 Walt Disney and Joe Fowler inspect the construction of Disneyland’s monorail in 1959. Walt’s desire to include a monorail in Disneyland dates back to before the park opened in 1955. In fact, early concept drawings include a monorail track above Tomorrowland. A lack of proper engineering and cost constraints prevented the monorail from being built at the time, but Walt’s interest never waned.
 Walt Disney inspecting his stable of horses that would later be installed on his King Arthur Carrousel. Not wanting anyone to feel left out, Walt insisted that everyone riding the carrousel to be on a galloping horse, also known as a jumper. After all, the infamous carrousel at Griffith Park, where Walt would take his daughters on “daddy days,” had nothing but jumper horses. The carrousel Walt purchased, with the help of Griffith Park co-owner Ross Davis, came with a mix of horses, cats, deer and giraffes for guests to ride. Walt had any other than the jumpers removed and let Davis keep them. To help achieve Walt’s wish, Davis tracked down some jumpers being stored at the Coney Island pier and George Whitney’s Playland in San Mateo, California. They were all repaired and repainted before being installed on Walt’s carrousel.
 This concept art of the Main Street, U.S.A. train station is from 1954. It was included in prospectus packets, titled “The Disneyland Story,” which were presented to potential investors and lessees to give them a better idea of what Walt Disney planned to build in Anaheim. This artwork was one of 26 pieces, all 8”x 10" in black and white, that were included in the packet. Of course, what really stands out in this early artwork is what’s not depicted — the iconic floral Mickey Mouse head. Would you ever want to see a floral “Disneyland” replace the floral Mickey? Perhaps for a limited time?
 Walt Disney stands on the hurricane deck of the Mark Twain interacting with guests below. “To Walt Disney, the Mark Twain and the Disneyland trains were like the seventh and eighth wonders of the world,” said Disney Legend Ward Kimball.
|
My Story
Growing up in Los Angeles in the 70s/80s we visited Disneyland on a regular basis and often after school, before "Annual Passes". 
Categories
All
Archives
January 2023
|
RSS Feed
