Disneyland Hotel Instamatics

Here are some more photos, scanned from Instamatic negatives given to me by Mr. X. All of these are Disneyland Hotel related.

First up is this interesting shot, presumably taken from the balcony of a room high up in the Sierra Tower. We're looking down on some construction, though I couldn't tell you what that structure is exactly. I think there used to be a smaller pool in that location, but don't bet any money on that!

It's hard to see through the smog, but you can see the open tunnel that ran through the berm, part of the construction for the Haunted Mansion. So perhaps this photo is from 1964 or 1965-ish?

This negative was really beat up, here's an animated gif showing the "before" and "after". It took some doing to fix all those scratches and other issues!

This next one might have been taken sometime around 1969, during the construction of the Marina Tower (which opened in 1970)and the large "lake" that was a prominent feature. Guests could eventually enjoy a little exercise in paddle boats... that would be pretty fun!

And finally, here's a nice shot of the Sierra Tower, date unknown.

Frontierland Camera Shop, June 1978

It's Frontierland Time, with more donated scans from the Mysterious Benefactor. I thought I saw him in a crowd the other day, but he vanished before I could be certain. There was a red carnation on the ground - his calling card!

Today's photos feature rare views of the Frontierland Camera Shop, right next to the Golden Horseshoe. I honestly don't think I have a single photo of this place, other than these of course, so it's very cool to see it. In this first one a woman checks her bag to make sure she has enough beef jerky to trade for a roll of film. This slide was labled as being from June of 1978, but I see Christmas ornaments up on that balcony, so.... hmmmm.

"Gimme the kind of film that takes good pitchers!". "Ma'am, they are all fine brands of film". "What is Evel Knievel's favorite film". "Er... this one, ma'am". "Gimme that one then!". Aaaaannnd... scene.

Any idea what those colorful boxes are in the lower part of the image? I can see Disney character, and can make out at least one title ("Family Cartoon Parade"). This is pre-VHS, maybe those are actual films that you could take home and show?

They had Kodak film, Fuji film, and what looks like Polaroid cartridges. "Polaroid: for when you want instant pictures that don't look that good". I used to get a magazine called "Camera Arts" (long gone), and they would have ads for Polaroid that showed crisp, beautiful photos. That was never my experience.

"Ma'am, I know you're having second thoughts about Evel Knievel's favorite film, but I can tell you that Gabe Kaplan likes this film the best". "Why didn't you say so in the first place?! Gimme gimme!". Notice the rack of GAF Pana-Vue slides - there were great images, but those GAF slides... they turned magenta if you looked at them too hard.

Many thanks to the M.B.!

********************

Extra! Extra! GDB pal TokyoMagic! has generously shared some photos of the boxes for some films that are similar (and in some cases, the same) as the ones we can see in today's scans. Take a look!

Here's Fantasyland (front and back):

Disneyland's 25th Anniversary (front and back):

The Main Street Electrical Parade (front and back):

And finally two smaller boxes, "Pirates" and the Matterhorn.

THANK YOU, TokyoMagic!

In Adventureland, from 1937Fan

Today I am sharing the last two scans, generously shared with us by 1937Fan! Her Aunt took these back on November 27, 1964. I wish we had lots more!

This first one a teensy bit blurry, but still a fun look at the entrance to the much-missed Tahitian Terrace, where guests could enjoy Polynesian-inspired food, and watch graceful dancers perform. What a place! 1937Fan's Aunt is peeking out behind that shield, which should be in my collection.

Next is this neat view of the building that housed The Enchanted Tiki Room, which was just over a year old (having opened on June 23, 1963). I'm not 100% certain, but this side might have been the exit - there is a sign steering folks toward the entrance near the gateway to Adventureland. And there's Auntie once again, to our left, holding a classic turquoise and white striped popcorn box.

MANY thanks to 1937Fan for sharing her Aunt's photos with us!

Town Square, August 1965

When I discovered that Town Square was actually more of a triangle, I sued the Disney Company for 300 million dollars (for "pain and suffering"), and won! Don't you wish you had thought of that? I guess I should mention that I settled for $5 and a free popcorn.

This first one is almost "postcard worthy", even though it's a little bit over-exposed. Hey, some vintage Disneyland postcards were over-exposed too. I like the young kids looking at the horse - maybe they'd never seen a real one before! The slightly faded quality of the image makes this feel more vintage, like an Instagram filter. 

Another view of Town Triangle, with the good old Wurlitzer store, the Hills Bros. Coffee House (Hey, that house isn't made of coffee! Time to sue again!), and three Children of the Corn.

I think that popcorn vendor must have been from New York City. "Hey! Take a picture, it'll last longer. Yeah, I'm talking to you, grandpa! I'll knock your block off!". (Makes rude hand gesture).

Benched

It's another one of those Sunday posts - you could skip it if you wanted to. But it gives me a chance to use up some scans that are less than stellar.

I actually kind of like this first one (from August 1962), with a trio of park guests relaxing on a bench in Town Square. The two young ladies are holding their ticket books, possibly trying to figure out which rides they wanted to do with their remaining coupons. In the background the Disneyland Band is performing at the flagpole. We can also see the Hills Bros. Coffee House in the upper right.

Some of you may remember this fellow, he was previously seen aboard one of the trams, and in front of Main Street Station with some awesome posters. There's plenty of empty benches, so why not enjoy one? He's got his pack of smokes (Marlboros?), life couldn't be better.

He reminds me of Robert Walker in the early Star Trek episode, "Charlie X". See what I mean?

I found this photo online, and it was labeled "charlie derp".

Tiki Time, March 1968

I've had two scans sitting in a folder on my computer for months - maybe years - and finally decided to just go ahead and share them. Fans of old tiki stuff should enjoy these; hopefully the rest of you will too.

So, here's the first one, with a lady standing in front of a sculptural fountain (?) with an Easter Island Moai on top. Next to her is a large and unusual tiki! The whitewash is odd, maybe it was painted to help protect it from the elements. If it belonged to me, I'd be tempted do something that looked like dark wood, highlighted with some vivid hues of red, yellow, blue and green. No purple though!

Then I remembered this matchbook I had from Shelter Island's "Bali Hai". That sure looks like the same tiki. It was featured on cocktail napkins and ashtrays as well.... 

...and yet I can find no other photos of this tiki at Shelter Island, which seems very strange. Does he still exist? Why aren't there lots of pictures of him?

While looking at a Tumblr blog, I found this photo of Kim Novak with a little tiki that looks very much like the one in the photo and on the souvenirs. Relevant? Barely, but hey, it's a photo of Kim Novak.

This next photo is from the same lot as the first, and has the same date stamp; perhaps this lady and that crazy tiki (and upside-down palm trunk) are also from the Bali Hai restaurant. If anybody out there knows, chime in!

Long Gone Anaheim, May 1984

I think you folks are going to enjoy today's photos! They come to us courtesy of Lou Perry and Sue B. (his daughter) - you know them by now, after scores of wonderful photos that Lou took over many decades. 

Back in May of 1984, Lou took a stroll down Katella Avenue (which runs east/westerly along what is now the south edge of DCA), and he took some shots of two local motels, and one restaurant. Pretty neat!

First up is this wonderful sign for the "Magic Lamp Motel", with the smiling genie. He will make all of your motel wishes come true! Well, maybe not all of them. I've read that at night, the genie's trail of smoke glowed with multicolored lights behind that milky acrylic. But watch out, you may have to pay as much as $35 a night to stay there. Sadly, the Magic Lamp Motel was torn down sometime in the late 1990's. Looking at Google Maps, it appears that apartments or condos are going up in its place.

The next two feature the Alpine Motel, with permanent snow on the roof and icicles hanging from the eaves. Need to make a phone call? No problem! They've got air conditioning, color TV, and a heated pool. Throw in an ice machine and you've got a deal! The North Woods Inn in San Gabriel also had a similar "always winter" theme, I don't know if they were owned by the same folks or not. Notice the sign for the Waikiki Motel in the distance - I shared a scan of a postcard from there back in 2009.

Lou took a second photo; with the happy little family, it looks like it's ready to be printed in a brochure.

The last two are something of a mystery, I can find no mention of a "Mister Al's" restaurant on the Googles. German dinners, eh? Sounds good to me. Planning ahead, I'll get a 1 pound T-bone steak to carry in my pocket at Disneyland in case I get the munchies. Yes, I will share!

For some reason I couldn't seem to do much with the color on this one, but it gives a more complete look at Mister Al's. Does anybody have any memories of this place? I can't quite tell if that building next to it is part of Al's or if it's a separate establishment. It sure has a playful mid-century style.

Thanks as always to Lou and Sue!

Gourmet Restaurant Menu, Disneyland Hotel

Like many collectors of vintage Disneyland stuff, I particularly love paper ephemera. Brochures, flyers, tickets & ticket books, souvenir guides, maps, and vintage menus. I can't get enough of 'em! 

Today I am sharing scans of a menu from the Disneyland Hotel, and their "Gourmet" restaurant's coffee shop. While there are some tiny numbers on the inside, I don't think they indicate a date, so I am guestimating that this is from sometime in the mid-to-late 1960's. I love this illustration featuring the Mark II Monorail zipping along the beamway. The Sierra Tower is pictured in its original un-expanded, pre-1966 appearance.

They had themselves a respectable coffee shop! There's not much on the menu that I souldn't be happy to eat. A steak sandwich sounds pretty tasty, maybe with some fries and a nice green salad. Or fried jumbo shrimp, dip those in some nice spicy cocktail sauce. As always, the prices look amazing, until you remember to allow for inflation. That Top Sirloin Steak at $4.60 is equivalent to nearly $40 (using 1965 as my basis). 

Maybe I'm weird, but I like imagining that I'm sitting in the coffee shop, in its glorious mid-century decor, listening to the murmur of other patrons, sipping my glass of ice water while trying to decide what to order!

Kodak Store-bought Prints

Here are two more images, courtesy of GDB friend Mr. X. Years ago, Kodak sold photo prints that would have looked very similar to the kinds of photos that a guest might have taken - though perhaps a little nicer. Mix them in with your stack of blurry, under-exposed pictures of the backs of people's heads, and POW! "Oooh, did you take that?". "Why certainly!". I am not sure how many different Kodak views are out there - probably dozens if not more.

Let's start with this shot of the Columbia (so 1958 or later) in front of the Plantation House (which lasted until 1962). It seems like beautiful clouds like these tend to show up in the winter months, say February or March. Just a guess of course!

Having established that the photo is about 60 years old, it's not surprising that the colors have been affected to a degree. Using witchcraft and potions, I summoned demons and spirits to restore the picture to the best of their abilities! Those dumb spirits, they'll do anything one time, they mowed my lawn while I watched "General Hospital" and ate a whole box of cherry popsicles.

I'm not sure how one can easily identify these store-bought prints, since they are actual photo prints, and are on Kodak paper, with the same red stamp that you would find on the back of your own prints back in those days. I'll have to ask Mr. X if he knows. Or I will ask the demons.

Next is this swell view of a Nature's Wonderland Mine Train as it crosses that rickety trestle bridge. Mere mortals would never be able to take a picture from this vantage point.

Man, those demons and spirits deserve an extra bowl of viscera, they did such a nice job on this one! Drab and dingy no longer. Notice the ladder on the far side of the trestle, probably built by beavers.

Thank you, Mr. X!

More Disneyland Paris

It's time for another installment of photos from Huck Caton's 2016 visit to Disneyland Paris! In spite of Huck's lukewarm (to put it generously) reaction to DLP, I would still jump at the chance to see it for myself someday.

Here's a sign in front of "it's a small world", a 3-D version of the attraction poster, which is kind of nice, although I think it would have been nicer if the children in the boat didn't look like they were paper cutouts. As you can see, the façade of the attraction (in the background) is more colorful than Disneyland's white and gold version - perhaps that makes more sense in a climate that probably sees a lot more rain and cloudy days (like this one!). I guess they don't have the ticking clock face?

If there's one thing I'd love to do, it would be to check out "Les Mysteres Du Nautilus". And only a 5 minute wait! It is a walk-thru of Captain Nemo's magnificent Nautilus submarine, much like the attraction that was in Anaheim from 1955 through 1966. 

Oh yeah! So cool to see a large (but still reduced-scale) version of Harper Goff's incredible design. Until a few years ago, I didn't know that the lozenge-shaped thing at the stern is a detachable lifeboat. On my model (purchased through the Disney Store a long time ago) it is the switch that turns on the lights inside the sub.

I'm sure Huck took this photo of this diagram so that he could build his own Nautilus when he got home. 70 meters long, that's over 200 feet! What a sight it would be to see a truly full-sized version. I think it's interesting that they say that the power source is "electricité", but not nuclear electricité. I suppose that the nuclear energy was implied rather than explicitly stated.

The next two are late additions to today's post, thanks to Huck sending them to me! I love this map of Vulania, home of Captain Nemo's secret lair. Notice all the shipwrecks on the rocks around the south shore.

And here's a tantalizing glimpse at part of the interior of the nuclear-powered submarine. I love the idea of a walk-thru of the sub (a callback to the Tomorrowland attraction at Disneyland from 1955 to 1966).

I thought that DLP's version of Space Mountain was called "Discovery Mountain", but we can see that the poster to the left says "Space Mountain: Mission 2". It opened with a Jules Verne-themed "From The Earth To The Moon" concept. Now it has a Star Wars theme?! I love the idea of a Space Mountain with a "cannon launch", but have to admit that (in my opinion) the outside of this ride looks like a big plastic toy.

Huck said that the Pinocchio attraction in Paris is a flop - I've never really understood why the Anaheim version isn't more popular, I think they did a wonderful job of evoking the classic dark rides. 

And Huck pointed out that they went to all the trouble of building this beautiful Toad Hall replica, only to make it a restaurant rather than a ride. Quelle horreur!

Never fear, there are even more photos from Disneyland Paris from Huck. THANKS to him for sharing!