Yesterdayland: Disneyland Through The Years

A tumblr that serves up a daily dose of nostalgia for days of Disneyland past.

The first series of Disneyland maps, 1958-1964

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The first large format map was made in 1958, and was part of a series of identical maps with different colored borders and Disney characters. The maps from the early Disney years were created by Sam McKin, an original designer and artist in the creation of Disneyland. These maps included some of the future attractions, some of which appeared at other Disney parks rather than Disneyland.

In 1961 a pink version was made, 1962 released a blue version and in 1964 a green version (and a green version with both characters and stars) were made.

Fantasyland, 1959

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Fantasyland before its 80's revival is almost unrecognizable. Due to budgeting, Fantasyland used tent facades (shown above) instead of the Tudor designs originally planned.

The Sleeping Beauty Dioramas in the Sleeping Beauty castle opened April 29, 1957 with Shirley Temple heading the dedication ceremony. The walk through attraction was closed in late 2001 for unspecified reasons (rumored to be associated with the 9/11 attacks and concerns of safety) but was reopened and updated in 2008.

During the remodeling of Fantasyland in 1983 the Mickey Mouse Club Theatre (which was opened in 1955 and was the headquarters of the Mouseketeer's until 1963) was replaced with Pinocchio's Daring Adventure.

Autopia, 1960

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When the ride was originally conceived, there were no rails on the track! After people purposefully ran their cars off the ride in 1963, Disneyland added a center guard rail.

Originally Autopia represented the future of America: multilane limited-access highways, which were still being developed.

A "Junior Autopia" ride was created and released quickly due to the popularity of Autopia. It featured extension blocks on the pedals and booster seats for the smaller drivers, but the child sized cars had a trip more similar to a Fantasyland ride than the original Autopia. It ran until 1966 to make room for the Matterhorn and Monorail.

Rocket to the Moon attraction, 1960's

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When the park opened in 1955 the Trans World Airlines Moonliner rocket was a vision of what was to come in terms of technology. But by the mid-60's it was no longer cutting edge in what was suppose to be the inventions of Tomorrowland.

The rocket was scrapped when Tomorrowland was shut down in 1967 for remodeling. It made a brief return in 1995 when, for the park's 40th anniversary, a cut-out was shown of the Moonliner in a Tomorrowland display.

Main Street USA, 1964

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Disneyland sold The Disneyland News from July 1955 to March 1957 for 10 cents from the newsstand at the main gate or from newsboys who sold them along Main Street. It was printed randomly until 1968, then remained inactive until Disneyland's 30th anniversary in 1985.

The Disneyland Tobacco Shop sold cigarettes, pipes and other smoking paraphernalia from 1955 until 1991. The wooden statue of a Native American still stands on Main Street in front of where the shop use to be.

Every corner in Main Street is curved rather pointed, because Walt Disney thought round corners were more inviting.

Mermaids in the submarine lagoon, 1967

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In 1959, when the Submarine Voyage opened, a group of mermaids were hired at Disneyland to perform for the passengers underwater. The mermaids were found at Disneyland all summer, and practiced for hours a day to be able to maneuver with their three pound tail.

Dangers on the job included the lagoon, which was always 50 degrees, and the submarine they would swim around, which had propeller's with blades five feet long.

The mermaids returned from the summers of 1965 to 1967. It was discontinued after health concerns about the submarine fumes and chemicals in the water were raised.

Mark Twain Riverboat, 1967

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The maiden voyage of the riverboat was July 13, 1955 - five days before Disneyland opened. It was to celebrate Walt and Lillian Disney's 30th anniversary.

When the park opened a maximum safety limit for the boat had not been established, and it almost capsized when ride operators let 500 people onboard. The ship became stuck and since then, a 300 person limit has remained.

Main Street Electrical Parade, 1972-1996

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A parade of lights that showed Disney films among 26 floats using 700,000 light bulbs. It was the first parade at Disneyland to use crowd control ropes and guest control employees. Its last performance was on November 25, 1996, when it was moved to Walt Disney World.

No matter the year, Disneyland has remained the happiest place on earth for a reason - and July 2015 will be Disneyland's 60 year anniversary!

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