I was going through my DVDs and stumbled upon some bonus material I had previously missed in Walt Disney Treasures - Disneyland - Secrets, Stories & Magic.
The main program is great if you get a chance to see it. I especially like the opening where all the naysayers who thought Disneyland would never work are quoted in rapid succession. The main program provides a history of the park through the recollections of people who lived through it.
One of the bonus items is essentially an informercial for Disneyland from 1956, about a year after the park opened. It was filmed in Cinemascope which was extraordinary and incredible expensive for its time. This was a promotional item meant to entice potential guests to come to the park. I watched it twice in a row. The second time, I turned on the commentary from Leonard Maltin and longtime Imagineer Tony Baxter who has lived through much of the design and construction of several parks. He provides key insights that are missed if you view the material without the commentary.
Before entering the park, the Disneyland Hotel is shown. Park guests wait for a tram that takes them to the front gates which hasn't been possible since Disney California Adventure was built. Notable are kids boarding the tram dressed in suits.. Also, in a shot of the austere rectangular pool, a woman in a long dress is seen walking around in the southern California sun.
Upon entering Disneyland of 1956, there are three areas that are most striking: what isn't there in 1956; what is there in 1956 that still remains; and what is there in 1956, but not any more.
Baxter points out in the opening that the costumed walkabout characters are absent in 1956. Why? Apparently, those licenses were given out to an ice show and Disney was left with only some minor characters to use for merchandise. Marketing must have been crippled until those licenses expired. Oddly, there is a street cleaner on Main Street who became a guest favorite because he was considered a costumed character. The trip down Main Street inside a horse-drawn trolley is interesting especially with the widescreen effect of Cinemascope. What Baxter missed were the hats on the horses. I'm fairly certain they were inspired by if not reproduced from the short "Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet."
The commentary continues as the footage quickly switches to Frontierland. The reason why a vast majority of the feature is spent in Frontierland is that that it encompasses about a third of the park at this point. What's absent is the vegetation. There is so much dirt, but the guests don't appear to mind. What's there is the Mark Twain riverboat complete with a live band on the bow section. What's there that isn't there any more? Far too much. The native American dancers who were not cast members provided one of the few educational opportunities. The real fishing area didn't last long after the mid-50s because parents didn't know what to do with the fish their kids caught. Most ended up in trashcans. The stagecoach and mule rides are gone too. It was staggering to see how many cast members there were for these attractions. The live gunfight at Rainbow Ridge is amusing because the bad guy climbs up some stairs and ends up comically out of scale with the tiny building next to him which compromises the forced perspective in this area. The mine train ride is gone too along with its rainbow-colored waterfall. I have only seen a few blurry shots of this effect. Tony Baxter surmises that Disney did not have any interior shots in this film because Cinemascope was difficult to use in low light. This theory is probably correct because the "nighttime" shots show later have hard shadows on the ground. That means that these were process shots to simulate darkness.
Adventureland is an extremely brief stop because there is one and only one attraction, the Jungle Cruise. The skipper's spiel is humorless. "This is Schweitzer Falls, named for the famous humanitarian." and not "...named for Dr. Albert.... Falls." The most developed vegetation is here because builders made certain they got in at least one growing season before the Disneyland opened. Still, it's mighty bare. There's no Pirates of the Caribbean. No Tiki Room. Also, there's no New Orleans Square, so no Haunted Mansion.
Tomorrowland has some attractions, but it's an odd mix. The star of this section is Autopia. In 1956, there were no guide rails and riders could even pass each other.
They couldn't go inside the moon rocket ride because of the Cinemascope limitations. This attraction had been completed only days before the park opening.
There was no PeopleMover and it is disheartening to note that it is absent again. There were the Phantom Boats, but it is pointed out by Baxter that they're not moving in the aerial view which is probably why they didn't last. The Matterhorn isn't there, but there is a hill of dirt. The Monorail would come in 1959. The Carousel of Progress would have to wait for the end of the 1964-65 World's Fair. The model airplane flight circle (AKA the Thimble Drome) is there. I don't think many people miss it. The infomercial did not include Kaiser's Hall of Aluminum Fame. I guess it wasn't exciting enough.
Fantasyland has almost been completely reworked. The 1983 renovation resulted in numerous relocations and other changes. The Mad Tea Party is featured. According to the commentary, the Disneyland Band still occasionally performs while riding. The Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship is there and it was not supposed to have been removed. Unfortunately, it rotted out and was destroyed when it couldn't be moved or updated.
The Story Book Land Canal boats had been recently renamed in 1956. The guide's outfit is underwhelming.
One of the saddest moments is a ride in the now-defunct Skyway.
Sure it wasn't well themed. Sure it had long lines because it had low throughput rates. But, you got above the park for a view your couldn't get anywhere else as evidenced in this footage. It even got better when the Matterhorn was built because you went through holes in the mountain. It made sense that it had holes in it because it was a Swiss mountain.
The "nighttime" departure from the park includes the flag retreat. Guests paused respectfully during the ceremony. It was also interesting to see what passed for a parade during this time. Remember that there were no costumed characters, so they improvised. I rather enjoyed the parade of antique cars up and down Main Street. It added to the immersive effect which was still not quite ramped up at this time.
This turned out to be a pleasant discovery on a 2-disc set on which I thought I had already enjoyed all the material. The second viewing with Tony Baxter's insights was well worth the additional time.
Written by Jeff C.
