Seaports of the Pacific Brochure 1980's

The Seaports of the Pacific was added to the Marina area of the Disneyland Hotel in the early 80's.

Marina at the Disneyland Hotel

The Marina was added to the Disneyland Hotel in 1970 along with the Marina Tower. There were many adventures to be had including the use of Pedal Boats. Initially, the rental of these boats was free but upkeep, maintenance and replacement costs soon changed that.

One shot shows the entrance to Atari Adventure which I will cover in a later posting.

Trivia question for you: what was the proposed original name for the Marina Tower?

Pedal Boats 1980's

Atari Adventures entrance at the Disneyland Hotel

Close-up shot of the Atari Adventure sign at the Disneyland Hotel Marina

1980's view of the Marina showing a Pedal Boat and passengers

Pedal Boats in the Marina 1980's

The Original Lobby and Registration Desk at the Disneyland Hotel

When the Disneyland Hotel first opened in October, 1955, they were using a guest room to register guests. In mid 1956, the Administration Building opened and with it, a sparkling new registration desk. This was of course, provided you did not want to register from your automobile which was an option initially at the Hotel. There are many photographs of exterior features and services throughought the years at the Disneyland Hotel but, interior shots like these are very rare indeed. I only wish I had these pictures before I published the book on the Hotel http://www.magicalhotel.com. These priceless interior shots were provided to me by Molly Wrather-Dolle, oldest daughter of original Disneyland Hotel owner Jack Wrather. It was a much simpler time in America's history. Parking was free, meals were $1.25 complete and rooms at the Disneyland Hotel started at only $9 a night! The Disneyland Hotel was a piece of 50's Americana where many familes shared some wonderful times in their lives. I sure do miss the magic of the original Disneyland Hotel.

Very first Registration Lobby - Used from October 1955 until mid April, 1956, a converted guest room was used as the original registration area for the Disneyland Hotel

Close-up of original registration location - The sign says Registering Guests which was an actual room used until the new lobby was opened in 1956

Office sign on guest structure wall - The very first registartion office was actually in a room at the Disneyland Hotel. This was used until the Administration Building was finished in 1956.

The Second Disneyland Hotel Registration Desk, 1957

Travel agents near registration lobby - The Disneyland Hotel featured full service travel agents to help arrange sightseeing, tours, transportation and flights back home.

Interior lobby showing hallway from registartion area to travel services and beauty salon

Lobby Stairwell 1957 - The stairway to the upper conference rooms at the Disneyland Hotel around 1957

Disneyland Hotel Travelport

Last iteration of the Disneyland Hotel Travelport

Travelport Exterior

Later in life, the original Disneyland Hotel Lobby became the Travelport

1957 Disneyland Hotel Brochure

This is one of my favorite Disneyland Hotel brochures. It was the first brochure to use an actual picture from the Hotel on its cover as well as inside the brochure. Some of the most rare Disneyland Hotel collectibles are ones that list Wrather-Alvarez Hotels, Inc. on them. Originally, there were actually three owners of the Hotel: Jack Wrather, Mazie Wrather (Jack's mom) and Helen Alvarez. I will go into more detail on Helen Alvarez in a future posting. The Wrather-Alvarez partnership also included radio stations and other major holdings. The partnership disolved in early 1958. If you see Wrather-Alvarez on an item, you know it is from the very early days of the Disneyland Hotel.

http://www.magicalhotel.com

1957 Disneyland Hotel Brochure Cover -
First brochure with an actual picture of the facility on the cover.

A nice overhead picture showing the various buildings and amenities at the Disneyland Hotel. In 1957, there were four different brochures printed

First brochure to show details of the grounds as well as the amenities at the Disneyland Hotel

Wrather-Alvarez Hotels, Inc. - The original partnership in ownership of the Disneyland Hotel.

The Monorail Cafe

Another sorely missed and beloved sight from the Disneyland Hotel's history is the Monorail Cafe. Originally, this restaurant was known as the Coffee Shop from 1956 until 1986. Bonita Granville-Wrather changed the name and re-themed the restaurant just two years before Disney negotiated the acquisition of the Disneyland Hotel. A favorite spot for just about everybody, the Monorail Cafe featured sandwiches, burgers, salads, chicken and the best milkshakes in town. I know my family absolutely loved this restaurant and greatly miss it. It was a great place to relax and get a mid-day meal after having walked for miles at the Park. The waitresses were friendly, the prices were reasonable and the decor was priceless. The walls featured vintage Monorail pictures of Walt Disney and his vision of the transportation for the future. Next to the mini-golf course, I get more requests for Monorail Cafe pictures and stories than anything else. Just an idea.....why not open a new Monoprail Cafe Restaurant in Downtown Disney?

Decor of Monorail Cafe

Register and Hostess Station Monorail cafe

Monorail Cafe Side View

Front Entrance Monorail Cafe

On the left, the Monorail Cafe and in the distance, the Travelport and Monorail Station

Cover of Monorail Cafe Menu

Rare Pictures of Rare Amenities Featured at the Disneyland Hotel

I want to now present some rarely seen and short-lived areas at the Disneyland Hotel. The next series will feature these items. Hope you like them.

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If you enjoy the history of the Disneyland Hotel, please check out my website and book: http://www.magicalhotel.com/

Disneyland Hotel Expansion

Not surprisingly, as Disneyland grew, so too did the Disneyland Hotel. With new features, shows, attractions and additions to Disneyland, attendance also grew creating demand for lodging for guests. Disneyland added three new major attractions for 1959: the Monorail (which would soon play a huge part in the Disneyland Hotel's plans), the Matterhorn and the Submarine Ride. These were all opened in the Summer of 1959. The Disneyland Hotel would add two new North Garden Structures to help accomodate the guests expected for the 1959 Summer season . This would be the largest configuration of rooms in the traditional two-story Garden Structures makeup of the Hotel. The Hotel now had over 300 rooms and suites. Major changes loomed over the horizon for the Hotel. These pictures represent the last that would be seen of the motor-hotel/motel format as originally planned by Jack Wrather and Walt Disney in 1955. Soon, Jack Wrather would begin looking up and Walt Disney would utilize his mass-transportation plan he had envisoned with the Monorail.

Interesting notes on these pictures. If you look in the 1959 shots, there is freshly ground dirt at the spot of the original "Littel Gourmet" restaurant. This was the quickly converted ranch-house (original to the Hotel property) that was used as the original dining facility on the property until the actual "Gourmet" was opened in mid-1956. It had been used mainly as a storage facility after the "Gourmet" was opened. This area is directly below the Richfield Service Station in the lower right of the close-up pictures. In the 1960 picture, this area has been freshly paved and lined for additional Hotel parking.

In the 1959 close-up picture, there are cars parked where two new North Garden structures would soon be added. When writing the book http://www.magicalhotel.com/ there was somewhat of a mystery as to just when these last two structures were built and opened for business. This June 1960 overhead shot clearly shows the last two structures open for business with cars parked directly in front of them. In several early Hotel publications, it was printed that 1961 was the opening of the last two Garden structures.

In exactly one year from this June 1960 photograph, the Hotel would undergo major changes. See previous postings on 1961.

My thanks to Chris Jepsen from the Orange County Archives for these photographs.

Just prior to Hotel expansion in 1960

Fresh ground at site of "Little Gourmet Restaurant." cars parked where two new Garden Structures would be added.

June 1960 Overhead Disneyland Hotel/Disneyland, Before the Monorail, Before Golf facilities. The largest configuration of rooms prior to the addition of the Tower Buildings.

Two new Garden Structures, paved over original "Little Gourmet Restaurant" location

Helicopter Service

New Helicopter service at the Disneyland Hotel, 1961

The Helicopter service was marred by two horrific crashes involving multiple fatalities to passengers and people on the ground.