These aren’t the best quality photos, but still they are a wonderful shot (presented in chronological order of course!) of what this beloved attraction looked like in October 1970.













A reader sent me these photos which Patrick/Matterhorn helped identify. The boat is a souvenir item that was made for Disneyland by an import company and sold at the park. Not many were sold.





See more vintage (and current) Jungle Cruise photos on my regular website.

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Back to school, kids, as Scholarly Saturdays have just been reinstated! Joining Bobby & Susie in Frontierland, they are waiting to see some rootin'-tootin' entertainment at the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, proudly sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. Something tells me that the copy for this slide would have to be changed for modern-day audiences:



If you don’t like the Mark Twain, then you might as well just close the browser window now; Encyclopaedia Britannica saw fit to include 4 views of the Mighty Mark!









See more Frontierland photos at my website.

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This vintage promotional shot of the Seance Room totally blows out the cool video of Madame Leota, and all that we are able to see in the crystal are the fright wig and the bust that the film is projected onto; definitely not as cool looking without the effect. NOW you see why they say, “No Flash Photography, Please!”



A few “lights on” shots:





I really do enjoy this scene; Leota’s whiskey-soaked voice and corny warnings are fantastic. What a great prelude to the ballroom scene. Here are a few frames from the original film shot for Madame Leota:



A few years ago, a projection semi-resembling the Hatbox Ghost was added to The Seance Room; in addition, a blue orb circled the head. This is a tough one to photograph, and even if it weren’t, I don’t know that I would spend much time trying. The green wall projection on the right with the blue orb that circles it adds nothing to this vignette, and in my humble opinion, actually detracts from it. This photo is pretty blurry, but you get the idea.



As Daveland reader Gavin Elster commented: I think the projection takes the focus away from Leota. The green projection looks exactly like what it is... A projection on a flat surface. While other effects in the room were painstakingly created to take advantage of projected effects this simple projection looks like no creative thought was used. Its as if they saw a blank space in the mansion and needed to fill it. Honestly the area behind Leota should be kept dark to keep the focus on the new(ish) floating ball effect.





I have mixed feelings about the addition of the floating effect for Madame Leota. Even though it is dark, the wires are still visible. Just seeing this headless woman talking in the crystal ball is all I really need to see to be impressed. Adding a cheap parlour trick to the show only detracts. On top of that, it makes her more difficult to photograph. This is one of the reasons that I can still stand to go through this attraction when it has the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay: Leota stays still. MUCH easier to photograph!











Anybody care to see the spellbook on her table?



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

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If I’ve been on a ride at DLand before, it is a rare occasion that I will stand in line for more than 15 minutes to wait for it. However, when I have guests in from out of town, waiting in line is just a fact of life. Can’t have them missing POTC, right? So, the occasion that I took this photo was the first time I had ever seen this Lion statue to the left of the building as you wind around it in the line queue. Just another cool detail to help you pass the time.

I love the details; some don’t notice them, some don’t care, but these details are what keep the line queue from being a bore.



Here are shots of the themed wait sign and the fountain at the base of the stairway.



And a close-up of the attraction sign you see as you enter under the crossover bridge in New Orleans Square.




See more Pirates of the Caribbean photos at my regular website.

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It’s sleek, it’s silver, and it’s shortlived! Yes folks, it’s Disneyland’s Viewliner, originally the transportation of tomorrow, it was quickly switched out for the much larger (and sexier!) Monorail. You’ll note in this closeup that the lettering on the side says "Santa Fe and Disneyland RY." Anyone know what the RY stands for?



Here’s a 1957 photo of its inspiration, the Aerotrain, which was also short-lived:



On another note, saw the "new" Pee Wee Herman show the other night at Club Nokia—it was out of this world, Globey! For the full write-up, go to my Hollywood blog.



See more vintage Viewliner photos at my regular website.

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Many have noted how off-model and scary looking the original Disneyland costumes were for the animated characters. Shot #1 shows where they came from: The Ice Capades. For opening day, these were the costumes seen in the park and on TV sets all across the country. Yes...somewhat unsettling!





This undated shot shows some progress (the slats above the mouth are gone), but Minnie still looks extremely freakish!



By 1960, even more improvement is visible, despite the fact that Minnie appears to have had an overly agressive eye-brow lift!



This February 1962 shot of Mickey is really odd; looks like the California heat may have melted the poor guy’s face:



Minnie looks more like she stepped out of Munchkinland in this 1962 photo:



Fast forward to today, with the characters being able to blink (well, in Florida at least) and you can see just how far they have come.



See more vintage & current Disneyland photos at my regular website.

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The other day, fellow blogger and artist extraordinaire Will Bezek mentioned that he had (at one time) about 50 of the miniature vehicles from the Progress City model. Somebody with sticky fingers left him with only one: “I took that box full of cars from The Progress City Model to work when I was doing TV production for use on some long shots and some swine absconded the whole lot while I was away at lunch.” He was generous enough to provide this photo of his one remaining vehicle, a cherished VW Convertible.



Will is also a "legacy”: “My Grandad went to work at the park during initial construction and retired in the early 90's; he was in the sound department. I also had a great grandfather, two uncles, and a cousin who worked there...I grew up at the park basically.” The envy of many a Disneyland blog reader, that’s for sure!

Here’s a 1966 photo of his grandfather with Mickey:



See Will’s INCREDIBLE art at his website.

See more vintage & current Carousel of Progress photos at my regular website.

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They say you can "never go back," but I just don't listen. In this first picture from my last day at WDW, I attempted to recreate a shot of me from back in 1978. I think I need more sleep! And I am sure George is wishing I had the hat. Fortunately, that bit of 70’s "fashion" is long gone.



It was sad to know that I would be leaving soon, and of course my mind was racing trying to figure out how I was going to squeeze in everything that I wanted to do during these last hours. My original plan was to spend only enough time in Animal Kingdom to get a few shots and experience Everest, and then I’d head back to The Magic Kingdom to get a few shots that I missed over the previous few days.

This plan changed when I found that Animal Kingdom was much cooler than I thought, and Dough liked it, too.



Each park has an icon, and for this one, it’s the Tree of Life, which really is somewhat awe inspiring. The sculpts of the animals into the "bark" of the tree is breathtaking:





The theming and landscaping in this park are stupendous. Extremely lush, it is an inviting atmosphere that beckons the guest to take a more leisurely pace and to enjoy the nature and wildlife at a slower gait.





All I could think about was Everest; I really wanted to experience it and didn’t want to have that be one that was on my unchecked list! My heart sank when I saw that it was not working on my initial attempt. No time for tears though, as I wanted to do the Dinosaur attraction as well. On the way, I passed through (as quickly as possible) the Dino-Rama area. This seemed as bad as the original Paradise Pier at DCA; obviously trying to have something to passify the kiddies and thrill-riders, this section is very out place here. It seems somewhat tacky and not in keeping with the beautiful theming elsewhere in the park.



The Dinosaur Dark Ride was fun, even if the track was obviously the same as Disneyland's Indiana Jones attraction.





The line queue has a very nice mix of edu-tainment, which I felt was a nice addition to many of the areas in the Animal Kingdom.









Since I would only have time for one ride-through, I put my camera away and decided to enjoy the attraction. The animatronic dinosaurs were fantastic, and I do regret not having any shots of them, but sometimes, the camera just needs to be put away!



Flights of Wonder Bird Show was next. I really enjoyed this one; it was great to sit down, but it was also great to see a show that didn’t exploit the animals, but instead, focused on behaviours that were natural to them. It seems Disney is afraid to present anything too educational as it might bore or offend, so they added in a very stupid storyline to the show about a tour guide who is afraid of birds to attempt to heighten the excitement. Note to Disney: these beautiful and talented birds are just fine on their own. I like "corn" as much as the next guy, but the "corn" detracted from this show.



These amazing creatures do just fine on their own; no silly supporting cast necessary!







Time was running out as I was already over my guestimated allotted time for Animal Kingdom. Still, I wanted to make one more attempt to ride Expedition Everest. SUCCESS! The line seemed a little long, but not as long as waiting another 8 years or so to come back!



The line queue was extremely well done; interesting artifacts (the majority of them general), art pieces, and educational information were presented in a way that kept the long line (about 30 minutes) much more bearable.















Once again, I made the decision to enjoy the attraction and put the camera away. Yes, I have regrets, but am glad I got to experience it without having to worry about getting the perfect shot. Was it worth the wait? Yes. It is the Matterhorn on steroids! Probably one of the best rollercoaster-type attractions that Disney has put together for a long time. Fantastic theming, thrills to take away your breath, and it actually seemed to last for a fair amount of time, too. Unfortunately, the infamous Yeti was not working. THAT was a bit of a letdown. Hopefully Imagineers will be able to find a way to get that thing working consistently (at a pricetag that the pencil pushers will allow!). By the time we exited the ride, the line for this attraction was crazy, and probably would have made for at least a 90 minute wait. Talk about timing!

Time for the Magic Kingdom! First up, no ifs, ands, or buts, was the train. Hard to believe I hadn't an opportunity to ride it yet. I was determined to get on that contraption before I left (the night before it had been closed early).



The station is beautiful, but as I've said many times before, just doesn’t quite have the smaller scale & authentic old fashioned charm of Disneyland's.











One other thing that Anaheim has in spades over Orlando is 100% theming. Even a train trip at Disneyland has things to see along the way; very rarely do you get a backstage glimpse that breaks the wall of Fantasy. Not so in Orlando; there are constant reminders that this is a theme park and operations are nearby. The Frontierland train depot seems to lack an authentic flavor as well.



The riverbanks are beautiful, and it's nice to see them uncluttered by all the equipment of Fantasmic or the Pirate overlay that Anaheim has. For once, Orlando has the leg-up on "charming."





I’d still take the Twain over the Liberty Belle though!





A quick lunch back at Main Street afforded the opportunity of hearing the Dapper Dans—yeah!



One more trip on the Jungle Cruise (Dough hadn't been on the WDW version yet) and then it was time to leave.



Another good JC Skipper (2 for 2!) and this time, in the daylight, I was able to get a few more shots that I’d missed on my previous ride at dusk.





A dark one from the tunnel:



And the east-coast version of Trader Sam:



Dough actually preferred the WDW Jungle Cruise; I like many of the elements (especially the tunnel!), but don’t know if I prefer it or not.

And that folks is the end of my trip report. It was a rush back to the Polynesian to check out and head back to the airport. It really was an excellent trip, and I only wish I'd had 2 more days to spend more leisurely time in Animal Kingdom as well as a day to lounge at the Polynesian—it truly is a wonderful resort. Hope you enjoyed my trip as much as I did!

See more WDW Animal Kingdom photos at my website.

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