One can easily slip into the jargon of “ride,” but at Disneyland there is a "story behind the story" of every attraction, every attraction is a living experience for the guest. Disneyland ride-through attractions or adventures have officially been defined as an “individual show, ride, or exhibit designed to produce an entertaining Guest experience. Disney attractions stir the imagination, enliven the senses, and provide the participants with positive, innovative entertainment, which is the essence of the DISNEYLAND Show.” It is important to review the story of the attraction, tell the story, explain it, and create interest. This is the story of the Canal Boats.

“Walt’s Love of Miniatures - A Prologue to Storybook Land”

Once upon a time… Walt Disney became fascinated with miniatures. It is believed that it happened amidst his travels, while visiting the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939, where Mrs. James Ward Thorne’s collection of miniature rooms was displayed. With that, Walt’s interest in the world of miniatures was sparked, and he soon began crafting his own (to match the scale of his Carolwood Pacific Railroad stock) within the Studio Machine Shop under the supervision of Roger Broggie. By 1951, Walt had also started collecting miniatures (as attested to by his extensive collection in the care of the Walt Disney Family Museum), and was even at work composing a traveling “Disneylandia” exhibit of miniature mechanized scenes. These were designed to include a tap dancing Vaudeville entertainer and a barbershop quartet. The collection would be transported by railroad to major cities. The displays would have been viewed by visitors, through coin-operated windows installed in pullman railroad cars.

While the science of cam-and-lever technology and some of the art was developed, the project was scrapped due to costs.

While visiting England in 1951, Walt had the fortuosity to meet an artist named Harper Goff while shopping for small-scale railroad engine. Some time after Walt returned home (in 1952), he founded a company called WED Enterprises, Inc. in order to master-plan and design his dreams of a Park. Walt would hire Harper to create drawings of a “Mickey Mouse Mark” (to be constructed on an 11-acre plot along Riverside Drive in Burbank). It was within these drawings prepared c. 1953, that Harper included a “gravity flow canal boat” ride (similar to one that Walt saw at Bois de Boulogne, north of Paris, while performing research for Disneyland).

“At the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, where rides were engineered, they advised against trying to run the canal boats on an underwater chain. Long experience had shown that such devices tangled and rusted out.” Such a gravity flow canal ride would revolutionize theme park vehicles, and (most import) influence several future Disneyland attractions! The result was that further designs and documents began to reference a “Gravity Flow Canal Boat” and “Boat Lift”. Further rough map and site plan drawings created for the very same area near Griffith Park (in Burbank, California) depicted the canal boat ride with a miniature “castle” labelled along the shores of the water.

During 1952, Walt travelled to the newly opened miniature cities of Madurodam Park (in Holland), in his continuing study of amusement centers. Some time passed, and after the Park’s working title had been changed to “Disneyland,” some of the earliest conceptual drawings of the new Park, now featured an area described as “Lilliputian Land” as part of the site plans. The following year, while designs for his own “Disneyland” Park still incorporated the “Gravity Flow Canal Ride,” concept, site plan drawings (included in the 1953 “Disneyland Prospectus”) began to feature an area labelled “Mother Goose” in the “Fantasy Land.” According to the “Proposed Diagramatic Layout of Disneyland” (Marvin A. Davis’ plot plan, produced for WED Enterprises, by September 12, 1953) described among the details a “Lilliputian Land” featuring a “1/2 Scale Train Ride”, a “Canal Boat Ride”, and even a “Lilliputian Museum” (perhaps to hold Walt’s collection of miniatures). About this time, the nursery rhyme “Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub” had came to influence the concept of a potential mode of travel through this lilliputian land, and concepts were created of a bathtub-like boat that would transport guests along these miniature vignettes. But Walt made a research trip to Europe during this time, and after at least one canal boat ride in Paris, the “plug was pulled” on the idea of bathtubs.

Then in 1952, Walt Disney founded a company called WED Enterprises, Inc. in order to master-plan and design his his dreams of a Park. The company was staffed by Animators, Art Directors, Artists, Artisans, Architects, Set Designers, and Planners from the Studio. Early thumbnail sketches and other concept artwork seemed to be unencumbered by restrictions of budget, schedule or the laws of nature and physics. Though guided by Walt, his artists appeared to engage in “free-thinking,” as if implementing the modern “Blue Sky” Imagineering process.

Early thumbnail sketches and other concept artwork of Disneyland still seemed to be unencumbered by restrictions of budget, schedule or the laws of nature and physics. Though guided by Walt, his artists appeared to engage in “free-thinking,” as if implementing the modern “Blue Sky” Imagineering process.

“Draw Concept”

While many artists contributed, the talented Herbert Ryman is of note. Herb had joined the Disney Studio in 1938, after Walt saw a public show of his work in New York. (Herb's paintings were being exhibited with those of another up and coming artist, Andrew Wyeth.) Herb Ryman acted as art director for such films as Fantasia and Dumbo, but had left Walt Disney Studios in 1946 and (by 1953) was employed by 20th Century Fox. Walt reached out to Herb and during one weekend (September 26 & 27, 1953) the first “Schematic Aerial View” over Disneyland originally produced! Herb Ryman’s work notably depicted a water-based ride through a lilliputian land.

This land was (at least partially) inspired by Walt’s earlier “Disneylandia” project, which would have been a traveling exhibition of miniature Americana (as told though small-scale set pieces and animated figures). In one particular 1954 document, an attraction is described as “a land of little things….A miniature Americana village is inhabited by mechanical people nine inches high, who sing and dance, and talk to you as you peek through the windows of their tiny shops and homes. In Lilliputian Land there is an Erie Canal barge that takes you through the famous canals of the world, where you visit the scenic wonders of the world in miniature. Here, a little diamond-stack locomotive engine 17 inches high steams into the tiny railroad station. You sit on top of the Pullman coaches like Gulliver, and the little nine inch engineer pulls back the throttle taking you on the biggest little-ride in the land. And for the little people who have little appetites - you can get miniature ice-cream cones, or the world’s smallest hot-dog on a tiny bun in Lilliputian Land.” Some of these viable project Concepts (as seen above), were supported by a well-developed business case and built expectation. But while some of these ideas didn’t materialize, at least one of them did - a canal boat (similar to those seen in Netherland’s canals).

This concept was prepared by Bradley & Kaye Amusement Company of 8506 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles 48, Calif; Oleander 5-8029.

Amidst his loose line work, Walt Disney Studio artist Bruce Bushman (who was also affiliated with Bradley & Kaye) suggested a Stromboli Puppet theater in an area inspired by Pinocchio’s village, a gravity-flow canal ride featuring Monstro the Whale, a circus midway-themed dining area entered through a towering clown arch, a sailboat in a lagoon, and remembering that “it was all started by a mouse,” his detailed designs also included a “Birth of a Mouse” show. [The Disneyland News, Vol.1, No.9 published for March 10, 1956.]

By July 1, 1954, George Whitney of Disneyland, Inc. directed Amusements, with Ron Miller overseeing analysis, philosophy, capacities, planning, operator training, and amusement procurement.

Meanwhile, one 1954 design (pictured above) by Bruce Bushman (a Walt Disney Productions Technical Director) was derived from the character model of Hardie Gramatky’s Little Toot (as featured and popularized in “Walt Disney’s Melody Time”, released in 1948). Maybe you’ve seen the limited edition print released through The Disney Gallery.

But a more traditional (and non- “anthropomorphic”) look was ultimately finalized, which can be seen below. Here, the Canal Boats of “Holland, France, England, and America travel through the canals which pass the fabulous sights of Fantasyland”, according to The Story of Disneyland (published 1955 by Disneyland Inc.)! Like some advanced “High Concept,” final designs were quickly generated and approved.

Eight original boats were built and these were named, Annie Oakley, Bold Lockinvar, Gretel, Lady Guinivere, Lady Katrina, Lady of Shallot, Lady of the Lake, and Nellie Bly. According to a “Nomenclature List” (updated May 25, 1955), there were “2 American boats, 2 English boats, 2 French boats, and 2 Dutch boats.” Each of these unique 15-foot, 9-inch (5 foot, 8 inch beamed) canal boats were both fabricated and constructed by the reputable Robert Dorris and his Bob Dorris Boatworks (a local boat builder of neighboring Newport Beach). Bob Dorris Boatworks (of Newport Beach) was already responsible for a number of Disneyland boat hull designs. After Bob consulting with artists from WED enterprises, it was time to begin construction on his most memorable Disneyland contribution - those quaint and whimsical little canal boats. Soon their propulsion was attached, to be accomplished by way of gasoline-powered outboard motors on each boat.

Meanwhile, the Canalways of the World began to take form! It’s waters were to be shared with Tomorrowland Lake (in a “continuous flowing gravitational water system”) via an additional canal which would run along the tracks of the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad. Soon, one authorized “Disneyland Information & Nomenclature List” (prepared by Bill Cottrell of Disneyland Inc., May 25, 1955) announced the working title as the “Canal Boats of the World,” describing a “scenic canal boat ride in American, English, French, and Dutch canal boats.” The same document adds that the “there are : 2 American boats, 2 English boats, 2 French boats, 2 Dutch boats.” As of June 2, 1955, C.V. Wood Jr. sent an Inter-Office Memorandum to Walt Disney regarding the best estimates that could be obtained at the time regarding the completion status of individual sections of the Park and Opening Day. C.V. wrote: “Canal Boats: We can have the canal finished with the water run but will probably only have five boats operating.”

Bruce Bushman created a Monstro-shaped attraction concept - a Pinocchio-themed canal boat flume ride and a Tick-Tock Crock-themed aquarium.

In “Donald Duck Goes to Disneyland” the Storybookland Canal Boats never made an illustrated appearance, but a few lines read simply, “When he opened his eyes… Everywhere around him there were boys and girls laughing and shouting as they hurried by. Some were boarding a boat to ride down a long canal.”

As the Opening Day (of the summer of 1955) drew closer, an Orange County Register insert tantalized guests with the line : “the Canal Boats of the World will glide you on an eventful trip.”

This photograph (pictured above) was taken between July 14th and 17th, 1955. The Casey Jr. Circus Train was making its first test rides and the engine was having trouble making it up the steep uphill grades. (You can see this taking place in the background.)

Then, finally, the simple Canal Boats of the World opened as 1 of 18 amusements and attractions to open with Disneyland during July of 1955, and “Welcome to Disneyland” maps invited guests to take a ride aboard the “Canal Boats of America, England, France.” However, despite Walt Disney’s reputation as an exceptional storyteller, it became apparent that there was a certain lack of character to the attraction.

In recent decades, Disneyland attractions have officially been defined as an “individual show, ride, or exhibit designed to produce an entertaining Guest experience. Disney attractions stir the imagination, enliven the senses, and provide the participants with positive, innovative entertainment, which is the essence of the DISNEYLAND Show.” While the present incarnation of the Canal Boats epitomizes this mission statement, things weren’t always that way. Note the preceding Vintage View and the flags in the foreground representing different countries of the world. There were no miniatures. Aside from the flags, the sparse foliage was the only other attraction along the canals. The Canal Boats of the World was an incomplete boat ride through dirt mounds.

Flags placed along the shores identified the origin of various flora along the canal.

“Neverland” (the place where the canal boats are stored during non-operation today) likely had another name during this period.

The “landscaping” was virtually nonexistent. At the Disneyland 10th anniversary birthday party Walt (for the first time) publicly recalled, “when we opened… we didn’t have enough money to finish the landscaping and I had Bill Evans go out and put Latin tags on all the weeds.” [“The Spirit of Disneyland,” page 43 ; Prepared 1984 by Walt Disney Productions.] Even more, there were no miniature sets. Owing to the lack of character or story, “the attraction was euphemistically referred to as ‘Mud banks of the World’ because there was initially virtually nothing to see,” according to “Disneyland: Then, Now, and Forever,” by Bruce Gordon and Tim O’Day. As a result, at this time, there was no spiel delivered by the all-male Pilot Hosts.

Disneylander and “55er” Jack Taylor recalled: “I started on the Canal Boats, but there was NOTHING there, only weeds. The enclosed outboard motors were always overheating, so we pulled the boats and people around by hand! We would tell the guests, One of these days there will be such and such on the canal and over there will be a mountain with bobsleds and... There were no girls on the Canal Boats and we were a kind of a Dutchman's outfit, with no set spiel...we couldn't talk over the roar of the outboards.”

Considering all this, it seems the attraction may have been pretty easy to forget. Still, of all the Disneyland Opening Day memories, Jack Lindquist (who was present as a Guest) remembered the Canal Boats of the World most. “We took my oldest son, who at the time was five, and we finally got him on one attraction - it was the Canal Boats. The boat took off and it never came back. About 55 minutes later his boat came back being pulled by six people in the water. That was the only attraction he got on that day, but it was still a tremendous thrill at Disneyland.” On its first day of operation, the attraction would experience a “Show Failure” situation and go “101.”

Bob Penfield recalled: “Storybookland was not completed...just a canal. The boats had outboard motors in the enclosed engine room. The motors would overheat and burn up...and they were always running out of gas.”

“55er” Cora Lee Sargent recalled an even worse situation, some “Canal Boat fellas would bring Vodka in their Thermos bottles!”

The attraction closed on September 16, 1955. Though the Canal Boats of the World was a short-lived, attraction, Bob Dorris’ quaint canal boats themselves would outlive the original theme and become part of Fantasyland’s most timeless attractions!

While artwork of the canal boat appeared in the Picture Souvenir Book of Disneyland (published for 1955), it was not described (but only mentioned on the Key Map of Disneyland, below), alluding to the fact that there was a little more story to tell regarding the charming little boats. In fact, by 1956 Walt Disney Productions Character Merchandising Division was considering producing a toy inspired by the Canal Boats.

By about September of 1955, C.S. Olson (of Strombeck-Becker Mfg. Co.) was interested in designing and producing plastic model kits or fully assembled plastic toy forms of the small canal boats. One letter (addressed to Philip Sammeth of Walt Disney Productions’ Character Merchandise Division) even proposed the possibility of toys measuring “about a 6” size for wading pool and bath tub use for little tots.”

*Press Opening Monday, June 18, 1956.

Walt Disney had “promised that his ‘Disneyland Story’ will never be completed,” according to “Walt Disney’s Guide to Disneyland” published 1956. You may recall hearing how Walt Disney, on the very eve of Disneyland’s first day of operation, promised innovation, that “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow, to add new things, as long as there is imagination left in the world.” Further, Walt also said that “Disneyland is like a piece of clay : if there is something I don’t like, I’m not stuck with it. I can reshape and revamp.” On these notes, we’ve “got a whale of a tale to tell ya!”

“The Story of Storybook Land”

As far back as 1955, Disneyland visitors were intended to “ascend the interior of Monstro the Whale to enjoy a breath-taking slide down his tongue into a pond.” In addition to that concept, at least one “Bird’s Eye View of Fantasyland” designed by WED Enterprises for Disneyland, Inc. included a “Mother Goose Fun Thru” attraction full of storybook character. However, there just one fantastic $200,000 refurbishment, of a $2,000,000 expansion that would bring these elements together into one show at Disneyland. These developments to the Canal Boats of the World would quickly prove the truth of Walt Disney’s promise that Disneyland would continue to grow!

At a meeting of the Disneyland Merchant's Association (held January 25, 1956), the momentous announcement was made regarding Fantasyland developement: “We are making several new developments on this ride at a cost of approximately $125,000.00. This ride will be exciting and portray a ‘story book’ land, with villages at about 1/2 scale and crazy quilt landscape idea. This should be completed by April.”

“A Kingdom Within the Magic Kingdom”

Now, the quaint Dutch, English, and French-style Canal Boats vehicles were simply too good to dispose of, so the attraction would be recycled (with the view that the original attraction theme would be temporary). In the meantime, Walt had taken some trips abroad (visiting and researching amusement centers). Harriet Burns once related the results of these excursions in an interview this way : "Walt came in and he said he had seen miniature cities, both in Canada and in England, and he was most impressed with the one in England. He recalled how charming it was, and how kids and families could walk along the roads and between the buildings. It really intrigued him.” But more than intriguing, these things would inspire Walt! The Disneyland News Vol.1 ; No.8 (published February 10, 1956) described an extensive remodel that would produce “a truly international ride.” It would give “canal boat passengers a look at model-sized representations of cities in Holland, France, Belgium, England, Switzerland, and Italy.”

However, the concept soon changed to feature “miniature three-dimensional scenes of the world’s great folk tales.” Some of these folk tales were once adapted (by that “modern day Aesop,” Walt Disney and Company) into feature length animated films (like Pinocchio and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), while others became the subject of animated short or “package” films (like The Old Mill, Lullaby Land, and the Wind In The Willows). Verifying this was an editorial article in the pages of “The Disneyland News” (published for March 10, 1956) entitled “A Promise Kept,” which featured artwork of Geppetto’s Wood Carving Shop. In retrospect, this was not too surprising considering that Walt later divulged: “To translate the world’s great fairy tales , thrilling legends, stirring folk tales into visual theatrical presentations and to get back warm response of audiences in many lands has been for me an experience and a life time of great value.”

Present Walt Disney Imagineers are often reminded that “you can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world…but it takes people to make the dream a reality.” The creators of the Storybook Land Canal Boat’s so-called “kingdom within a kingdom” are a wonderful example of this philosophy! Walt had “called on all the geniuses available at his studio to re-create - in miniature - three dimensional scenes from…stories” of Disney animated features according to “Walt Disney’s Guide to Disneyland” published 1956. A number of Walt Disney Studio artists were assigned to work on the developments, including Art Director Stan Jolley (who had gone to work for Walt in 1954, and officially joined WED Enterprises in September of 1955). Ken Anderson (who had designed twenty-four scenes for Walt Disney’s prior miniature “Disneylandia” project) is credited for many of the designs, but Ken also worked closely with both Walt Peregoy and Frank Armitage to create many of the storybook settings. There was also, Wathel Rogers (an animator and miniaturist) who had a talent for the technical - both mechanical and electrical. Fred Joerger (a Union model maker), was hired c.1953 to craft the “Barber Shop Quartet” show for “Project Little Man” of “Walt Disney’s Disneyland.” He had subsequently crafted models for Main Street, and was well-known for his love for making model ships, and so Fred was tasked with the construction of a number of the original fiberglas-coated, plywood buildings. Last but certainly not least was Harriet Burns (with a background in artistic display). Harriet had only recently designed and built the Mickey Mouse Club “Mouse Clubhouse” for the television production) and was the first woman hired by WDI in a non-office-related capacity to subsequently create prototypes for nearly every Disneyland project. She was assigned to the project, creating many of the miniature (one-inch-to-one-foot scale) details of the Lilliputian buildings (like the hand-carved toys featured in the windows of Gepetto’s Shop)! Harriet fabricated six-inch doors that really worked, allowing the maintenance workers to open them in order to change lightbulbs. In one interview, Harriet later recollected soldering copper gutters, locks, and pulls, as well as the fanciful stained glass windows of the miniature church. Many of these artists and craftspeople worked together side-by-side at the inside the Walt Disney Studio Model Shop, and Harriet later reflected (on her team), “that combination was good for all of us. We helped each other. We did everything from the design (in 3-D, in a model) to the final production.” And so this team of real people would create a world of make-believe.

One of the first tasks performed was to determine what the scale of the structures would be. The decision was made of “one inch to one foot,” according to “Walt Disney Disneyland,” page 42, printed by Officine Grafiche Arnoldo Mondadori - Verona; first published 1964. Also, where would the new scenes (or, “various Disney stories”) be placed? Stan Jolley, Fred Joerger, and Wathel Rogers visited Disneyland, placed cut-outs of structures in various locations along the canal, and then photographed themselves standing next to the scenes in order to get an idea of what the one-tenth scale would look like.

Under the direction of Fred Joerger (at the Walt Disney Studio Model Shop), many of the original (one-inch-to-one-foot scale) structures were made of marine plywood or redwood, and then coated with fiberglass. You may recall seeing images of Fred putting some touches on Geppetto’s Workshop while Walt inspects the Cottage of the Seven Dwarfs. “Tile roofs and brick chimneys were molded of fiberglass and joined to the houses. Metal flashings were used for foundations, to resist rot. Each little house and shop had openings so that air could circulate through and prevent mildew. There were hundreds of tests to find the right transparent dye for tiny plastic “stained-glass” windows. Tiny lead doorknobs were installed on tiny doors that opened and closed on minute hinges. Little thatched roofs were covered with plastic, so the birds couldn’t carry them off,” according to Mickey Mouse Club Magazine, (published December, 1957). “They made lead hinges by hand, so that six-inch-high doors would actually open for electricians to change light bulbs. One c.1957 Disneyland Holiday magazine would later describe the “majestically conceived lighting effects, hidden from daytime view, cast fanciful illuminations upon the detailed miniature buildings at nighttime.” Dozens of tiny toys line the window of Geppetto’s shop. Minute drain pipes actually function on tile, redwood and plywood roofs,” according to “Walt Disney Disneyland,” page 42, printed by Officine Grafiche Arnoldo Mondadori - Verona; first published 1964. The authenticity of all these little “Disney” details was important to Walt. Ron Dominguez recalled that “the detail that Walt put into Disneyland is just unbelievable. I remember one time, that he was taking a tour with the designers and there was this little building and it had some stained glass in it. Somebody said, ‘Well, Walt, we don’t have to put stained glass in there. It could be just colored glass, because nobody could tell the difference.’ He says, ‘I would. I would know the difference.’” [“Homecoming - Destination Disneyland” Golden Anniversary Collector’s Edition by Carlene Thie, 2005]

While the buildings were constructed off-site (for a sum of six months), the ground was graded, as would be done on a full-scale construction site. Then Walt oversaw the placement of everything. Bob Thomas (Hollywood reporter of Associated Press) in the pages of “The Disneyland News” (Vol. 1, No. 12 ; June of 1956) divulged what he saw on a recent sneak preview of Storybook Land in development. He observed how Walt “climbed up a small hill and viewed what the canal boats will see. Craftsmen were meticulously creating miniature villages from Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Three Little Pigs, Cinderella and other stories. ‘Isn’t that Dutch Village too low to see from the boat?’ Disney called to the supervisor. The man adjusted the platform to simulate the boat level. Disney sat on it and assured himself the village was high enough. ‘But raise that bridge or it’ll be too much under the water,’ he added. He was off again, tramping past a peak on which Cinderella’s Castle will rest.”

According to Mickey Mouse Club Magazine, (published December, 1957) : “When the last buildings were finished and painted, the setting was ready for them at Disneyland - miniature trees, miniature shrubs, miniature mountains, and, appropriately, enough, streets of tiny, hand-laid cobblestones.”

On the subject of trimming and scale, Ray Miller once said, “we have a show going on all the time and we have to make everything fit.”

Rocks were moved. “55er” and Landscaper Joe Delphin remembered: “The most exciting thing was the day that we sank a canal boat. We had too big a boulder in it and the boat sank... and went down like we had been torpedoed. I almost froze trying to get the boat out before the big bosses came!”

All of the surrounding plants would also need to fall within the appropriate proportion to the scale being used in Storybook Land. As to the scale of the Storybookland area, “Disneyland Dictionary” and “Disneyland Particulars” divulged that it “is 1 inch to the foot - and so the plants, as well as their leaves and flowers, even the blades of grasses are as fine as can be obtained.”

The recently hired Disneyland Director of Landscape Design, Bill Evans (of Evans and Reeves), would oversee the miniature landscaping for Storybook Land. The first thing to be done, was to select “plants whose leaf size was but one-quarter to one-half inch.” [“Walt Disney Disneyland,” page 42, printed by Officine Grafiche Arnoldo Mondadori - Verona; first published 1964] According to Dave Smith (Chief Archivist Emeritus of the Walt Disney Archives), it was decided to “weed out” (or, not make use of) “bonsai tress, because they would have required constant care and were very expensive.” [Disney Facts Revealed by Dave Smith, 2016]

And so, the banks were landscaped with carefully selected, and “one-inch-to-one-foot” scaled-down vegetation from all over the world. For instance,“they pruned and shaped a three-foot-tall Japanese Boxwood with a gnarled trunk to represent the oak tree where Alice entered the Rabbit Hole. They uprooted a 100-year-old grapevine turned it upside down and made it appear like the ‘terribly tortured old snag’ in front of Ratty’s waterfront home near Toad Hall,” according to “Walt Disney Disneyland,” page 46, printed by Officine Grafiche Arnoldo Mondadori - Verona; first published 1964. Rare dwarf Australian trees, Italian Cypress, juncus grass, myrtle, and Irish moss was planted for ground cover to create the miniature English garden setting for The Wind in the Willows.

“But the most difficult task the faced was in finding live trees that would not grow any more for the forest surrounding the home of the Seven Dwarfs,” according to the same aforementioned author of “Walt Disney Disneyland,” page 46 [printed by Officine Grafiche Arnoldo Mondadori - Verona; first published 1964.] According to Vacationland magazine (Summer, 1979, page 10) : “In [Van Damme Beach State Park in] Northern California, landscapers discovered a Pygmy forest of [100-year-old] pine trees for the Storybook Land home if the Seven Dwarfs.” (As a sidelight, by 2019, one of the oldest living trees in Disneyland was part of this 3 to 12 foot Pygmy Pine grove from near Mendocino, in Northern California. These pygmy trees were growing right among 60 to 80 foot tall versions of the same species.) The understanding came that they “had rooted in a limestone shelf, and consequently have a growth rate so slow that it is nearly impossible to measure,” according to the author of “Walt Disney Disneyland.” These trees were then planted “in soil that closely matches the nearly sterile conditions of that limestone shelf.” Dave Smith [in the aforementioned Disney Facts Revealed by Dave Smith, 2016], added that these pygmy lodgepole pine trees “were confined in their original containers to help retain their diminutive size and received periodic pruning and shearing.”

So while growth retardant chemicals was utilized to control the height of trees in Storybookland later on, initially small plants were selected.

Pictured above, work begins on the largest floral in the realm of Storybook Land - that of the Lullabyland Patchwork Quilt on the hillside of the former Canals of the World! The Giant’s Patchwork Quilt wasn’t completed until September of 1955.

In addition, the landscape had many water features, including Disneyland’s smallest waterfall at a mere six feet tall!

All of these progressive “Show Quality” enhancing details were actualized in about six month’s time. Reports of the ride development and previews of Storybook Land were published in The Disneyland News (February, 1956 ; pages 1 & 9), The Disneyland News (June, 1956 ; page 5).

“Maintaining the Show and Embellishing the Story”
Bob Thomas (of Associated Press) revealed that “the Canal Boats of the World Ride…will be made to look like canal boats of different countries.” Five boats (similar in style; with a 14-guest capacity) were added to the original eight for a total of thirteen in the fleet (though the Disneyland Dictionary published 1959 mentions twelve boats)! This time, all the boats were renamed after characters featured in Walt Disney’s animated feature-length films, including Alice, Aurora, Cinderella, Daisy, Faline, Fauna, Flora, Katrina, Merryweather, Snow White, Tinkerbell, and Wendy. These were not added all at once (e.g. in 1959, there were twelve boats). Bob Dorris’ Dutch-style canal boats were originally powered by noisy gasoline outboard motors, which made it difficult to hear the spiels of the storytellers. These motors were swapped for quieter, battery-powered General Electric motors by 1959. This helped Guests to better hear the appropriate musical background (on tape) within each setting. The batteries were charged overnight in a backstage storage area each night.

As for the “canals,” they measured a length of 1,000 ft., a width of 25 ft.; and a depth of 4 ft., and contained 1,000,000 gallons of water. The canals were resurfaced with gunfire to hold their 465,000 gallons of water. The bare “muddy” banks were delicately re-landscaped, and lined with stunted miniature trees and flora.

And those international flags were replaced with “a miniature world of Fairy Tales”! All together, the “ride structure” (passageways and sets) of this amusing adventure was appraised at a value between $249,500 and $272,900, while the equipment was valued between $62,200 and $74,500.

All art work, posters, etc. created by the Walt Disney Studios. Artist Bjorn Aronson was tasked with creating the memorable imagery of a boat called “Emma” being engulfed by Monstro the Whale.

This imagery (above) was developed for graphics that complimented the border of the 1956 Disneyland Admission Media “A Day at Disneyland” Handbills.

During this era, Monstro inspired another adventure at Disneyland. By 1964, the character of the 15th hole of The Magic Kingdom Golf Course of the Disneyland Hotel Golf Centre was themed after Monstro.

“Here you leave today and enter the world of… Fantasy”

“New Pages For The Disneyland Story” were soon to be added to the Park, “pages” holding stories in which guests would participate. The settings were recognizable, many of them beloved Academy Award winning short films and feature films (like “Three Little Pigs,” 1933; “The Old Mill,” 1937, “Pinocchio,” 1940). According to “The Disneyland News” (Vol. 1, No. 12 ; June of 1956), “Friday, June 15, two of the new attractions unveiled as Tom Sawyer Island and Storybook Land will be opened to the public for the first time… Walt’s three-dimensional re-creation of the world of folklore - Storybook Land - will have its Press Opening on Monday, June 18. Participants will include numerous film celebrities with their children and out of the greatest stories of folklore.” At least one of the Canal Boats (bound to embark on its maiden voyage through this “kingdom within a kingdom”) received a royal christening by a bottle of milk, courtesy of the lovely Ruth Marie Peterson (National Dairy Princess). That very Canal Boat carried Mouseketeers (Bobby, Darlene, and Sharon) who served as official Storybook Land Hosts and Pilots to children of celebrities.

While this new and exciting attraction for 1956 helped carry total Disneyland investments to $18,500,000, Storybook Land (and its Canal Boats) was also one of several exciting attractions that carried many a guest, increasing ride capacity that year. By the release of the “Disneyland 1st Anniversary Souvenir Pictorial,” it was reported that “new rides have added some 40 percent to the Park’s ride capacity,” listing “Storybook Land” among the contributors. Disneyland had grown from 27 original rides and amusements to 37, and from 11 free shows and exhibits to 17. Owning to this, one day in August of 1956 saw a peak total of “197,547 individual rides” enjoyed by Guests (according to a letter from Walt to Ward Kimball, dated January 23, 1957). In fact, this increased capacity likely contributed to the five-millionth guest arriving in October.

Walt (and company) have always recognized that casting is essential to the success of any story being told whether in feature-length and short film format, or at Walt Disney’s Disneyland. With that in mind, the most important element of Storybook Land is the Attractions Hostess “Skipperette” (and Host) that accompanies up to 14 guests along on their 7-minute journey and narrates the scenes. Without the Cast Member’s supporting role it would be most difficult to maintain the magic of the miniature land for each boat load of guests. Storybook Land Attractions Hosts & Hostesses have been known to tell the story of Storybook Land even more than 40 times in one day. This spiel (narrative spoken live) was carried out with a certain effective and efficient “performance excellence.” One notable Storybook Land Attractions Host who did so was John Catone (who was also Tomorrowland’s first Space Man). He was known to deliver “a hilarious spiel on Storybookland, especially in Italian dialect at Gepetto’s Village,” according to Backstage (published Summer, 1965).

During the first summer, the Attractions Hosts (or “Pilots”) were all male (as evident in the theatrical film Disneyland U.S.A., released by Buena Vista Film Distribution, December 20, 1956). This was once deemed necessary due to the fact that the boats were not equipped with reverse gears, and were manually pulled to the Backstage Storage Area by battery cables each night. This work was considered too strenuous for the female Cast Members at the time. But eventually, reverse gears were added to the boats, thus altering the male host “requirement.”

By the Spring of 1966 (and the time of Foreman Jim Patton and Attractions Host John Catone), some of the Storybook Land operators were still predominantly male, though there were undoubtedly quite a few women Pilots (like Cherill Oram, Kathy Hanson, Mary Hopkins, and Peggy Fariss). Sometime around December of 1965, Backstage Disneyland magazine (Vol.4, No.4) shared the following entertaining anecdote verifying Storybook Land Hostesses :

“Jim Patton on Storybook, extolls the beauty of the canal girls who grace his little boats. He also mused that for some reason, the young gentlemen like very much to gain employment too on this attraction. He said that some guests thought that it was the Jungle Cruise and would ask when was he going to shoot the hippos? One of his pretty proteges, Kathy Bender, is now Snow White.”

So, it is of notable mention that during the canoe race of 1965, in a test of physical skill and coordination, Storybooklanders took second place.

While these comments were made in a rather “tongue-in-cheek” fashion typical of early employee newsletters, these Pilots were more than just a “pretty protege.” Some, like the aforementioned Peggy Fariss (future Walt Disney Imagineering Executive of Creative Development) began her 50-year Disney career with a part-time summer job with the Storybook Land Canal Boats. Many other “Canal Girls” (like Kathy Bender and Marcia Henderson) would carry the tradition of Storyteller in Storybook Land. Pictured above, is Sharon O’neill (Disneyland Security Department Clerk) who temporarily (and memorably) was cross-utilized, to operate the Storybook Land Canal Boats during the 1963 Disneyland Christmas Party. There is much story to tell regarding this magical supporting Cast, as our next “sidelight” will show.

You may note (in the background) a young guest sitting next to the Hostess). This reminds me of a story. Back in 1978, “a young visitor to the Storybook Land attraction let her curiosity get the best of her and fell out of the boat while it was in motion. Attraction Hostess Cathie Misamore, immediately alert to the incident, dived into the water where she swam out to the child and pulled the three-year-old to safety. Thanks to Cathie’s quick thinking, no one was injured.” This “sidelight” is certainly a testament to the fact that your Storybook Land Hostesses were more than fantastic storytellers - they were persons of valor!

If I asked you to call to mind a Storybook Land heroine, who would you think of? Perhaps you first think of Snow White, or Cinderella, or Alice, or maybe Cathie. “Wait a minute! Who’s Cathie?,” you may ask. Well, Cathie was something special - both a Storyteller and an empathetic, true-life Storybook Land Heroine! While the Disneyland Line Magazine article "Cast Members Reach Out For Life" (published for August 10, 1978) summed up her story, I figured that we could reach out to her, and have her recount just what occurred.

“I remember it well. I was only a casual/seasonal cast member in the spring of 1978 when this happened, and had been working just a few months at Disneyland. I was on my first trip of my shift of Storybook Land and was right where the boat passes in front of the Casey Jr Circus Train Loading Station. It was still daylight, but the sun was setting, so I could see everything pretty well.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw what I thought was a splash, and a woman jumped up and started screaming about her baby! With the current of the water and the boat moving forward, the little girl was maybe 2 years old, and was quickly behind the boat and getting further away. She never resurfaced but had curled up into a ball and was floating just below the surface. I jumped off the back of my boat and swam as fast as I could to her, pulling her head up above the water and putting her arms around my neck.

A guy who was working on Casey Jr. jumped half way into the water while holding onto the ledge and held me hold on. Some men who were guests in the park jumped the safety gate, crossed the RR tracks and pulled us all up out of the water. The little girl was just fine - thank God! Her mom was helped off the boat and up onto the dock, and Security and a nurse came and took them to First Aid. The guy from Casey Jr. and I went for costume changes and came back to work like nothing happened. I was lucky to be on that boat as I was Certified Red Cross Lifeguard. The girl… couldn’t swim. That’s how I got a Life Saving Award from Disney.”

This account reminds us of the words of Aesop: “No act of Kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

As a “sidelight,” I must mention that some time around this incident, the “I Have an Idea” Program (est. 1978) would come to yield many ideas that would influence and shape the efficiency and safety of how things were run. For instance, Mike Goodwin had the idea to “install a safety cable in the Storybook Land attraction.” [Disneyland Line, March 1st, 1979]

And so, with the knowledge that our Storybook Land Hostess is both a master storyteller and inherently brave, we are ready for anything that awaits us on our journey!

Now that you know most of the story, I invite you to “please, step this way,” as we explore Storybook Land with a little “live narration” (courtesy of a few former Canal Boat Operators), and a few fun facts along the way!

Notice that the Storybook Land Canal Boats Lighthouse Ticket Kiosk reads “Canal Boats” in the previous and next few “Vintage Views”. In time, the “Canal Boats” title on the lighthouse was replaced with the words “Storybook Land” to better reflect the name and theme of the new attraction!

One c.1957 Disneyland Holiday magazine article once described how “Monstro the Whale, once the terror of the deep in the story of ’Pinocchio’ has acquired a new and vastly different role at Disneyland - that of a friendly ’host’ to one of the Magic Kingdom’s favorite attractions Storybook Land.”

Mario D’Amore remembered “working on the Canal Boats one day, when Walt came by. Right away he noticed that the old whale was not spouting water and he wanted to know why? I told him that the wind was blowing water all over the Casey Jr.’s railroad tracks, and we had shut it off and Walt replied ‘ISPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON THAT SPOUTING WHALE AND I WANT IT GOING!’”

You may recall the days when Monstro the Whale blew water from his spout in his attempt to dislodge himself from the seaside rocks.

In those days, the bright orange beacon light atop the Lighthouse Ticket Booth would flash night or day.

Guests originally entered the queue here, near Monstro the Whale.

During Disneyland’s early years, attractions had their own adjacent Ticket Booths. Storybook Land tickets were purchased through the lighthouse ticket booth.

Just across the Loading Dock, we notice the freshly laid flowers of the Storybook Land letters on the hillside in the background.

After the Midget Autopia was removed (in order to widen the thoroughfare leading to its a small world), the Storybook Land Loading Dock was moved in its place.

This is when the Live Narration begins. According to one former Hostess, after boarding one of the gaily-colored Canal Boats, Guests hear : “Welcome to Storybook Land, everyone. My name is Desiree, and we are aboard the Aurora. Please keep your hands and arms inside the boat. Together we are going to visit the miniature world of fairy tales recreated from some of Walt Disney’s most famous motion picture classics.”

“To get there, though, we have to pass through Monstro, the very same whale that swallowed Pinocchio.”

“Monstro the whale [“the terror of the deep”] prepares to swallow oncoming ships (and guests) whole!”

“We’ve just been swallowed by Monster… the very same whale that swallowed Pinocchio. Now, you know how Pinocchio must have felt. The darkened area above us is where Pinocchio built the fire that made Monstro sneeze. And you know what happened? Monster sneezed so hard he blew his tail off! And this is how we enter Storybook Land.”

Just out of range in our preceding Vintage View : “Around the bend on your left is the Cave of the Big Bad Wolf. See his chopping block out front? On the island to the right are the houses of the Three Little Pigs… one made of straw… one of sticks…”

As we pass along “Pig Island” we come upon a forest grove of two-foot oaks, where three Little Pigs have built their houses. One Little Pig made his practical house “of wolf-proof bricks”. “Can you hear the Little Pigs singing inside?”

“On the left just beyond this bridge is the Old English village where ‘Alice-in-Wonderland’ lives… Over in the corner is Alice’s tiny cottage with thatched roof, and there beneath the tree Isi the mailbox of White Rabbit, Esquire. The little burrow beside the mailbox is where the White Rabbit Lives, and is the same one Alice fell through on her way to Wonderland.”

“There is the Mill by the water’s edge.” Artist Stan Jolley was responsible for the elevation drawings of the “Old English Mill.” Look beyond the mill and you can see a tiny cottage. Not far away is a tiny burrow and the mailbox belonging.to White Rabbit, Esquire.

By 1974, this was one of three water wheels in Disneyland - this one churned a few drops of water per minute.

Beyond Kensington Gardens (as Disneyland Holiday magazine referred to this location), or London Park (“where Peter Pan and Tnkerbell taught John, Wendy and Michael to fly on their way to Never-Never-Land”) was a Netherlands Village, complete with square bladed windmills and dikes.

Look for the subject of the c.1937 Academy Award winning “The Old Mill.”

“Straight ahead is Toad Hall from the story ‘The Wind in the Willows.’”

The home of J. Thaddeus Toad is set appropriately in a little, formal English garden.

Rare dwarf Australian trees, Italian Cypress, juncus grass, myrtle, and Irish moss for ground cover create the miniature English garden setting for The Wind in the Willows.

There are many things that have been said about those chimneys over Toad Hall, through the years. “See all those chimneys on Mr. Toad’s Roof? But did you know there’s only one fire place inside? Think how confusing that must be for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve!”

“Down by the water in the stump of that old tree is Ratty’s House. Ratty is the caretaker for Mr. Toad’s mansion, and cleaning those nine chimneys sure keeps him busy.”

“On the right is Mr. Toad’s house again, and just below it is the home of his closest friend, Mr. Mole, with his little boat parked out front.”

Years later, Toad Hall and the rest of his neighborhood would be relocated to make room for the entire City of Agrabah.

Over the seven hills, past the seven waterfalls, and beyond a shadowy cave “is the Black Forest [of Germany] from the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This is the same cave the wicked witch went through when she was looking for Snow White. As we come around the bend, on our right is the cottage where Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs live. Back through the trees is the jewel mine where the Seven Dwarfs work all day.”

According to Vacationland magazine (Summer, 1979, page 10) : “On the state of Disneyland, all bulldings and landscaping use the principle of ‘forced perspective’ to give the illusion of height and distance required by an art director to correlate with the theme of an area. In [Van Damme Beach State Park in] Northern California, landscapers discovered a Pygmy forest of [100-year-old] pine trees for the Storybook Land home if the Seven Dwarfs. [Due to a subterranean shelf of limestone] these trees have only grown about one inch per year since they were planted in 1956. A perfect example of ‘forced perspective’.”

As we move further through “the land of fairy tales” or, “Le Pays des Contes de Fées” (as they say in France), we arrive in the French Countryside of Central France. High above the sleepy town, rise the stately spires of a castle!

Cinderella’s Castle sits atop the highest point of Storybook Land!

A chateau (not pictured) is “where Cinderella lived with her wicked stepmother and two evil stepsisters. The castle on the hill is where she went to the ball, and halfway down the hill you can see the pumpkin that was once Cinderella’s carriage.” The narrator of “Disneyland U.S.A.” (released December 20, 1956) tells this story a little differently : “Once upon a time, Cinderella followed the winding road to meet her Prince Charming in this castle, where they lived happily ever after”.

The “French Village (below) is where Prince Charming came looking for the girl who lost the glass slipper.”

One circa 1959 post card read : “Her majesty - Cinderella’s Castle… nestled high on the hilltop - strikes the bewitching magical hour of twelve in its tower clock as Casey, Jr., chugging and puffing, happily passes below with a train full of Fantasyland guests.”

Decades later it was reported that “the turrets and finials are covered in 24-karat gold and reflect the light from the sun,” according to one Disney Parks blog entry published in 2019.

In recent decades, it has been said that “if you’re riding at night, you may notice that the windows glow with light as if a great celebration - or ball - is underway,” according to one Disney Parks blog entry published in 2019.

“On the left is one of the most unusual desert flower displays in the country, inspired by the movie Lullabyland. This giant patchwork quilt with its giant stitches is decorated with almost fifty varieties of desert flowers.”

Succulents and cactus form the brightly colorful patches of Crazy Quilt Country from “Wynken, Blinken and Nod” as it was renown in 1957. Today this is known as the “Giant’s Quilt.” By the spring of 1990, the Giant’s Patchwork Quilt was decorated with almost 50 varieties of desert flowers.

On the left beyond a bridge, or “On the right we pass by Alice’s Village again. Notice the tiny church where Alice goes too Sunday school.” Other scripts read this way : “Alice lives in the little thatched house situated between the church and the rabbit hole. It's not difficult to imagine a tiny girl hurrying upon the tree-shaded path, in pursuit of a mysterious white rabbit.”

This particular building was designed by Walt Disney Studio artist Frank Armitage and leaded together by artist Harriet Burns. While the original structure was replaced with one of more durable materials (during the early 1980s), “the stained glass installed at the construction of the village remains to this day,” according to one Disney Parks blog entry published in 2019.

Nearby, a miniature English Oak (in the foreground on the right), shades the house of the Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. “Near this English cottage under the oak tree, Alice began her adventures in Wonderland!”

“Around the bend (and in the distance) are the three Dutch Windmills from the story “The Old Mill”. The one in the center [with the white sails] is where all the animals took refuge during the great flood in Holland.”

In the distance - the Swiss Alps shared by both Italy and Switzerland.

Now, we pass by the little Swiss-Italian village home to the painted shop of Geppetto the wood-carver.

Diosma, dwarf myrtle and conifers accent the small village.

“Straight ahead is Gepetto’s Village. You all remember Gepetto - he’s the man who wanted a son so badly he carved one out of wood. Right down by the water’s edge is the Toy Shoppe where Pinocchio first came to life.”

“Do you see the steeple of the old chapel? Some say that it is Pinocchio himself who rings the bell.”

Upon the end of our story, we emerge into Fantasyland ready for another adventure (like Bell’s Picture Phones or having our Caricature drawn at the colorful castle, nearby).

“Through the cave (behind us) is Never-Never Land. We call it that because we never, never, take you there. That’s where our boats go to sleep at night. Now, the time has come for us to return to our world, and leave Storybook Land behind us. We hope you’ve enjoyed your trip through Storybook Land and will come back to see us real soon. Have a nice day in the Magic Kingdom!”

Please keep your hands, and especially you fingers, inside the boat and away from the dock… Please remain seated until we come to a complete stop… Once we've stopped please stand up towards the center of the boat and wait for me to help you disembark… then step back this way, and I will help you out of the boat. On the count of three we’ll stand up in the center of the boat together.”

Many notable Disneylanders had a privileged part in the Storybook Land Canal Boats rotation - the set order of operating positions established by the attraction's Working Lead. To the right, perhaps one Hostess is a “breaker,” “bumping” or relieving another Cast Member in rotation, for a rest period or lunch period.

At Disneyland, signs are themed to support the stories with appropriate graphics, colors, fonts, terminology, overall design of the sign, materials (wood, metal, banners, etc.), and verbiage used on the signage.

Walt Disney Imagineer John Stone designed, developed and supported overall design by producing Massing Models of Storybook Land.

The admission for Storybook Land Canal Boats was one “C” Coupon (35 cents) - the same fare as several other Fantasyland adventures!

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE from DISNEY HISTORY 101 – Before we begin, we must admit that Disney History 101 (and its historic retrospectives) do not intend to endorse the use of Tobacco, or smoking in any form for that matter. Smoking is hazardous to your own health and that of those around you. It is well known that Walt Disney was a heavy smoker and suffered from a hacking cough during his later years. No one (even Walt) realized how serious it was until the bad habit had finally caught up with him. It’s a sad fact that Walt passed away at the age of 65, on December 15, 1966, the acute cause of death, complications of acute circulatory collapse, due to Lung Cancer.

In telling the story of the Main Street Tobacconist, we strongly believe that it is important to acknowledge the harmful impact of smoking and spark productive conversation that will both inspire and aspire the human spirit of our guests.

“The Story of Walt Disney and Smoking”

Smoking had more of a prominent place in the turn-of-the-century Victorian world when Walt grew up. But things may have been different in the Disney household. According to author Michael Barrier, Walt’s own father Elias Disney was a stern man who never drank alcohol and rarely smoked. Outside the home, Walt and Roy worked on the Santa Fe Railroad as a Fred Harvey ad-butchers, hawking orangeade, candy and cigars to passengers.

The little news butcher grew up, and at the outset of World War I, went off and drove an ambulance for the Red Cross in France. There, he continued to sketch, but by the war’s end he returned home, with a new habit – smoking. Over the next few years, Walt progressed from pipes to cigarettes, all the while developing into a master storyteller and showman, renowned for the creation of Mickey Mouse, Snow White, and many other fantastic animated characters.

It was during the 1930s that Walt Disney’s cast of characters (and even the master showman himself) appeared on an at least two cigarette cards offered as a premiums that were inserted randomly into packs of cigarettes that were sold across the United States and Europe. Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse appeared on cards inserted in packs of Will’s Cigarettes (in 1931) and Walt Disney appeared on Mitchell & Son Cigarettes (in 1936).

By the late 1930s, the Walt Disney Studios was being redesigned, and architect Kem Weber dreamt up functional office furnishings, including a modern smoking stand for offices. When the Walt Disney Studios opened in Burbank, smoking culture was common and pervasive.

By that time, Walt Disney was a longtime cigarette smoker, as were many of his studio employees and Guests. Ash trays populated offices (including Walt’s), because according to manners of the day, you wouldn’t reach over someone to use one. If there wasn’t a table lighter nearby, each was complimented with a matchbook touting the Walt Disney Productions logo.

Walt often avoided smoking when within view of the public, in order to avoid being seen by children or photographed holding cigarettes. Around the studio, things were different, and Walt was often seen smoking Chesterfields, Camels, Lucky Strikes, and even Gitanes, a French import brand.

Many Walt Disney Studio employees were known to have smoked. This is impressed by the following memory from one of the Sherman Brothers who recalled “The Great Fire of Mickey Avenue” this way: “It wasn't a very big fire, honest. It wasn't the Great Chicago Fire, it wasn't even a Great Burbank Fire. It was just a smoking wastebasket and a few flames. The wastebasket was in our office, so of course everyone assumed the fire was our fault. Including Walt. Today we each have our own theories about whether the fire was started by Bob's cigarette or Dick's pipe, but no one (including Walt) was ever able to prove anything conclusively. After the Studio fire department left, we all went back to work and tried to pretend nothing had happened. All except Roy Williams, of course, who couldn't resist documenting the whole affair in these wonderful sketches.” [“Walt’s Time - From Before to Beyond” by Robert B. Sherman & Richard M. Sherman]

“Depictions of Smoking in Walt Disney Productions”

Long before Disneyland, smoking was depicted in numerous animated shorts and feature length films by Walt Disney Productions, though not in a “good light”. Smoking was still taboo, and often used as a plot device to establish character or for a comedic effect. Smoking and smoking paraphernalia was usually reserved for villains – big bad Pete both smoked cigars and chewed tobacco, Donald Duck’s devilish conscience in “Donald’s Better Self” smoked a pipe, Gustav the Giant in Brave Little Taylor rolled a giant-sized cigarette, and Captain Hook used a double-cigarette holder.

The “hero” characters only occasionally smoked, but when they did, they also used a variety of methods like pipes, cigarettes, cigars, and even hookah pipes (e.g. Jose Carioca, Pecos Bill, Jim Crow, several stars of “Alice in Wonderland” and “Peter Pan”). In many instances of storytelling, the depiction of smoking was negative and utilized in a plot device to establish bad behavior as when Donald Duck played hooky and smoked a pipe in “Donald’s Better Self” (1938), or the nephews were forced to smoke Donald’s birthday gift of cigars in Donald’s Happy Birthday” (1949), or when Pinocchio and Lampwick visited Tobacco Row on Pleasure Island in Walt Disney’s Pinocchio (1940).

As a sidelight, the antiquated “Mickey’s Sweet Cigarettes” (by Barratt and Co. LTD.) was a contemporaneous confectionary treat that did not contain tobacco but referenced smoking and was aimed toward a youthful demographic. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, Barrett’s candy cigarettes (and their two series of collectable cigarette cards spotlighting many different licensed Walt Disney characters inserted in packs) represent an old-fashioned and outdated era of confectionary (and Disney-licensed product) history.

In 1951, it may be no coincidence that Goofy publicly denounced smoking and “quit” in the Walt Disney Productions short film “No Smoking”.

Through those years Walt Disney licensed products were largely intended for children, with some merchandise intended for adults. The Disney brand (with its licensed Disney characters) was only rarely affiliated with the manufacture of smoking and smoking paraphernalia. One of those rarities is the Walt Disney Designed Ash Tray Set (pictured above).

“Participant Sponsorship and Smoking at Disneyland”

During 1954, Walt was searching for Participants and Lessees to support shop and restaurant spaces at Disneyland, and help generate the necessary capital to fund construction of Disneyland. By July 1, 1954, George Whitney of Disneyland, Inc. directed Amusements, with Ron Miller overseeing analysis, philosophy, capacities, planning, operator training, and amusement procurement. Equally important was, Russel Tippett of Disneyland Inc. Advertising who oversaw Exhibitor’s Space Sales and Lease Agreements.

Within the proposed synergistic relationship, companies could sell their products and advertise their corporate names in Disneyland Park. This would prove necessary in the formative years of Disneyland. Years later in 1958, Bank of America appraisers figured of the total income received from the leases, 16.02% was derived from the selling of advertising rights and 40.12% from the leasing of space to concerns whose main reason for occupancy is for advertising purposes. The remaining 43.86% of the lease income was derived from stores that sell various products and food.

As a result of this arrangement, “shopping has been a part of the Disneyland scene since opening day, 1955, when just 45 employees worked in the Park’s five stores and stands,” according to Disney News (Fall, 1966). The same publication called Walt Disney’s “Magic Kingdom actually… like a huge specialty shopping center, with thirty Disney-operated stores catering to every taste and purse. In addition, some of America’s most famous ‘name brand’ merchandise is sold in the stores of Park lessees.” It is notable to mention that during these early years, it was commonplace for merchandise locations to stock General Merchandise - both non-character and/or decorative items, including film and sundries.

Among these locations were many shops, restaurants, and even the Disneyland Souvenir Catalogue which offered smoking-related souvenirs like silent butlers, porcelain ashtrays, lighters, and smoker sets for sale in addition to complimentary boxes and books of matches. Some merchandise (like the Mr. Sun Solar Engine radiometer sold in Hobbyland) synergistically referenced smoking.

During the bygone era of Disneyland sponsorship and turn-of-the-century Main Street vendors, a quaint Main Street “Tobacconist” would find a home. (Though, from 1955 to 1956, the sign did read ‘Tobacconist’, but ‘Tobacconest’). Henry Fenenbock, (the original owner and proprietor of “Random Parts Inc. Tobacconist”) leased a 426 square-foot space on the 600 block of Main Street, to open Disneyland Fine Tobacco from 1955-1960. Disneyland Fine Tobacco was located not far from other memorable (and sentimental) representations of yesterday’s shops, like the Upjohn Pharmacy, the Wurlitzer Piano Shop, the Swift Market House, and Henry's Costume Jewelry Shop on Main Street, U.S.A.). Henry was a bit of an entrepreneur and also owned the Adventureland Bar and Cantina, Main Street Coin Shop, and the Main Street Pen Shop during Disneyland’s first five years of operation.

“Design”

“Disneyland is unique in that some of the world's foremost creative artists and architects control all design at Disneyland.“ As early as 1953, artists Harper Goff, Herb Ryman, Sam McKim, Dale Hennesy, Harry Johnson (who was good friends with Herb Ryman, and whose designs were most influential), and others created many conceptual pieces for Main Street and it’s shops. Herb Ryman (who was an Illinois native, the same as Walt), “had a lot in common while discussing and developing Main Street” for the mid-west visitors, according to “A Brush with Disney” by Herbert Ryman, page 148. Herb Ryman would create the first “Schematic Aerial View” over Disneyland (including Main Street USA), originally produced September 26 & 27, 1953.

Other contributing artists were model-maker Fred Joerger (who was hired c.1953 to craft the “Barber Shop Quartet” show for “Project Little Man” of “Walt Disney’s Disneyland”) and Wathel Rogers were instrumental in translating the two-dimensional artwork into detailed miniature models of Main Street. On a leave of absence in 1954, Chuck Myall joined WED to help create some of the Main Street facades. Lesser known artist John Stoos is of particular note, for he prepared the architectural elevation and floor plan drawings for the 600 Block of Main Street by February 19, 1955. His architectural drawings helped define all designs, production and construction strategies, costs, schedule, and resource requirements. John’s drawings were soon checked (by a “GMB”), approved (by two individuals), and revised (by an “HGS”) by March 23, 1955.

The artists’ early thumbnail sketches and other concept artwork of Disneyland seemed to be unencumbered by restrictions of budget, schedule or the laws of nature and physics. Though guided by Walt, his artists appeared to engage in “free-thinking,” as if implementing the modern “Blue Sky” Imagineering process. However, in designing the Tobacconest and the rest of Main Street, there was a lack of 20th-century architectural reference material at the time of the conception of Disneyland, so some Walt Disney Studio artist (Ward Kimball) made the contribution of rare books of drawings from his own collection.

“Construction”

“When the giant earth-moving undertaking was completed, the building crews took over. Soon, the rat-tat-tat of riveters was shattering the air, and sparks were flying from welders’ torches as the steel frameworks, capable of withstanding the ravages of time and the elements rose above the newly formed ground. While carpenters hammered and masons laid row upon row of brick and stone and mortar, the permanent buildings began to take shape and form,” according to “The Disneyland Story” published 1955. One of the first buildings to be constructed was the Main Street Opera House, which was used as the Mill. Here, the woodwork of Disneyland was generated - from the functional to the aesthetic! Approximately three and one-half million board feet of lumber went into the Park’s construction. Much of the wood was processed here by McNeil Construction (which formerly constructed Walt Disney Studio sound stages in 1947 and 1953), and under the direction of George Mills Sr. (the Prime General Contractor and Mill Foreman). Then, under the direction of Joe Fowler (Construction Supervisor), as well as Charles Alexander and Ray Conway (Construction Field Supervisors), the lumber was soon fashioned into the framing belonging to the very first buildings constructed at Disneyland - primarily the Main Street Complexes (on each side of the street).

In constructing each building, a concrete foundation and slab floors were prepared, followed by wood frame construction (while store units would have a combination wood and rigid steel frame). ”The first fabricated steel for the Main Street buildings arrived November 8 and was erected,” according to the narrator of “Disneyland - The Park,” a Disneyland anthology television series excerpt, first aired 1957 and Disneyland LINE (November 22, 1979).

According to inserts published in area newspapers during July of 1955, Disney buildings were roofed by Pioneer Roof & Shingle Company (then located at 608 Mateo Street, Los Angeles, California; 7522 Westminster Avenue, Westminster, California). The roof covering was a variable, dependent on the architectural design.

The building (as each on Main Street U.S.A.) possessed complete fire sprinkling systems. By June 30, 1955, related Disneyland Site Work Fire Protection Utilities Plot Plans were prepared for Disneyland Inc., by J.E. Thomasson of WED Enterprises Inc.

All fixtures were placed in their correct motif and many light fixtures of Disneyland were authentic antiques.

As of June 2, 1955, C.V. Wood Jr. sent an Inter-Office Memorandum to Walt Disney regarding the best estimates that could be obtained at the time regarding the completion status of individual sections of the Park and Opening Day. C.V. wrote: “Building #609 - Tobacco Shop: Will be completed.” As of June 2, 1955, C.V. Wood Jr. sent an Inter-Office Memorandum to Walt Disney regarding the best estimates that could be obtained at the time regarding the completion status of individual sections of the Park and Opening Day. C.V. wrote: “Electric Signs: All are in work - with the exception of the shoe store and the Bank of America, all will be completed.”

Ray Van de Warker (who became Department Manager of Office Support Services) remembered the distinct look of Main Street when he first came to work. “Main Street was dirt. Some of the buildings didn’t even have facades on.” (to Disneyland LINE, Vol.25, No.28, published July 16th, 1993). But soon the storefronts were erected. According to Florabel Muir (of the New York Daily News) divulged after a pre-opening (July 9th) tour by Walt, “the buildings are not false fronts as are seen on every studio backlot in Hollywood… Walking down Main Street, I saw a photographer’s shop, ice cream parlor, penny arcade, bakery, drug store, grocery and a butcher shop. These stores will be operated as concessions by well known U.S. firms. Swift & Co., for instance, will run the butcher shop, though instead of real pork, beef and lamb, they’ll sell candy imitations of their products.”

As with all of Disneyland’s Opening-Day landmarks, rides, and attractions, small local businesses provided materials, labor, and skills. Steel was provided by Triangle Steel & Supply Company (of Los Angeles). Newbery Electric Corporation “gave electricity to Disneyland,”Southern Counties Gas Company provided economical and clean gas, buildings were roofed by Pioneer Roof and Shingle Company (of Westminster, California), Mc Neil Construction Company provided labor, Evans and Reeves Landscaping Inc. (of West Los Angeles) achieved“the perfect landscape for Disneyland,” and so forth.

The buildings of Main Street (The Tobacco Shop included) were soon after described by an appraiser as “all very ornate, with variable embellishments. The basic construction, consists of concrete foundation and slab floors, wood frame construction, (store units also have a combination rigid steel frame) roof covering is variable, being dependant on architectural design. All buildings have complete fire sprinkling systems.” “Some of the cresting and railing to be seen in… Main Street came from old plantations in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee. Other furnishings came from San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento, dating back to the ‘49 gold rush days,” according to an article published in The Disneyland News (Vol.1 - No.1 ; July of 1955). [“Building A Dream”, Disneyland Public Relations Department]

“Press Preview Day and Grand Opening”

A contributing writer of The Daily Oklahoman (who visited on July 17, 1955) noted: “The guests walked into a city square of the 1900 era, bounded by an old time railroad station, city hall and fire station, opera house and other vintage merchant houses.” Main Street Tobacco Shop was part of Disneyland that created tangible memories for Guests through Merchandise and Show. Much like the Upjohn Pharmacy, the Main Street Tobacco Shop (located at 106 Main Street) also functioned as a museum to the turn-of-the-century shops of North America. There were many antiques and displays around the store. There were 18th century antique cabinets (manufactured by P. Lorillard).

Before Disneyland opened, an article published in Pacific Coast Review, mentioned: “All brands of smokes will be carried by Random Parts' tobacco shop.” True to those words, Si Myerson managed the Main Street Tobacconest, carrying a unique stock and shelves carried sack pouches of Bert Virginia Pine Pasteur-Galt Apothecary Tobacco, George Washington Tobacco, and Prince Albert Crimp Cut Tobacco. Some products included cigars, cigarettes, and pipes. There were ceramic “Smoker Sets” (which could be “used as candy containers,” according to one catalogue description), ashtrays both of porcelain and antimony, and the “miniature silent butler” (a “personal ashtray” used to store ashes). One of the more unusual pieces of merchandise were the hooks sold much later during the 1960s. One source elaborated on their wares this way : “So it is that one may find brands of cigarettes long thought to be out of production, imported brands and even pastel colored models. In all, Si estimates he carries about 50 different makes including the immortal ‘Sweet Corporal’ of the very early days and ‘Home Ruins’ popular during the 1920’s. Some of his other rarities include : Melachrino, Picayune and Sobranie - this last described on the container as ‘Imperial Russian - Made in England.’ And for folks who like their cigarettes to last, he stocks a brand imported from Egypt that is full half foot in length. But all this emphasis on cigarettes doesn’t mean that the pipe or cigar smoker is forgotten. Far from it. Pipe tobacco is imported from Scotland, cigars from Havana, and even snuff - from Denmark of course - line the shelves. And if you like pipe tobacco but don’t have a pipe, Is has an answer for that too; his shop stocks a full line of Meerschaums, Briars and even the old corncob variety. They range in size from tiny, fold-up models that fit a watchpocket to giants that with a three-foot draw.” In addition to all this, a few other service items like “Kleenex, aspirin, etc. may be purchased at the Tobacco Shop.” -“Your Role in the Disneyland Show,” Disneyland, Inc., 1955.

“Exhibits”

The Main Street Tobacco Shop was a shop, but was also considered a free exhibit. Like most free exhibits, there were displays and other attractions, the foremost of which was the cigar store Indian. Through the years, the Main Street Tobacco Shop Cigar Store Indian became a Disneyland icon, representative of Main Street U.S.A., as much as the TWA Moonliner represented the land of Tomorrow.

Another notable feature was its window display, the first which was created for the winter season of 1955, when Main Street windows carried out Nursery Rhyme themes. For that time, the window of the Tobacco Shop presented the “Old King Cole story.”

The cigar store Indian was a Disneyland icon, representative of Main Street U.S.A., as much as the TWA Moonliner represented the land of Tomorrow.

Similar to the relationship between the “show globe” and the pharmacist, the Cigar Store Indian has been associated with the Tobacco Shops since the early 17th-century. There have been a total of two at Disneyland - one on Main Street, and another in Frontierland. It seems that guests just can’t resist commemorating their visit to Disneyland, with a photograph alongside either one! Many memorable V.I.P. visitors (like John Lennon of Beatles fame, and notable Kiowa-Comanche guitarist Jesse Ed Davis) have been photographed alongside the Main Street Tobacconist Indian.

Complimentary souvenir matchbooks were common during the formative years of Disneyland Park. Many free exhibits and restaurants like the Chicken Plantation, Casa de Fritos, and the Tobacconist made these souvenirs available to guests, who took them home and “struck up” conversations.

While not actually smoking paraphernalia, these scientific souvenirs would have appealed to Disneyland guests with a penchant for smoking.

“Audience Response”

By the release of the “Disneyland 1st Anniversary Souvenir Pictorial” in 1956, the shop was included among the “stores whose shelves bulge with worlds of distinctive merchandise.” Both Disneylanders and audiences enjoys the wares. Disneyland Cast Members were not permitted to smoke while “On stage”, “Your Disneyland: A Guide for Hosts” reminding Disneylanders that “Smoking… is also taboo at any time.” However, while on their personal time, many Disneylanders like Van France, Ken Kohler (who was known as a “connoisseur of cigars”), and even Walt Disney frequented the Tobacco Shop.

“Promotions”

Shopping was especially encouraged during the first Christmas Season. According to The Disneyland Shopper (published 1955): “Half the fun of buying Christmas Gifts is the atmosphere you shop in. You couldn't ask for more in the way of the spirit of Christmas than to shop in Disneyland. Especially along Main Street will you catch the air of the good old-fashioned Christmas with wreaths of holly, Christmas bells, carolers, snow-frosted windows gaily decorated with fairytale rhymes, and the scent of pine boughs in the air. Ringing through this Magic Kingdom are the Christmas Songs we all love to hear.”

The 1957 TWA brochure “Let’s Talk About… My Visit to Disneyland, Anaheim, California: A Note from Mary Gordon TWA Travel Advisor” mentioned: “We learned that to fully explore Disneyland takes two days, so early next morning we were at the gates of the park again. The second day we spent more time shopping in the 50 inviting shops, and the youngsters bought inexpensive souvenirs to take home to friends.”

The “Disneyland Dictionary” (printed October 1958) made mention of the “Tobacco Shop… operated by Random Parts, Inc.“ and it’s “Scope of Sales: Tobacco and accessories, as well as aspirin and other service items.” The resulting corporate synergy was good for a time. Commercial lessee Random Parts, Inc. yielded revenue for Disneyland Inc. - $7,721 for the fiscal year ending September 29, 1957 and $8,241 for the fiscal year ending September 28, 1958.

When Disneyland, Inc. took over some of the Lessee Locations in 1960, Henry Fenenbock’s Fine Tobacco departed Disneyland. In its place, Disneyland opened its very own Tobacconist, similar in style to the previous shop. Therein, tobacco, pipes (including “the finest meerschaum pipes”), and smoking accessories from all over the world could be found. There were boxes of “pure Havana hand-made” cigars (both full-size and “petites”) on the counter. Behind the counter, were a variety of cigars (i.e. as those manufactured the Regina Cigar Co.) in wooden boxes, and pipes (both wooden, and corn cob). Disneyland even sold its own “special blend” of mildly aromatic tobacco, sold in 1.5 oz. cans featuring Sleeping Beauty Castle. Of course, every purchase included a complimentary book of matches.

Pictured Above:

(1) Disneyland cigar bands featuring the Main Street Horseless Carriage, (2) Disneyland cigar bands, and a wooden “mini-cigars” box from the estate of Henry Fenenbock, owner of the Tobacco Shop on Main Street.

These cigars were predominantly, natural tobacco with a substantial amount of non-tobacco ingredients.

During these years, guests were encouraged to enjoy their tobacco products inside Disneyland as much as a bag of hot peanuts or fresh Disneyland Popcorn. This was not unusual for theme parks, as the competing Freedomland (which opened in New York, in 1960) also had tobacco shops. However, Disneyland was unique in that it also had cigarette vending machines on the property and even had its own “Special Blend” of “Mildly Aromatic Pipe Tobacco.” With the acceptions of inside attractions (or waiting areas), guests could smoke these anywhere in the Park, because there were no designated smoking areas inside Disneyland. For a total of 35 years, Disneyland guests (16 years and older) entered the Tobacconist, and purchased Disneyland cigarettes, lighters, and matchbooks, and used them almost anywhere inside Disneyland.

Many “old west” and “turn-of-the-century” shops commonly featured gold leaf letters applied to mirrors and windows. According to Van Eaton Galleries’ Curators : “A stunning original glass sign from the entrance to the Main Street Tobacconist Shop. The intricate techniques used in the creation of some of Disneyland's oldest signs have been passed down from the first artisans hired at Disneyland in 1954, to the apprentices working under them.”

Here, we can see the Main Street Tobacco Shop matchbook of the era, featuring a representation of the Main Street Cigar Store Indian (with red cloak). These were complimentary, souvenir matchbooks, usually given to guests at the time of their purchase from the Main Street Tobacco shop.

Complimentary matchbooks also promoted special events (like Disneyland anniversaries), and other Disneyland lessees (like Swifts Meats). Guests were permitted to strike their matches and smoke in many places at Disneyland. By 1969, Disneyland Building and Grounds Department would regularly clean 300 cigarette urns. However, guests were not permitted to smoke everywhere at Disneyland. You may recall some of the live narration of attraction hosts and hostesses (as those of the ALWEG-Disneyland Monorail trains of the 1960s) announcing: “no smoking, please.”

Walt Disney knew the advertising power of “conversation piece souvenirs” (as coffee table books, matchbooks, or vases), which guests would carry home, set on their coffee table, and share with their friends! During the first three decades, one of the highest selling “conversation piece souvenirs” was the ashtray, available for purchase in Disneyland Park as well as the luxurious Disneyland Hotel! JOIN US, AS WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT JUST A FEW DECADE DEFINING DETAILS FOUND WITHIN THE FINE ASHTRAYS FROM DISNEYLAND'S YESTERYEAR!

This Disneyland Crest includes two lions and was featured on a number of ashtrays, pennants and other merchandise during Disneyland's first two decades! It is not like the one seen in the castle courtyard of Fantasyland.

Humidors controlled the temperature of their stored contents. This style of glazed ceramic humidor features the Disneyland Crest. This souvenir of Disneyland was manufactured in Japan, for Walt Disney Productions.

Owen Pope helped design and build a number of carriages seen both in Frontierland as well as on Main Street! As the Stagecoaches and Fringe-topped Surreys were quite popular with Guests, it isn't any wonder that carriages became a featured theme of much early Disneyland merchandise.

This souvenir would remind guests that WALT DISNEY MUSIC COMPANY tunes could be heard and sold inside the park!

Several early Disneyland attractions can be seen on this early ashtray - NATURE'S WONDERLAND, THE GRAND CANYON, and THE TOMORROWLAND WORLD CLOCK!

Upon the ribbon cutting in 1955, the Disneyland Hotel featured a banquet hall and convention center - inviting large groups and functions to take advantage of the hotel facilities!

Rather than feature an exterior shot of New Orlean's Square, this ashtray features an interior scene from it's crowning attraction!

Lighters were manufactured by a variety of manufacturers (ZIPPO Zip windproof lighters, Brother-Lite, etc.), in a variety of styles (full-size, slim-size, keychain lighters), out of a variety of materials (even sterling silver and 14K gold). Many of these lighters were licensed by Walt Disney Productions, to feature Sleeping Beauty Castle or Mickey Mouse logos (as well as other artwork) copyrighted by Walt Disney Productions. Some (like one model by Brother-Lite) commemorated events like the Tencennial Celebration of 1965.

This c. 1958 Brother-Lite Disneyland Hand Lighter (originally retailing for $1.00) is one of our favorite Tobacconist artifacts in our personal archives. As to its description, catalogues from the era read : “Press - flick - an instant lighter from this distinctive Disneyland lighter . . . A wonderful gift for either a man or woman. Slim-flat, uniquely compact - almost weightless, silver-finish casing. Side panels feature engraved-like, coat-of-arms crest embracing symbols of each land in Walt Disneys Magic Kingdom.”

Many lighters featured Sleeping Beauty Castle and the Disneyland name, and Walt Disney characters like Snow White, Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck.

Back in 1964, a Mister Dale Varner (of Walt’s hometown of Marceline, Missouri) was creating a compact replica of Disneyland. He photographed his work and sent the slides to Walt, requesting photographic references to use for his project. Walt replied with a letter of encouragement, commenting “it looks like you're doing a good job”. Dale finished New Orleans Square, but never had the opportunity to complete his project. However, in his miniature mock-up of Main Street USA there is a tiny tribute to the Tobacconist, which continues on, as a part of this minuscule model of Disneyland, in the care of the Walt Disney Hometown Museum.

“The Loss of Walt Disney”

Internal materials published in 1966 mentioned: “With… major new attractions nearing completion for summer, 1966, openings at Disneyland, Walt and his staff at WED are looking toward 1967 - 1968.“ Walt looked to the future, his 65th birthday falling on December 5, 1966. However, ten days later, on Thursday, December 15, 1966, at 9:35 a.m., a brother, a friend, and a leader, Walt Disney died. Many Disney personnel who were present, remembered this tragedy. Soon after, Roy O. Disney, President and Chairman of the Board of Walt Disney Productions addressed the staff with an official statement, in which it was conveyed:

“Walt Disney spent his entire life and almost every waking hour in the creative planning of…Disneyland… and the other diversified activities that have carried his name through the years. Around him, Walt Disney gathered the kind of creative people who understood his ways were always unique and he built a unique organization. A team of creative people that he was justifiably proud of… Many have been with us for over thirty years. They take great pride in the organization which we helped to build. Only through the talent, labor and dedication of this staff could any Disney project get off the ground…

Much of Walt Disney’s energies had been directed to preparing for this day. It was Walt’s wish that when the time came he would have built an organization with the creative talents to carry on as he established and directed it through the years. Today this organization has been built and we will carry out this wish.

Walt Disney’s preparation for the future has a solid, creative foundation. All of the plans for the future that Walt had begun… the expansion of Disneyland… will continue to move ahead.”

Eventually, one forthcoming project involved the reimagining of an original passenger train car from the rolling stock of Walt Disney’s Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad. The Grand Canyon Coach car was redesigned into a luxury VIP parlor car which debuted in 1976, a decade after Walt’s passing. At that time, the widowed Lillian Disney actively helped decorate the car’s interior, before the car was named in her honor.

Along the “Walk in Walt’s Footsteps” Tour you may recall riding aboard the Lilly Belle Parlor Car and seeing these furnishings – a replica of Walt Disney’s black smoking jacket, an ornamental floral, oval-shaped smoking screen, and a “No Smoking” sign. These props of the grand Disneyland Show were not just mere stage dressing, but visible story elements that were thoughtfully added to subtly reinforce a true-life cautionary tale. Walt may have loved trains, but he never had the pleasure of enjoying his grand circle tour aboard the Lilly Belle Parlor Car. This somber fact cannot be so easily “airbrushed” out of the minds and hearts of those who knew him and love him.

The Tobacco Shop was a representative of a bygone time of small towns across the United States of America and a seeming mainstay on Main Street. But some Disneylanders were not so permanent. For instance by 1969, Barbara Stillwell (Tobacco Shop) left for Frankfurt, Germany on an extended European trip, with plans to live with her grandmother for a while.

More than a decade after his big screen debut in Melody Time (1948), the cigarette-smoking cowboy star Pecos Bill, lit up the screen for a double-feature at the Fantasyland Theatre in 1966. Times were different, and the full, unabridged short film was likely shown, without a disclaimer, including the scene where “the toughest critter west of the Alamo…roped a ragin’ cyclone… rolled a smoke and lit it… and… tamed that orn’ry wind down to a breeze.”

Three years later in 1969, smoking-related paraphernalia was still being sold through the Tobacco Shop and even vending machines at Disneyland. But the winds of change were blowing against big tobacco companies and their smoking consumers. Thus began the anti-smoking campaigns from the late 1970’s thru the late 1980s that would swiftly regulate and usher an end of an era for this seeming mainstay from turn-of-the-century America.

Meanwhile Disneyland Park began to sponsor anti-smoking campaigns. For instance, Disneyland Cast Activities presented a free informal discussion - “Stop Smoking Seminar” sponsored by the Schick Center, held at The Center (on Thursday, August 16, 1979, at 5:15pm). The discussion introduced a program called Habit Helpers to “help break nicotine’s hold on you.”

Times and views were changing.

You may recall a sign which hung in one window and read : “Tobacco is a dirty deed, it satisfies no normal need, it makes you thin, it makes you lean, it’s the worst darn stuff you’ve ever seen… I like it.” While these words may have reflected a majority of smokers, the Magic Kingdom opened at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida with the Main Street Tobacco Shop in the Emporium. There, the legacy was carried for a brief time as a unique location where product like basket pipes, Cinderella Castle ashtrays, or Virginia Ovals king-size cigarettes could still be purchased.

Contemporaneous with the “Stop Smoking” campaigns, it seems that the Main Street Tobacconist Shop Indian had turned to modeling, become less interested in touting tobacco and instead toting bags, for one advertisement published in Disneyland LINE (June 21, 1979).

By 1981, Tobacco Shop continued to offer worldwide tobacco and smoking accessories, contributing $354,000 to $10,602,000 in total Main Street East Merchandise area sales. And yet, Disneyland LINE magazine occasionally published pieces like the anti-smoking article (pictured above) for Disneyland Park Cast Member. By September 30, 1982, construction was in progress, and WED & MAPO opened a mysterious job numbered R177-2 (at a cost of $20,231.66) for the “Tobacco Shop” at Disneyland.

"The End of the Main Street Tobacconist"

One of the biggest anti-smoking campaigns of the 1990s was “Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue” (first airing April 21, 1990). The premise was simple - After a young boy named Michael was pressured by the villainous Smoke, his young sister Corey teamed up with cartoon characters to save her big brother. The event was the most massive cartoon crossover ever, and included familiar Disney Characters Winnie the Pooh, and DuckTales stars Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

A few months after this aired, the Tobacconist closed its doors on June 3, 1990, also about the time the “No Smoking” sign (below) was designed at WDI. Van France was a long-time patron and supporter and expressed: “June third of this year was a sad day for me. It was when the Tobacco Shop was snuffed out, and replaced by profitable merchandise. I can't argue with the so-called ‘bottom line’ financial reasons. Much of the nation is on a health kick, and cigarettes, and those of us who smoke them, are generally condemned. I always felt that Walt, who smoked as much as I do, was sort of a kindred spirit. What does worry me is that we are bowing to the current audience and forgetting that a Tobacco Shop was always found on a Main Street at the turn of the century.” While the shop had a brief legacy in the Tobacconist in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, it was the end of an era for Disneyland.

Soon, Great American Pastimes opened in its stead for a few years. By 1992, The Great American Pastime - offered Sports trading cards and memorabilia. A a few years later, Great American Pastimes was followed by the 20th Century Music Shop, which opened on Sunday, June 20th, 1999.

“20th Century Music Company – Main Street Window Honors ‘Tobacconist’ Patron Van Arsedale France"

Martin Sklar once said “an individual's contribution can usually be found in the final product if one looks closely enough, but the Disney mind frame is to never point out ‘what I did’ to anyone.” However, a few outstanding individuals have been publicly recognized for their contributions and even ceremoniously honored by the Company. There are thousands of windows at Disneyland. Above the street, is a window honoring “‘Van Arsdale France. Founder of Prof. Emeritus. Disney University.’ Van coordinated the activities of the Disney University, the training and development area of Disneyland,” and by 1990, was serving as the President of the Disneyland Alumni Club, according to “Disneyland - A Treasure Chest of Trivia,” prepared by Walt Disney Productions, 1990.

If you were a Disneyland Cast Member during this era, you may recall the Disneyland Smoking Policy established and regulating the use of tobacco Backstage. Smoking was “prohibited in conference and meeting rooms, restrooms, First Aid facilities, hallways and elevators,… areas which contain equipment, records, supplies, or hazardous materials that are sensitive to fire, ash, or smoke,… also designated as non-smoking areas.” For some time, smoking was still “permitted in private and enclosed facilities, such as personal offices, which are occupied exclusively by a smoker, or in a large office where all of the occupants are smokers.” Maybe you remember the Inn Between and the downstairs break area in Fantasyland establishing a “Smoke Free” Backstage Area for your dining comfort.

Custodial Department Team Members of this era may recall cigarette urns with filter screens to facilitate removal of debris which needed to be checked as part of their area responsibilities. These cigarette urns were included in rehabilitations performed by the maintenance services department paint shop at Disneyland.

In 2002, Tour Guides reminded “everyone that Disneyland is a non-smoking Park” with “designated smoking areas.”

Things were far different at Walt Disney World, where former Disneyland Cast Member Brian Levine recalled “By 1993, all tobacco stores in Disney World (Florida) were gone. The only place one could get a tobacco product then was behind the counters in Disney resort hotel gift shops… Somewhere around 2002 or ’03,… a specialty pipe at Walt Disney World. It had Mickey Mouse in the pipe stamp.” [“Walt Disney: American Icon, Inventor of Pop Culture – Pipe Smoker” by Kevin Godbee, published July 11, 2012, at pipesmagazine.com]

Finally, by 2007 it had been seventeen years since cigarettes had been sold On Stage in Disneyland and a lengthy amount of time since they were sold at the Walt Disney World® Theme Parks. And so by 2008, the nearest Guest Smoking Area to Main Street U.S.A. was located in the Main Entry Plaza (outside the park).

Fast forward to the present, when smoking, vaping, marijuana and related paraphernalia are prohibited throughout all of Disneyland Resort, including Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure Park, and Downtown Disney. The cigarette stands, ashtrays and cigarette vending machines have long vanished from the Disneyland Hotel and the Park. Gone are the days of the potential for finding cigarette ends on the ground, or Cast Members walking around with a handful of cigaret ash until they find a bin.

It has become a rare sight to find licensed merchandise referencing cigars or other smoking-related paraphernalia. The “Three Caballeros 60th Anniversary Figurine Set” featuring a Jose Carioca Figure (with light-up cigar), designed by Kevin Kidney & Jody Daily, was certainly an exception to the rule. The collectable was released in Spring, 2005, issued in a limited edition of 1000.

In our present-era, there are few remnants of Tobacconist and Disneyland-related smoking paraphernalia or artifacts left in the Park (if, any). It may surprise you to learn that neither of the current Cigar Store Indians (on Main Street, or in Frontierland) are original. Yes, both of them (like the building façades) were cast, and replaced by fiberglas versions in preparation of Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary year. The originals were sold and are currently in private collections. The current Cigar Store Indian’s original appearance has been altered a little - his cloak is noticeably blue instead of red.

Paint is important. The “Master Color Book” is the Bible for color selection at Disneyland, maintaining a catalogue of 4,000 shades of color. The book contains color specifications for every land, building, exhibit, and prop which requires paint maintenance (as the Cigar Store Indian). It insures that Disneyland will always have the same bright colors selected by the art directors who designed the attraction. In addition to the Master Color Book, there is a standby supply of ready-mixed paint available for touch up work. Thousands of cans of paint are stored in a special room which sounds like a walk through of Disneyland. Each can is labeled with names like “Tobacco Shop Indian.”

Now, that the 20th Century Music Co. has moved in (and the Tobacconist has long since been a thing of the past), we occasionally wonder just who the Cigar Store Indian stands poised to welcome. Still, the Cigar Store Indian remains as an archaic symbol of a simple and bygone era of Main Street U.S.A., and turn-of-the-century small towns across the United States of America!

Regarding most any project pursued, Walt Disney once said: “We have always tried to be guided by the basic idea that, in the discovery of knowledge, there is great entertainment as, conversely, in all good entertainment there is always some grain of wisdom, humanity, or enlightenment to be gained.” While fewer current Disneyland attractions embody the spirit of those words, the story was far different in the beginning. Back then, “Disneyland is a place to have fun… and with the fun it is a place where you can learn,” according to “Disneyland, U.S.A.” (published 1958, for potential Participants).

“Blue Sky for the Disneyland Pharmacy”
Back in 1948, Walt Disney visited the 1948 Chicago Railroad Fair with his friend animator Ward Kimball. On the way home, the two “railfans” also made a visit to Henry Ford's outdoor museum tribute to Americana called Greenfield Village, located in Dearborn, Michigan. It was Walt’s third visit to the history museum within his lifetime. Ward later recalled that Walt enjoyed the entire experience so much that it was all he talked about on the train back to Los Angeles. When Walt Disney returned home, he composed a memo which laid out in great detail some of his earliest ideas for a themed amusement center. In describing his earliest vision of a frontier town, Walt prominently mentioned a drugstore with a soda fountain, in addition to other attractions like a toy store, an opera house, horse cars, and a railroad station. This concept of a recreation of a frontier town would continue to develop over time.

According to The Disneyland Story (September 3, 1954) : “You find yourself in a Civic Center or Town Square at the turn of the century, any time from 1890 to 1910. Here you will see…the Drug Store.” As we make our way by the barbershop quartet, and ice cream parlor, we arrive at another turn-of-the-century small town “staple” - Upjohn Pharmacy! This was Main Street U.S.A.’s original corner drug store, and an opening day Disneyland attraction at that. As guests entered the 1,480 square foot exhibit, they could experience real licensed pharmacists (in period specific clothing), performing turn-of-the-century tasks amidst medical and surgical Antiques of a Victorian-era apothecary shop.

All of this, was sponsored by the Upjohn Company - one of the United States’ turn-of-the-century business pioneers, “old reliable firms, which have been in business fifty years or more. Here they can show how they started and reproduce their first place of business.” [Disneyland Prospectus, 1954]

By July 1, 1954, George Whitney of Disneyland, Inc. directed Amusements, with Ron Miller overseeing analysis, philosophy, capacities, planning, operator training, and amusement procurement. By July 1, 1954, Russel Tippett of Disneyland Inc. Advertising oversaw Exhibitor’s Space Sales and Lease Agreements. Disneyland Participant Corporate Sponsors were carefully selected. High quality, long term corporate sponsors would provide incremental income that enabled Disneyland to enhance its show and attractions, offset some operating expenses, and capitalize on marketing opportunities.

It was intended that Disneyland feature “the turn-of-the-century shops and stores - the photographer's shop, ice-cream parlor, penny arcade, bakery, drug store, music shop, butcher, grocer, many of which are sponsored by outstanding American companies whose names are familiar ‘household words.’” As Walt described to Bob Thomas (of Associated Press), “some industries will have exhibits, but all of them must be in keeping with the era.”

“Disneyland is unique in that some of the world's foremost creative artists and architects control all design at Disneyland.“ While the facade was designed by architect Earle G. Kaltenbach and Hollywood art director Gabe Scognamillio, the interior of the shop was first designed by artists of WED Enterprises, Inc., but re-designed (by architect Will Burton) to resemble a typical apothecary shop circa 1886. Upjohn had two main publicly accessible rooms - the Victorian era drugstore apothecary shop (filled with more than 1,000 medical antiques), and a contemporary-style Modern Room (which showcased Upjohn Company’s drug manufacturing processes). Here, Disneyland guests could look back to the roots of the Upjohn Pill and Granule Company, as well as the future of the Upjohn Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan!

“Architectural Designs by Lessees”

Disneyland, Inc. printed materials for Lessees detailing specifications for architectural designs of exhibit spaces. These were revised by March 16, 1955 and issued to Lessees.

All of the interior architectural drawings were done by competent registered architects or an approved display house of the lessee's choice. All of the designs submitted by the lessee's architect, whether for buildings or construction of interiors in DISNEYLAND, were approved as to the theme and general plan of DISNEYLAND as established by WED Enterprises, Inc.

Three sets of preliminary drawings were furnished DISNEYLAND, Inc. as soon as possible after signing of the lease. Two sets were retained by DISNEYLAND and one set was returned to the lessee’s architect with any revisions noted thereon and stamped “APPROVAL TO PROCEED TO FINAL DESIGN.” This stamp when properly signed and dated constituted the lessee’s authority to proceed with the final drawings.

The Lessees revised their final drawings to incorporate any revisions noted on the approved preliminary drawings, and submitted three sets of the revised drawings to DISNEYLAND. One set was returned to the lessee’s architect and any revisions noted thereon are to be incorporated on the original drawings. When the lessee had incorporated the final revisions on the drawings, two sets of transparent ozalids were forwarded to DISNEYLAND for approval. DISNEYLAND would stamp both sets “FINAL DESIGN APPROVED” and “LESSEE’S CONTRACT DRAWINGS”, and return one set to the lessee who could then release drawings for bid and/or construction.

“Construction”

“When the giant earth-moving undertaking was completed, the building crews took over. Soon, the rat-tat-tat of riveters was shattering the air, and sparks were flying from welders’ torches as the steel frameworks, capable of withstanding the ravages of time and the elements rose above the newly formed ground. While carpenters hammered and masons laid row upon row of brick and stone and mortar, the permanent buildings began to take shape and form,” according to “The Disneyland Story” published 1955. One of the first buildings to be constructed was the Main Street Opera House, which was used as the Mill. Here, the woodwork of Disneyland was generated - from the functional to the aesthetic! Approximately three and one-half million board feet of lumber went into the Park’s construction. Much of the wood was processed here by McNeil Construction (which formerly constructed Walt Disney Studio sound stages in 1947 and 1953), and under the direction of George Mills Sr. (the Prime General Contractor and Mill Foreman). Then, under the direction of Joe Fowler (Construction Supervisor), as well as Charles Alexander and Ray Conway (Construction Field Supervisors), the lumber was soon fashioned into the framing belonging to the very first buildings constructed at Disneyland - primarily the Main Street Complexes (on each side of the street).

All fixtures were placed in their correct motif and many light fixtures of Disneyland were authentic antiques.

F.M. Franz, manager of operations for MeNeil Construction expressed: "We feel sure there has never been anything built like this in Southern California, or elsewhere in the United States. Many of the items were constructed from artist’s sketches.” Work began on the 11,860 square-foot Main Street Building #300 and its 1,480 square-foot Upjohn Drug Company Building. In constructing the building, a concrete foundation and slab floors were prepared, followed by wood frame construction (while store units would have a combination wood and rigid steel frame). ”The first fabricated steel for the Main Street buildings arrived November 8 and was erected,” according to the narrator of “Disneyland - The Park,” a Disneyland anthology television series excerpt, first aired 1957 and Disneyland LINE (November 22, 1979).

According to inserts published in area newspapers during July of 1955, Disney buildings were roofed by Pioneer Roof & Shingle Company (then located at 608 Mateo Street, Los Angeles, California; 7522 Westminster Avenue, Westminster, California). The roof covering was a variable, dependent on the architectural design.

Newbery Electric Corporation gave electricity to Disneyland.“Theelectrical installations were supervised by Roy J. Gruendler, manager of Newbery's Orange County district office located at 1335 Santiago Ave, Santa Ana.”

As of June 2, 1955, C.V. Wood Jr. sent an Inter-Office Memorandum to Walt Disney regarding the best estimates that could be obtained at the time regarding the status of individual sections of the Park and Opening Day. C.V. wrote: “Building #307 - Upjohn: The construction of the walls and fixtures will be complete. A lot of the props are here now. We do not know if this is all there is to come and if not, if it will all be here for opening… Electric Signs: All are in work - with the exception of the shoe store and the Bank of America, all will be completed.”

The building (as each on Main Street U.S.A.) possessed complete fire sprinkling systems. By June 30, 1955, related Disneyland Site Work Fire Protection Utilities Plot Plans were prepared for Disneyland Inc., by J.E. Thomasson of WED Enterprises Inc.

According to The Disneyland Story (September 3, 1954) : “You find yourself in a Civic Center or Town Square at the turn of the century, any time from 1890 to 1910. Here you will see…the Drug Store.” As we make our way by the barbershop quartet, and ice cream parlor, we arrive at another turn-of-the-century small town “staple” - Upjohn Pharmacy! This was Main Street U.S.A.’s original corner drug store, and an opening day Disneyland attraction at that. As guests entered, they could experience real licensed pharmacists (in period specific clothing), performing turn-of-the-century tasks in a Victorian-era apothecary shop. Pictured above, you’ll note an early “Vintage View” of Upjohn Pharmacy taken within a month of Disneyland’s opening day. The construction was unfinished, and the iconic mortar and pestle lamp was still not attached above the corner entrance.

By September of 1955, the mortar and pestle lamp was fixed in place over the corner store’s entrance!

This image was used to produce Disneyland Upjohn Company souvenir postcards that were sold inside the corner store. The caption on the back read, “On the corer of Main Street and Center Streets in Disneyland, the Upjohn Pharmacy comprises one of the most complete museums of pharmaceutical wares, equipment and furnishings.”

Here, we can see one of the actual postcards sold inside the Upjohn Company during Disneyland’s first fabulous decade.

The corporate synergy was good for a time. Institutional lessee The Up john Company yielded some revenue for Disneyland Inc. - $29,087 for the fiscal year ending September 29, 1957 and $29,600 for the fiscal year ending September 28, 1958.

This rare Vintage View gives us a look at just how far the Upjohn Pharmacy’s storefront window displays stretched - clear down to the north side of the Crystal Arcade’s entrance! Notice those stained glass panels above the Crystal Arcade’s entrance, bearing the familiar mortar and pestle logo which hung over the Center Street entrance. The mortar and pestle was ironic, since the Upjohn pills had the reputation of being friable (meaning that they could be crushed “under the thumb”.

Looking over the Illuminated mortar and pestle lamp, we are reminded of Walt’s own words (in 1962), “I like to be around when the lights come on. It seems like a new kind of magic takes over in Disneyland after dark.”

Window displays have always played an important role -communicating to guests the essence of a shop and were designed to invite guests into the store. These may be animated or still and would also include props used for display purposes.

Upjohn Pharmacy housed several show globes. Much like the barber’s pole, show globes were once associated with Apothecaries. There remains a mystery as to the meaning of the globe’s color or the etymology of the name. Some believe that the color may have advertised the health of the local community to travelers passing through town, but there are no sources to confirm or deny that this was the case.

In the center of the counter, you can see the jar holding genuine leeches on display such as were used in medical practice before modern-times.

Guests like Disneylander Ron Dominguez (who thought about leaving after his first summer in 1955 and originally wanted to be a pharmacist) may have been inspired by the exhibit.

The $15,000 addition of the Modern Room was added in 1958.

"As you have seen, the fixtures and equipment in the typical drugstore of the late 1800's bear little resemblance to the ultra-modern pharmacy that serves your community today. The basic philosophy of the pharmaceutical profession has, however, remained constant : integrity of service '; quality and purity of product.”

The new Upjohn facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan was a “23-acre facility under one roof”.

The Modern Room also featured additional displays over the years, like a display illustrating 20,000 years of medicine history added July of 1966. Another memorable display was this dynamic model of a human cell designed (by Upjohn Company resident graphic designer, and “Scope” Magazine Art Director - Will Burton) as an educational tool for physicians, cytologists, and students. Will had previously manufactured many displays and exhibits for Upjohn - models of proteins, models of vitamin pills, X-ray refraction patterns - usually on exhibition at the Kalamazoo Art Center. Now, Upjohn commissioned a total of three models of the human cell. By September 28, 1958, Disneyland Inc. job number 4012-515 for the Upjohn Company “Micro-world exhibit” was in progress at a cost of $13,056.

The original (and much larger) Upjohn-sponsored model (which was a precursor to the one appearing at Disneyland), first required a year for “its research, its collation of fact and surmise, and for its construction. Representative of no particular part of the human body, it is an abstraction of the cell - but a controlled abstraction, as technically accurate as the knowledge and conjecture…could make it.

Magnified more than 1,000,000 times the size of a human red blood cell, the model is [more than 20] feet in diameter and 11 1/2 feet high [though Disneyland’s was much smaller in dimension]. It sits on a metal mirror, so that as a viewer walks through and around, he has an impression of being inside the organism, at the center of it. The model is constructed of acrylic plastic tubing for the cytoplasm, or the outer material. There are some 2200 pieces in the cytoplasmic structure, measuring 3700 linear feet, their 7500 joints connected by hand. This…structure is built on a five-piece irregular module regularly repeated with the pieces…[fitted] together at an angle of 78 degrees. Along the…’wall’ are displayed scale models of all the elements of the cell. Because nothing of its kind has ever been attempted before, new problems of conception required novel solutions in construction, for example the chromosomes {the long curly forms in the nucleus} are made of vacuum cleaner [hoses]”, according to Industrial Design magazine (published August, 1958).

Still, the smaller version that exhibited at Disneyland, featured many of the same parts of the “organic whole” display - from the transparent and rigid mitochondria (where food is transformed into energy), to the flat sack-like endoplasmic reticula (believed to once be responsible for the formation of the cel’s proteins)! This display was so popular that it was moved around and displayed in several places (after its Disneyland exhibition), and it was even featured on a Disneyland postcard during 1960!

The back of the Upjohn Postcard featuring the human cell carries an interesting fact about the size of the model. The model is a staggering 250,000 times larger than the average human blood cell!

You may recollect receiving this “souvenir of Disneyland”, that was a complimentary item given to guests of Main Street U.S.A.’s little corner drug store.

Through the years, the boxes (which contained the sample bottle of 9 to 12 “Unicap” capsule pills) generally had an expiration date stamped on them. These were sample portions of actual medicine pills (minimum daily requirements of A, D, and C, Nicotinamide, twice the daily requirement of B-1, B-2, and possibly the daily minimum requirement of B-6, B-12, and Calcium Pantothenate). “Unicap… [was] just one of the hundreds of fine pharmaceutical products produced by the Upjohn Company” and was once available at your local pharmacy. These samples were not to be confused with the bottles of “Pixie Dust” from Doctor Tinker Bell, recommended in doses measuring “a pinch”, to “relieve the blues, blahs, and frowns of an occasionally bad day.”

During 1962, Disneyland Guides reminded guests, “If you are just a bit worn out at the end of the tour, remember to stop by the Upjohn Pharmacy for your free vitamin pills.” Perhaps you still have your souvenir bottle somewhere?

According to an accompanying label :

“Each UNICAP multivitamin capsule contains ten essential vitamins and provides these vitamins in greater amounts than the minimum daily requirement (where established) to insure adequate vitamin intake. UNICAP multivitamins are just one of the many contributions of the Upjohn Company since 1886.” These samples (according to literature contained inside the box) were proof that “the basic philosophy of the pharmaceutical profession has, however, remained constant : integrity of service, quality and purity of product.”

Ultimately, Disneyland Participant Affairs and Disneyland Participant Upjohn Co. could not negotiate a new cooperative agreement to maintain their ongoing relationship, so the two “reliable old firms parted ways.” Here we are in the month of August (pictured above), and the end of an era for the Disneyland of Walt’s era. The folks who took this photo may not have known that this was one of the last times the Upjohn name (one of the original sponsors) would be seen on Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A.!

Considering all of these displays, it is easy to see why by the year 1958, the Upjohn Pharmacy was considered one of 15 free educational shows and exhibits at Disneyland. Ultimately Upjohn corporate sponsorship ended, and the Upjohn Pharmacy closed. However, much of Upjohn’s collection of antiques is currently being preserved at the University of Arizona.

PLEASE, STEP THIS WAY, as Disney History 101 prescribes the following tour of Upjohn Pharmacy with your Filed Guide Beth! Along our tour today, we will explore how residents of Walt’s favorite vacation destination (Smoke Tree Ranch) played a crucial part in this opening day attraction. We will also visit Disneyland’s “working” pharmacy through a rarely-seen, collection of preserved Upjohn artifacts at Arizona State University!

Please step this way, as YOUR Disney History 101 - Upjohn Pharmacy Tour departs HERE!

Under the current agreement, four eleven-minute films will be produced within a period of two and a half years, their cost to be underwritten by the Upjohn Company, one of the world's best-known pharmaceutical manufacturers. Distribution will be made by our company through its 16mm Division.

Soon, the Elgin Company (a then, reliable 100-year-old firm and a Disneyland Participant since 1971) moved (from the other side of Main Street) next door to Carnation.

“Here, guests will find (or can order) calendar watches, automatic watches, chronographs, electric watches, electronic watches, casual and dress watches, pocket and pendant watches, and special watches such as Walt Disney character watches, divers’ watches, engineers’ watches, nurses’ watches, and sportsmen’s timers.

In the clock line, the shops features hand-wound, battery-powered, and electric clocks, wall clocks, kitchen clocks, alarm clocks, digital clocks, clock-radios, table clocks, and Elgin’s decorator clocks, including “Traditional Heirloom Strike and Chime Timepieces,” “Handcrafted Hall Clocks,” “Baroque Decorator Timepieces,” “Mediterranean and Early American Classics,” and “Galaxy” and “Contemporary” timepieces.”

The New Century Clock Shop would feature an exhibition of early antique Elgin timepieces, as well as 50 styles of Mickey Mouse watches including limited editions (just in time for Mickey’s 50th Birthday in 1978)! The shop was very popular and the shop’s team of employees were successful. High sales records were achieved during the following two years - on August 7, 1979 ($10,662), and on August 15, 1980 ($12,062).

New Century Clock and Watch Shop hosted by Elgin-Timepieces by Elgin, featured a complete selection of Mickey Mouse and Disney Character watches and clocks. Unique themed watches (like the Swiss-made “The Black Hole” Wrist Watch by Bradley, released 1980) were made available at Disneyland and fine stores everywhere. An unnumbered limited edition Haunted Mansion exclusive watch featuring the Bride was released on the 26th and 27th of an unknown year.

Imagineer Eddie Soto’s proposed “watch program” ran from 1994-2013, and when it ended, “a large batch of original artwork for the watches was… acquired by the Walt Disney Archives,” according to Dave Smith (Chief Archivist Emeritus of the Walt Disney Archives). [Disney Facts Revealed by Dave Smith, 2016] In 2008, WDI master plans entertained the concept of a merchandise update for the Clock Shop.

“Upstairs,” one second story window above the New Century Jewelry Shop features the name of “Dr. Benjamin Silverstein M.D. - General Practitioner - Have a Fever? Have the Flu? Come on in and we’ll cure you!” As “fortuosity” would have it, Dr. Benjamin Silverstein M.D. “inhabits” the address above the former site of the Upjohn Apothecary Shop. While Benjamin does not seem to be based on a true-life individual, it is one of the few locations at Disneyland where both a mezuzah (and, “shema” on the doorpost) as well as a menorah can be found on Main Street U.S.A. (the latter placed in the window during the winter season).