Thursday, May 23, 2013

1968: Jack Wrather's 50th Birthday Party

In 1968, Jack Wrather, with the loving help and support of his wife Bonita Granville-Wrather & family, celebrated his 50th birthday. A portion of this celebration took place at the Disneyland Hotel. Here is the invitation sent to guests. Bonita was affectionately known as Bunny by friends.





And now some photos from the festivities. What I really like about candid (as opposed to staged) photographs is, they often show areas of the Disneyland Hotel not ordinarily seen in staged shots. Simple things like signs, elevators, hallways, restaurant interiors all help to get an idea of what the Disneyland Hotel really looked like in years past. Hope you enjoy these.








Here is the luggage tag used by Mr. Wrather: (just added another one too!!)

 
 

And now, some of the Wrather family. His son Chris in the middle with Jack having fun on the left.

Jack with his 50 tag on his shirt.
 
 
And I actually have the very tag he used!
 
 
The picture below is particularly amazing! The gentleman in the light suit/dark tie is architect William Pereira who, by the way, was the original architect for the Disneyland Hotel in late 1954. After downloading this picture and carefully studying it, I found the amazing part. If you look at the left of the picture, there is a gentleman sitting (next to the pole) in an orange shirt. If anyone can tell me who that is, I will be amazed. I know who it is but I want to see if there are any other's out there who can say. Hint: he too was active in the development of the original Disneyland Hotel.
 
And now for some fun. This cake was created for Jack to help celebrate the event.
 
 
And just what did Jack Wrather think about all of this?
 
 
Actually, from what I have been told, heard and read, Jack was thrilled with the festivities.
 

Friday, April 26, 2013

From 1957 Filmed at the Disneyland Hotel: Mouseketeers Roll Call


Dubbed a "Telerama", this benefit for the City of Hope Hospital in Duarte, California was partially broadcast live from the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. This clip from the presentation (entire segment is over an hour) features the Mouseketeers.

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Friday, April 19, 2013

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Mystery Solved

There are several mysteries I still cannot answer with regard to the history of the Disneyland Hotel. Most involve exact dates of when buildings opened or were torn down, or when shops changed names or signs were put up. I am happy to say I have solved one mystery. I saw the picture below and always wondered how they could list "first registered guests" when it was obvious to me that the shops were open at the Hotel with the buildings up and signs in place in the background. Those buildings were not built and signs installed until mid 1956 and the Hotel's first night for guests was October 5, 1955 even though only seven rooms were actually opened that first night.

 
Here is how I was able to solve this mystery. I found several pictures from the Hotel's first anniversary which were taken in August of 1957. The "official" grand opening of the Disneyland Hotel was in August of 1956 where a star-studded gala was held with over 400 invited special guests. The photo above was actually taken in August of 1957 where Mr. & Mrs. Arnone were brought back to help celebrate the first anniversary but they were indeed the first registered guest on October 5th, 1955....mystery solved!
 
The photo above features Mr. & Mrs. Arnone at the 1st anniversary with Jack & Bonita Wrather.


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Thursday, February 7, 2013

Both Books Now Available In E-Format

We have PDF versions of both books now available. Please contact us for further information to get your copies delivered to your mailbox.

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We are also offering a project that was finished but never released called "Addendums." It's a beautiful publication that was never printed or distributed. This is "Addendum #1" and covers the very early details & happenings regarding the building of the Disneyland Hotel.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Now on Facebook

Like us on Facebook where we will also be adding rare photographs and stories from the Original Disneyland Hotel: Facebook Magical Hotel

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