Space Mountain - 33rd Anniversary!

Thirty three years ago today, Space Mountain opened at Disneyland. About two months after it opened, my grandparents took my brother and me to the park to check it out. I still remember sitting in the front seat with my grandfather for that very first ride and the excitement of not knowing exactly what to expect.

Below, is the park entertainment guide that I saved from that day.

Here's a photo that I took with my Kodak 126 Instamatic camera during that visit. Doesn't the whole Space Mountain Complex look bright and shiny and new? Hey Disney, bring back the Speed Ramp, the Space Mountain Stage, and the Space Place Restaurant!

Prior to this visit, I was clipping and saving everything that was written about the new attraction, including this L.A. Times article that reported on the opening day ceremony and "inaugural flight."

This photo ran in the local newspaper. I have saved these newspaper clippings for thirty three years!

I bought the Space Mountain set of Pana-Vue slides about thirty years ago, but never realized until now that the people in this particular slide are the same people in the photo above. I wonder where these people are today? Hey, that guy in the second row is looking at the camera.....BAD MODEL!

When I ride Space Mountain today, I often think back to when I rode it that first time with my grandfather. My grandparents actually took us back to the park seven months later and I was able to ride it with him again. (I also rode Colossus at Magic Mountain for the first time with my grandfather after it opened in 1978....but that's the subject for a future post!)

Happy Birthday, Space Mountain!

The View From Club 33

This is the 7th and final part to my Disneyland "Club 33" series.

Today we will take a look at the view from Club 33's windows and balconies. All of the French doors in the Main Dining Room open out onto balconies.


Of all the times that I have been to Disneyland, I've never seen people standing out on the balconies above New Orlean's Square. Have I just never looked up and noticed, or is it something that Club 33 diners tend not to do? Once our server told us that we were welcome to open the doors and go outside, I wasn't going to pass up the chance.

These next two photos were taken from the balcony on the east side of the Main Dining Room, looking across Royal St. towards the stairway of the Disney Dream Suite (formerly The Disney Gallery.)

This shot was taken from the same balcony, but from around the corner looking back at Royal St. The shop below is what used to be the One-Of-A-Kind Antique Shop....I don't know what it is called now, but it's the shop that carries all the Jack Skellington merchandise.

This shot was taken from the corner of the balcony looking back towards the Blue Bayou Restaurant.

Here's the exit to Pirates of the Caribbean......

....and here's the Blue Bayou. That fourth doorway on the right is the entrance to Club 33. The space upstairs is Club 33's Trophy Room.

As mentioned in an earlier post, Club 33 gets it's name from it's street address, "33 Royal St." Just in case anyone is keeping track....the Blue Bayou's address is "31" and the shop next door is "35 Royal St." The umbrellas in the bottom right corner are for the Portrait Artists. Later, we'll see another shot of them taken from the Trophy Room across the way.

This balcony is accessed from the west end of the Main Dining Room and faces north towards the Rivers of America.

The view directly below is of the Cafe Orleans Restaurant.

The Rivers of America were still drained at the time of this visit. The Mark Twain Riverboat can be seen off to the left under tarps.

That same balcony wraps around the building to the side facing Orleans Street.

The shop across the street used to be Mlle. Antoinette's Parfumerie. The old sign in the shape of a perfume bottle still exists and can be seen (partially) in the photos above and below. I don't remember what is in this shop space today.

Here's the view looking down Orleans Street.....

....and here comes Princess Tiana!

This is the view from a window in Lounge Alley.

And this shot was taken from a window on the other side of Lounge Alley, looking down at "35 Royal St."......

....and the Blue Bayou entrance.

Now we'll take a quick look out the windows of the Trophy Room.

Here's the view looking down at Royal St. That second story that we see over the street is part of Lounge Alley.

If we pan to the right, we see musical instruments that have been left out on the balcony across the way.

And looking straight down, we see the Portrait Artist's cart and umbrellas.

Well, this wraps up my Club 33 series of posts. I hope everyone enjoyed the tour!

The Merchandise of Club 33

This is Part 6 of my Disneyland "Club 33" series.

Below, is the merchandise cabinet at Club 33. The merchandise inside is specific to Club 33 and is only available to club members and guests.


The upper part of the cabinet holds a baseball cap, mugs, glasses, key chains, pins......

.....boxed note cards, mouse ears, and even a bath robe.

You can see in the close-up below that there is also a Christmas ornament featuring the vulture from the Trophy Room.

The lower level of the cabinet has various articles of clothing....polo shirts, jackets, sweaters and even a Club 33 tote bag.

Here's a close-up of the key chain......

......and the lapel pin.

In 2007, a special set of note cards was available commemorating Club 33's 40th anniversary. Each card featured original concept art.

All four sketches are of the Trophy Room.

The fireplace and the special cabinet hanging above the diners all made it into the final design and still exist today (see my last post.)

This large hutch also exists today and can be seen in my last post.

The animal heads have all been removed from this room.

This giant mastodon tusk has also been removed.

Well, that's it for today. In my next post, we'll take a look at the view from Club 33's windows and balconies .

Lounge Alley & More At Club 33

This is Part 5 of my Disneyland "Club 33" series.

This is Lounge Alley. Lounge Alley leads to Club 33's Main Dining Room, which we saw in my last post. It's also the location of Club 33's bar.


Located just across from the bar is this custom-designed harpsichord.


The painting on the inside of the lid depicts New Orleans harbor in the nineteenth century.

Here is the view of Lounge Alley from the opposite end. In the distance is a very unique antique table.

We were told by the staff that the table was carved out of a single piece of wood.

Here's another one-of-a-kind antique. We were told by a cast member that this table is in the Guinness Book of World Records......for the world's longest handstand. (Groan!) Hey, I didn't come up with it, I'm just repeating it!

This side table is from the film, Mary Poppins. It was used in the foyer of the Banks' home.

Here's a photo showing Shirley Temple presenting Walt Disney with a specially designed Oscar for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

And here's a painting by Disney artist, Charles Boyer. It depicts Walt sitting in the finished Club 33 and enjoying the view from one of it's windows....something he never was able to do.

The window in the photo below is actually located directly over Royal St, which runs underneath this part of Club 33. We'll see a photo of the view from this window in an upcoming post. The cabinet to the right holds Club 33 merchandise that is available to Club 33 members and guests. We'll take a look at some of the merchandise in a future post as well.

And now for a sneak peak inside the men's room.

Special paper hand towels are available.

Don't forget to WASH YOUR HANDS!

This is a working "water closet" type of toilet. Just pull the chain on the left and gravity will bring the water which is stored in the wooden cabinet above, down into the toilet bowel. Ingenious!

A lighting fixture located just inside the restroom.....

....and a picture that hangs on one of the restroom walls.

Next time we'll take a look at The Merchandise of Club 33, followed by my final post of this series, The View from Club 33.