Friday, January 16, 2009

A day at Disneyland - 1955/56

Today’s post is a mix of items all from the same trip to Disneyland back in the early days. None of these items have an actual printed date; my guess would be late 1955 or early 1956.

Up first a pair of fairly rare “Frontierland Freight” train tickets. In the early days of the park the two trains each left from their own stations (Main Street or Frontierland) and circled the park non-stop returning back where they started. I like how the side stub lists your route via; Fantasyland, Holidayland, Tomorrowland, Main St. Depot, Adventureland and return.






The low-ish serial number leads me to believe these are from late 1955 or early 1956. Notice the numbers on the two tickets are sequential; this makes me really happy for no apparent reason.






If you missed my 4 part Train Ticket series, be sure and check it out here (link).

Looks like the same happy couple that rode the Frontierland Freight Train also took a trip on the Mark Twain’s “First Class Circuitous Passage”.






Sequential serial number again, now I’m getting giddy






A couple of standard (and free) souvenirs from the trip. A post card showing the “Chemitron” from Monsanto’s Hall of Chemistry. Check my previous post here (link) to see the full brochure of the “Chemitron






TWA’s Rocket to the Moon souvenir flight certificate. What’s with the “Know All Ye By These Presents”, that doesn’t sound very futuristic?





It appears the happy couple didn’t stay at the Disneyland Hotel. Maybe it wasn’t open yet or none of its original 7 rooms were vacant. The Top’s Motel looks like it was the couple's choice and it's only ½ mile north of Disneyland!






It might be a little over my budget.





This place sounds super or dare I say "TOP'S". I can’t find any information online about the Top’s Motel or the Soderstrom’s (except they voted in the 50's).  The street name seems to have changed at some point since the map clearly shows they are on what is now Vermont & Harbor, not S. Palm.  I tracked down the lot on Google Maps and believe it or not this place is still there or at least the rooms building is.  It even has its same color scheme! I’ll get a current picture of it next week when I visit the park.





So much to do!






All these neat items came in this vintage Disneyland bag, the graphics remind me of the Disneyland (Dizzyland) TV Show.





2 comments:

Major Pepperidge said...

Great post, it's the paper ephemera that I love the most (and it seems as if all of it is getting so expensive!).

The Top's Motel brochure is fun, and I like how they used the castle from Herb Ryman's first drawing of Disneyland in their map!

Katella Gate said...

The trip to the moon flight certificate has some odd language because the idea is borrowed from an older tradition of "Crossing the Line".

When a passenger ship crosses the equator, a mock ceremony is held at the stern in which King Neptune comes onboard to levy a toll on the ship and the passengers.

When the toll is paid, frequently in sea shells (shades of "I, Claudius"), King Neptune presents passengers with a certificate exempting them from future payment.

Being a royal proclamation, the certificates usually start with “Know All Ye By These Presents”.

They seldom mention what a great airline TWA was.