It's fun!
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
I went to Disneyland only once back in 1965. My dad shot some super 8 film there, which we watched for years afterward occasionally. The one thing that was a drag was that the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride with the submarines was having maintenance done on it. The water had been drained, so we were unable to ride it. Boooo!!! Near the cabin that was on fire I remember seeing some natives up a pole trying to escape from the hyenas under them.
I had forgotten that detail ! They paid attention to the small details at Disneyland. I must say I really miss the Sky Buckets ( I know that's not the correct name).The Fantasyland station had the Swiss style architecture, and Tomorrowland was futureistic. It tied it all together. Plus, it saved a few steps !
Oh, I too have some home movies of Disneyland, that I shot in '71 or '72, with my dad's ancient Bell and Howell regular 8 camera. It's a 200 foot reel, 75% Disneyland, the last quarter is Knott's. In the Disney section, I managed to get off some shots of the Pirates, the Autopia, and people movers, and some fireworks.Also, a shot of the Mark Twain blowing it's whistle, and a shot of the engineer and fireman running the train.In the Knott's section ? The train, of course !
The bulbs for the projector are expensive, if you can find them. And, they don't last very long !
One more thing:
none of the shots I took in the Haunted Mansion came out.They were completely black, and unusable. Was it just too dark in there, or were other forces at work ? Kinda makes your hair stand up to think about...
phrankenstignNear the cabin that was on fire I remember seeing some natives up a pole trying to escape from the hyenas under them.
You wouldn't be thinking of the lost safari, would you?
That's part of the African Veldt on the Jungle Cruise.
Slightly different at WDW:
Here's my rendition of the scene:
The Skyway station in the very early Tomorrowland:
And Fantasyland:
Looks odd without the Matterhorn:
1956, no sprawl!
The "mountain" before the mountain. Notice the out of place omnibus on what appears to be the Autopia track:
Holy alps Batman!
Inside the ice grottoes:
The Swiss probably say "gondola" but everybody I know calls them buckets. At any rate, they changed in July of 65, but not all at once!
The system was built by Von Roll and opened in June 1956. According to Daveland: On April 17, 1994, a 30 year old man jumped from the Skyway, landing in a tree, relatively unharmed. The Skyway was removed 7 months later in November, partially because it was too costly to make safety upgrades. People also threw objects & spit at guests below as they went overhead. For the final ride, Mickey & Minnie made the last crossing as guests watched below. The Fantasyland Skyway station remains, but the Tomorrowland station has been mostly removed and was at one point a service area for the 1998 attraction Rocket Rods. When the Skyway closed, the holes in the Matterhorn were filled in and the supports were dismantled within weeks.
Fantasyland station 2014:
Not much of a view here huh?
Postwar Paulnone of the shots I took in the Haunted Mansion came out.They were completely black, and unusable. Was it just too dark in there, or were other forces at work ? Kinda makes your hair stand up to think about...
Boo ha ha ha ha!
The best pics were shot by Disney people who weren't on a moving ride and could adjust the light levels as they wished!
Most people's pictures looked like this:
They could also take pics from down below where the "Doombuggies" didn't go:
Guests' view with the figures paused:
Modern self adjusting digital cameras do much better:
I was too fascinated by the dancers and the organist to ever notice that the portraits fought a duel!
I always thought it was amazing how they blended the high tech illusions:
With the good old fashioned "dark ride" tricks that had been around forever:
So, who was the voice of the Haunted Mansion theme, Grim Grinning Ghosts?
That is what I was thinking about. I'd forgotten the rhino was what they were actually trying to escape from. The hyenas were just laughing at them!
Thanks again ! Yes, we called them "buckets" too. A classic memory from Disneyland. Sure miss ' em.
Also, judging by the other pictures that have not come out, I am starting to believe there has been no outside intervention.
More memories are flooding in:
There has always been a strong connection between Walt's movies, and Disneyland attractions.when I was a kid , one movie I loved, and found to be truly magical was 1961's " Babes in Toyland". It had Annette Funicello and Tommy Sands. If you haven't seen it, I would very highly recommend it. Disney magic! Ed Wynn as the toy maker is hilarious ! In the early sixties, the Marching Toy Soldiers were a staple of the Main Street Parade. And, I can remember the trees from the "Forest of no return" on display on Main Street. I think these were the rubber outfits that had been used in the movie.
This movie is extremely hard to find now, and almost all reference to it has been erased, but it was front and center at Disneyland in the early sixties.
They did run it on TCM a couple years back, and I was able to share this magic with my daughter.
( how could I forget to mention this)
Ray Bolger, who was the scarecrow in" the Wizard of Oz" , is the evil Mr. Barnaby in this movie. These songs were the soundtrack of my childhood!
Penny: The singer of the "Grim Grinning Ghosts" was Thurl Ravenscroft, better known as the voice of Tony the Tiger and the singer of "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch" in the TV "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".
artyoung Penny: The singer of the "Grim Grinning Ghosts" was Thurl Ravenscroft, better known as the voice of Tony the Tiger and the singer of "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch" in the TV "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".
We have a winner!
Quite an army!
Still going strong in 1980:
But of course, if we're going to talk parades...
Cue the Baroque Hoedown!
You can still see it at Disney's California Adventure Park:
By the way, if you think Babes in Toyland is hard to get, try looking for Song of the South.
You can get a copy of "Song of the South", but it'll be the Asian Region DVD. Disney Japan had them, might still be around somewhere.
Hey! I just discovered another soldier!
Still looking for those trees...
Watched a show on Disney film-making a while back, and...
"Babes in Toyland" is a film the Disney organization would prefer to forget. Those involved at the time said it really wasn't one of their better efforts and just barely broke even at the box office. However, all the lessons they learned doing "Babes", what to do and what NOT to do they applied to "Mary Poppins," and as we all know that one was a roaring success. Every time I catch a bit of it I'm still amazed at how good it is. "M-P" is one of the very few films that are better than the book they're based on, in my opinion anyway. I read the book when I was in sixth grade, back in the Pleistocene Era.
"Song Of The South," not available for obvious reasons here in the US, although copies made for the Japanese market show up here from time to time. If you don't mind Japanese sub-titles it's the only way to go. Apparantly it's very popular in Japan.
Just for the sake of fun, let's take a look at the greatest Disneyland model railroad ever built.
If you want to find it, and if it's on display at all, it will be at the Opera House on Main Street.
You may also be lucky enough to see the original model of Sleeping Beauty Castle:
So, if you want to build it all as a model railroad, you better go Z!
Great pictures of the Toy Soldiers! Did not mean to inflict my taste in movies, but was trying to illustrate the point that Disney promoted this film heavily, " once upon a time " . The trees from the " forest of no return" , which is a scene in " Babes in Toyland" , where on display indoors on Main Street, possibly where the pictured layout is displayed. For a small child, it was a " celebrity sighting ", if you can imagine. It was awesome to see !
I went into a Disney store a few years back, they had many videos, and DVD's. When I asked the salesperson if they had " Babes in Toyland", she replied " oh, that old thing..." Disney is trying to destroy all evidence ! But, check it out, if you get a chance. You might be surprised !
Oh, and be careful with Japanese Dvd's. Some countries are formatted differently, and may not play on your machine. Our friend took some U.S. dvd's back to Japan, and could not use them. Another fiend sent a VHS tape from Australia, and it would not play here. But, you can have it converted, though.
Just sayin'
I have just had an epiphany:
maybe this is a Truly Awful movie, and I am the last person on earth that enjoys it. O.K. I can live with that !
Well I remember seeing "Babes in Toyland" when I was a kid back in the 60's and liked it (hey, when you're a kid you like just about anything that's colorful) but even then I thought the Laurel and Hardy film "March Of The Wooden Soldiers," sometimes called "Babes in Toyland" was a LOT better. When I was growing up in Northern New Jersey Channel 11 (WPIX) out of New York used to show it every Thanksgiving, and I understand they still do.
God bless Stan and Ollie, they were the best!
Here 'ya go, folks! The action-packed climax of the film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDdhg8CyeUo
Nothin' like a good bayonet charge to put a smile on this old Marine's face!
A work of genius film-making. Eighty-three years have come and gone, there have been other versions of "Babes In Toyland," but no-one, no-one, has topped the 1934 version, ever.
So many remakes of films done in those days have fallen flat.
What did they know about film-making in the 1930's that isn't known now?
Hey! I found something:
From Yesterland: The Babes in Toyland Exhibit operated from December 1961 to September 1963. This display of props from Walt Disney’s 1961 movie Babes in Toyland was the first attraction at the Main Street Opera House. Before that, it had been used as a lumber mill.
Mostly accurate, the lumber mill was farter down the street and was intended only as a viewblock to a section of the park announced but not built called "International Street".
Moved back a year:
Renamed "Liberty Street", also never built:
And became a coffee shop:
But this is where Disneyland could have had a "Hall of Presidents" if things had worked out differently:
Back to Babes in Toyland, I don't know who these people are, but they're posing in front of some of the props!
It's hard to know with these old memories, but this one was a little clearer than some of the others. Thank You !
Your excellent research seems to indicate my first trip to Disneyland was in '61 or '62, not '59 or '60, as I had originally thought. Babes in Toyland was a big deal then, and they were proud of it, and promoted it at that time. I still have a soft spot for this film, I loved it as a kid.
I am scouring the back pages in my mind for anything we haven't already covered...
Thoughts, memories, and other rubbish...
Also on Main Street, there was a time when Lon Chaney's " Phantom of the Opera" was playing, either at the Opera House ( most likely) , or where " Mr. Leakin'" would later share his Great Moments. This would have probably been the mid sixties. This would have provided a break from August temperatures in Anaheim, to relax and enjoy the A.C. But a 90 minute movie, no matter how good it is, cuts seriously into Ride Time.
Early Tomorrowland:
as I mentioned before, in my opinion, Tomorrowland did not come into its own until much later. I feel the coming of "Space Mountain" really anchored this area, and competed well with other parts of the park. I remember being thoroughly unimpressed with early Tomorrowland. Imagine the anticipation of waiting in line for "Rocket to the Moon",seeing that impressive, tall rocket. But when you get inside ? Nothing much, just the seats shaking! It was anticlimactic! Then you step outside, and they are flying model airplanes. It just didn't excite.
But in came the People Movers, then Space Mountain, cool stuff!
What happened to the "Speed Boats" ? I think I only rode this once. It was back behind Autopia.
They had concerts in Tomorrowland, many big names. Chuck Berry , among others. In the 70's, when Disco was king, my friends and I saw the Tramps ( Disco Inferno) .Remember them ? Tomorrowland had a unique concept for their stage : it would be underground, and the band would start playing, and it would slowly raise up to normal stage height.Really cool effect! And, it would descend as they finished their set. So, Tomorrowland really came a long way from modest beginnings.
Special Nights:
Disneyland would sell tickets to groups, they would close the park to the public at 7:30, or 8:00. The groups would have the park to themselves from 8:00 to midnight, or 1:00a.m. I went to a few of these.I went with a church group, then " Navy Night", and a night sold to Local Companies, for their employees and children. With the church group, the bus broke down on the way home, and we were out all night !
The Parking Lot
part of the Disneyland experience was pulling into that massive parking lot.( talk about " dude, where's my car ? "). They were so organized, though. A very long multiple unit tram would stop at every corner of that parking lot to pick up passengers." Remember you are parked in section EE". This was the first ride of the day! You could see the monorail, the Matterhorn, and the Main Street Station, and train. This is now "Disney'sCalifornia Adventure", which is cool in it's own way, and parking has moved offsite. I liked seeing Disneyland from the parking lot, and the excitement would build as the tram brings you up to the ticket booth.
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride:
I think this was either a "short" , or a scene from a feature length movie, but they made it into a ride.At the end of the ride, you enter a train tunnel, and coming straight at you is a very bright headlight, and all the train sounds. Just at the very moment of impact, the doors swing open, and you are safely back at the loading area. What a relief !
Disney did do a animated feature length movie starring Mr. Toad called "The Wind In The Willows," based on the book of the same name, I don't remember the name of the author but I remember reading the book after seeing the Disney film. Again, I thought the Disney film was a LOT better than the book. The film was hilarious, especially the ending with Mr. Toad's new hobby! The book, a bit dry, at least to me.
Just looked it up, Kenneth Grahame wrote the book, a children's novel, in 1908.
Babes in Toyland is available on both DVD and Blu-Ray: https://www.disneystore.com/titles/b/mn/1013602/ as are some of my all time favorite movies:
Come to think of it, since the Disney Co. now does Star Wars and Marvel, if they owned the Star Trek franchise they'd own ALL of my favorite movies! Scary!
Postwar PaulLon Chaney's " Phantom of the Opera"
At the Main Street Cinema, of course!
Not reaaallyyy a theatre though!
Ever wonder what Space Mountain reaaaalllyyyy looks like?
Concept sketch for the Moonliner, wouldn't this have been awesome!?!
The rocket was one of the few things they really had the time and resources to do a good job on for opening day, thanks in large part to TWA of course.
Under the Moonliner you can see how it's engine system modeled the control veins of a V2. One of the real V2 engines was on display nearby.
Hmmmm.....this guy looks familiar....
I wonder how much Harry would weigh on the moon without his hat?
In 1960 sponsorship switched to Douglas:
The Phantom Boats:
The original versions were a mechanical nightmare and had the habit of stranding guests in the lagoon. The second version vessels of the "Motor Boat Cruise" had a better operational record but they weren't popular:
But they did last into the 90's. Here's the dock as it looks nowadays:
Tomorrowland Terrace:
It was a pop-up!
Still in use:
Hmmm....isn't this guy on the right a model railroader?
Or does he just look like one?
Arrival:
What a classic car show!
Hop on the tram:
Mark your ticket:
Buy your ticket books:
And maybe a balloon or two
And welcome to the Happiest Place on Earth!
Nowadays....
There's just a gaggle of multi-level parking structures like you'd see in any and every major city.
That's one piece that isn't lost in Orlando. You'll always (we hope and pray) be separated from the Magic Kingdom by the Seven Seas Lagoon. I remember the old days, when you drove for miles through forests on a twisting turning road before you had any sight at all of Walt Disney World. And then when you finally got the car parked and rode the trams into the Transportation and Ticket Center, you found yourself separated from the park by an enourmous (to a kid anyways) body of water. On the boat ride over they'd tell you all about the new and exciting things they were working on. (We usually took the ferry because there were always huge lines for the Monorails. We'd ride them in the afternoons or during parades when they were less crowded.) But that sense of anticipation was only heightened by being made to wait "just a bit longer" to finally get to Disney World!
Toad Hall:
Mr. Toad is from "The Wind in the Willows" which was released as "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad".
Don't ride with this guy:
Or this guy:
Or this guy!
Audie Murphy was probably safer!
It looks much prettier now:
It's interresting how some rides flourished on one coast and flopped on the other. Mr Toad's Wild: Western success, eastern flop. Country Bear Jamboree: Western flop, eastern success.
Thanks for the great pictures, brings back those great memories. I practically grew up there.Here's a few more:
The ( does it really matter ?) Horn.
Many of the rides at Disneyland, especially the most popular ones, had 2 separate lines, and 2 separate tracks. This was true of Autopia, the Speed Boats, People Movers, and many others. The Matterhorn Bobsleds had 2 lines, one wrapping around the right side of the mountain, one around the left. This was obviously to allow more people to be able to ride. My older brother, in his quest to maximize the number of rides in the time allowed, and to maximize the thrill level, had somehow become convinced that the Matterhorn Bobsled track on the right ran at a higher, and more thrilling speed than the one on the left. So, the brainwashing continued, to the point 2 young fools would go out of their way to seek out the track on the right at all costs, and would prefer to wait in a long line, or come back later to ride the one on the right. I look at it now and wonder " what were we thinking? " .
Right next to the Matterhorn was the "Alice in Wonderland " ride. Many of the rides in Fantasyland were based on Walt's animated pictures, and this ride was one of the best.I always remember that track that was pure fantasy, resembling giant leaves , you would zig zag your way into Alice's world. There was a "Snow White" ride, and the witch was somewhat menacing.I was very young when I last went on this one, but my Mom recalls what felt like spider webs dangling, and touching as you went through. Many of the rides in Fantasyland were some of the very oldest at Disneyland, and were completely revamped a few years back. Peter Pan : what a makeover!
I like your picture of the Hills Brothers Coffee house on Main Street. I remember very well. There was also a Carnation Ice cream parlor. There was also a Penny Arcade, and I have a vague memory of a place with an Orange Juice drink, maybe some kind of Ice Cream float. Lots of refreshments for hot summer days !
Great pictures!
I rode Space Mountain at Walt Disney World with my friend Shotgun Charlie back in 1975. How'd we know it was a roller coaster in the dark? Maybe all the screams we were hearing should have clued us in.
Thank goodness there were no "smoke-free" zones back then. After the ride it took a half-hour and five cigarettes for me to stop shaking.
"Hey Wayne, you wanna go again?"
"%&#$ NO!"
I-don't-like-roller-coasters!
We just LOVED the live steam trains though! As I recall, the lake ferrys were steam-powered as well and looked a lot like Hudson River steamers from the 1890's. I've got some slides I took then somewhere here in the "Fortress Firelock," but who knows where?
Holiday Hill:
Also known as Snow Hill, you could ride up there to look at the park from the high vantage point.
Walt introduces the Matterhorn. Notice that the model of Sleeping Beauty Castle shows it in it's original configuration with the top half reversed from what was built.
The new topper for Holiday Hill:
The ques from the top:
The Christmas Star:
Alice:
Everybody visited Disneyland! From Liz Taylor to the King of Thailand.
After the 1982 remodel of Fantasyland:
Teacups next door:
Well THIS Alice certainly looks like she's in "wonderland"
This one's a bit better:
Original exterior:
and after 1982:
Karma?
Cobwebs a plenty!
But what your mom probably felt was the Spanish Moss-like stuff hanging from the trees in the forest:
Sometimes it had "sails"
Let's ride my favorite ride with Walt!
Note the emergency exit
Quite a bit different after 82
Florida looks more like the original
Just a couple of doors down from the Penny Arcade
You could eat your ice cream in the flower market.
The main shop became a bakery as the ice cream shop moved into the courtyard where the plastic flowers were once displayed.
ummmm....where are the machines?
Well at least Esmeralda is still there!
Accross the street was the Srystal Arcade. But it didn't have penny machines.
Your best bet for an orange drink was at the Sunkist Citrus House:
It's the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor now:
If you'll excuse me I think I need one of these!
Some of what I've been working on...
East Main Street
Opera House
This is why I need a new Main Street....
That also means a new Tomorrowland to go along with it.
And it packs a lot of firepower too. The tall section towards the left with the four circles in octagons has ten 14 volt bulbs in that one small piece alone and the whole facade will need at least 12 more. Luckily the 100 14v gow's I ordered from Hong Kong arrived today and I won't need to have half finished models all over the place waiting for the package to arrive.
So mini Disneyland is moving ahead one facade at a time.
Great pictures once again ! The Orange Juice place was indeed Sunkist. I never realized there was a hill existing at Disneyland before the Matterhorn was built. I've never seen Disneyland without the Matterhorn! It's such a landmark, you can see from all over
Let me start this again:
Jusr Writin' ma memoirs...
dee point I be tryin' to make mon, is dee Matterhorn she be goin' up too tracs, and be splittin' at dee top. Dose dat bee entrain' from dee right bee off in' from dee right no problem, mon. Dose from dee left bee go dat way too. Irie. iriE.Pass dee Dutchie, mon.
It's hard to suppress me inner Bob Marley...
Now that I've shown that guy the door, your models are fantastic. I have got to get back to Disneyland again, it's been since 2008, so I must be due. The quality of the lighting at Disneyland is a memory all by itself. For example,the boarding area for the Mark Twain at night is truly remarkable. Hundreds of small bulbs tracing the outline of the boarding structure. This is what you would call creating a mood with light. And Main Street itself is a really excellent example of the use of lighting. Basically, using hundreds of small bulbs to outline structures creates an old time feel. Nowadays, we tends to use much fewer , but maybe more powerful lights. There was a time that electrical lighting was considered modern, coming out of the gas lamp era. Main Street creates the atmosphere at night with the lighting.
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