Now that Andy Warhol’s prediction that everyone will have 15 minutes of celebrity in their lifetime seems to have been proven true, celebrities are the proverbial dime a dozen. But back in the 60’s, spotting a real live movie star in public was quite a… Read More »The Park: The Celebrity Treatment – Sophia Loren
“The 55ers: The Pioneers Who Settled Disneyland” is an important collection that looks at the cowboys, jungle explorers, Anaheim pioneers, and shopkeepers who came together to help make Walt Disney’s dream of Disneyland a reality. It’s one part deep dive into the first two years… Read More »Meet the pioneers who settled Disneyland in new book from David Koenig
Take a time travel trip to the fifties and sixties with the inimitable Charles Phoenix the historian with a funny bone and comedian with a feel for retro excellence. Phoenix has scheduled two opportunities to travel into Disneyland’s past. On September 19th, as part of… Read More »Disneyland Retro History Show from Charles Phoenix
In its latest post, Passport 2 Dreams talks about the music behind one of my favorite attractions – The Matterhorn at Disneyland. Set in the Swiss Alps, the Matterhorn background music is best known for its polka music full of broad accordion playing and, of… Read More »For the first time ever, the complete Matterhorn Background Music Loop
Sadly it’s been much, much too long since Disneyland history sleuth Jason Schultz updated his Disneyland Nomenclature blog, but we promise to forgive if he returns with more great content like this new piece detailing a chilling chapter in Disneyland’s history. The park’s musical atmosphere… Read More »The Harrowing Tale of Disneyland’s First Entertainment Director, Tommy Walker
“Dispatch from Disneyland” is not just a collection of stories and essays from the Happiest Place on Earth, it’s also my exploration of the interesting facts behind Walt Disney’s original Magic Kingdom.
Available now via DispatchFromDisneyland.com in special edition eBook or Amazon in print or for Kindle.
Update: Video of the Monorail dedication ceremony from June 14, 1959 is below the jump:
Climbing the side of the Matterhorn has been off the menu at Disneyland since 2007. With the recent refurbishment of the pint size scale version of the Swiss mountain in the books, the park has returned climbers to icy slopes of the attraction. This video… Read More »Climbers Return to Slopes of Disneyland’s Matterhorn
While the Magic Kingdom’s is getting an expanded Fantasyland, it’s not the first version of Fantasyland to get an upgrade. In 1983 Disneyland’s Fantasyland went from Medieval Festival to the more Medieval City setting we have now.
To help make the public aware of the changes Disneyland produced a TV special that starred the late Heather O’Rourke (Poltergeist) and also the late comedian Morey Amsterdam.
Thankfully YouTube user PokeyVision has preserved the 1 hour special. The story is a bit lite, but it works as a big commercial for the new Fantasyland giving audiences a sneak peak into the new attractions.
I vaguely remember seeing this on TV (how could you forget Morey Amsterdam’s outfit). If you want to see more of the show, it’s below the jump. It gets pretty weird down in Part 4: