Disneyland Hotel Layout 1972

I had a request from a blog reader to show a layout of where the various shops and restaurants were on the grounds. This picture is from a 1972 "Check-In" magazine which was given to guests upon registration at the Disneyland Hotel.

Fake Sign at the Disneyland Hotel

This postcard depicts a fake Disneyland Hotel sign on it most likely drawn in to add advertisement value to the postcard. The sign actaually faces away from West Street which the Hotel was on and would not help to advertise the Hotel at all from the front of the facilities. The actual sign was further south and at the entrance to the Hotel on West Street. It also faced the Disneyland parking lot so exiting guests would clearly see the Disneyland Hotel entrance. I am not sure how rare this postcard is as I don't have an exact copy without the drawn in sign. I have many other postcards and pictures from this similar view, none of which have this sign drawn in on them. This postcard dates from 1956-1958 but was sold for many years at the park and the Hotel.

Note the sign in this postcard. This sign was drawn in on the postcard and never actually existed in this area of the Hotel. The sign would have been backwards facing away from West Street.

No Disneyland Hotel sign in this picture

Kicking Myself

Want to hear something strange? I remember checking into the Disneyland Hotel (probably 1994-95) and getting a Garden Room in one of the original five structures. Of course, this was several years before I had the idea to write the book on the Disneyland Hotel. I was in the room for all of ten minutes when my wife called the front desk to request a new room because our room smelled badly like cigarette smoke. If I could only go back and cancel that request and savor the original room for a few nights (smell and all). If I had only known. At least I got to spend some time in one of the original structures at the Disneyland Hotel, dating back to October of 1955! I remember thinking how cool the room looked. Very 50's. Even better, when I turned the TV on during the brief stay, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was playing.

1950's Disneyland Hotel Ad

Very early on, the Disneyland Hotel wanted to attract conventions. This ad from 1957 mentions convention facilities available at the Disneyland Hotel

Early Playground at the Disneyland Hotel

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If pressed, I would date these photographs to 1957 or 1958. They depict the first playground facilities at the Disneyland Hotel and offered another fun activity for the kids who were guests at the Hotel. The area in which they were located would later become the southwest corner of the first Tower Building (later Sierra Tower) on the grounds. See the overhead drawing for the playground's location on the grounds of the Hotel. These pictures depict a typical 1950's playground with swings, a slide, hang bars, a Jungle Jim and lots of sand. Not unlike many other playgrounds sprouting up all over America as the baby boomer generation was being born. The playground was changed and moved over the years and I will present other pictures from later years in a future post. Early playground pictures like these are very hard to find. I want to thank Molly Wrather-Dolle for sharing these pictures with me. Molly is of course, Jack Wrather's daughter. Jack and Helen Alvarez were the original owners of the Disneyland Hotel along with Jack's mother Mazie.



Overhead drawing showing location of the Disneyland Hotel Playground - To give some perspective of where the playground was located in the mid-50's at the Disneyland Hotel. This area would become the first Tower Building at the Hotel in 1962.

Early shot of the first playground at the Disneyland Hotel 1950's - The Garden Structures are visible in the background of this mid 50's shot at the Disneyland Hotel. These images are very hard to find.

Disneyland Hotel Playground mid-50's - Rare shot of the Playground at the Disneyland Hotel 1950's

Very rare shot of the playground at the Disneyland Hotel mid-50's

1956 Disneyland Hotel Convention Brochure

Early Convention Facilities at the Disneyland Hotel

Even at the design phase with the architects, Jack Wrather stressed the need of group meeting and convention facilities for the Disneyland Hotel. Jack felt that this would attract whole families to the Park and the Hotel. While dad was at his conference during the day, mom and the kids were enjoying themselves at Disneyland Park. With the convenient Disneyland Hotel Tram, families could unite at lunch for a delicious meal and to discuss the days events. There were varied groups (as the pictured brochures attest) holding their conventions at the Disneyland Hotel. Disneyland even used the facilities for their get-togethers and award ceremonies. The facilities featured all the latest in modern amenities: projectors, audio jacks, multiple electrical outlets and all rooms were air-conditioned. The rooms could be sub-divided to accomodate from 10-1000 people depending on the need. In a future post, I will discuss the Embassy Room and Magnolia Ballroom which were later convention iterations at the Disneyland Hotel


Interior 1956 brochure showing floorplans of conference rooms

Testimonials from groups who had held conventions at the Disneyland Hotel

1956 Convention Brochure

The Disneyland Hotel catered to numerous conventions from the onset of the Hotel's opening.

1958 Convention Brochure

Magicians Convention from 1958

Atari Adventure

This photo was taken of Mr. Wrather after it was known he had cancer. He would succumb to the disease less than two years from this photo. This has always been sad to me to see how much he had aged after being diagnosed with cancer.

Disneyland Hotel employee newsletter

Disneyland Hotel Marina.....

Some more great shots of the Disneyland Hotel Marina.

Queen Mary, Pedal Boat, Bonita Tower and the Seaports of the Pacific.

Seaports of the Pacific - Pedal Boats in the foreground and the Bonita Tower on the left.

Queen Mary scale model - The Wrather Corporation also owned the Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach, CA. This is a scale model which was berthed in the marina at the Disneyland Hotel. This model was used in the filming of the movie "The Poseidon Adventure."

Remote Control Area - This is where you paid to remotely control the little boats in the Marina