoplemover in the distance - for some reason I expect to see the Rocket Rods, even though they weren't there until 1998. We also get a better look at the Monorail station. The font used on the sign is called "Pump", and I remember using it back in the 80's (helping my boss make a sandblasted glass sign). It's sort of charmingly cheesy, but it was everywhere. 

See? I even have the font on my computer. Pure Velveeta!

Now we're above Fantasyland, with the Village Haus directly in front of us. There's plenty of outdoor seating available.

Next is this view of the Dumbo attraction, showing the fancy "clockwork" mechanism that was originally intended to be installed in Disneyland Paris. You can really see the rainbow of colors used for the elephants from this angle. Up at the top of the image there appears to be a motor home parked behind Storybook Land, I wonder what that's about? Perhaps it had to do with the construction of Mickey's Toontown, which opened in January of 1993.

Aaaaannnnd, back to Tomorrowland, where we are above the Tomorrowland Terrace, with the Peoplemover and Rocket Jets in the distance. What is that kooky, wiry sculpture just visible in the lower left??

THANKS to Lou and Sue for sharing these great photos!

Happy New 2020!

Happy New Year! 2020, it feel weird to even say it. I wasn't sure what to post today, other than the usual stuff, but I remembered that I had a few slides from the Tournament of Roses Parade (in beautiful Pasadena, CA) from what I believe is January 1st, 1959.

Hey, it's Zorro! "The fox so cunning and free". Walt Disney's "Zorro" was a smash hit (running from October 10, 1957 to July 2, 1959); the "bold renegade" played by Guy Williams had also appeared in the 1958 Rose Parade. Looks like they had a typical beautiful January day for the event, tempting thousands of folks freezing in the midwest and east that it might be time to move to California.

I love this picture!

Next is another cowboy star, "Paladin" from "Have Gun, Will Travel", starring Richard Boone. The show ran on CBS from 1957 to 1963, and for the first four years was consistently in the top four Nielsen-rated programs. The premise was that Paladin was a gentleman investigator/gunfighter (a "knight without armor") who travels around the Old West working as a mercenary for people who hire him to solve their problems. 

I used to live in Pasadena, and was always jealous of the folks who knew somebody who could get them into one of those second-story windows for a prime view of the parade!