Mustaches at Disneyland

We have just a quickie post for today (oh my gosh...two posts in one month!!!). This is a Los Angeles Times article from the year 2000, about how the cast members at Disneyland were finally being allowed to have mustaches.

The ban on facial hair was established by Walt Disney in 1957. That's kind of funny, considering he himself had a mustache. "Do as I say, not as I do!"

I also think it's funny that by the time mustaches were finally allowed, the workers didn't even care since most of them didn't want to have JUST a mustache. "You'd look like one of the Village People"......HA, HA! I'm assuming the cast member who said that was fairly young, and I'm surprised he even knew who the Village People were! At least he got his wish for the company to start allowing goatees. Beards and goatees were finally allowed on cast members, starting in February of 2012. I wonder if that cast member was still working there, 12 years later? I know....it's highly unlikely!

Tragic Kingdom....

Today's post can be placed under the heading of, "Tragic Kingdom."

First up, we have two cartoons from The Los Angeles Times. Both are referencing the measles outbreak that affected more than 140 people here in the U.S. and spread to Canada and Mexico, as well. The outbreak was traced back to Disneyland, with a starting time of December 2014. Four months later, the California Department of Public Health reported that there were no new cases within the U.S. (from this particular outbreak), and that nobody had died. The outbreak sparked a national debate over vaccinations, because most of the people that were affected had not been vaccinated.

This first cartoon is by political cartoonist and illustrator, Ed Hall. I like how he incorporated the Disneyland sign, which used to stand at the entrance of the old Disneyland parking lot from 1989 to 1999.

And this one is by political cartoonist, Tom Meyer. It might be a little difficult to make out, but the back of the mom's T-shirt reads, "Moms Against Vaccines."

Next we have an undated article from The Los Angeles Times. I am guessing that it is from the 1990's, but maybe somebody out there remembers this story and will chime in with the year or at least confirm the decade. (Post Update: Meet The World reader, "Chuck" has posted a comment below with a date of April 16th, 1981, for this incident. Thank you, Chuck!)

I cut out this next article when I was very young. It is one of the two oldest newspaper clippings I have related to Disneyland. I believe it is from around the approximate time period of 1974-1976. I remember cutting it out of my Grandmother's local newspaper, The Daily Breeze, which serves the South Bay area of Southern California. I also think I shared this one during "current events" at school.

This incident is much more recent (May 28, 2013). It turned out to be a Disneyland cast member that had put the dry ice into a bottle and placed it in the trash can.

I decided to include this Knott's Berry Farm Log Ride incident that occurred in 2014 (the article is from 2015).

Happy Birthday to L.A., From Disneyland! - 1980

Here's another item from 30 years ago. It's a ninety-six page special supplement to the Los Angeles Times. Even though Los Angeles celebrated it's 200th birthday in 1981, this insert was included in an August 1980 edition of the newspaper.

So far, the newspaper articles and ads that I have posted have all been from my personal collection that I started as a child. However, this supplement was recently found in a box in my mom's garage, where it has been sitting for the past 30 years....that's why it is a little warped and distorted. If I had a scanner that was big enough, I could have pressed it flat, but since it would not fit on my scanner, I had to use my camera to take pictures of both the cover and this Disneyland advertisement.

There are also some advertisements/birthday greetings from other companies including many that no longer exist today, such as Bullock's, The Broadway, Ohrbach's, May Co., Robinson's (before the "Robinson's-May" merge), Alpha Beta, Barker Bros., American Savings, Crocker Bank and Western Airlines. Oh, and just days after mentioning Pat Boone and Hoffy hot dogs in my last post, look what I happened to find in this insert!

Pat Boone says, "Hooray for Hoffy! Hooray for L.A.!", but there's no mention of Hoffy being the official "meat product" of Knott's Berry Farm. Those commercials have to exist somewhere!

The insert also contains an interesting article (along with artwork) about what L.A. might look like in 100 years. The Los Angeles Central Library building is visible in the lower right corner of the second pic below. The other buildings kind of look like something out of "Logan's Run."

In addition to L.A.'s possible future, there are many photos from L.A.'s past, including pics of the Hollywood Bowl, the Chinese Theater, Angel's Flight, the Music Center, Tail O' The Pup, the Greek Theater, the La Brea Tar Pits, Watts Towers, the Bradbury Building, etc.

If anyone is interested in owning this Los Angeles Times supplement from 1980, here is a link to a site that has a copy of it for sale. I do not know this dealer or anything about their reputability, and I am not endorsing them. I'm just passing along information that I came across while I was doing research on Los Angeles' Bicentennial.

Well, since 2011 is just around the corner....Happy 230th Birthday, Los Angeles!

Knott's - 30 Years Ago and A Goldie's Update

Today, we have another Los Angeles Times newspaper advertisement from thirty years ago. This one is for three different events that were held at Knott's Berry Farm back in 1980.


First we have Jubilation, which was an annual event that focused on contemporary Christian music. Then there was the Knott's Country Music Party. This particular year featured Debby Boone who's humongous hit song, "You Light Up My Life" was the most successful single of the 1970's, reaching number one on the Billboard charts in 1977 and staying there for 10 consecutive weeks! (I'm still looking for those TV commercials which featured her father, Pat Boone promoting Hoffy Hot Dogs as "the official hot dog of Knott's Berry Farm".) And then there's Halloween Haunt, which is still going strong today. Back then, the Haunts were held only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and for only two short weeks. Now, the Haunt nights begin in September (tonight marks the first Haunt of the 2010 season) and are scheduled Wednesdays through Sundays for the entire month of October. Notice the price of the Haunt tickets back in 1980. Haunt tickets for this year are $56.00! To see some photos from a Halloween Haunt in the '80's, including a shot of Elvira performing live on stage, (click here).

Next, we have a Goldie's Place update. My last Goldie's report showed demolition photos and then new construction photos taken one, two and three weeks later. Well, I missed out on getting any photos at the four week mark, but the following photos were taken last weekend, only five weeks after demolition had begun on the original structure.

Is that an original window being used on the ground floor?

The two windows upstairs (on the side of the building) also appear to be older. Would they use the original window frames on the new structure?

Well, this answered my question from my last post....the outhouse is being rebuilt! And it looks like at least one of those wooden panels laying around a couple weeks ago was from the original structure and is being reused as well.

That roof might even be original! Perhaps blogger OutsideTheBerm can tell us for sure.

Grad Nite Tragedy at Disneyland - June 1980

The article below appeared in the L.A. Times, following the death of a Grad Nite guest who had climbed out of a PeopleMover vehicle.

Knott's, 30 Years Ago - Part 1

Well, I went digging through my collection of Knott's memorabilia to try and find more info on the conversion of the Camp Snoopy Funhouse into the Beary Tales Playhouse, but I couldn't find the employee newsletter that I had mentioned in my last post. However, while looking through things, I did find some other cool stuff to post so hopefully nobody is tired of Knott's right now!

Thirty years ago, Disneyland was celebrating it's 25th anniversary and they started out the year with a special advertising supplement in the Los Angeles Times. But it just so happpened that Knott's was having an anniversary that year as well. Knott's was celebrating it's 60th anniversary, and six months after the Disneyland supplement came out in the L.A. Times, Knott's had a special supplement of their own. I remember wondering if this was just in response to Disneyland's year-long advertising campaign. Maybe Knott's felt like they had to do something too? After all, I don't remember Knott's doing anything special in the park that year (no parades, special merchandise, etc.) Anyway, here is that L.A. Times insert from 30 years ago!

Hey, John Wayne's "block" is loose! Oops, wrong tourst attraction......

Hey, whatever happened to Security Pacific....and Crocker Bank, and First Interstate, and American Savings, and Great Western? All swallowed up by the giants, I guess.

Knott's had given a nod to Disneyland in their supplement earlier that year ("The Place Next Door Has Mice!"), so Disney returned the favor.

WHERE IS THE ORIGINAL BERRY STAND??? Okay, okay...I accept the fact that the one that was torn down for Silver Bullet wasn't actually the ORIGINAL Berry Stand. But shouldn't the park have some sort of representation of it?

Note that the train station isn't next to the tracks yet. It would not be moved over until 1985.

At the "Knott's Preserved" event on Sunday, Eddie Soto showed us his artwork (including the sketch seen below) for the conversion of the Motorcycle Chase attraction into the Wacky Soapbox Racers.

I'm still looking for those 1970's Hoffy Hot Dog commercials filmed at Knott's with Pat Boone. I've only been able to find a couple references online that even mention him being the Hoffy spokesperson. I wonder why those commercials wouldn't be on YouTube? I thought EVERYTHING could be found on YouTube!

I'll post the second half of this supplement in my next post. In the meantime, if you would like to see the entire Disneyland L.A. Times supplement from that same year check out Vintage Disneyland Tickets' posting of it (HERE) and scroll to the bottom of the post for the link to the pdf file.

Magic Kingdom Wrapping Paper

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Many years ago, while shopping at a "Lucky's" Grocery Store here in Southern California (hello, Stephanie Edwards!), I stumbled across the ultimate Disney wrapping paper. It features photographs of both Disneyland and Walt Disney World at Christmastime.

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Above, we can see one of the "silly" reindeer costumes that were used for many years in the parks. Tokyo Disneyland actually still uses these costumes! I prefer the "silly" version over the ones now used at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Call me a traditionalist!

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The shot of the Christmas tree and Dickens carolers was taken in Disneyland's Town Square.
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The picture of the Castle and Horse Drawn Streetcar is of course, from Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

This photo of Minnie was taken at Disneyland. She is standing on the North Pole Post Office float from the Very Merry Christmas Parade.

And last but not least...the photo on the left shows the title float for the Very Merry Christmas Parade. The words just above the parade title read, "Walt Disney World." The photo on the right shows musicians playing in front of one of the Tomorrowland entrance planters at Disneyland. It's a little difficult to make out in the scan, but Alpine Gardens and the Matterhorn are behind them.
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I was a kid when I got this wrapping paper....and I did actually use a small amount of it, but then I tucked the rest of the roll away and have kept it all these years!

Pearl Bailey At Disneyland!

Pearl's Here! Showcased on Disneyland's all new "Rivers of America" floating stage! This was before the hideous and permanent Fantasmic stage existed. The floating stage was smaller and floated out in front of the Old Mill on Tom Sawyer Island. This ad ran in the L.A. Times on Wednesday, November 24th, 1976 and was advertising the park's entertainment for Thanksgiving weekend.

In addition to Pearl Bailey, we have the big band sounds led by Louie Bellson, Les Brown and Teddy Buckner. Over in Tomorrowland, there's Papa Doo Run Run and Sunshine Balloon! And this is all at regular admission prices! Don't forget that Disneyland is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays!

Let's flash forward now to 1981. Disney's "The Fox and the Hound" is released that year and Pearl Bailey provides the voice of the character Big Mama. And THEN, that summer...she's back! Back at Disneyland and back on the Rivers of America floating stage! I saw her at Disneyland that summer. She came out and did a set of songs including "The Best Of Friends," from "The Fox and the Hound." She was wonderful. I have a whole series of photos from that day (looks like I will have to do another vintage trip report!) but out of all the photos I took, I wish I had taken just one photo of Pearl Bailey performing on that stage, but alas I did not!

And in case you were wondering what's on the reverse side of this vintage Disneyland advertisement.....it's an ad for another Southern California attraction!

I loved Busch Gardens in Van Nuys and still miss it to this very day!

I want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving Weekend at Disneyland - 1984

Today we have an L.A. Times Disneyland advertisement for Thanksgiving Weekend of 1984. Matthew Wilder was appearing at the park! This was one year after his song "Break My Stride" reached #5 on the Billboard chart. Turns out the song that's listed in the ad, "Bouncing Off The Wall" only hit #52 on the chart. Maybe that's why I don't remember that one. I was wondering what he's been up to since then, so I Googled him. Turns out he has been a record producer for artists such as Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson and No Doubt (he produced their album, "Tragic Kingdom") He was also the singing voice of Ling in the Disney film, "Mulan" and was nominated for an Academy Award for his collaboration on the film's original music score!

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Oh yeah, and the Dazz Band and New Edition were also at the park. I've never heard of that Dazz Band song that's mentioned in the advertisement either. Their biggest hit was the Grammy winning song, "Let It Whip," which hit #5 on the Billboard chart and #1 on the R & B chart. And just FYI.....New Edition's "Cool It Now" reached #4 on the Billboard chart and #1 on the R & B charts.

Making it's debut at the park that year, was the Country Bear Jamboree Christmas show and there was also a new film in the Circle Vision Theater. Check out this post over at Vintage Disneyland Tickets for the park brochure from that same Thanksgiving weekend. It includes ticket prices and additional entertainment information!

A Vintage Disneyland Trip Report From 1982 - Part 1

Well it's November and you know what that means....Mickey turns another year older on the 18th! He's a Scorpio! Let's go back to the early 80's when his birthday used to be the cause for a month-long celebration at the park. That's right, it's Mickey's Month at Disneyland!

You met my friend "Alvin" (or at least his reflection in the window of the Candy Palace) during my vintage trip report from November, 1980 (link). Now it's November of 1982 and my friend "Tonya" is going with me on this trip. My friend Alvin and I were still going to the park together...I was lucky enough to have two fellow Disneyland-obsessed friends to go to the park with. In fact, I'm still good friends to this day with both Alvin and Tonya!

So anyway, it's November 1982 and when we first arrive at the park, we find that they are handing something out to all guests at the entrance. Hey, it's Mickey's birthday, but WE get the gifts...lucky us! The gift is a spongy bath mitt in the shape of Mickey. It has now been stored in a box in the dark for 27 years, but somehow the color faded around the edges anyway. How does that happen?


While we're at the main gate, we better pick up the entertainment brochure for the day. Hmmm, I don't want to miss the birthday parade. And how about that Mickey's Birthday Lunch at the Space Place? Maybe we should eat over there since someday that will be turned into the entrance and Fast Pass area for Space Mountain.

Now we're in the Plaza and there's a huge birthday cake sitting in the center planter (Mickey, Walt...are you under there?) Hey, where are all the people?

That cake is making me hungry. Let's head on over to the Space Place in Tomorrowland for that birthday lunch. Looks like the Mousketeers are going to be back on the Space Stage once again. We've seen their reunion show before (see the link above for my 1980 trip report), so maybe we'll just skip the show this time. I love the openness of the Space Stage area though. Too bad they had to wall it all in and put a ceiling over it. It ruined the whole feel of the original Space Mountain complex.

Well, the meal has been served, along with a piece of birthday cake and here comes our free birthday balloon....free with the price of the lunch, that is. Suzy (or is it Perla?) from Cinderella is helping the cast member hand out the balloons.

Here comes the guest of honor, Mickey himself! Let's all sing happy birthday to him!

Oh, and here's the birthday hat that was included with the meal. I think I'll save mine for a few years. Well, at least 27 years. Okay, maybe longer!

Now let's go check out the birthday parade.

By the way, I wish Disneyland would sell the parade soundtracks for ALL of their parades like Tokyo Disneyland does!

Hey Mickey, you turned around....and Minnie, you're blocking your face! Don't you hate it when that happens? Oh well!

Look, the American Egg House is still open with outdoor patio dining! Why isn't this space still a restaurant today?

Well, that's it for today, but how about a "part two" to this vintage trip report? A "part two" where Tonya and I board the Skyway in Tomorrowland for a ROUND TRIP ride over Fantasyland to view the demolition and construction for the all "new" Fantasyland. Stay tuned!

POST UPDATE: For part two of this trip report, click here.