50 Years of the Disneyland Line

Can you believe that the Disneyland Line debuted 50 years ago today? I don't know what the University of Disneyland employees expected this publication would cover or how long they thought it would last. It was part of a series of Cast communication tools which essentially began with the Disneylander periodical in January 1957.

The Disneylander only lasted until November 1961. The Backstage Disneyland magazine began in Winter 1962 (under the editorship of Disney Legend Wally Boag).

Backstage Disneyland continued until the summer of 1980 and throughout the 1960s published at least twice a year. But it didn't appear that this was frequent enough. By late 1964, the Park was sending out a small brochure known as the Tencennial Newsletter, of which a few other editions were published in 1965. By January 1966, this was going out monthly as the University of Disneyland Newsletter. From October 1966 through around April 1971—when the redundancy to the weekly Disneyland Line was surely evident—this monthly publication continued as Inside Disneyland.

The Disneyland Line debuted on April 4, 1969, as a two-page publication. For the next year it fluctuated between a two-and-four-page publication. On this blog, I've talked a bit about the Disneyland Line publication, including a reproduction of the second issue and my own (and only) appearance in it. I have a very robust collection of digital surrogates of Disneyland Line and Disneyland Resort Line (the new name as of December 31, 1999) issues. But for a long time I was missing many of the issues from 1969 and 1970.

Because the Walt Disney Archives wasn't established until 1970—and the Disney depository system including the Anaheim Public Library not instituted until sometime later—I hadn't immediately inquired with the Anaheim Heritage Center as to what Disneyland Lines they might have. I was quite pleased to discover, upon asking, that they had about half the issues I was missing from that early timeframe, including the very first issue.

So, on this 50th anniversary of the publication, I am pleased to share the Heritage Center's copy of this enduring publication. I'm not sure my Disneyland interest would be what it is without having had access to copies of issues from the 1970s. I can't wait to see the issue documenting the 100th anniversary of the Disneyland Resort.

Hey, That's My Scan!

Do you remember my blog post from April 17, 2008? Good. It showed what the very second publication of the Disneyland Line looked like. Unfortunately, I still have been unable to track down the very first edition of this longstanding publication. And I recently learned that perhaps Disney doesn't have it available easily internally, either.

The January 13, 2011 Disneyland Resort Line featured this item:

This could, of course, be from any scan of the April 11, 1969, publication. It's cropped a little more than my scan, the color balance is different, the bleed-through from the second page has been corrected, and the hole punch in the "Disneyland" is not there.

What is apparent, however, is the evidence of the lower two hole punches and the overall fading around the edges. (The logo hole punch could have been corrected because it was more visible.) The first thing that caught my attention here was that they "chose" to use an image of the second issue published, rather than the first. When I first saw the item, I was hoping to finally see what the very first issue looked like! It wouldn't make sense to choose the second if you had the first. And then I began examining it and found similarities to the scan I had posted almost three years before this issue.

What do you think?

5,000 Pages of Disneyland Lines Thesaurused

Tonight I thesaurused my 5,000th page of Disneyland Line material. (I'll get to what that means in a minute.) Back when I was a teenager, I received a collection of of Disneyland Lines and other Cast Member materials which stretched back to the late 1970s. I considered myself well-read on Disneyland history, but the Lines had countless stories about things I otherwise knew nothing about. They were a window into a Disneyland I did not know and felt I could know no other way. I doubted then that I would ever have access to a complete collection.

Fast forward a few years and my conception for the Disneyland Compendium (the ultimate Disneyland reference work) included the need to methodically comb the entirety of the Disneyland Line run (then 30 years, now approaching 50), as well as other Cast Member publications. My belief in that approach hasn't wavered, and I was fortunate enough ten years ago to be put in touch with a Cast Member who had saved nearly a complete collection and let me borrow his binders to systematically scan. The more I reviewed, the more certain I became of my approach.

While the Lines have been a major focus of the project (as evidenced by the number of pages reviewed to date), they certainly don't tell the full Disneyland story. Other Cast Member publications on which I have relied include the Disneylander (512 pages, largely completed in 2012); Backstage Disneyland (182 pages, 9 issues); and the Inside Disneyland newsletter (240 pages, 65 issues). Other sources include The Disneyland News (260 pages, 19 issues), The "E" Ticket (620 pages, 19 issues), several books (including the 2006 Disney A-Z and the 2000 Disneyland: The Nickel Tour), and 788 newspaper articles and advertisements.

I learned early on in the thesaurus construction process that it was important to have a variety of types of sources, because it ensures the best chance to capture diverse concepts and terms. But with the benefit of time, some of the depth is also starting to come through. I may be entering information about a Cast Member in the thesaurus only to find that I had previously input a story about their arrival, or their retirement, or even occasionally an obituary. My work carefully documenting the Line's terminology helped reveal when the Park began the shift from "Disneyland employees" to "Cast Members."

I've talked a lot about the sources I've used, but haven't yet addressed my use of "thesaurus" as a verb. It means that I have read, analyzed, and transcribed the text for relevant Disneyland-centric portions and entered it into the thesaurus (database). I have also entered any new relationships that the source suggests.

5,000 pages of Disneyland Lines doesn't mean that everything on each of those pages is relevant and has been entered. The activities sponsored by the Disneyland Recreation Club, for example, occur frequently in the Line but are not quite as represented in the thesaurus. I include mentions of Cast Members, but not what those sporting events were. This linkage ensures that if someone were interested in a particular Cast Member, they could still follow the reference to find out more. This came in handy a number of years back with a co-worker whose mom had worked at Disneyland, before dying of cancer when the co-worker was young. I was able to find reference to her on a DRC bowling team, a fact which was new to her.

Let's take a look at the process, using a particular Line (December 24, 1987) that put me over 5,000 pages and is pedestrian but for one detail. This one represents my first (and I believe only) mention in the Disneyland Line. I do feel that there is some irony in that I appeared at the age of 5 and in all the years since of researching and writing about Disneyland, as well as being one of the more voracious readers of the Line, have not made it back.

While I've been writing that I treat the entire issues as a source, the reality is that I break it into manageable units based on the level of "aboutness." Practically for the Disneyland Line, this breaks on an article basis. I generally try to associate the article text with a single term in the thesaurus, which sometimes results in the creation of a new term.

For any publication, my first step is to enter the colophonic information so I know who contributed to the publication and can trace changes in the title and personnel. For example, for a time in the 1970s, the Disneyland Line logo was changed to The Disneyland Line, but other references (such as in the colophon) omitted the definite article. So, in the thesaurus, I've kept the publication as Disneyland Line from its beginnings until it was renamed Disneyland Resort Line with the December 31, 1999 issue.

The first unit following the colophon, as is often the case, is the cover story. For several years, Disneyland had a Children's Christmas Art Contest, for young relatives (children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews) to create Christmas illustrations based on a given theme. I participated a few times, but this was the only time my failure was documented in print.

The cover page, at the beginning of the post, didn't yield any information except for the title.

This Line was a little unusual in that it had pages which folded out, so you see the first- and second-place winners before getting to the story describing them.

Each of these Cast Members has a new term created or an existing term updated, as well as linked to their work location.

Now we get to the heart of the story. I created a new term Children's Christmas Art Contest to serve as an umbrella term for all instances, and then a narrower term (NT) Children's Christmas Art Contest (1987). They were both assigned categories of Cast Member program, currency of former, and Disneyland Resort era relevance (DLRERA) of 1980s. I noted that I was mentioned in this Line. The other children, with one exception, were entered in the plain text field, but were not entered as new terms. The exception was Nate Jurczyk, because I already had him in the thesaurus as a Food Operations Cast Member.

The next page contributed to three main terms: Candlelight Procession & Ceremony (1987); Jones, Velma; and Ebierno, Fred. Town Square; Candlelight Procession, The (1987); Train Station (Main Street, U.S.A.); Main Street; and Disney Employee Choir were also referenced in the SRC field. Interestingly, although I already had 14,000 Cast Members in the thesaurus, I did not have either of the retirees, who had been there for nine and 19 years.

This page yielded little information—only SRCs for Accounting Control; Area Office; Barbara Warren; Publicity; and Disneyland Community Action Team.

Although the 1988 Tournament of Roses Parade did not have a Disneyland entry, it did have Disneyland involvement through the Float Drivers pictured here, and the float co-sponsored by The Walt Disney Company. I had only previously come across the term Float Drivers in the Disneyland Line of June 10, 1976, and had no associated Cast Members. This article contributed information to the 1988 Tournament of Roses Parade term, as well as those for the named/pictured Cast Members.

The Cast Activities department replaced the Disneyland Recreation Club in coordinating extracurricular activities for the Cast. The only thing I used from this page were SRCs for WDI and Studio (Walt Disney Studios).

The final page again contains very little information used in the thesaurus, aside from the colophon which I examined at the beginning of the issue.

The entire process for this issue took about an hour, including transcription. This Line contributed to 100 notes within the thesaurus. Some terms will have multiple notes from this issue, such as a SRC for Candlelight Procession, The (1987) and definitional information in Candlelight Procession & Ceremony (1987). The Line contributed information on 29 Cast Members, including the two children who I know went on to the role later in life. 14 of these Cast Members were new to the thesaurus, while the other 15 had appeared before—sometimes from multiple sources. For example, Jurczyk, Dee appeared frequently because of her role with Cast Activities. My earliest reference to Byrne, Bill came from the November 1970 Inside Disneyland, when he completed an introductory training program.

In all, Disneyland Lines have contributed to information in 21,585 terms across the thesaurus. It's been quite a resource to this project and I look forward to continue combing through them. Maybe in the next thirty years I'll have the opportunity to appear again!

It All Began Here

June 21, 1997 was the first time I saw construction work for Disney's California Adventure, in the former Alice Cast Member parking area. It was probably the first time for a lot of people, as the above photo was taken within a few days of the work beginning. The Disneyland Line clippings below explain what's going on, although once the closure date changed they (frustratingly) do not mention the exact beginning of the construction. I wonder how long it had been since bulldozers were last in that area...

May 9, 1997:

May 16, 1997:

June 6, 1997:

June 13, 1997:

June 20, 1997:

On Disneyland Employees

Today, I have a reading comprehension exercise for you. The above excerpt is from the January 15, 1976 Disneyland Line. The text is rendered below:

Disneyland is one show that Ride Operator TOM PLETTS has been a Permanent Part-time cast member of for over 15 years. Currently in Fantasyland, Tom has been performing on stage since his preschool years and has continued his semi-professional career here in the Park with our Drama Workshop.

"Chicken Ranching for Fun and Profit," was a comic melodrama that Tom performed in one summer for our guests through the Entertainment Division. He has been an active member of our Drama Workshop since its inception in 1970.

Attending the Film Industry Workshop in Studio City takes up most of Tom's spare time. His main interests are in the motion picture business, however, he does enjoy photography, art and jazz.

"Walt Disney made the most lasting impression on me since I've been working in the Park," said Tom. "He was a childhood idol anyway and seeing him and talking with him were great experiences."

I'm sure it jumped out for you as it did for me. No, not the somewhat awkward grammatical construction ("of for"). No, not even that, according to this, "Chicken Ranching for Fun and Profit" was performed for Guests. No, what jumped out at me was there in the first line, where the Line refers to Tom Pletts as a cast member. This is the earliest such reference I have found.

Any regular reader of this blog is well aware that those employed by the Disneyland Resort are Cast Members. For all you can read about Cast Members, you might expect that this is how it has always been. Disneyland has always been a Show and therefore its employees have always been called Cast Members. (Even Van France's book Window on Main Street doesn't mention this 1970s shift. As Disneyland's founding trainer and a man intimately involved with the Disney University for many years, Van would have come up with this language.) But it took twenty-one years for the term to enter the Disney lexicon and several more years, at least, for it to displace the existing "Disneylander" and "Disneyland employees" references. This conscious shift to a show language occurred in the mid-1970s, as the Disney University professionalized its offerings and communication style, including improving the Disneyland Line.

Disneylander is the original term referring to 'those who work at Disneyland' (and the title of the monthly publication for such workers in the 1950s). It was used not just for internal communications, but also in the pre-opening newspaper insert, Vacationland, and the guidebooks handed out to Park Guests. Its vagueness meant it could and did apply to those employed by Disneyland, by WED (working on the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad or the Disneyland-Alweg Monorail System before Retlaw), or by the lessees. Today, when the number of lessee personnel is so small, this may seem like an unimportant matter, but in the 1950s the number of lessee personnel may have outnumbered the Disneyland, Inc. employees. Most of the shops, many restaurants, and some of the exhibits (i.e., most of Tomorrowland) had such outside personnel. The divide between those employed by Disneyland and those employed by others just wasn't there, and needed unity was doubtless aided by calling everybody Disneylanders.

The term Disneyland employee also has a long history. It wasn't as preferred as Disneylander early on, but Disneylander publications in the 1950s did use it, and it appears in the 1965 Park guidebook. When the Disneyland Line began publication in 1969, the term appeared in practically every issue. By the time of the Line, a much greater proportion of those working at Disneyland were directly employed by Disney, and thus the distinction between such individuals, Retlaw, and lessee personnel became a little more important. Disneyland had long ago assumed control of most food and merchandise operations, and there were far fewer exhibits in the Park employing outside personnel. Aside from the weekly references to Disneyland employees in the Line, The D.E.C. (Disneyland Employee Cafeteria) Backstage under New Orleans Square and the Disneyland Employees Federal Credit Union (today's Partners Federal Credit Union) incorporated this nomenclature.

The term Cast Member took several years to establish itself and resulted from the Disney University's communications professionalization. Under the editorship of former Attractions Hosts Joel Halberstadt and Ron Kollen, the Line itself became more standardized in appearance and more formulaic in approach. (The use of formulaic isn't meant to denigate the Line's content, as there were some great articles in the 1970s. It is merely to represent that previously the Line's content from week to week was unpredictable.) It makes sense that the text would also reflect greater Disney sophistication. The word Show itself in the Disneyland Line dates back to at least November 27, 1974, when the publication began an introduction to a Cycling Shop article thusly:

One of the qualities of the Park that consistently impresses our guests is the fresh, new look about most everything. Although every craft in the Maintenance Dept. is concerned with the "Show" aspect of Disneyland, this week we'd like to take a good look at the area that might be more intimately involved than most...

Backstage had been in the Disney lexicon at least as early as 1962, when the employee publication of the same name began publication. But, as I mentioned above, Cast Member (or, more accurately, cast member) didn't appear until January 1976. It's debatable whether the author intended that use of cast member in the sense that we now know (since Tom Pletts also performed in "regular" shows). The term did not appear again (this time familiarly capitalized) in the Line until April 22, 1976, in an article about the Inn Between. The first hint is on the front page:

the Inn Between serves the year-round needs of the Disneyland Cast with the major emphasis on appetites. This Backstage Buffeteria serves a complete assortment of meals prepared by an expert staff.

The first familiar, capitalized reference is on the second page. Fittingly enough, the paragraph uses both Disneyland employees and Cast Members, seemingly interchangeably:

One of the unique aspects of the Inn Between is serving Disneyland employees, many of whom spend their day serving guests. Lead Karen Johnson commented that because Cast Members who use the Inn Between are there for such a limited time, "there is extra pressure to move them through quickly and still treat them with the kindness that they extend to guests."

There you have it. What appears to be the first official use of Cast Member comes not in a stirring tribute to the men and women of the Park, but in a buried comment about how it's important for the Cast to be served quickly at its cafeteria. It did, however, take several years before Disneyland employees became taboo. It still showed up in Disneyland Lines of 1977 and is in the Fall/Winter 1978-1979 guidebook. As I continue to closely examine each and every Line, I expect I'll be able to document this transition more fully--one of the most important language transitions in Disneyland's history. (Other important linguistic curiosities in Disneyland's history include the shift to Disneyland Park, the replacement of attractions for rides, and the origin of the theme park appellation.)

I'll leave you with this essay from the May 1957 Disneylander (periodical), entitled, "What is a Disneylander?":

A Disneylander is both male & female, comes in assorted sizes, shapes and colors. Never seems to have a last name, answers to Jo, Louie, Hutch, Chuck, Judy, Joan, Alice, Mary, Walt and Hey you!

He's a river boat captain; top-hatted gambler of the lawless West; rocket pilot with plexiglass helmet; angel of mercy in white; or an indian on the war path. He's an executive in an old Buick or a teen-age ice cream vendor with a 1957 Chevy; likes his steaks rare and Pepsi-Cola strong. His diet is unique and consists of large quantities of malts, coffee, hot dogs, banana splits, coffee, tuna sandwiches, coffee, Yankee bean soup, hamburgers, more coffee, french fries and fritos.

Now, it's a scientific fact that mice cannot live on this diet which seems to provide a real snappy comeback to the old "are you a man or a mouse" question.

He's a walking source of information; knows where to eat; most direct route to the comfort stations; drinking fountains and lost parent department, but never knows the best road to Knott's Berry Farm.

Disneylanders represent every profession; teacher, mother, artist, cowboy, Indian, carpenter, secretary, clerk, cook, painter, mechanic and photographer.

With a sticker on the windshield, I.D. card in hand, he's top-drawer with the local small fry who regard him with that special "gee, he works at Disneyland every day" look.

Naturally every red-blooded Disneylander is loaded with ride passes and is considered by the in-laws as a very soft touch. (We know this is just an ugly rumor)

By golly, this Disneyland character is pretty great, in fact, the most!

Welcome to the Magic Kingdom.

What a swell job!

What a Week

The October 1, 1975 Disneyland Line noted:

Leisure plans and carefree days are on the agenda for these Disneyland employees who retired this week. They will be taking with them countless memories and experiences as well as our warmest wishes. Each and everyone of them will be missed.

Following this is a list of 34 names. In these days the Line would normally only mention one or two people that may be retiring, if any. Later, the Line had a regular "Golden Ears" column that included a photo and paragraph describing retirement plans for long-tenured Cast Members. As I recognized many of the names on the list, it seemed an almost historic group of retirees. As of July 17, 1975, there were 109 Club 55 members. Five Club 55 members, or 4.6% of the total, retired this one week! Most of the other names I've come across several times thus far in my thesaurusing activities. Here is my annotated list of retirees, all drawn from the information I've already assembled:

• Howard Block: Employed at the Park for 20 years and served as a Foreman on most Park attractions.
  
• Helen De Masi: Decorating Department.
• Harry Dickey: Animation Department, Actuator Shop.
• Herman Falk: Paint Shop; received a 15-Year service award in November 1975.
• Eugene Galentine: Club 55 member of the Disneyland Fire Department.
• Kenneth Getty
• Robert Hanna: Retlaw Foreman on the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad; contributed to Backstage Disneyland ("Mainly on Main Street" column) and received a 15-Year service award in November 1974.
• Herman Heidel: In Disneyland's Plumbing Department since 1957; received a 15-Year service award in November 1975. In 1971 Herman was a representative on Disneyland's Maintenance Safety Committee (each Maintenance department had one) and in March 1974 had a winning Creative Idea to disperse a foam build-up on the Bear Country waterfall.
• Dorothea Heidemann: Merchandising; received a 10-Year service award in November 1973.
• Homer Holland: Club 55 member from Main Street Operations. Homer served on several committees (Employee Cafeteria Food Committee, Operations Safety Committee, Main Street Stage Safety Committee) and in September 1973 had a winning Creative Idea to mount rear-view mirrors on the Main Street horseless carriage and fire trucks.
• Steve Horvath
• Carolyn Hughes
• Edwin Johnson: Maintenance; received a 10-Year service award in November 1974. Served as the Maintenance coordinator for Disneyland's 1971 United Fund drive.
• Katherine Kilpatrick: New Orleans & Plaza Inn Kitchens.
• Lulu Miller: Club 55 member of Costuming. Lulu was known to everybody at the Park for her motherly ways. Stuff from the Park has a photo of Lulu taken in the late 1950s.
• George Kohlenberger: Sound Department; received a 10-Year service award in November 1975. With others (including my uncle), George helped maintain the first Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show at Disneyland.
• Walter Lindstedt: Maintenance; in 1972 participated in a 16-week blueprint reading class with other Maintenance Cast Members at the University of Disneyland.
• Urban Mendoza: New Orleans & Plaza Inn Kitchens.
• Adrian Munoz
• Ralph Myers: Finance Division; received a 10-Year service award in November 1973. Ralph was one of the original signers of the Charters of Organization for the DRC [Disneyland Recreation Club] Federal Credit Union (today's Partners Federal Credit Union).
• Charles Nichols: Came to Disneyland in 1959 at the request of Eddie Meck as the head of Disneyland's Photo Department; received a 15-Year service award in November 1974.
• Ethel Penfield: Worked at the Baby Station since 1957 (possibly from its very first day). In 1975 Ethel recalled, "One man came in with his family and told us that through the years I had helped change and feed all six of his kids!"
• John Power: Superintendent of the Electrical Department; received a 15-Year service award in November 1973.
• Fred Roamer
• Fran Salazar: With Landscaping since the late 1960s.
• Elias Salloum
• John Schimmelman
• Joe Soto: Landscaping; received a 15-Year service award in November 1974.
• Golvin Street: Main Gate Ticket Taker.
• Charlotte Teague
• Helen Westin
• John Westlake: Maintenance; received a 15-Year service award in November 1974.
• George Williams: Club 55 member and Mill Foreman.
  
• Hugh (Woody) Woodsworth: Club 55 member in Payroll.

That's quite a roster to walk out the door in one week!

1970s Imagineers Tour Disneyland

I won't even ask who wants to see some photos of Imagineers touring Fantasyland in 1974, because I know it's all of you! I've attached scans from the December 25, 1974 Disneyland Line, but here's the text so Google can find it.

WED Designers And "Imagineers" Tour The Park

Last Thursday, December 12th, a talented group of WED designers and "Imagineers" toured Fantasyland and Tomorrowland with Ron Dominguez, John Cora, Craig Smith and Jim Coutu. This was one of future monthly visits by the WED personnel. Every four weeks they will tour and inspect different areas in The Park, concentrating on the attractions, food facilities, design and overall appearance of the themed Land. Any changes or improvements, no matter how small, are noted and the appropriate work is scheduled soon after.

This policy of regularly visiting the Park is not only refreshing and encouraging, but reaffirms the fact that the "Show" aspect of Disneyland is just as important as ever. The WED personnel on Thursday's tour included:

MARTY SKLAR - Vice-President of Concepts & Planning
ORLANDO FERRANTE - Vice-President of Administration
CLAUDE COATS - Designer
X. ATENCIO - Designer & Writer
ERNIE PRINZHORN - Head of Graphics Department
ERIC WESTIN - Director of Interior Design
AHMAD JAFARI - Designer
SCOTT MACKIE - Coordinator
TONY BAXTER - Assistant Designer

A Minor Milestone

I have just finished extracting information from my fiftieth Disneyland Line. Depending on the length and content, each one may take from twenty minutes to several hours to get through. It partly depends on how many terms I can wring out of each issue. Lists of Cast Members celebrating service anniversaries, for example, is cognitively easy but takes some time to add the details--particularly for Cast Member names new to the thesaurus. Other times I get organizational information (such as a department name or a role I haven't seen before) and I spend time trying to figure out how it all fits together. Often, however, I can't figure it out to my satisfaction and just wait until I have more information to figure out the hierarchy. Anyway, I figure I have about 2,000 more to go... which would sound more manageable if that were all I had to research!

A Disneyland Quiz

Think you know Disneyland? Well, test yourself! Courtesy of the July 14, 1977 Disneyland Line, I present "a quiz of some facts that may have fallen by the wayside during the last [five] decades." (No cheating, Todd.)

1. Holidayland was;
A. An RV Park
B. A motel in Fullerton
C. A movie starring Bing Crosby
D. A picnic and recreation area adjacent to the Park

2. Who was Professor Keller?
A. The first instructor at the Disney University
B. A gunfighter in Frontierland
C. Star of "The Absent Minded Professor"
D. A lion tamer who performed on Main St.

3. The Red Wagon Inn was;
A. Opposite of the Red Wagon Outt
B. A new Mattel toy
C. A movie starring Fess Parker
D. Predecessor of the Plaza Inn

4. The Thimbledrome was;
A. A sewing bee
B. A Tomorrowland location where model airplanes and boats were demonstrated
C. A sports arena in Frontierland
D. A movie theatre in Adventureland

5. Lilliputian Land was;
A. A small country east of France
B. A typo
C. A proposed but never built land for the Park
D. What you say after someone sneezes

6. The star of the Golden Horseshoe when it opened was;
A. Hoagey Carmichael
B. Rex The Wonder Toad
C. Wally Boag
D. Humphrey Bogart

7. The Mickey Mouse Club Headquarters was located;
A. On Tom Sawyer's Island
B. In The Opera House
C. In Central First Aid
D. In San Juan Capistrano

8. Don Defore's Silver Banjo was;
A. Out of tune
B. An episode of Ozzie and Harriet
C. A restaurant in Frontierland
D. A group performing on the Keel Boats

9. "Art of Animation" was;
A. An exhibit in Tomorrowland
B. An unsuccessful Disney movie
C. Used to communicate with non-English speaking guests
D. Someone who drew pictures in Fantasyland

10. The fireworks display started;
A. When a Cast Member asked for the first E.R. [early release]
B. In 1956
C. As a distress signal
D. In 1958

Answers later! Interestingly, this article includes the photo Daveland posted of the employee cafeteria in the back of the Red Wagon Inn, but reveals slightly more of the photo:

UPDATE: And the answers are: 1-D, 2-D, 3-D, 4-B, 5-C, 6-C, 7-B, 8-C, 9-A, 10-B. Yes Tim, you win! Some of those were pretty tough. Who knew this "Wally Boag" character was the star of the Golden Horseshoe?!

Disneyland Shop Information

No, I haven't forsaken all of you... I've just been doing my Christmas shopping! I set my time machine for 1958 to take advantage of the catalog Jed posted, but I ended up in 1973. (The dial has been sticking, and you know how the repair people are...) Luckily, the Disneyland Line issued a special edition around December 5, 1973 documenting what each store sells. I just don't know if I'll have enough room to bring back the grandfather clock! (Yes, I'm posting this from 1973.) I might just load up on Funky Groovy Threads over at the Character Shop. Far out!


With thanks to VintageDisneylandTickets for hosting, you too can peruse this unique portrait of 1973 Disneyland shopping.

Number Two!

Here's a bit of a treat (or maybe a letdown once you actually read through it...): Volume 1, Number 2 of the Disneyland Line, April 11, 1969. I'll only point out how obviously the Cast was like a family; the departure, marriage, and birth announcements feel like they should be in a small-town newspaper. If anybody has Vol. 1, No. 1, I'd love to see it!