1957 Vintage Footage From The Disneyland Hotel

Tonight, I am displaying some great still shots from some 16 mm film footage of the Disneyland Hotel from 1957 which I recently had converted to DVD. I now have over 100 (at least) new images from this footage and these are shots from rare areas not usually seen. This footage was professionally shot and features images of the first lobby, the shops area (includng the interiors of a couple of shops), the gardens, the Hotel signs, the Gourmet Restaurant, the Tram loading zone, the playground, the putting green and some great interior room shots. As if that weren't enough, you can follow the events of a beautiful, statuesque blonde as she drives up to the Hotel then tours the grounds. She resembles Marilyn Monroe but I do not know who she is. Hope you like these shots. You can check my website for a picture of her and below. I believe this footage was to be used for a TV commercial but I can't be sure.

Watch my website because I just may make this DVD available http://www.magicalhotel.com as well as many of the images from the footage.

Disneyland Bonus Pics from 1957

Other Hotels

Tonight I have added some great pictures from the Charter House Hotel circa 1962. I want to also display some of the other local area facilities to show the competition the Disneyland Hotel faced and just in case you may have stayed in one of these other facilities. A common theme in mail I get is, for most folks, the Disneyland Hotel was just too expensive when they visited Disneyland. I'll try and display some other great spots. Hope these also bring back some great memories.

http://www.magicalhotel.com

Need Your Help! Please Respond.

To everybody who reads this blog.

I am creating addendums to my book Disneyland Hotel The Early Years 1954-1988 http://www.magicalhotel.com. These addendums will feature news and events that did not make it into the book that will hopefully fill in some of the gaps in the Disneyland Hotel story and provide many new images depicting the Hotel's rich history. I have accumulated a large amount of ephemera, photos, documents, brochures and such since the book came out and did not want to really create an updated new version of the book. I did this mainly to help those interested in the history of the Hotel with regard to the cost of an updated book. The addendums will be priced right and folks can buy whichever issues they are interested in.

I have two distinct ideas in mind as to what each issue will contain.

First idea is to write them chronologically starting with the idea to build the Disneyland Hotel and all activities up to the first opening (announcement, groundbreaking, pre-opening brochures, delays, overhead shots) on October 5th, 1955. Next issue would start on the first opening day and go until the end of 1956......and so on.

Second idea is to create addendums with a mixed bag of stories, pictures and events from the Hotel's history with no central dates or themes....sort of like the E Ticket magazine.

Each issue will contain 20-24 pages (maybe more) and I hope to put out 4-6 issues each year. Again, these will feature new information and photos from the Hotel's past that were not in the book. I may duplicate some photos to help with stories or enhance the before and after affect.

Please let me know which version you would prefer to see....either respond to this blog or send me an email donballard@comcast.net. My apologies to those who have already reserved first issues, I am working hard to get these out right away.

Thanks very much!

Donald W. Ballard

Back From Vacation

Just got back from a wonderful (outside of the rain) vacation aboard the Disney Magic on a cruise in the Caribbean. I will resume posting right away. I am taking requests on what you would like to see.

Our website is http://www.magicalhotel.com/

August 1970

Some great personal family photos were sent to me by Annnette Brown of Southern California from two trips her family went on in 1969 and 1970. This was just before and just after the Marina Tower had been constructed and opened changing the Hotel's address from West Street to Cerritos with a brand new, spacious lobby.

If anybody else would like to send family photos from a stay at the World's Most Exciting Hotel, please do so and I would be happy to post them. Personal photos often show things not ordinarily seen from the Hotel's history like tonight's post of construction in the Cove area of the Hotel.

http://www.magicalhotel.com is our website. If you want a book, betetr hurry up as we are almost out and we are not anticipating a reprint.

Late 1960's Conference Rooms

Today, I added some great (and very rare) internal conference room pictures to the blog. The brochure is from 1969 so the shots could be from 1967-1969 based on past experiences with photos used by the Disneyland Hotel publicity department. These were taken just prior to the building and opening of the Marina Tower in 1970. I am hoping Mr. Kittle can confirm if one of them is from the Oak Room conference center. I did see the room advertised in the brochure. It looks pretty elaborate just like the Oak Room itself. The room with the pool outside is a real mystery to me.

http://www.magicalhotel.com for our book on the history of the Disneyland Hotel.

1956 Hotel Brochure

Tonight I have posted pictures of the rare 1956 pink & black Disneyland Hotel brochure. This is the last I need and now my brochure collection (obsession) is now complete. I have posted the brochure inside and out to show you all the details listed inside.

My website is http://www.magicalhotel.com

I will be adding more content to my website as well as an update on the book addendums which are progressing nicely. Drop me a line if you are intersetd in a book addendum. Issues 1 & 2 are sold out but we may add another print run once they are finalized.

Disneyland Hotel 1965

It's 1965 and the Disneyland Hotel is expanding again. Work has begun on the new Tower addition which would double the size of this building and increas the Hotel's capacity to over 600 rooms. It would also allow for the building to be properly named "Disneyland Hotel." Due to the location of the glass elevator, the words at the top of the first tower stated "Hotel Disneyland." Disneyland and the Disneyland Hotel celebrated ten year anniversaries in 1965.

Please visit my website http://www.magicalhotel.com for more on the history of the Disneyland Hotel.

And Still More Personal Photographs.....

I love these personal pictures.

http://www.magicalhotel.com/ is the website for the book Disneyland Hotel The Early Years 1954-1988. It's out of print with very few copies available.

Got this from someone today:

Just ordered your book thru your website (finally - big procrastinator) but I thought you'd be interested to see what it was going for on Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0976877910/ref=wl_it_of?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1S7TZDBXIBRRQ&colid=3QLZ7598LMQ1V&condition=all

Some new original photographs

Today, I wanted to thank Bill Cotter for allowing me to share some great, original shots of the Original Disneyland Hotel from his own personal files. Bill some times has these pictures on disk on Ebay auctions and if you get a chance, you should get them while you can. His shots are always in beautiful living color and show great detail of areas not often displayed any more. Bill's book "The Wonderful World of Disney Televeison" is also a must have in my opinion. It's a tremendous resource for any Disney enthusist with great details on the shows. Thanks very much Bill and maybe you could write in and share a website address so others could see?

History of the original Disneyland Hotel: http://www.magicalhotel.com