Disneyland in 1973, Part 2: Maps

8 Comments Posted by on September 21, 2011

Now that we’ve got our General Information in Part 1, it’s time to move to our park maps! Yes, maps plural. Since the booklet is so small, they broke down each land to give it its own page.

Ah, Main Street, U.S.A.

We start our tour at the turn of the century on sunny Main Street. Down in the bottom left, there’s the shape of the whole park with Main Street shaded in. And it’s all color coded for your convenience!

Interesting thing about Main Streets are the side street names. A little over halfway up you can see two diagonal streets. The one on the right is E. Center Street and on the left is, predictably, W. Center Street. The Main Street Cone Shop (doesn’t look like it existed in 1973) is actually on E. Center, as are the lockers and fruit cart. W. Center has the bathrooms at the end–that means that W. Center Street is now the outdoor seating for Carnation Cafe. It will be interesting to see how that turns out once the refurb is done next year, but I find it very doubtful that it will ever return back to being a street. Up at the top you see East and West Plaza Streets. Over on the corner of E. Plaza and Main you can find the information booth about other SoCal attractions.

Of note, the Market House (same location as now) was considered a “Free Show and Exhibit.” You might remember it as being the coffee store with the questionable Pinocchio chocolate candies. I do wonder what they were showing/exhibiting in there. All bunched up together south of W. Center Street are several interesting shops: Glassblower (a real glass blower), Hurricane Lamp Shop, Story Book Shop (oh, how I wish this still existed!!!), Candle Shop, Elgin New Century Clock Shop, and a Flower Market. None of these exist anymore except that I believe the clock shop is now the watch shop. I’d love to have seen the glass blower as well.

Adventureland

Holy mackeral, what is that giant winding river taking up almost all of Adventureland??? That’s the Jungle Cruise. I never pictured it as very big in my head, but of course it was the main attraction of Adventureland before Indiana Jones encroached on its space (and also took over part of the parking lot).

The little people waving on top of the treehouse are adorable, but I particularly love the “Big Game Shooting Gallery.” I can only assume you shot at now endangered big game targets. I bet that one was quietly shut down. You can also shop at the Guatemalan Weavers in here too. Go figure.

Also, there’s something called the Sunkist “I Presume” (just like that, quotes theirs) and I had to look at the back of the book to see that it served fresh orange juice (no suprise there), lemonade, donuts, coffee, and jungle juleps. I believe the “I Presume” part was a Sunkist marketing phrase. I just have to wonder what a jungle julep is, and I sure wish I could try one because it sounds good.

New Orleans Square

Of course New Orleans Square’s biggest attraction is the Pirates of the Caribbean ride with the Blue Bayou restaurant inside. I’ve only eaten there twice–once on my birthday and once when a friend came down and let me join her reservation, back in 2007 or so.

Missing from this map, as it’s also missing from today’s map, is Club 33. Haven’t gotten in there yet, but if you know a hookup, lemme know.

Also there is the Haunted Mansion. The best part of New Orleans Square is that it’s still almost exactly like this now. The stores have changed but it looks like nothing has really been added or subtracted.

Critter Country--I mean Bear Country

Bear Country got a name change when it added something more than bears–namely Splash Mountain. Although apparently the Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes are a part of Bear Country (I personally would have placed them more in New Orleans Square, but obviously nobody asked me). Also back there is the “Teddi Barra Swingin Arcade” which sounds very cute. And of course, the beloved Country Bear Jamboree. I have such good memories of this attraction and Theo in particular LOVED it at the Mouse-in-Law. Now it houses the weirdo Winnie the Pooh ride, although a couple of the singing head trophies from the Jamboree can still be seen in Winnie the Pooh.

The whole park

While nowadays you just have the giant foldout map, I think there’s something kind of cute about a color-coded guide to the park. I mean really, the park isn’t THAT big or hard to get around. Particularly because, most notably on this map, there are no guides to the actual walking paths between lands. So you can have several pages of maps and still just wander around from one land to another. I do love the instructions when you exit the parking lot onto West Street–go left then left for San Diego, go right then right for Los Angeles. And incidentally, anyone non-local know what that section of West Street is now called?

I’ll just give it away–it’s Disneyland Drive and Downtown Disney now goes right over it.

Frontierland

Continuing on our clockwise trip around the magic kingdom, we now hit Frontierland. Here you’ll find the regular shooting gallery–the one that still actually exists today, as well as the various boats on the Rivers of America. And also the one ride I wish I’d been on–the Pack Mules. E ticket indeed! I wanna ride a mule at Disneyland! Also of note over here is a print shop, now gone but I wish it weren’t. And if you’re hungry you can swing by the “Casa de Fritos” which of course involves “Mexican food specialties, combination plates, and Fritos.” I don’t know why that cracks me up, but I feel like I need to throw a Cinco de Mayo party and invite people over to my “Casa de Fritos.” What do you think?

Fantasyland

Coming to you in alarmingly neon pink, we have Fantasyland! If you’re looking for attractions, Fantasyland is the place to go, since it’s chock-full of them. The awesome thing about Fantasyland is that out of 16 attractions, 12 are just like they were then, and the Fantasyland Theater still exists except in the form of the Princess Fantasy Faire (which is moving, did I mention that?). The only two attractions that are well and truly gone are the Motor Boat Cruise and my beloved Skyway. The Fantasyland Autopia is now joined together with the Tomorrowland Autopia making it one giant Autoporiffic attraction.

There’s aso a glassblower shop here (two of them? Not fair!) as well as “Merlin’s Magic Shop” which would be insanely awesome, if it still existed. In its place is currently the Heraldry Shoppe. The scale and perspective here is particularly weird, as it looks like the Tea Cups are directly north of the Carrousel when in fact, it is off to the right and hidden a bit.

Also, that tinted pink picture on the bottom is supposed to be a family in the teacups looking happy, but the one guy totally looks like he’s going to hurl.

Tomorrowland

Finally we conclude our tour with Tomorrowland. I had originally expected to find Tomorrowland stuffed to the gills with E ticket rides, but in fact over half are D tickets and only two are E tickets. Go figure. This is the classic Tomorrowland, and I believe out of all the lands, the one where the most attractions have been either moved or removed. Tomorrowland attractions in 1973:

Adventures Thru Inner Space (removed)
PeopleMover (removed, standing sadly vacant)
Rocket Jets (moved and renamed Astro Orbitor)
Flight to the Moon (removed)
Skyway to Fantasyland (removed)
Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad (unchanged)
Tomorrowland Autopia (combined with Fantasyland Autopia)
Submarine Voyage (changed to Finding Nemo)
Disneyland Alweg Monorail System (unchanged)

Interesting! Also, much like today, there was a very limited number of places to eat and shop. And Circlevision, the only ride that actually made me puke, was a  free show.

And those are your maps of Disneyland 1973!

Everything Else , ,

Disneyland in 1973, Part 1: General Information

4 Comments Posted by on September 20, 2011

1973 was a very good year in my life, most notably because that was the year I was born. But it also was the year that Kevin’s mom’s cousin, Kristy, went to Disneyland.

And saved the park guide.

AND SENT IT TO ME!!!!!

I’m telling you, this is a fascinating read from beginning to end. Fascinating for me, and for YOU!  because I’m gonna share it, yes I am.

Cover

There are so many fascinating things about this guide and the first is that it’s a book. I’d call it a booklet, but it’s actually 31 pages. It is pocket-sized, though, and measures a little over 3.5″x2.5″.

The second thing is the sheer amount of shameless corporate sponsorship. According to Jack Lindquist’s book, In Service to the Mouse, corporate sponsorship was Walt’s plan from Day 1. Well, before Day 1–from the very beginning of planning. In short, he couldn’t afford to build Disneyland so he offered exclusive promotional rights in the park to companies who sponsored it. Most of the sponsorships, it seems, were related to something the company did or represented, however this Disneyland guide was sponsored by an insurance company. But we’ll go back to that at the end.

And really? Even the MAP had a corporate sponsorship? Wow!

Page 1

This is the Fall/Winter guide so that includes the Christmas season.  The first thing that popped out at me was the fact that the “Christmas Holidays” lasted from December 21-January 1. Can you imagine Christmas starting right before Christmas? I know many think we start Christmas too early (I don’t–we can start Christmas in August and I’ll be happy) but December 21st seems so late to me. Barely worth the trouble of putting up decorations!

The Candlelight Procession, which I can only assumed that, at the time, used real candles, was on December 21st and 22nd. I’m not sure when the dates are this year but hopefully I won’t be blocked out then.

Also interesting–this is back in the days of coupon books, but the New Year’s Eve Party says “Special tickets for this event, which also include unlimited use of all Disneyland attractions except shooting galleries, must be purchased in advance.” I wonder how much that cost.

General Information

In this book, employees are called “Disneylanders” or just “employees” instead of the current term, Cast Member. I wonder when that changed–anyone know?

General information about Disneyland can be obtained from City Hall, but if you’d like to know about other Southern California activities you’ll have to head to the information booth on “the corner of Main and East Plaza Streets.” That’s inside the park. Do you know where? I’ll show you when we get to the park maps :).

If you’ve got a baby you can hit up the Baby Station  on East Plaza Street. “Sorry, babysitting is not available.” Bummer.

For those who are hard up for cash, your BankAmericard is accepted in most shops, stores, and restaurants, and a Bank of America with complete banking capabilities is in Town Square. Just be careful of the time, since the bank is only open from 10-4 every day Disneyland is open, and 10-6 on Wednesdays. Proof right there it’s a real bank! If the bank is closed, head over to the Main Street Railroad Station ticket booth to cash a check.

If you’re looking for a good place to take a picture, just follow the Photo-Trail. Film is sold just about everywhere. If you’d like to rent a camera or need camera service, you’ll find the GAF Photo Salon on Main Street. If your car needs service, however, you’ll have to leave the park to visit the Gulf Station at the corner of Katella Ave. and West St.

Global Van Lines will both offer you lockers and handle your lost and found, but if you’ve lost your child you’ll need to see the hostess on the end of East Plaza Street. If you brought your furry friend,  you can leave them at “an airy, individual enclosure” for 50 cents for the entire day. Bonus–a choice of Kal Kan pet food is included! And the Hallmark Communication Center on Main Street will handle all of your postal needs.

Disneyland is open from 10-6 on Wednesdays through Fridays, and 9-7 on the weekend. Don’t plan to go on Monday or Tuesday–it’s closed. However, because of the Christmas holidays, Disneyland will be open every day from December 15-January1.

There are public telephones and rest rooms aplenty! Strollers and wheelchairs are a nominal fee. You should be able to recognize Disneyland Security by “the theme area dress” but if you’re confused, just ask any Disneylander. And don’t forget to get your hand stamped on the way out!

How do these ticket books work?

Ah, the old ticket books! What an interesting way to divvy up the park! Can you imagine what a nightmare it would be having these now? All these people with their E tickets in hand waiting to ride the roller coasters? I do remember the ticket book days, as I’m sure some of you do too. I can remember arguing over which A ticket or B ticket ride we were to go on because we only had a limited number of tickets. Now your only limit is time. And you don’t have to go home with leftover A and B tickets since you were standing in line for E ticket rides so long you never used them.

This page of your Park Guide explains your available ticket books. Sure, you can go pay for each ride individually–those A ticket rides are 10 cents! But you can save money by buying a book.

Try the Big 11 and get one A, one B, two C’s, three D’s, and four E’s. Or you can go crazy and get the Deluxe 15 with one A, two B’s, three C’s, four D’s, and five E’s.

Please note that if you already paid a general admission ticket or if you wish to enjoy additional attractions in the park, you can buy a 10-adventure book (like the Big 11 minus one E ticket) or a 5-adventure book (five E tickets) for $3.50  and any central ticket booth inside the park. Good to know!

If you’re confused and you think you might get lost or something, you can also take a Guided Tour. It’s recommended for “first-time guests” (their quotes, not mine) and where you are “taken on an exciting tour of Disneyland by a charming Guide who tells the fascinating story of the history and growth of ‘the happiest place on earth.'” This includes admission and a selection of 7 popular rides Of course, if you already purchased a General Admission ticket, you can buy the tour minus the admission price for only $3.00.

And what can you ride with your various tickets?

Well, the A ticket rides are all still in existence:

Board a horse-drawn trolley, as it travels down a main street of 70 years ago on the Horse Drawn Street Cars, take a trip down Main Street aboard a replica of America’s classic autos on the Horseless Carriage, ride a double-decker bus down Main Street, to the hub of Disneyland in the Omnibus, “Answer the alarm” in Disneyland’s very own fire wagon on the Fire Engine, ride to the lnd of fantasy on one of the Carrousel’s 72 prancing steeds at King Arthur Carrousel, and see diorama scenes from the popular Walt Disney movie, “Sleeping Beauty” at Sleeping Beauty Castle. And seriously, I have only done 4 out of 6 of these attractions, even now. I better get going on those Main Street vehicles!

Your B ticket,  whole 25 cents, can help you enjoy the greats of the silent screen era at Main Street Cinema, guide your motorboat through treacherous rapids and tricky currents on the Motor Boat Cruise, see the Swiss Family Robinson’s tree-top home and enjoy an aerial view of Disneyland at the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, ride  Casey Jr. Circus Train as the bright, gay train who “knew he could” travels a scenic route, and re-live the fantastic adventures of Alice onboard Alice in Wonderland.

For this blog, I’ve only done one of those. But to be fair, one is defunct and the others, except Alice, are no longer in their original incarnations.

Man, I still have a lot more to do here.

For your C ticket, you can enjoy a Disney move at the Fantasyland Theater or whirl and twirl in the Mad Hatter’s wildly spinning cups at the Mad Tea Party. You’ll have to turn the page of the guide to find out what else you can do with your C tickets.

There we go!

Youngsters can navigate these freeways of the future on Autopias (Fantasyland, Tomorrowland), test your sharpshooting skills at still and moving targets and the Shooting Galleries (Frontierland, Adventureland), fly over moonlit London and on to Never-Never Land aboard a pirate galleon on Peter Pan Flight, soar high over Fantasyland aboard the elephant with aerodynamic ears at Dumbo Flying Elephants, take a backwoods water journey to adventure on the Rivers of America on the Mike Fink Keel Boats, and take a thrilling journey into the world of the atom aboard Adventure Thru Inner space presented by Monsanto.

I used to think you actually got shrunk on Adventure Thru Inner Space. I also thought it was like a D ticket, but guess not.

Speaking of D tickets, there are lots of things you can do with those! Pilot a high-flying jet to Disneyland’s outer space on the Rocket Jets, Travel throughout Tomorrowland and get an “inside” glimpse of each attraction on the Peoplemover, take a journey to the Moon and visit Mission Control on the Flight to the Moon presented by McDonnell Douglas, view the world of Fairy Tales onboard the Storybook Land Canal Boats, get a one-way view of Tomorrowland and Fantasyland from skyway buckets on the Skyway, explore Tom Sawyer island with its many caves and Fort Wilderness (closed at dusk) by taking the Tom Sawyer Island Rafts, row your own explorer canoe on the Rivers of America at Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes, all aboard for a circular tour of Disneyland on the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, cruise on a replica of the first American ship to circle the globe on the Columbia Sailing Ship, and finally, ride the gleaming sternwheeler as it travels around the Rivers of America on the Mark Twain Steamboat.

I had no idea the Columbia was a replica of the first American ship to circle the globe. Hunh. Learn something new every day.

And finally, for your E ticket enjoyment, you can ride a Western-style adventure through Nature’s Wonderland, Rainbow Caverns on the Mine Train Ride, see Nature’s Wonderland from the back of a sturdy pack mule at the Pack Mules, travel through tropical jungles and exotic areas of the world on a jungle boat at the Jungle River Cruise, circle above and around Disneyland on the transportation system of tomorrow known as the Disneyland-Alweg Monorail Trains, race down and around “snow-covered” slopes in a fast-moving bobslet aboard the Matterhorn Bobsleds, witness a Polynesian Paradise where 225 birds, flowers and tropical tikis entertain in the Enchanted Tiki Room, join the happiest crew that ever sailed around the world on It’s A Small World presented by Bank of America, journey through “liquid space” on an exciting undersea cruise to the North Pole on the Submarine Voyage, sail through the wildest adventure that ever rocked the Spanish Main on the Pirates of the Caribbean, see the wildest show in the wilderness featuring Big Al, Teddi Barra, and a cast of 18 “Bears of the Band” at the Country Bear Jamboree, and join the 999 “frightfully funny” ghosts on the Haunted Mansion.

Very cool.

Everything Else , ,

Guest Post: Disney On Wheels

6 Comments Posted by on September 19, 2011
I’ve found so many wonderful blogs through MYWTM with so many different perspectives, but one of my favorites is Disney On Wheels. I’m so excited that Melissa agreed to do a guest entry here. I’ll let her tell you about herself in her own words:

Why I Love Walt Disney World

Limited. It is not a word I like to use but on most days it is how I feel. I wake up get into my wheelchair and try not to think about what I can’t do. But there are days when none of that matters and I almost feel like everyone else. Those are the days I spend at Walt Disney World.
People are always asking me why I want to go to Walt Disney World so much. “Weren’t you just there” is a question I often get. They just can’t seem to understand why I love being there so much. I can only speak from my experiences but I feel like Disney has done as much as possible to make sure everyone can experience the magic. The Cast Members treat me in a way that creates a level of respect that I very rarely find other places. I love to travel and I love visiting new places but I never, ever feel like I am treated at the same level as when I am at Walt Disney World. We are currently planning our next Disney vacation and are planning on buying Annual Passes for the very first time. To say that I am thrilled is an understatement. To be able to visit the magic multiple times in the upcoming year is like a dream come true.

I often talk to my husband about our real life versus our Disney life. Problems that I have in my real life have never happened in my Disney life. When we check in to resort and the reservation is in my name they talk to me and not my husband. Almost never happens in my real life. In my real life I go to a restaurant and the host will lead us to a booth. I explain we need a table, again,  and they give me a blank stare. This never happens in my Disney life. I guess the point is Disney makes me feel like a person, not a person in a wheelchair.
I think that Walt’s dream was accomplished. He helped create a place where anyone can go and have a magical experience with their families. Sure there are things that are too hard to do or I simply can’t ride but I don’t care. Nothing, and I mean nothing stops me from having the time of my life at Disney World, it is a place of unlimited possibilities.
–Thank you so much, Melissa, for sharing your story with us.
Mouse-In-Law , , , ,

Classic MYWTM: Space Mountain

Leave a comment Posted by on September 18, 2011

In my absence, I’m bringing back classic posts you may have missed…

Originally posted March 27, 2011

And now we get to my favorite ride in all of Disneyland–Space Mountain! Space Mountain is one of four Mountains at Disneyland, each corresponding to a thrill ride. Space Mountain is an indoor rollercoaster (as is Big Thunder Mountain and Matterhorn Mountain, while Splash Mountain is a log ride). The cool thing about being inside is that it’s dark so you can’t see the tracks.

According to Standard Research Methodology, Space Mountain opened in 1977. One of my earliest memories of Space Mountain was when I was little but finally tall enough to ride it (I was a very small child), I was really chicken, but I wanted to ride it, so my mom kept saying, “are you sure? are you sure?” and I was like “yeah yeah yeah, I’m totally sure.” So we waited for hours (it seemed, it was probably about an hour) and then at the very last second–very last second meaning sitting in the car–I freaked out and started bawling and refused to go on it. My mother had to stay behind with me and she was livid that we had wasted all that time standing in line for me to chicken out. LIVID.

Ah, the joy of Disney magic.

Anyway, somewhere along the way I found the guts to ride it and it quickly became my favorite. This visit I was with my mom’s group for “Mom’s Night Out” (see Mothers in the Mouseland). We were all keen to go on Space Mountain, since it’s a difficult ride to go on with toddlers (difficult = impossible unless you have someone to ride switch with). Well, not all of us. One of us was pregnant, so SM was out for her. Still, this was that last picture of the whole group before we parted ways.

Look familiar? Thanks for reading!

Space Mountain was completely shut down in 2003, and they dug all the way into the ground to rebuild it. I was hoping they’d put in a new track, maybe something with a loop, but they ended up with the exact same track. That’s kind of the only disappointing thing about Space Mountain, once you learn the track. You bank to the right a LOT.

In the 80’s and 90’s, Space Mountain had this moving walkway that went right to the roof of the mountain. It was all futuristic and cool and stuff, but totally useless because it backed up the queue and they always had it turned off. After the re-do, you walk around the side and schlep yourself up to the roof. You can get some cool pictures up there

Oooooo, it's all glowy and stuff!

One baffling thing about the re-do is that it gets unbelievably hot up there on the roof while you’re waiting. You’d think they would take the opportunity to put in misters, or even just cover the whole thing, but no. In July, you bake.

After a thoroughly uninteresting queue in which you zig zag a number of times, you finally reach the actual mountain building. They let you through in groups, presumably so you don’t back up inside.

What ride are we waiting for again? Oh that's right--Space Mountain

Once inside the building, you descend. So yeah, you climb up to the roof to wait, and then descend to board. There’s not really space at the base of the building for a line, so there ya go.

Hi Kelli!

Inside, there are various monitors with loops talking about the ride and how if you’re pregnant or you don’t like high-speed adventures or shooting into space or whatever, this isn’t the ride for you. Which kind of bites because by the time you’ve made it to the building, you’ve already invested a huge amount of time in line. The inside looks a lot like this:

Boring

Kristin attempted to entertain us with some ballet and yoga moves.

I almost killed myself trying to imitate her. It was bad.

Again with my awesome photography skills.

Back in the olden days, there were darkened windows in the queue where you could actually look into the ride and see space shuttles go shooting by. There was also a viewing area from the Peoplemover. Both of those things let in a lot of light, so originally Space Mountain wasn’t completely dark.

It is now.

Which is pretty awesome.

In lieu of the windows, they installed the above-mentioned monitors. They try to give you a clue as to what your riding experience will be like, but trust me, it’s nothing like this.

Are they shooting lasers or something?

You finally open onto the space port area and get a nice aerial view before you board.

You're almost there--hang on!

After being seated, you move to the launch tube. This is all futuristic and there are black lights, so when you insist that everyone in your group turn around and smile so you can take a picture, their teeth glow.

It's like a freaky Crest commercial

You approach Mission Control, and then off you go.

We haven't actually started yet. Monica needs to get out more.

In the launch tube, the lights start flashing and spinning until you get to the inside of the coaster where it’s completely dark.

This starts spinning and stuff and it's kind of nauseating, actually

When you get to the actual track, the music goes all “Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!” and then you get a countdown from 10. At 1, you shoot through the entire track, completely gravity-fed. It’s really awesome. There’s also this cool soundtrack that just kicks it up a notch.

At the end of the ride, you get your picture taken. I always try to think of something clever to do, but tend to fall short. However, this time I attempted to take a picture of my own. This is the part where you get your picture taken:

Flashy streamy lights and stuff

When you get off, you can buy your picture for $14.95 for a 5×7. Or you can go all ghetto and take a picture of your picture, like I did.

You're actually supposed to buy this

So there I am, taking a picture of the part where they take a picture of you. I mistakenly thought that the camera was off to the left a bit, so my camera is pointed off to the left, but I later realized that the camera is directly overhead and it’s just the flash that comes from the left.

This is a picture of me taking a picture of the camera taking a picture of me

That is so postmodern, my head exploded.

Tomorrowland

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