into fantasyland

finally, we come to every kids favorite part off the park. probably the most ‘disney’ part of the park and one which enthralls kids of all ages to this day.

first up is THE ICON of the park. sleeping beauty castle as seen from the hub.

one of the myths which was started by the disney company and one that is just not true is that the draw bridge has only been lowered once. (a long standing story till the new fantasyland re-opening in 1983) so now, they say twice. the truth is it has been lowered 3 times. seems they forgot about the dry-run of the park opening ceremony just a day or two prior to the actual opening day. that’s 3!

here is the castle at dusk. disneyland at night is a special time indeed.

here is a part of fantasy from the early days of the park. this is the heart of the castle so to speak. the carousel and mad hatter’s tea party anchor this shot but you can make out the entrance queues for several of the dark rides. i have loads of memories of my mother and oldest daughter riding the horses of king arthur’s carousel. walt  had the horses especially designed and made to show them in ‘action’ as opposed to being stationary. they have been painted in various colors from mixed, to all black to the current all white.

an yes, the ‘tea cups’ were moved for the 83’ redesign.

an interesting fact is that the tea cups are one of the few attractions if not the only one that “must” stop operation in the rain!

one of the hardest of the original opening day attractions to get settled in walt’s mind and for a few months, operated as a very dull little boat ride with not a lot to see, grew into the lovable story book land canal boats. it was originally called canal boats of the world, however that incarnation was closed on september 16, of 1955 and then re-opened on june 16th the following year as the storybook land canal boats.

here we see the cast of pinocchio pondering the fate of guest being swallowed by monstro. this attraction has been added to, ‘plus-ed’ and changed over the years but still is an enjoyable trip through the disney cannon of make believe.

for a long time, the boats were ‘skippered’ by both male and female staff members in non-tied in apparel. not sure when it changed, but today, the boats are piloted by female only cast wearing an ‘alice in wonderland’ motif. also, for some reason, this attraction seems to open latter in the morning for some reason. also, of interest, monstro’s teeth have been filled flat.

 

we will continue in fantasyland soon and i hope you are enjoying our little tour of the park.