November 13, 2009: Disneyland Then and Now: Three Lands

[Werner Weiss]

Yesterland's "Disneyland Then and Now" series compares vintage Disneyland photos to similar photos taken recently. So far, I ran Disneyland Then and Now: Main Street and the Castle, and Disneyland Then and Now: Frontierland.

Here's the final installment.

Link to Disneyland Then and Now: Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland

Please discuss it here.

[Seahorse]

Thanks for the look back. It's fun to see how the park has changed. I do wish that they would place trees behind the facade of It's A Small World again. I remember reading that an imagineer/model builder needed to get some model trees out of his way so he placed them on the roof of the IASW model. Walt Disney liked the look and so they placed trees on the roof of the actual attraction. I always liked how they gave the illusion that the attraction was in a small building and then you'd go inside to find a massive interior. It was also nice to think there was a forest behind the attraction (I was a kid at the time and had a pretty good imagination). Thanks again for the article.

[EpTxGuy]

I hate to see the Disneyland: Then and Now series come to an end. That was a fun article and I really enjoyed seeing the contrasts. Good work!

[Athlonacon]

This is an amazing series, you can tell that a lot of work went into it... I mean the angles are identical, despite 50 years in between them. Thank you so much Werner, these "Then & Now" columns are great. If it is truly the end, I would really hate to see them go.

[Katella Gate]

As Athlonicon said, thanks for getting the "now" photos to align perfectly with the "then" shots. Easier said than done.

I'm sorry too that they got rid of the trees behind It's a Small World. It added a note of whimsy to the facade, and also helped set off the upper works of the filigree, which on gray or cloudy days, tends to get lost in the sky.

Also... bring back the mermaids! Instead of pretty girls blowing kisses from a rock, we have mechanical bird dolls pooping on a buoy! -JK.

[Seawolf]

It's too bad they added that extended show building for Submarine Voyage, the whole scale of the lagoon has been destroyed.

[Disneyland Tickets]

Great series Werner, I could do the compare thing all day long! I did a quickie "Then and Now" on my blog today of the Oaks Taven 1960 / Stage Door Cafe 2009 (link). Like Katella said, its not easy to line up photos from 50 years ago, my hats off to you! THANKS AGAIN!!!

[Jetlife]

The New Red monorail looks beautiful, but it does resemble the original.
What a great comparison shot.
Thanks

[cellarhound]

I have been admiring your photo essays for some time, Mr. Weirner...

But I must say I notice two things...

1. These large trees aren't always a visual asset to the visuals of how the park was originally designed. Look at how clean a horizontal visual IASW used to have compared to now...

2. My recollection of the park was that it was originally designed to feel more open and inviting, and the current designs seem to enroch on guests pathways and sightlines... the Adventurland gate is a great example of this...

Interesting...

[evmo]

I too am saddened that your not continuing this series, I love the look back in time.

I think I prefer the original color scheme of the Matterhorn, the dark grey looks more like a real mountain IMO.

Adventure land on the other I feel looks WAY better now with the tall trees. It looks like it's really in a jungle.

[Circa1966]

thanks for the great series, Werner and like the others have said, please don't let it end here!

[Werner Weiss]

Thank you to everyone who commented on the "Then and Now" series and was sorry to see that this is the final installment.

Rest assured that I hope to run more comparison photos some time in the future, not just for Disneyland but for other Disney parks too.

The problem is that I can only do so when I have appropriate vintage photos to use as a starting point.

Throughout the the world, there are long-forgotten boxes of color slides from decades ago in closets, attics, basements, and storage lockers. Considering what a popular subject for photos the Disney theme parks have always been, there are probably millions of amateur photos out there. Every once in a while, someone scans a few photos for me.

So if you, your parents, your grandparents, or other family and friends have old photos of Disneyland and other Disney parks -- especially from before the era of digital photography -- I would welcome email from you. We can then figure out the best way to scan the photos into digital files.

Although I don't pay for photos, I can reimburse costs associated with scanning and mailing. (I wish I could pay "real money" for photos, but Yesterland is primarily a hobby, despite the presence of some advertising.)

Thank you!

[a-net-fan]

Originally Posted by Werner Weiss

Thank you to everyone who commented on the "Then and Now" series and was sorry to see that this is the final installment.

Rest assured that I hope to run more comparison photos some time in the future, not just for Disneyland but for other Disney parks too.

The problem is that I can only do so when I have appropriate vintage photos to use as a starting point.

Throughout the the world, there are long-forgotten boxes of color slides from decades ago in closets, attics, basements, and storage lockers. Considering what a popular subject for photos the Disney theme parks have always been, there are probably millions of amateur photos out there. Every once in a while, someone scans a few photos for me.

So if you, your parents, your grandparents, or other family and friends have old photos of Disneyland and other Disney parks -- especially from before the era of digital photography -- I would welcome email from you. We can then figure out the best way to scan the photos into digital files.

Although I don't pay for photos, I can reimburse costs associated with scanning and mailing. (I wish I could pay "real money" for photos, but Yesterland is primarily a hobby, despite the presence of some advertising.)

Thank you!

Thanks Werner for everything. I agree with everyone else its so sad to hear this is the end of the Now and Then series. I hope you can do more installments in the very near future.

[whamo]

Has anyone else noticed the change in the Wild Ride of Mr. Toad at Disneyland? The devils in hell, which gave me nightmares at age 3, in 1955, after opening day, have been toned-down. Does this foreshadow the end for this ride?