Mad Tea Party, August 1970

The Mad Tea Party still thrills (and sickens) guests after nearly 70 years! Luckily I am not prone to motion sickness, so I have a fine time whirling around for a few minutes (not necessarily in a teacup). I've never been entirely clear on whether the Disneyland version of this sort of spinning attraction was the first, or if something similar had already existed elsewhere. Does anybody know? 

Next is this nice, colorful ground-level view. So many empty teacups! I wonder if music accompanied this ride back then? Now you hear the tootling mad tea party theme on an endless loop, I assume that the cast members mentally tune it out, or else it would drive them... well, you know. 

 

Along Main Street, July 1959

Clip-clop, clip-clop. That's the sound that my wooden shoes make as I walk along Main Street USA. In 1959, most people wore shoes of wood, so don't give me that look. 

I have a pair of nice Main Street views for you, it's quite a thing to walk down a street like Grandma and Grandpa might have seen in their childhoods. My Grandpa grew up in Los Angeles, but hey, in the early 1900s, perhaps his neighborhood didn't look so different from this. "The Girl and Her Trust" is playing at the Main Street Cinema ("Do Not Miss It!"), that's a 1912 film directed by D.W. Griffith, starring Dorothy Blanchard and Wilfred Lucas. THE Wilfred Lucas?? If you look to the left of the Cinema, you can see one of those wonderful lamppost signs that were created as part of the hype for the incredible 1959 additions to the park.

Here's a better look:

Next comes this great look down toward Main Street Station, with a Streetcar and the Chemical Wagon heading in our direction. The Penny Arcade is to our right. More Disneyland '58 signs (printed on masonite) hang on wires overhead, while a big red banner spans the street near Town Square.

March 1960

Here are two pretty Fantasyland views from slides date-stamped "March, 1960" - though the photos were likely taken a few months earlier. Starting with this nice example featuring the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship; you probably remember the mom and her two kids from when they were aboard the Mark Twain. At this point, the ship was still in a sort of "swimming pool", and the dining area (seen to the right) was rather minimal. But in May of 1960, the pool would be transformed into a beautiful tropical lagoon, and Skull Rock would spring up nearby, drooling magically. I drool, but it ain't so magical.

Here's a lovely view of a decidedly non-pink Sleeping Beauty Castle as seen in clear Winter sunlight (look at the coats and sweaters, it has to still be Winter!), with lots of families going hither and yon. Many of the  opening day attractions and exhibits were still in place, but 1959 and 1960 were years that saw great changes at the park!

Rivers of America

It's time for another installment of Frontierland scans, courtesy of the Mysterious Benefactor! All of these fall under the general description of the "Rivers of America"; scenes along the shore and on the water. 

Uh-oh, a storm's a-brewing. I hope there aren't any twisters! That raft is so loaded, it can only mean that the guests on Tom Sawyer Island were fleeing for the mainland in search of the nearest root cellar. The ducks don't seem concerned, but what do they know? They have duck brains! The river looks glassy and smooth, but that's always the way before fierce weather.

We're looking across the water toward the Old Mill at the south end of Tom Sawyer Island, and even though this is pre-Fantasmic!, there is some sort of stage-like platform blocking some of the view. Did Dixieland bands perform there on warm summer evenings? Or was it just a landing for the rafts? If so, it seems like overkill.

There's a different landing for rafts, also on TSI, with a few guests waiting patiently. Little do they know that the rafts aren't using that landing! One guy is getting hungry, when he looks at other guests, they turn into giant turkey legs. 

Speaking of being hungry, that boy is going to devour the Fishing Pier; he has developed strong and prominent incisors much like those on a beaver. 

Maybe the theme of today's post should have been "Raft Landings for $100, Alex". In this case a Raft sits unused, and there's nothing sadder. Well, maybe some things are sadder, but let's not think about it. I'm glad to see that the fishing pier was rebuilt after that kid ate it.

And finally, a nice view of Huck's Landing over on the west side of the island, not far from Merry Go Round Rock and Fort Wilderness. There's just something about an island that makes me want to float over and explore!

MANY THANKS to the Mysterious Benefactor.

Main Street, August 1965

Gadzooks, it seems as if I've been sharing a lot of images featuring Main Street lately. That's how it goes sometimes, one minute you are minding your own business, and the next minute you have a folder full of Main Street scans. It's like that Carl Sandburg poem, "Aprons of Silence": Here I took along my own hoosegow 
And did business with my own thoughts. 
Do you see? It must be the aprons of silence. Well, maybe it's not like that, I don't know, I'm feeling very dizzy.

Hey look! A firetruck, let's see if we can get him to give us a ride. I'll show a little leg, that usually works. Oh by the way, ordinarily you might be seeing Snoozles™ on GDB on a typical Sunday, but today's examples, while flawed, were not certified as such, and I don't want to go to prison (again) by misrepresenting them.

The humble Flower Market is "less busy than usual"; is it just me, or does the Carnation truck look a little bit sad? "I used to be a star!". You're still a star in my book, Carnie. Turn that frown upside-down!

Vintage Locomotives

Before we get going with our regularly-scheduled blog post, I have a fun image to share, courtesy of Sue B. (of "Lou and Sue" fame, though this is not one of Lou's photos), in honor of National Boy Scout Day. Some of the Junior Gorillas are former Scouts (or is it a "once a Scout, always a Scout" sort of thing?), while others are still involved as troop leaders. The kid in the pic is trying to earn a merit badge (I presume) and is weaving a basket, much like the ones we can just see at the bottom of the photo. The concentration is off the charts, his tongue is sticking out, Michael Jordan-style. If he is ever cast upon a tropical island, he will be able to keep his food and belongings in charming woven baskets, while the three Swedish flight attendants will have to go without.

 

I have some nice vintage scans of nice vintage locomotives! Starting with this first example, undated but certainly from the 1950s. There was no label with helpful details, but it didn't take long to discover that ol #25 is the William Mason, a 4-4-0 steam locomotive built in 1853 for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It has the ballooniest of balloon stacks. I'm not sure where this photo was taken, but we can see that exhaust is coming from the stack, so it was operational. It's possible that this picture is from 1951, when the engine was loaned to the Erie Railroad, operating as a traveling exhibit as part of the railroad's centennial celebration. A newer diesel locomotive is next to it.

Here's a more recent photo of the William Mason at its current home at the Baltimore and Ohio Museum, in (you guessed it) Baltimore, Maryland. It had remained operable during the 1950s, when it was used in movies, most notably The Great Locomotive Chase in 1956, and Raintree County a year later. After these performances it returned to the museum, seemingly never to operate again. However, in 1998, the locomotive was restored once more to operating condition for use in the movie, Wild Wild West. Since then, the locomotive was damaged after a snowstorm caused the roof of the roundhouse to collapse, and it is non-operational once again.

Next is another scan from an undated slide, it features #35, the Hannibal and St. Joseph. Originally Hannibal & St. Joseph RR 4-4-0 no. 66 was built in 1892 at Aurora and became Chicago Burlington & Quincy RR 359. Retired in 1932. Then it was rebuilt at Denver for Century of Progress Exposition as Burlington & Missouri River RR no. 35. Later relettered as H&StJ... to celebrate the centennial of the first the Railway Post Office car to sort (not just carry) mail.

Here's a second picture! What a beauty. The novel idea of sorting mail on the train was intended to expedite the connection at St. Joseph with the overland stage, which had replaced the Pony Express routes to the West a year earlier. The H&StJ furnished a baggage car, altered to Davis' specifications. Similar to a postal route agent's car, it had a table and a 65-pigeon-hole letter case, but no pouch rack.

Here's a photo from La Grange, Illinois, circa June 1, 1962. The locomotive and car are now at the Patee House Museum in St. Joseph, MO. I couldn't find any definite info, but I believe that it is no longer operational.

I hope you have enjoyed today's vintage locomotives!

Random Beauties From Frontierland

First things first - if you were unable to attend the two Knott's Bear-y Tales presentations that Chris Merritt and Eric Lynxwiler gave in January, you can "hang out" with them on Monday, February 10th on the Park Streamers Hangout Podcast, which you can view on YouTube. CHECK IT OUT! 

I have two extra-nice scans for you, from the LAND OF THE FRONTIER! Let's begin with this view from the Mark Twain, probably (though I guess it could have been taken from the top of a Keelboat); we're looking in the direction of the water tower (in its original location), where the C.K. Holliday sits, presumably somewhere along in the process of filling the tender with water. Guests are fascinated, especially Mr. Nosy peeking out of the front of that cattle car. Take a picture, it'll last longer! The train looks beautiful, the berm looks bermtastic. I have no idea what that white "garden wall" to the left was for... any ideas? 

From another batch of slides comes this neat view from Tom's Treehouse looking northeast-ish, with Rainbow Ridge to the extreme right, and some of the crazy rock formations from the Rainbow Desert to the extreme left. Both of those features, along with Tom's Treehouse, date this to at least mid-1956. Right in the middle of the image...

... is the cutest li'l Stagecoach you ever did see. There are only a few passengers, which would have been fine by me. I think that those are two kids on the top. Any idea what that strange hollow in the hillside is, just above the horse in front? Was it Walt's Hobbit Hole?

 

BuPix!

It's time for another installment of Bupix! Fun photos from GDB pal Bu's life as a Cast Member in the 1980s - not only do we get glimpses into the secret and glamorous backstage areas, but Bu has provided us with great commentary for context. Plus he has made my work easy. LET'S GO!

There is Janet and Kara: both former dancers in Entertainment and Disneyland Ambassador runner-ups. You’ve seen Kara before in a few photos. Janet married a guy from WED: I think at this time it was officially WDI: and left for France for EDL.  That bulletin board had the schedule and whatnots…memos…back in the day of interoffice memos…and those multi tier organizational things were for future VIP tours, where the mail room guy dropped off the mail…and any outgoing mail you had: again: back in the day, when memo’s were sent in those envelopes with spaces for dozens of names.  At one point I had a few of those envelopes with “important” Disney names on them: as these were used in the entire organization and WDW.  o, you would see execs names from WED…the Studio…etc. Some of these envelopes had been around for decades: due to sitting in someone’ office, and then being picked up again. I kind of miss those times before our “DO THIS INSTANTLY” electronic culture.

Next is Lead Linda: RIP Linda.   Linda was old school from Cicely’s day…she stayed with the park for quite a long time after this photo was taken.  She is in an often publicly publicized photo with Ringo Starr.   She had told me that she saw the Beatles perform at the Hollywood Bowl and chased Ringo across a lawn with a large group of screaming girls….being lucky enough to keep a piece of grass that he had stepped on…and she kept it forever!   To meet the person who touched the grass years later was a dream come true for her.  All the “back side of binders” there: that was how Disneyland was run prior to computers: such a different time: with tabs for month to months….daily schedules all documented.   We often had to go back to them if there were “instances” where we needed to know who was in what location on what day at what time.  All breaks and lunches were also documented and saved in perpetuity.  You can see through the office door there to the supervisors office which is now the right side of City Hall if you are looking at it: and now all public facing.   If that door to the office was closed, it was usually kind of a big deal. Either someone was getting discipline, it was a guest complaint, or the King of Siam was in there. This is also where official Disneyland Guest Book signings and photos were taken.   The Guest Book was hand tooled leather like the “Snow White” book…so very large and full of amazing signatures: like JFK, Kings and Queens, and Dolly Parton, etc. etc.   I wonder where they keep that Guest Book now: it was from Walt’s day, so if it was sold/lost/stolen/etc.  that would truly be a historic tragedy.

You’ve seen Kellie before: I’m remembering that she didn't like this particular photo…so no one tell her please.   She was tall, pretty and statuesque, and still is.

There is me in the phone room: now remember: this is backstage and it is perfectly acceptable to have an unbuttoned vest.  Although when I first saw this photo: I was shocked myself.  To give some context to location:  the wall on the left with the greaseboard on it is the “back side of City Hall”….where the City Hall desk is.  If you go out that door and to the left is City Hall, and across are the Ops Exec offices. To the right: leads to outside steps leading to the Main St. Offices, the horsecar cars, the Jungle Cruise Boats, and Walt’s apt would be to your right.  Also: the tunnel to get outside the berm and over to the DEC, or Pit (employee cafeteria underneath Pirates).   The greaseboards: updated daily and throughout the day would have things like parade times, special events, news in the moment, etc.   I am handing the other TG a bottle of rubbing alcohol which we used to clean the phones. We had such a bad problem with disease transmission: we were way ahead of the Covid thing back then: slathering our work stations and sterilizing them with alcohol.   Since we worked in close quarters if one person got sick: it tended to go around quickly: and the last thing you wanted to do was get stuck with the 10 AND the 2 tour because of a “sick out” on the team.  I think I’ve talked about these horrible orange chairs before: they were so broken before I got them all changed out for super expensive ergonomic ones.  You are welcome everyone!   It’s kind of fun to see the disparity between on-stage areas and backstage: just beyond these walls are victorian masterworks: we got the broken chairs and the dirty drapes: and dont you DARE open those drapes…EVER!  That was a real thing BTW.

I hope you have enjoyed today's photos and memories. THANK YOU so much to Bu for sharing!

The Mark Twain, 1950s

From the batch of 120-format slide transparencies comes two photos of the Mark Twain; these are early views, probably 1956 or so. And while they are not exciting, they are still very nice! 

Passengers are disembarking after an exciting cruise along the Rivers of America. They saw all sorts of interesting things. Native Americans living peacefully in their village! Various forms of wildlife! A settler's cabin, blazing away (don't smoke in bed, folks). Best of all, ducks. So many ducks. 

While Frontierland would continue to mature and get more beautiful, there is something so appealing about the early, scruffy, somewhat bare Frontierland that I love to see in pictures. 

 

Dumbo "Information" Flyers, 1950s

Oh yeah, vintage Disneyland ephemera! I never grow tired of it. Today I am featuring two INFORMATION flyers, perhaps handed out at the ticket booths, or possibly even given to guests as they paid their 25 cents to park. While undated, I believe that the first example is probably from 1956.

There's the cover, in a fine Disneyland pink. Dumbo is soaring happily, knowing that he will be sharing all kinds of helpful info.

There's one entire side when unfolded; what are Disneyland's operating hours? How much will it cost? Does grandma have to hide a chicken in her purse? Where can we stay? All of these questions are addressed - AND MORE.

Oh yeah, color photographs. These are lovely, and chock full of 1950s charm. We can see the Skyway in one, so we know that this is from at least 1956.

For years, I had the first version, and led a carefree life, whistling a merry tune and greeting strangers with a smile. And then a friend informed me that there was another version! What the hey?? I finally managed to get one, and it was a big relief. Notice that the panel beneath the map is different than the first version (there are other differences as well, of course) - but the main tidbit is the mention of Monsanto's House of the Future, which opened on June 12, 1957.

The photos are all the same, though the font at the top has been changed.

I hope you enjoyed these! And guess what? There are more Dumbo "Information" flyers - six different examples, by my count (and who knows, maybe I will learn of others when I share them). Stay tuned!