Merry Christmas To All

Grand Opening in the Newspaper

Here is how the newspapers covered the grand opening of the Disneyland Hotel. These were taken from Bonita Granville's very own scrapbook.

http://www.magicalhotel.com/

How many of you readers would be interested in the following? I am trying to put something together so please let me know. If interest is high for this, I could possibly swing it. I would also shoot for most if not all events to be free of charge. Please drop me a line or respond to this thread.


Disneyland Hotel History Week

This weeklong event would feature:

1.Historical tours (like very popular Walking in Walt’s footsteps tour)

2.Video presentations (have some great footage)

3.Ephemera displays (amazing collection)

4.Trivia contests with prizes which I will supply

5.Panel discussions cast members

6.Panel discussions guests

7.Talks about future Disney & Resort plans

8.VIP/E-Ticket special showings

9.Special guests from Hotel’s past

10.Book signings

11.Guest greeting, lobby presentations

12.Daily historical newsletter

http://www.magicalhotel.com/

1955 First Brochure

This is probably the rarest and hardest to find of the Disneyland Hotel brochures. It lists only 104 rooms and was put out even before the restaurants were opened. They were using a converted ranch house as the Little Gourmet Restaurant. I would love to find a photograph of the interior of the Little Gourmet or even a close-up exterior of this facility. It was only open for about five months until they opened the regular Gourmet Restaurant in February of 1956.

http://www.magicalhotel.com/

July 1979 Overheads

Theses shots were all taken in July of 1979.

http://www.magicalhotel.com/

More 70's Colorful Shots

These were loaned to me by Hotel architect Alfred Nicholson. Al has been a wonderful friend and has provided many new (old) shots.

http://www.magicalhotel.com/

Early 70's Interiors

These photos are from a Japanese magazine from 1970 when the Disneyland Hotel had just opened the Marina Tower with its brand new lobby.

The colors were sure bright and vibrant.

Our new book is out http://www.magicalhotel.com/

New Book is Now Ready

The printer is sending us copies of the new book today! It is now available to order.

Hotel Marina

Just got an interesting plot plan from 1967. It appears the Marina was not the first thought for the area behind the 1970 Tower Building.

A golf pitch & putt was what they had in mind for this area initially. This drawing is from 8/1967.

Here is the entire layout plot below.

New Book to be Released

My new book titled: Disneyland Hotel 1954-1959: The Little Motel in the Middle of the Orange Grove will be released in August. I enclosed some sample pages in a previous posting. The cover is posted below.

Each page has been beautifully designed. The book features over 325 pictures, the overwhelming majority not seen ever by the public or for over 50 years. Walt and Roy Disney rare pictures, overhead shots, new groundbreaking and opening day shots....the book is amazing!

If you are interested, drop me a line to pre-order or to reserve a copy. For more information, please check our website: http://www.magicalhotel.com/

donballard@comcast.net

Richfield Service Station at Disneyland Hotel

I am sure you are all aware that when the Disneyland Hotel originally opened in 1955, there was a Richfield service station on the property. You can clearly see the station in place from my latest overhead picture posting in the lower left portion of the photograph. The station was conveniently located right at the exit of Disneyland Park so guests could fill their tanks for the ride home. In my never ending quest for knowledge and details, I found the following. First is a portion of the text from the original contract terms to build and operate the Disneyland Hotel which was prepared by Jack Wrather & partners. This document is dated November 11, 1954:

I always wondered exactly when they started to build this service station on the Hotel property. I know that it was opened in time for Disneyland in mid-July. Overhead photos show that it was in place and open for business by July, 15, 1955.

 

I assume construction started shortly after the permit was issued and this building did not take too long to construct.

You might think that I would stop there and be done with this knowledge quest. Of course not! Next, I wanted to know what year the station was removed from the grounds. I had overhead photos showing the station in place up to 1975 but not there in 1979. The attached is proof showing it was removed in 1976. Here is the building permit to demolish the (then called ARCO) service station again from the city of Anaheim:

Now this has probably been way too much information for even the most zealous of Disney fans but I just couldn't stop. Hope you learned something.

 

Pics From the 50's & 60's

Here are some beautiful pictures from the 1950's...... 

and the 1960's.......

Disneyland Hotel 1954-1959: The Little Motel in the Middle of the Orange Grove

My old book is completely sold out. The good news is, my new book is just about finished. In the early planning phases, Jack Wrather would often refer to his hotel project as his "little motel in the middle of the orange grove", hence the title of the new book. If I do say so myself, this new book is absolutely amazing! I am using over 350 photographs, all from the 50's, many not seen by the general public in over 50 years. These are as rare as rare gets. At least 200 of these are from my recent find at a storage vault in Hollywood. The book is artistically designed by Sparks Arts...do yourself a favor and check out their services at http://www.sparksarts.com
Here are some not final draft sample pages from the new book. Release date will be some time in July/August.

Some Great Pictures From The 70s

I think this is a beautiful shot of Monorail blue with the Disneyland Hotel back in the distance. I love those bubble topped Monorails.

A couple of pictures from 1979 one of the laser sculptor at the Disneyland Hotel and one from the artist/creator Rockne Krebs with the Wrathers.