DISNEY HISTORY INSTITUTE

This is downright amazing! The footage (where the ...

2012-06-01T11:25:03.315-07:00

This is downright amazing! The footage (where the heck did you get it?) the photos, the audio, the information! Great job!

That particular teacup doesn't ring any bells ...

2012-05-26T09:01:57.177-07:00

That particular teacup doesn't ring any bells for me... but you have a pretty deep knowledge of Disneyland ephemera!

Major, thanks for pointing this out. I agree. The ...

2012-05-24T10:24:35.169-07:00

Major, thanks for pointing this out. I agree. The Dumbo is almost an exact copy stylistically, just reversed. And yes, there is another of this flier (baby blue), 1956 (or 1958) that uses the same images in the same set up. Like many artists, he had inspiration to help in, in the form of Disneyland ephemera gathered on his trip. To me the little boy and girl in the teacup look *very* familiar, and I think I've seen that image somewhere on other Disneyland print media. Any thoughts? Thanks again, Paul

I think William Mullin might have used a ticket br...

2012-05-24T08:14:52.150-07:00

I think William Mullin might have used a ticket brochure as reference for Dumbo. This link shows a 1957 flyer... can't find an example for 1956, but I'm pretty sure one exists with the same Dumbo drawing. (image from Vintage Disneyland Tickets )

Paul, The seating arrangement and the multiple scr...

2012-05-19T14:00:52.112-07:00

Paul,
The seating arrangement and the multiple screens remind me a lot of the configuration for THINK! in the IBM Pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair.

Todd

Joakim: Ditto (Barks fan first at around age 9 ......

2012-05-15T10:58:04.058-07:00

Joakim:
Ditto (Barks fan first at around age 9 ... quickly followed by Gottfredson). The Disneyland News had stopped publishing by 1968, so that piece is too late. We do not have a complete run of the DL News at the Institute (working on it ... getting close), but I have never seen anything along these lines (sort of more that late 1960s art) in any of the issues. And yes, I am slowly picking out some of the cartoons that appear to be Gottfredson and will run them here at the Institute. (I also checked the Disneyland Vacationlands and Disney News, neither of which in 1968 have this art). Thanks, Paul

The Blue Jackets the MMC mice were made by Shanhou...

2012-05-12T19:38:25.065-07:00

The Blue Jackets the MMC mice were made by Shanhouse,the jackets can be seen during "Roll Call"
BTW been looking for the MMC Circus Patches,found one a year ago and didnt have the money to pick it up,,,,anybody have the patches or costumes from the MMC circus,,,David

Hi Jan, good to see you here. Also, thanks for yo...

2012-05-10T00:32:54.424-07:00

Hi Jan, good to see you here. Also, thanks for your comment. I've been to your pages and love them. The account that you have above is more or less what Harper Goff related in a couple, short interviews in the early 1990s. My comments this week basically ask if Harper's explanation 35 years after the fact--though true--simplified the process to some extent. When I found the Rue Morgue footage (available only on VHS), I was stunned at the similarities between the re-use of the Calamity set and the Golden Horseshoe Review.

The way I heard it was that Walt was thinking he n...

2012-05-07T20:41:20.196-07:00

The way I heard it was that Walt was thinking he needed to get the saloon in quick and Harper Goff brought him the set plans for Calamity Jane because he had access to them as the designer for Calamity Jane. I'm trying to think where I read that. I read too much. It was something I had read while doing research for my Golden Horseshoe webpages about 10 years ago.

Jeanine, In the planning stages (in early 1954) t...

2012-05-07T19:25:20.729-07:00

Jeanine,

In the planning stages (in early 1954) the original location for Adventureland was next to Tomorrowland, behind Space Mountain side of Main Street.

Great detective work! Had never heard the Rue Morg...

2012-05-07T09:41:34.395-07:00

Great detective work! Had never heard the Rue Morgue connection before.

Been a Gottfredson fan since I was a kid but I hav...

2012-05-07T01:27:23.318-07:00

Been a Gottfredson fan since I was a kid but I have never seen this one before!!! Thanks for sharing it. Would be interesting to see the rest of the cartoons that ran in the Disneyland News. :)

BTW: You don't happen to know if this one: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=127638&GSub=20950
was published in one of the 1968 issues?
Trying to find out where it saw print, and what the missing left part looks like.

Actually the Adventureland sign looks to be pointi...

2012-05-06T23:27:39.587-07:00

Actually the Adventureland sign looks to be pointing towards you, as you're facing Tomorrowland, which would seem to be about right...

Fascinating - looking forward to the series!

2012-05-03T12:47:48.625-07:00

Fascinating - looking forward to the series!

Awesome!

2012-05-01T12:01:48.020-07:00

Awesome!

The last two sketches are by John Stone and were m...

2012-04-29T00:43:24.982-07:00

The last two sketches are by John Stone and were made for Disneyland's Splash Mountain!
Mahalo,
Mark Hickson
DisneybyMark.com

Phil. Thanks for your Cast Member story. Awesome!...

2012-04-27T13:30:37.878-07:00

Phil. Thanks for your Cast Member story. Awesome! I have complained for decades about the apparent removing of Walt (and all that he stood for) from the Park. I have maintained that his memory and his wishes are still present, mostly, within the Cast Members and their actions. This great story just reinforces that in my mind. Thank you.

Saying "Please" or "Thank you"...

2012-04-27T08:30:45.474-07:00

Saying "Please" or "Thank you" just might get you rewarded. Years ago, when Autopia re-opened sponsored by Chevron, they handed out "Driver's Licenses" in the queue line. The stack of licenses given by the Cast Members had random "winning ticket" licenses that entitled the holder to a free toy at the gift shop at the exit of the ride.
My son, maybe 6 years old at the time, was handed a license to which he responded (totally unprompted, mind you) "Thank you."
The cast member, taken aback by his manners, said, "No one has EVER said 'Thank you' to me for these." She then shuffled through the stack to find a winning ticket to give him.
Made daddy proud, that's for sure.

Good point, Brian S. It was clear--especially duri...

2012-04-26T08:16:04.899-07:00

Good point, Brian S. It was clear--especially during the 1960s--that Walt intended for the park to have an identity that was distinct from the film/TV properties. There was clearly some overlap, but the direction in the years leading up to Walt's death was to differentiate the park entertainment from the films:

Tiki Room
Lincoln
Small World
Pirates
Carousel of Progress
Haunted Mansion (in planning)
Country Bears (in planning)
Space Mountain (in planning)
etc.
etc.

I should point out that Swiss Family and other film-related attractions were also in this time period. But the general push was to create unique entertainment that worked well within the technology for the parks.

I agree: this approach tended to produce superior attractions, compared with the later synergistic approach in which everything at the park was tied to film properties.

Thanks for these awesome pictures and analysis. W...

2012-04-25T22:35:04.385-07:00

Thanks for these awesome pictures and analysis. What jumps out to me immediately is the regression (in my opinion) since Eisner away from unique attractions back to pure synergy (FIlm Characters) in the new attractions as well as the parades. EVERYTHING now revolves around the animated characters. And it has become slightly boring to me. I would give anything for the Disneyland Tomorrowland of the late 70s. Especially, of course the WEDway People Mover!

As best I know, Linkletter was not a sailing man. ...

2012-04-10T14:14:03.829-07:00

As best I know, Linkletter was not a sailing man. Rigging is a nautical term. I'm suspect he was just using a familiar word to describe the support cables and woodwork on the upper portions of the Twain.

WOW! Just WOW!

2012-04-03T22:48:32.807-07:00

WOW! Just WOW!

This is an awesome sets of photos from Walt Disney...

2012-04-03T17:55:46.990-07:00

This is an awesome sets of photos from Walt Disney's golfing hobby. He was an avid golfer and is a man of inspiration for a lot of people.
electric golf buggy

Love reading about the old disney parks! Keep them...

2012-04-02T16:20:18.502-07:00

Love reading about the old disney parks! Keep them coming! :)

You spoke of Mark Twain possibly having a faulty m...

2012-04-02T14:16:53.647-07:00

You spoke of Mark Twain possibly having a faulty memory, but the same might be said for Art Linkletter. Strictly speaking, the Mark Twain doesn't have "rigging" since it is propelled by a paddlewheel instead of sails. Perhaps Linkletter was thinking of the Columbia Sailing Ship, which didn't start sailing the Rivers of America until 1958.