Monday, September 10, 2007

Disneyland trip, April 1962

Today we revisit our perfect American family during their 1962 trip to Disneyland. You'll probably remember the little girl in her poofy dress!

Here she is, with big brother, sitting in front of the Casa de Fritos. They are looking towards a temporary stage in front of the Nature's Wonderland queue...in fact, this picture should have been paired up with this one. Notice the Mineral Hall, sponsored by the Blacklight Corporation of America (one of the seven corporations that secretly run all of the world's governments).


Let's move along further into Frontierland...whoa, somebody's put a big ol' wall in front of the Golden Horseshoe. At least they finally replaced the painted cloth banner on the Revue with a proper marquee. Once again, these photos hook up to some that I've posted in the past. There are some of those hats with the long feathers, I need one of those for job interviews and funerals. The lady with her pink feather has folded her vintage guidebook in a criminal manner, and was incarcerated shortly after this picture was taken (and is due to be released next year).


Let's get out of Frontierland, it's practically nothing but dirt anyway. In Tomorrowland they have these little cars. No, I mean the really little ones. The Midget Autopia wasn't there for long, but from the look on this kid's face, it was just what the doctor ordered. Those flower-covered hills have an almost "Seussian" look to them.

8 comments:

Matterhorn1959 said...

Major thanks for these photographs. The Casa de Fritos is very nice, like the Popcorn box (and the lady lighting the cigarette!) The Golden Horseshoe is great- I wonder if the Mark Twain was closed due to the construction of Nature's Wonderland (if I remember correctly, the red covered guidebook is 1960.) Besides the hats, the boy in the background is wearing a souvenir jacket from Guam probably brought home by his older brother who was stationed at Guam. And the last shot is amazing. All of the Midget Autopia shots I have seen have not had the plethora of color or flowers. Did you see that Marceline Missouri is going to start operating the Midget Autopia again?

Peter VINCENT said...

It's amazing what each of us get from viewing one of your photos. My eye was immediately drawn to the fact that the boy in this photo is wearing leather shoes with black "ankle buster" socks... for a day at Disneyland!. I can barely get my son out of his sneakers and sweat socks for such formal events as weddings or church.
Great Pix.
Pete

Is that tabasco sauce next to that little girls popcorn box?

Major Pepperidge said...

Matterhorn, these slides are dated 1962...aren't there two different guidebooks with red covers? I didn't even notice the "Guam" jacket, that's a fun detail. And yes, I did see that Marceline is giong to restore the Midget Autopia, I hope that they make it as much like the original ride as possible. They need the little yellow garage with the "crash doors"!

Peter, that is some kind of hot sauce, but it isn't tobasco!

Disneyana World said...

Major Pepperidge, this blog is great! I love the devotion, descriptions, and consistency you provide.

Keep it up!

Daveland said...

Major - The Autopia pic makes me think of the poppy field in The Wizard of Oz. Nice post!

Anonymous said...

I just think it is cool that the two youngins were able to have the Secret Service guy looking out after them.

"Red Fox to Blue Fox. The little lambs are safe. Over."

Unknown said...

In the Golden Horseshoe photo there also looks like a 16mm film camera just off to the left side of the frame. Fairly big outfit for a tourist.

And I too need one of those feather hats. I used to own a peter pan hat but alas, no more.

Anonymous said...

Love the detail in that Midget Autopia pic. The "Watch for Rocks" sign in the background has ersatz reflectorizing, just like real road signs of the time.