A Vintage Disneyland Trip Report - July 1994

Just six months after my January 1994 trip to Disneyland, I returned to the park for another visit.

They were finally handing out 1994 guidebooks at the entrance!  If you read the trip report about my January 1994 visit, you might remember that 30 days into the new year, they were still giving out 1993 guidebooks!

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin attraction had opened just 6 months earlier.  This is the attraction's final scene, where Roger helps you escape through his "portable hole."

I'm glad that I took this pic of the Dumbo band organ (located behind the Dumbo The Flying Elephant attraction), because I believe it now just sits there and no longer operates.  According to Wikipedia, the circa 1915 band organ can be heard over a mile away, "so it is rarely played."  However, when the band organ debuted at the park in 1983, it played regularly, and that continued at least through the 1990s.  In addition to it playing music, it's front doors would open every so many minutes and a miniature "Dumbo" would pop out, almost like a cuckoo clock.  The last time I checked, the doors were not opening, Dumbo was not "popping out," and the music was pre-recorded instead of being played live.

Skyway bucket alert! (Between the two "Dumbos" on the right.)  Sadly, the Skyway would be ripped out, in just about 3 months.  My friend (seen below), had also gone to the park with me on that January 1994 trip, which I posted about earlier this year.

A shot of the first scene, in "Pinocchio's Daring Journey":

The previous summer, Aladdin's Oasis had replaced the Tahitian Terrace in Adventureland.  Dinner at the new restaurant included a live Aladdin-themed show, but that came to an end just one month after these photos were taken, and only about fourteen months after it debuted.

The structure remained standing for almost 25 years, despite being grossly underused as mostly just a character "meet 'n greet" and "storytelling" location.  In 2018, the Aladdin-themed structures were torn down, and the space was converted into the "Tropical Hideaway," a quick-service food location.

This tower was located around the corner from the main entrance to Aladdin's Oasis, and faced the Jungle Cruise's unloading dock and exit.  This elevated view was actually taken from the upper level of the Jungle Cruise queue.  Notice the finial on top of the tower, in the shape of the magic lamp.

Even though the Indiana Jones Adventure attraction would not be opening for another 8 months, the construction wall had recently been taken down, and guests were now allowed to walk around in the queue area.

These next two photos were taken from the ramp leading up to the temple's entrance.  You can see that the entrance was boarded up, and included signage stating, "DANGER!", "Excavation in Progress", and "DO NOT ENTER."

 

Next, we have over a dozen photos of "The Lion King Celebration" parade.  The parade had debuted the previous month, and ended up running for three full years.  That was a pretty long run for a daytime parade.

Leading the parade were two rhinoceroses, being portrayed by two performers, inside each costume.

This figure of Zazu on the first float, was the first time Audio-Animatronics were ever used in a Disneyland parade.  There was also a Rafiki "costumed character" (not visible here), who stood just on the other side of Zazu.

These giraffes would lower and raise their heads throughout the parade.  They were the first usage of what Disney was calling, "Puppetronics," in a parade.

All of the performers in the parade were supposed to be representing animals.

This float featured a working waterfall, just below the elephant.  And the elephant itself (another "Puppetronic"), sprayed water from it's trunk.  I'm not sure when this "spraying the guests with water" trend began, but it had been used in the park's previous parade, "Aladdin's Royal Caravan."  That parade featured two large camels that would "spit" on the guests.  I included photos of those camels in my "vintage trip report," from January of this year.

The back end of this "swinging monkeys" float included a Pumba puppet, but I didn't get a shot of him during this visit.  I took more pictures of this parade, over the course of it's three-year run.  I will post those photos as I continue to do more of these "vintage trip report" posts, from the 1990s.

This particular performer was a "stilt walker."

This was just one of several musicians featured in the parade.

The last float represented "Pride Rock," from the animated film.

 

 Simba was featured on top of Pride Rock......

 

 

.....and Nala was positioned just below him.

Simba and Nala were two more examples of the use of "Puppetronics" in the parade.  Both figures would move their heads and blink.  Simba would also open his mouth to roar, and Nala was able to tap her right paw up and down to the beat of the music.

By the way, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of "The Lion King," in theaters!

At the end of the day, I upgraded my one-day park ticket to an annual pass.  (For the "upgrade," they would deduct the cost of your one-day ticket, from the price of the annual pass.)  I had previously had an annual pass beginning in 1983, the very first year that they were available (to Magic Kingdom Club Members only, at first), up until the late 1980s.  After experiencing a little bit of burnout from going to the park so regularly, I took a little break for a few years, and pretty much reduced my park visits to about once a year.  That would change now, with the purchase of this new annual pass.

The 1994 Guidebook was very similar to the 1993 version, which I posted in January of this year.  I am only including here, the pages that were different from the 1993 version.  Please go back to that older post, if you want to see the other pages.

Is there still a "Magic Years Club," and does Disney still offer a discount to Seniors over the age of 60?

The Toontown pages were almost identical to the 1993 guide, with the exception of the photo on the lower left, and the addition of "Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin" to the list of attractions.  Also, there was a "Toontown Camera Window," where you could purchase film, cameras, and accessories, listed in the 1993 guide.  It's missing in this 1994 version.

"The Fox and the Hound" was released on video that year, for the very first time.

At the very bottom of the list of trivia (under "Landscaping"), it states that one of the original trees from the orange groves that existed, prior to construction of the park, was still standing.  It could be found in the Oriental Gardens of the Disneyland Hotel.  What happened to that tree, when the gardens were bulldozed for the construction of Downtown Disney?  I have never heard any other mention of it.

The "Kodak Picture Tips" information remained the same from 1993 to 1994, but three of the four photo examples changed.

The back cover of the guide:

After purchasing an annual passport, I began making more frequent trips to the park.  I will continue to post the photos that I took during those visits.  And since I purchased quite a few souvenirs during this time period, I will also continue to include some of those items in each post.

This three-dimensional magnet is one of the items I bought within this mid-1990s period.  I had it stored away in a box for years, but then one day, I decided that I should have it out where I can enjoy it.  I probably put it on my refrigerator about 10 years ago.  It remained safe there until only recently, when I accidentally knocked it off.  It's 2 inches thick, so it sticks WAY out from the refrigerator!  If you look closely, you can see where the tops of some of the Castle's turrets were chipped.  I would have rather had dents!  Oh, well!  I guess it's better to have it out where I can see it, instead of just stored away and out of sight.

And this is another magnet that I purchased in the mid-nineties.  It came from the Le Gourmet Shop in New Orleans Square.....I don't remember seeing it for sale anywhere else in the park.

The magnet is made of plaster, and it still has the price tag attached to the back.

I hope everyone enjoyed this 30-year old trip report, from July of 1994!

****BONUS****

For anyone who is interested, here's a video I shot in 1995, of the Dumbo band organ.

And here is footage of the entire "Lion King Celebration" parade, which I shot in 1996.

 

Donald Duck's 90th Birthday (Toys, Books, Records & More) - Mega Post!

Donald Duck is celebrating his 90th birthday this month.  Gee, it seems like only yesterday, he was turning 50!

That year was 1984, and Disneyland was hosting a big "50th" birthday celebration for him.

This Disneyland entertainment guide for the week of June 18, 1984, lists a special birthday parade, and two different birthday shows.  One of the shows was presented at Carnation Gardens, and the other took place on the steps of the Main Street train station.

The guide included these two advertisements.  The Olympic Games were being held in Los Angeles that summer, and Disney was selling a special "Olympic Spirit Passport," which came with a solid bronze medal.

Magic Journey's was premiering at Disneyland that summer, after debuting at EPCOT Center, two years earlier.  The 3-D film was shown at Disneyland, outdoors at the Space Mountain Stage, and only at night.

The $1.50 price for Donald's "50th birthday party" (listed above in the upper left corner), included this button, which was not sold anywhere else in the park.

A specially designed waxed paper cup was used throughout the park, at all of the quick-service food locations.

I picked up this 1984 Walt Disney World guide, at Disneyland's Carefree Corner (on Main Street).  The cover featured Donald wearing a party hat.

A similar image was used for the Summer 1984 issue of Disney News Magazine:

The cover of the Summer 1984 issue of Vacationland Magazine was also celebrating Donald's milestone birthday, with artwork by noted Disney artist, Charles Boyer.

Both magazines contained the same two articles, dedicated to Donald's birthday.

This first article discusses the upcoming plans for Donald's birthday, including a 15-city tour, getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a television special, and parades and shows at the parks.

Below is an artist's conception of Donald's birthday parade at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

This second article is a review of Donald's history in films, television and comic books.

The Sunday "Calendar" section of the Los Angeles Times, featured several Disneyland ads, promoting the birthday celebration at the park.  The second and third ads also mention the new 3-D film, Magic Journeys and the all-new Alice In Wonderland attraction, which had just reopened in April of that year.

This first ad is dated May 27, 1984:

This one is dated June 10, 1984:

And this one is dated June 17, 1984:

I've said this before, and I will say it again.....I have the best family in the world!  They have always been on the lookout for newspaper ads, articles, collectibles, and other items that they knew I would be interested in.  Back in 1984, my brother pulled this page out of his July 19th issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, and gave it to me.  I have held onto it all these years.

When I first started writing this post, I suddenly realized that I had a LOT of Donald Duck items from my childhood.  I am going to attempt to post as many of those items that I can locate, as well as a "newer" item or two that I purchased later, as an adult.  Here we go......

We'll start with a couple of children's records.  This first one was one of my absolute favorites.  It features the song from the 1962 Donald Duck "short," The Litterbug.

This next one featured two different stories, "Donald's Fire House" and "Donald's Temper."

I posted this Little Golden Book in it's entirety, back in December of 2021.  For anyone who's interested in reading the story of "Donald Duck and Santa Claus," you can click here.

I purchased this 1940 "Better Little Book" in a local "used book" shop, back in the 1980s.

The spine of the book:

The back cover:

My aunt gave me this 1967 Whitman "Big Little Book," about 15 years ago.

The book's spine:

The back cover, with a summary of the story:

I purchased this 1975 "Big Little Book" at a Sav-On Drug Store, the same year it was published.

The spine:

The back cover (I also bought that "Mickey Mouse - Mystery In Disneyland" book, at the same time!):

My mom bought this "educational" card game for me at our local Lucky grocery store, back in the 1970s.

 It only cost .29 cents!

These were the images on the cards.  This is basically the game of "concentration," where players turn over two cards per turn, and try to find matching pairs.

 

 The instructions:

This "mini" card game was a "stocking stuffer," along with a Pinocchio mini card game, which I received that same Christmas.

 The cards:

The instructions:

My mom gave me this alarm clock one year, for Christmas. The blue dots next to the numbers glow in the dark, as well as the spots on the hour and minute hands.

Unfortunately, I didn't save the box that the clock came in, but my mom saved the card with the instructions and product "guarantee."

 

This Donald Duck "squeaky" toy is one of the oldest surviving toys that my brother and I still have.  We're talking "baby" toys, here.  I'm not sure if this was actually my brother's, or mine.  I'm guessing that it was originally his, and then I "inherited" it.

The "squeaker" is on the top of Donald's hat, and it still works!

This is another one of our older toys.  It's a "pull toy."  When you pull the string, Donald waddles from side to side as he pulls the wagon with his nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie.  Unfortunately, one of the nephew's heads broke off many years ago.

Here is another toy that originally had a pull string of sorts.  The string was tied to a plastic loop and threaded through the hole in Donald's hat.  When you pulled the string, it wound up a mechanism under the boat (using rubber bands).  When you let go, the boat was propelled forward as the string retracted back inside.  For some reason, I became really curious about the mechanism, and took it apart, effectively breaking it.  That wasn't normal behavior for me.  I usually took very good care of my toys!

This yo-yo was another Christmas "stocking stuffer."  That same year, my brother received a red "Goofy" yo-yo in his stocking.

This Pez dispenser was also a "stocking stuffer."  I remember my mom would often buy Pez candy and dispensers, to put in our Christmas stockings.  I included a photo of my Pinocchio Pez dispenser, in my "Pinocchio" post from last year.

Rubber bendable figures like this, were very popular at one time.  They have wires inside, which allow you to pose them in various positions.  This miniature Donald belonged to my brother and I had a miniature "Tom" figure, from the "Tom & Jerry" cartoons.  Between the two of us, we also had large and miniature versions of Gumby and his pal Pokey, and large versions of Dudley Do-Right, Snidely Whiplash, and Stan Laurel (from the 1960s Laurel & Hardy cartoon series).

This "Disneyland Dipsy Doodles" puzzle also belonged to my brother.  I had one that featured Mickey Mouse, juggling balls.  I will try to get that one posted in the future.  They don't have a date printed on them, but they go far enough back in my childhood, that I can't remember if they actually came from Disneyland or not.  I want to say that they came from our local Lucky grocery store's toy aisle, but I'm not positive about that.

The instructions on the back:

Here are a few items, which definitely came from childhood visits to Disneyland.

First, this Donald Duck Flip Book is just one of several versions which were sold at the park.  A "flip book" contains images of a character or an object, on each of it's pages.  Each image is drawn slightly different than the previous one, so that when the pages are "flipped" through rapidly, it appears that the character or object is animated.  Some of the earliest flip books sold at the park, had "Designed by the Art Corner at Disneyland" on the cover.  Once the Art Corner exhibit closed, they removed that line from the souvenir flip books.

I remember my parents letting my brother and I each pick out a hat, during one of our early Disneyland visits.  My brother picked out the traditional "Mouse Ears," and I chose this Donald Duck hat, with the bill that "squeaks" when you squeeze it.

 

Pin-back buttons used to be a very popular park souvenir.  Over the years, buttons have been available representing a variety of characters, attractions, and park events.  This style button was available in the 1970s and 1980s, with versions featuring Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Winnie The Pooh.
 

In the 1980s, these character buttons were redesigned and given a new look.

I've posted these three Donald Duck puzzles in the past, along with some other Disney-related puzzles.  Those other puzzles can be seen by clicking here.

This plastic bottle contained hand and body lotion.  It came as a "set," with a Mickey Mouse-shaped shampoo bottle.

The shampoo and lotion were both manufactured by DEP^®.  I didn't get a photo of the other side of the label, but it has "Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom Wishes You A Very Happy Growing Up!" printed on it.

One of the many things that I collected as a child, were comic books.  I have quite a few "Donald Duck" comics, but I am only including a few of them.  These are actually older examples and were not purchased "new."  We had two "used" book stores in my hometown, and they both carried used comic books.  They were a great source for acquiring older issues.

Issue #94 from May of 1964:

  Issue #111 from January of 1967:

This comic introduced the character, Moby Duck, which eventually led to Moby Duck having his own comic book series.

Issue #112 from March of 1967:

Issue #  from November of 1971:

My brother and I had a small number of "Disneykins," which our mom let us send away for through a Royal Gelatin mail-in offer.  Among our collection was, Donald, Dewey, and Daisy.  (To give an idea of the size of these figures, Donald is only 1.5 inches tall.)

This large plastic figure of Donald was sold in toy sections of supermarkets and department stores.  It was manufactured by "Marx," the same company that made Disneykins and Snap-eze figures.  I have a few more of these figures, including a red Mickey, a red Pluto, and a blue Dopey.  (This Donald figure is much bigger than a Disneykin, measuring 5.5 inches tall.)

A few years ago, my aunt gave me a small collection of vintage plastic charms, which included Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Grumpy, Pinocchio, Dumbo, and Practical Pig.  I included the Pinocchio charm in my "Pinocchio" post, from March of 2023.

 

And now, just a few "newer" items.

 

During Disneyland's celebration of Donald's 50th, I purchased this collector's plate, which was available in the Disneyana Shop on Main Street.

 

 

Information on back of plate:

 

I displayed the plate for a while, but it has now been stored in it's original box for decades.

 

 

The price tag is still attached to the box.

And the original receipt has been kept inside the box.  The date printed on it shows that I purchased the plate on June 12, 1984.

 

Another souvenir I purchased that summer, was this T-Shirt.  I bought it in the Tinker Bell Toy Shop (in Fantasyland), and it remained folded up and sealed inside it's original plastic bag, for years.

For some unexplainable reason, I actually sold the shirt about 20 years ago.  After expressing some regret over getting rid of it, a good friend of mine found one that was still sealed in the bag, and gave it to me as a birthday present.  Will I ever tear the plastic bag open, and take it out?  Probably not!  I found these images on ebay, to show the shirt in it's entirety.

And finally, we have this birthday-themed sticker book from 1984, which I purchased in the Storybook Store (presented by Western Publishing Company).  The Storybook Store was located just behind the original Disneyana Shop, on the western side of Main Street.

 

The back cover:

Here are just two of the pages from inside:

 

 

 

 

I will end this post with some videos, and a Gorillas Don't Blog link.

 

This is "The Litterbug Song," from that aforementioned Donald Duck short, "The Litterbug":

 

Here are two different videos of  Donald's 50th Birthday Parade, at Disneyland.  The theme song was pretty catchy!

  

And here is a link to a 2021 Gorilla's Don't Blog post, featuring photos of the birthday parade, taken by Lou Perry (of "Lou and Sue" fame), and shared by his daughter Sue, and Major Pepperidge:  Donald Duck's 50th Birthday Parade

Happy 90th Birthday, Donald!!!

 

*****POST UPDATE*****

After finishing this post, I remembered that I also have some Donald-related souvenirs from Tokyo Disneyland!

This button is an older souvenir, and is similar in style to the character buttons that were sold at the U.S. Disney parks.

I posted this Tokyo Disney Resort item previously, back in July of 2009.  It's a box that originally contained a candy bar.  There were two other versions, with the faces of Mickey (chocolate), and Minnie (strawberry flavored white chocolate).  The Donald version was white chocolate, with chocolate cookie crumbs.

This is a food wrapper from Tokyo DisneySea, from the 2000s.  It originally contained an "Ukiwa" bun.  It has two layers.  The back yellow portion is made of a waxy type of paper, and the front portion is clear plastic with Donald printed on it.

I looked online, and found this image on the official Tokyo Disney Resort site.  Apparently, they have changed the design on the wrapper.  "Ukiwa" translates to "life saver," so they designed the sleeves to look like Donald is floating on top of (older wrapper, above), or inside of (below) a life preserver.  The soft bun is about the size of a bagel, and is filled with shrimp and some type of sauce.  It was very tasty.  This was the only variety they were selling during all of my visits to Tokyo DisneySea, but I see that they now make other versions.

The Ukiwa Bun is a popular enough food item, that they made replicas of the bun and the wrapper, as magnets.  The Tokyo Disney parks sell replicas of other popular food items, in magnet form.  Those items include, a Mickey-shaped waffle, a Mickey-shaped ice cream sandwich, a cup of coffee with a Mickey-shaped stir stick, a churro, and a box of popcorn.

 

When Tokyo DisneySea opened in 2001, they sold a wide variety of merchandise with various characters representing each of the park's "ports" ("lands").  Donald was used for the "Mysterious Island" section, and this logo appeared on magnets, pens, erasers, tablets, collector's pins, etc.

Magnet:

 Tablet:

I purchased this "mini" magnet set at The Disney Store, in Tokyo Disney's "Ikspiari."  That's Tokyo's version of "Downtown Disney."  They had other sets featuring Mickey's "shorts and glove," and Minnie's "bow and shoe."

This set of magnets came from Tokyo Disneyland, circa 2010.

I found this magnet in Tokyo Disneyland's Adventureland Bazaar.  They had similar versions of Mickey and Stitch, on tribal "shields."  Or maybe they are supposed to be masks?

And just to give some equal time to Paris, here's an Adventureland magnet from Euro Disneyland, featuring Donald as a pirate.

Euro Disneyland's name was changed to Disneyland Paris, just two and a half years after the park opened.  This Disneyland Paris candy tin features Donald on the lid, and originally contained "Bonbons Arome Citron" (lemon flavored).