Disneyland Is Going 1930's

[THe Conductor]

Not half bad. The wig wag crossing signal sure sets off the era.

 

[Barbigirl]

Wwhhhaaaaaaa

If I never go to Disneyland or an other "amusement" park again I won't miss it, except the huge hole on my wallet. The only amusement gained is the chagrin at day's end when you realize how much dough you blew for virtually nothing in the surreal atmosphere of every aspect having been inflated to a bizarre amounts from parking to a small soda and everything in between.

Y'all are ruining one of my happiest places on earth, and yes I have been there dozens of times. I just like it.

A lot.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Yes, I think it's fair to separate the "theme" of prices being very, very high at these parks from the original, actual "theme" of this thread which is about 1930s style being built into Disneyland.

Both true, but only one is the topic here.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Ever since first learning of the planned changes to the park, I've been excited, but when I saw this I nearly flipped my lid! An authentic downsized version of a Pacific Electric "Hollywood" suburban car. The paint scheme actually dates from 1939 or so, but it looks good.

Talking to an old co-worker a few days ago, there's a restored Red Car line in San Pedro running from the cruise terminal (almost under the Vincent Thomas) to the marina with a stop at downtown (6th) and Ports O'Call. All I could think when I saw the site was "Perfect excursion for a Fedora Lounge group if I were down there..."

 

[Professor]

San Pedro Waterfront Line

Talking to an old co-worker a few days ago, there's a restored Red Car line in San Pedro running from the cruise terminal (almost under the Vincent Thomas) to the marina with a stop at downtown (6th) and Ports O'Call. All I could think when I saw the site was "Perfect excursion for a Fedora Lounge group if I were down there..."

That's the one thing I don't have photos of at the moment, but yes, they restored about a mile and a half of trackage (with more at a later date, hopefully). They have three cars, one originally built for the Los Angeles Pacific in 1907 and two replicas of 1902 Pacific Electric cars.

 

[Haversack]

Up in San Francisco, they have one of the Art Deco PCC trolleys which runs on the F-Line decked out in PE livery.

http://www.streetcar.org/mim/streetcars/fleet/pcc/1061/index.html

Bringing in real shops to populate the false-front stores would be something of a return to one of the things that made Disneyland special while Walt was still around. Up until the mid-1960s, the goods sold in the Main Street stores and other places around the EC were often high-end merchandise as opposed to Disney-branded souveniers. They made a point of selling quality goods that the average American would not see outside of the better stores in the major cities.

If I recall aright, Gepetto's Toy Shop in Fantasyland sold imported toys like Madame Alexander dolls, Corgi cars and Britains lead soldiers. The Frontierland General Store sold both Pendleton clothes and yardage. There was other stuff too. This is what stuck in the mind of a small boy.

Haversack.

 

[tuppence]

Melbourne and Sydney have Luna Park. No comparison to Disney World. But Melbournes' was opened in 1912 and has one of the oldest roller coaster rides in the world along with other vintage rides. I think it was created by an American.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_Park,_Melbourne.

 

[Edward]

This sounds total conspiracy theory on my part, but Disney has a lot of images and content going into PD in the next couple of decades. They seem to be on a kick of 'revitalizing the brand' of yester year. A good example would be their use of the steamboat willie Mickey as their new logo for their animation studios.

Hmmm.....
Still I think its cool.

LD

*alright, I go back in my corner.....

No conspiracy theory - actual reality. There are an awful lot of big business interests that were built up across the 20th Century off the back of copyright works. As the copyright term looms near its end, the rightsholders are, for obvious reasons, seeking to find new ways to maintain the works as their exclusive properties. One of the trailblazers in this respect was Edgar Rice Burroughs' grandson, who registered the Tarzan character as a trade mark and has for very many years made his living from it, despite the original stories being long out of copyright. Once the modern age of merchandising happened along, it became an inevitability that there would be efforts to ensure perpetual protection of certain things from going PD. with something like Mr Michael Topolino, who was always a commercial product to be sold, I don't mind that too much, I suppose - I'm much more upset by the British Parliament's creation of a perpetual copyright in Peter Pan. A very poor precedent despite the best of motives.

 

[jtcarrey]

can I just say I go to the Disneyland Resort at least once every two weeks (annual passholder) and I think the things they're doing are fantastic, it'll open up people's eyes to the real beauty of California instead of all these fabricated animal cracker boxed buildings that exist today. I feel bad cuz I work at an engineering firm but I'm really excited for the improvements they're doing to the park, come on, we can at least clear the park out with our vintage group get togethers on my birthday right??? (California Adventure opened in 2001 one day before my birthday ...) maybe I'm just biased cuz I used to work there... lol but I've always loved Disneyland since I was born...

BTW, they've already started on the renovations... Midway Mania Toy Story has some victorian elements right down to the air vent grates and the tiles on the floors which opened last June. Mickey's Fun Wheel (formally known as the Sun Wheel) has been nearing completion with the die cut 30's era Mickey Face placed on it on April 14th. The ride itself was fashioned after Coney Island's 1927 Wonder Wheel. On April 7th, the Games of the Boardwalk opened, which include old fashioned games such as galloping horses, a water squirting game, "Casey at Bat" which is the old throwing the ball into the catchers mit game, and a fishing game. Future renovations include Silly Symphony Swings which is going to be based on the first Mickey Mouse color cartoon "The Band Concert" and will replace the Orange Stinger.

 

[JennyLou]

i use to go to disneyland a few times a year when I was younger and a few times a month when I moved to Fullerton. Now I can't afford it but I do get to go free in less than a month because it's my birthday. I like the idea of disney going with an old holywood theme.

 

[jtcarrey]

If you want to go with a Lounger, send me a PM! I try to go once a week, I think it'd be fun if we could get a group together

 

[ortega76]

This is why I go to Disneyland, to see it through her eyes is worth every penny.

Disneyland and theme parks are so much different when your kids are involved!

 

[Sydney Loren]

If you want to go with a Lounger, send me a PM! I try to go once a week, I think it'd be fun if we could get a group together

I go almost every sunday!

Also, the ex-sun wheel is now complete and the giant Mickey head is now up in it's place.

 

[Slim Portly]

Talking to an old co-worker a few days ago, there's a restored Red Car line in San Pedro running from the cruise terminal (almost under the Vincent Thomas) to the marina with a stop at downtown (6th) and Ports O'Call. All I could think when I saw the site was "Perfect excursion for a Fedora Lounge group if I were down there..."

fftopic: What a great excursion (and photo op) for the next Queen Mary gathering!

 

[Vanessa]

fftopic: What a great excursion (and photo op) for the next Queen Mary gathering!

But who is going to organize it?

 

[Orsini]

...Food rose out of all proportion relative to counterparts on the outside...

I my experience, there is nothing worth eating there.

 

[Lauren]

I love Disneyland! YaY! I'm excited to see what they do.

 

[Pilgrim]

I've been to the Florida and California sites once each, and I really enjoyed it. The biggest problem was Florida in mid-summer; what a steam bath!

But I figure most people know what they're going to get...and they get it. Granted the food is overpriced, but the overall experience is great fun.

And I don't have any problem with casual dress on the part of the customers...they are paying the bills.

 

[ValenciaCalling]

I love the Hollywood Brown Derby in Florida, but what I would personally love to see would be The Tip Top Club added to the Tower of Terror area. If anyone has seen the movie, you know what I am talking about. I'd want there to be a dress code, and a live swing band. Of course, the idea probably wouldn't go very far because the Imagineers would probably say it would be too much like the theme of the Brown Derby.

 

[Solid Citizen]

Disneyworld Hollywood Studios

I love the Hollywood Brown Derby in Florida, but what I would personally love to see would be The Tip Top Club added to the Tower of Terror area. If anyone has seen the movie, you know what I am talking about. I'd want there to be a dress code, and a live swing band. Of course, the idea probably wouldn't go very far because the Imagineers would probably say it would be too much like the theme of the Brown Derby.

What would realy be COOL would be a large gathering of FL members in vintage @ the Disneyworld Hollywood Studios, just the large amount of period style Art Deco facades is something else! Solid Citizen