Friday, April 22, 2011

Easter 1972 - "A Vintage Disneyland Trip Report" or "Disneyland Through The Eyes Of A Child"

Today, we're going to be taking a little trip back in time.......back to Easter Vacation of 1972 to be exact (it wasn't called Spring Break back then.) In my previous "Vintage Trip Reports", I've been able to recall quite a bit of information from past trips to the park because I was in my teens or twenties, but since this is the furthest back I've ever gone with one of these, I won't be able to recall too many of the specifics from the trip. However, I do remember this visit to the park.....and here are some of the souvenirs I've saved from that special day, 39 years ago!

First up is the entertainment guide.



The Sound Castle was performing that week. I wonder if they sang Sugar Sugar? I'm assuming Kurt Russell wasn't performing with them. This would have been two years after they appeared on the "Disneyland Showtime" episode of the "Wonderful World of Color."



Here's a little extra information from 1972......Easter Sunday was on April 2nd that year. I'm not sure when during that week that we went to the park, but Country Bear Jamboree opened on March 4, 1972, so it had been open for only about a month. The Main St. Electrical Parade had not started yet...it's Disneyland premiere was just two months away (June 17, 1972).



This is the Guide Book from the visit. It's in mint condition....unlike the entertainment guide above.



Now we will take a look at the park through the eyes (and the lens) of a 10- year-old child. These photos were all taken by my older brother who had recently received his very first camera.

The obligatory Castle shot.......



Incidentally, the borders of these photos show that this roll of film was not developed until June of that year!







A bit of the Small World clock.....and a whole lot of sky!



Facing into the sun.......



The PeopleMover was only five years old here....bring it back, I say!



Enjoy this photo of the Monorail track (sans Monorail) over a Sub-less Submarine lagoon, because this is the clearest picture of the bunch.....but hey, my brother was 10 years old, so let's cut him some slack! I got my first camera when I was 10 and Disneyland was also one of my first photographic subjects. I will post those photos in the future.



Taken from the Swiss Family Treehouse.....



I believe this one was taken from the Hungry Bear Restaurant.



So, Country Bear Jamboree was brand-spanking new. I do remember seeing it for the very first time on that trip. I also remember that we did eat at the Hungry Bear Restaurant and that we went into Teddi Barra's Swingin' Arcade. The arcade used to have some unique games themed to Country Bear Jamboree and it's cast of characters. Among those machines in the arcade, there was one that dispensed postcards featuring Marc Davis' concept art for the show. The arcade at the exit to Pirates of the Caribbean had a similar machine with Marc Davis concept art for POTC, but it dispensed bundles of postcards and there were two sets total. The CBJ postcards were dispensed separately. Later, when I was in my teens, I was able to collect the whole set of postcards. I will post all of them in the future if anyone is interested. These are the two cards that my brother and I received from the machine that very day back in 1972.





Today, the old arcade space is occupied by the Pooh's Corner souvenir shop, but if you look up at the exterior of the building, you can still see a reminder of what used to be there.



And over at the Hungry Bear Restaurant, there is another reminder today of the gang that used to inhabit this corner of the park. If you ask me, I say EVICT POOH and bring back Country Bear Jamboree!





Last up for today, we have one final souvenir from that 1972 trip. It's a Disneyland Dial Guide. They sold these up until the 80's and I have several other versions of them, but this one is my favorite because it is the oldest one that I have AND because it includes my all-time favorite Disneyland attraction, the Carousel of Progress. (I also remember seeing that during this visit. We always went in the Carousel of Progress and Adventure Thru Inner Space since they were both super cool attractions and did not require a ticket for admission!)



The numbered dial that sticks out of the bottom of the map is cut off in these scans and once again, I have to blame my scanner for being too small! The directions are printed on the map, but basically you find an attraction on the back that you want to visit and turn the dial until that attraction's number is visible below the arrow at the bottom of the map. It will then show you where on the map that attraction is located as well as giving you a brief description of the attraction in the small window on the back. The Dial Guide measures approximately 9" x 11" and could be mailed.



Well, that's it for today. I hope everyone enjoyed this 1972 trip to Disneyland. Happy Easter!

14 comments:

Connie Moreno said...

Holy cow, I had NEVER even heard of a dial map!!!! So very cool!!! This was a great post and lots of fun. I agree with you, EVICT Pooh!

I could kick myself for not keeping anything from my childhood visits. I guess I figured why bother, I'm a local and I can always go back. DUMB!

Cousin Orville said...

I love that they've kept up so many remnants of the Country Bears despite the removal of the attraction several years ago already. You can still see signs of them throughout Bear Country -- even in the restrooms at Hungry Bear. And don't forget to look for Max, Buff, and Melvin next time you go for a ride on Pooh! :)

http://findingmickey.squarespace.com/other-hidden-dl/critter-country/1614050?originalSize=true

Yellows said...

Love the dial guide! I never bought one, but I remember seeing them in all of the postcard racks long ago.

Bring back the PeopleMover!

Dan Alexander said...

Thanks for a cool Easter treat, TokyoMagic! Great mementos there!

Major Pepperidge said...

So much hate for Pooh! I think it's an OK ride (although my 8 year old niece refused to go on it with me because she was already too cool for it!). I know that Country Bears was beloved by many - not by me quite as much. Heresy!

I thought I read that Max, Buff, and Melvin had been removed from the Pooh ride, does anybody know if that is the case?

MIKE COZART said...

You did not eat at the HUNGRY BEAR RESTAURANT on your visit to Disneyland in 1972. You ate ate the GOLDEN BEAR LODGE!!

I really miss original BEAR COUNTRY--talk about a "Dump-anything in it land" now. I always loved the details of this area-especially the Teddi Barra's Swingin' Arcade signpost lantern. A great authentic period detail!!Bill Martin was a master at this kinda thing. Even though the False Front still reads "Swinging Arcade", the four sided sign post was replaced with odd "classic Pooh images" then about a year or so ago---completely removed!
For awhile the origianal GOMER's LAIR & TRIXIE's POWDER ROOM restroom signs were hanging above the bathrooms to the Hungry Bear Restaurant--these were relocated from the Bear Country Miner's Union Hall building that was razed to make way for Splash Mountain. The signs now are copies of the originals. I've got about a half dozen pieces of original Bear Country signage in my collection.

TokyoMagic! said...

Thank you everyone, for the nice comments!

Major, I had heard that rumor too, but the heads of Max, Buff and Melvin are still hanging in the Pooh attraction today.

Mike, I forgot that the Hungry Bear Restaurant was called The Golden Bear Lodge during it's first year of operation....thanks for the correction!

Daveland said...

Bring back the Dial Map - and the CBJ, too!

Snow White Archive said...

Terrific post Tokyo! It's wonderful that you still have the dial and other guides. Some real DL history.

And I dig the photos...seriously. "Disneyland through the eyes of a 10 year old." Could be a documentary :)

Eeyore looks slightly menacing to the kids in that shot.

Marilyn @ our cheap disney vacation said...

very, very cool. I love your brother's 10 year old photograph flare coming through!

I loved the people mover! What were they thinking!?!?

Anonymous said...

BTW...it's not a rumor. One of the sets of heads was removed and transferred to the archive in Glendale. See this article. There were 2 theaters.

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2010/06/26/disney-archives-disney-museum-glendale-disney-history/

...But It Wasn't Always That Way! said...

That dial guide is so great! (And only $65 on ebay!) I think that's one of the best illustrated maps of Disneyland I've ever seen, and I'm an illustrator. :-) It even has the show buildings on there. Bold!

Chuck said...

At least you have photos that you and your brother took at Disneyland as a kid. I got my first camera when I was 9, more than a year after my last childhood visit to DL. I have no excuse for not taking any photos at WDW the next year, though.

The poems on the postcards fascinate me. They're based on the lyrics of the intro song from the original CBJ show, but they're slightly different. I wonder if these were based on a draft script?

TokyoMagic! said...

Chuck, that is a good question. That poem for "Cousin Zeb" is very close to the final lyrics in the song, while the one for "Little Ol' Tennessee Bear" is almost completely different. Now I'll have to check out the postcards for the other characters in the show and see how well they match up to the final product. Perhaps these poems were based on an early draft as you suggested, or maybe the script/song was based on these early pieces of artwork and their accompanying descriptions.