Continuing up Main Street on our December 1969 journey we'll make a pit stop on West Center Street to check out the plastic flora at the Flower Market. A little further up at the end of Main Street we encounter the Plaza Pavillion.



Zooming in, it's still hard to read the sign, but it would appear that The Pavillion is closed and guests are advised to check out The Blue Bayou Restaurant, The Creole Cafe, and The Tomorrowland Terrace.



A lone White Wing makes his way towards the Castle, doing the essential duty of keeping the park immaculate.



The Sleeping Beauty Castle: this photo really needs no description.



On the other side of the castle at the farthest reaches of Fantasyland is it's a small world. When this photo was taken, it still was sponsored by the Bank of America.



Over in Frontierland we see The Columbia Sailing Ship.



Zooming in, we see The Haunted Mansion, which was only a few months old when this photo was shot. Sure, it had been built long beforehand, but the attraction opened August 9, 1969. An operating Keelboat can be seen in the foreground.



Last one for today is the Indian Burial ground that guests used to see towards the end of their Rivers of America journey.



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I promise this is the last post from my most recent trip to Disneyland! Disneyland is a magical place, but never more so than at night...especially when hardly anyone else is around! The Premiere of "On Stranger Tides" provided the perfect opportunity to shoot some long exposure shots at low ISO to capture the most detail. The first three show Adventureland; almost difficult to recognize without the swarm of guests and strollers!





The Haunted Mansion at night looks very other-worldly. I remember as a kid the first time I visited Walt Disney World, I was absolutely convinced that riding The Haunted Mansion at night was a different experience than riding it during the day.



Main Street U.S.A. is an area that drives me crazy most of the time. Too many people waiting for parades, camped out on the curb...hordes of guests tromping through on their way to other lands, not even noticing ALL of the beautiful details...the mobs in line at the registers trying to get that final souvenir before "last call."

However, in the following photos, Main Street can be seen in its pristine glory, brightly lit for all to see.











As a final parting view, The Main Street Train Station. All that's missing is one of the trains!



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Today's post will focus on 3 areas of the park that I don't always get the chance to visit. Last Saturday morning, the park opened at 7am because of the premiere; thanks to that, I was able to ride on the caboose of Casey Junior. For someone who likes to take photos, this is much better than being crammed into a Storybook Land boat!

I think I can almost hear Casey now: "I think I can I think I can..."

With a REAL good imagination you can feel the chain tug, too, as the cars feel the strain of the uphill climb.



Going uphill took a lot of testing for little Casey!



But I digress...back to the backseat journey. I am fascinated by miniatures; therefore, Casey and Storybook Land absolutely blow me away every time. Imagineers could have gotten away without creating a fraction of the details that one sees in the buildings and landscapes created to represent the classic Disney animated films.



Check out the light fixtures, roofing tiles, and hand lettering on the village where Pinocchio and Gepetto live:



This is one of my faves; especially the leaded stained glass windows by Harriet Burns:





Just looking at this photo without any background knowledge, one would be hard pressed to realize that this is a miniature:



Over at the Haunted Mansion, my special request to check out the Pet Cemetery on the side of the attraction was granted. I hadn't been there in at least 5 years. Again, it amazes me that an area rarely seen by guests has been so thoughtfully themed.













Not wanting to give California Adventure the shaft, I am including the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail attraction. Apparently, this interactive area of fun will be "plussed" to incorporate some of the characters and theming from the Pixar classic "Up," mainly in the amphitheater area. I love edutainment, and few do it better than Disney.



I was able to match prints in the pavement with the educational signage:







It's fantastic to have an area where kids can get physical, explore, and be reminded that fun exists away from their computers.







Happy Sunday - how about getting out of the house today and exploring the area that you live in? Make sure to check out the details along the way!

Follow my Daveland updates on Twitter. See more vintage and current Casey Junior photos at my regular website.

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If you’ve ever wondered why you are admonished not to use “Flash Photography” while in your Doombuggy, this photo shows the perfect reason why you should listen (except for those of us taking photos to document the ride for posterity, of course). This tree near the cemetery does not look quite so scary when seen in the harsh light of a camera flash. Almost looks like a home craft project you’d make with tin foil. Just goes to show how much of an important part lighting plays in the total effect of this attraction (and many others).

Presenting the iconic caretaker from the graveyard scene:



Here’s the first photo of the Cemetery Caretaker that Disney released to the public on August 21, 1969. Compare with this contemporary shot:





Here are a few I took without my flash; MUCH more atmospheric:





I missed the first year of the Haunted Mansion NBC overlay, but made it for the 2nd season. I took this photo in January 2003 of the Caretaker, who was hanging out at the Disney Gallery while his home was being invaded by Jack Skellington & Co.



See more Haunted Mansion (both recent and vintage) photos at my website.

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After the birthday banquet, your Doombuggy rounds the corner and comes across the revamped attic, showing various portraits of the Bride with her husbands, who intermittently lose their heads over her. Although the special effect is neat, there’s something jarring about these photos and the new “improved” bride; they just don’t seem to fit in with the rest of the mansion and its tone.

For you Old School fanatics, here’s a vintage undated shot; popup ghost barely visible on far left.



Here is the first wedding portrait you see as you enter the recently revised attic area.





And without the head:



Fading fast:





This Bridal Portrait is from 1874 and shows The Marquis & Constance.



From 1875 we have Reginald & Constance; one year between marriages is not a lot of time to plan for the ceremony.







Be sure to notice the ghostly apparition making music to the right of Reginald:



Another Bridal Portrait, from 1877, shows George & Constance.





The attic bride “then” (2002) versus now, in the 2.0 version:







Frankly, neither one of them really excites me. If you're going to put a haunted bride in, something more comic in the Marc Davis style would seem to fit better. All of the characters in the mansion bear the Marc Davis magic and style stamp, with the exception being the Leota heads; for some reason, those both work for me. However, the bride just seems to break the wall and come out of nowhere like she doesn’t really belong with the other elements. An animated face rather than the face of a real person would probably be more effective for me. Same thing on the fading bridal portraits; the entire attic section seems like an "add-on"; which is also how I feel about the Jack Sparrow treasure room at the end of Pirates, which is a shame as the rest of the added figures and effects are seamless.






Before closing this post, here are a few 2002 attic photos (pre-Constance) from the Ambiguous Confabulation collection:







See more Haunted Mansion (both recent and vintage) photos at my website.

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