Bailey Cat w/ Mickey Mouse Ears

There is nothing to write here...this is just my my cat, Bailey, after a visit to Disneyland.  No chasing mice, just purchasing Mickey Mouse ears...

Disneyland Ticket Books 56-58

Soon, the a higher level "D" Ticket was introduced.

Ticket Book 1956 (Summer) Reproduction

Summer 1956 introduces the "D Ticket"

Ticket Book 1957 Reproduction

The 1957 Ticket Books changed sizes to a larger format.

Ticket Book 1958 Reproduction

In 1958, Ticket heights returned to their traditional size, similar to paper money/wallet sizing.

View the entire Disneyland Ticket Book Series

by clicking the "Ticket Books" link on the right,

or by following the link [here]

Mix it up

I have purchased a LOT of Disney CDs over the years.  I don't have an mp3 player in the car so I gotta make my own mix CDs for driving.

I am an artist, so they gotta look pretty.

Flights of Fantasy Parade

The Summer Season at Disneyland begins this weekend, the same as it did in 1983.  Back then, a brand "New Fantasyland" had just opened, less than a month earlier, and beginning this weekend the Park was open Summer hours and the entertainment schedule kicked into high gear.  That included the parade.

It was 28 years ago, just as Disneyland was about to celebrate it's own 28th Anniversary, when I stepped off from the Small World gate in the first performance of the Flights of Fantasy Parade. (Despite being biased, it remains one of my Top 5 favorite Disneyland parades ever.)  I have never been a great dancer, so getting cast in a simplistic dance role like a Toy Soldier did not offend me...  ...and because I am tall, I was lucky enough to be in the front row.

Here is kinda what it was like for me back then.

That's me, in the front row!

Disneyland Ticket Books 55-56

Ticket Books were introduced shortly after opening in 1955.  The first books only contained A thru C tickets.

Ticket Book 1955 Reproduction

The very first Ticket Books, from 1955, indicated A thru C "RIDE".

Ticket Book 1956 Reproduction

Within a year, the 1956 Ticket Books replaced the word "Ride", with "COUPON"

View the entire Disneyland Ticket Book Series

by clicking the "Ticket Books" link on the right,

or by following the link [here]

Casey Jr + 45

I was 3 or 4 years old, so it was sometime during the late, late 60's.  I know for a fact it was before my sister was born, as I can vaguely recall being babysat solo, in an apartment building complex that predates her...

I had, as a small child, a record player.  (For those of you too young to recall records, it was a black disc, larger than a CD or DVD, from back in the day.)  My child's record player could operate at both 33 1/3 speed for full length albums AND 45 RPM (rotations per minute) speed for smaller records.

I "owned" a 45 RPM record of Casey Jr (from Dumbo).  First off, no 4 year old "owns" anything.  Secondly, no 4 year old should own vinyl of any size... it's too easy to damage.  (For you younger folk, records are like CDs, but if you touch them at all, you likely damage them...)

So what do ya think happened to my copy of Casey Jr?  No bonus points, but yes, I managed to actually break to disc...  physically break the disc...  in fact, I only recall playing the disc by skipping the broken part.

I came across an online image of the record jacket AND the record itself recently... so I cleaned up the images AND "broke" the record as near as I can recall it, and so I am posting my version here in order to share with you my childhood...

A broken 45 RPM Casey Jr record, as I recall it nearly 45 years later!

Casey Jr Audio Link 

BaileyBlog: Oswald, Pluto & Figment

Excerpt from my BaileyBlog (at simbaspot.blogspot.com)

One day when I was about 14 years old, I decided I liked Disney.  This decision was made mostly so that friends and family had a default concept built in for birthdays and Christmas gift ideas... I mean it made sense, as I grew up in and around Disneyland.  In high school, Toni Basil's "Oh Mickey" became my theme song and I acquired the nickname "Mick- the Mouse".  I even ended up working at Disneyland for a summer when I was 17-18 years of age.

P L U T O

Ironically though, as much as I do like Mickey Mouse, he doesn't rank as one of my top 10 favorite Disney characters.  Actually my very favorite Disney character is Pluto, a Mouse's best friend.  Why?  As near as I can figure, I am a lot like the loyal pup.  I am a Gemini, which means I have two distinct personalities... much like Pluto (who is actually a Virgo, as he premiered on September 5, 1930).  See, Pluto is an insanely loyal canine companion to Mickey, yet the moment Chip 'n Dale appear he's aggressive in defending his environment.  I see perfectly eye-to-eye with Pluto on that philosophy.

F I G M E N T

My next two favorites, in no particular order, start with Figment.  Actually, Figment of Imagination.  Figment is a wide-eyed, child-like purple dragon with an active and creative imagination, from the EPCOT attraction "Journey into Imagination", which opened on March 5, 1983.  Figment, along with his creator, Dreamfinder, explore creativity and imagination to the song "One Little Spark"---a song with my name in it! Cool!  Although Disney closed the original attraction 1998, and had to alter the replacement in order to add Figment back into the newest version, Figment remains one of my favorite characters ever created by Disney, and since he only resides in one location on the planet, he remains understated and quite special to me.

O S W A L D

To round out the Holy Trinity of favorite Disney characters, I go to the oldest of all the Disney characters... no, not Mickey... Oswald.  If you know the story already, skip the next paragraph.  If not, let me share the details.

The first fully developed animated character Walt Disney created was Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit.  (He premiered on September 5, 1927-- thus sharing a birthday with Pluto!)  After a year of creating Oswald cartoons, Walt went to New York to request a financial increase for future episodes.  Instead he was told he would either accept less money, or the character would be animated elsewhere, as the studio actually owned the Lucky Rabbit.  Walt did not accept those terms, and as a result, the Oswald-less train trip back to California was where he came up with a new character, Mortimer Mouse Mickey Mouse.

Here's an awesome video that shows how everything went down in the late 1920's, at least how Oswald saw it!

(Also, this video clip is animated to music, "Oswald's Theme", created for the Epic Mickey video game that features Oswald)

In 2006, the Disney Company negotiated to bring Oswald back home to Disney for the first time in nearly 70 years.  That's his story and that's why he's one of my favorites.

 

So just remember,

despite what the official corporate statement might be...

really, "it all started with a Lucky rabbit!"

The Disneyland California Report

If there is but one thing I know for sure, it is that no matter where you are or how old you are, there are things that are guaranteed to provide comfort, confidence, and satisfaction.  Often times, those same things provide happiness, or at least are able to put a smile on one's face.  Chicken soup is one of those things.

Being a 10 year old passenger on our way to the mall, traveling down the 55 Freeway, I always attempted to spot the peak of the Matterhorn that seemed so far away, both physically and through few opportunities to visit.  The Park was usually closed 2 days a week during most of the year, and even then, it still closed around dusk.  Annual Passports were still 20 years away so the thought of frequent visits had not even been conceived in my head.

Being an Anaheim native myself and growing up in greater OC, born in the almighty year of the Tencennial celebration, and spotting the Matterhorn from afar WAS my frequent visit to Disneyland from a very early age.  The sights and sounds of Disneyland capture an innocent and magical time for me.

I currently live 1000 miles away from Disneyland and keep abreast of what is happening there via weekly updates on several websites and blogs... but what really comforts me are the images that remind me of "My Disneyland", the park that I grew up with... and still am growing up with, despite the distance.

I have been creating graphic arts, logos, and maps that help to remind me, personally, of the history, joy, and special moments in life that I share with the neighbor down the street I grew up with.  I am very fascinated with the tour and book about Disneyland: The Architecture of Reassurance so I am starting this blog to share some of the art I have created that has always put a smile on my own face, that has placed me visually in a locales that always create good memories, and give me an opportunity to share Disneyland history as I lived (and recall) it.

SO THEN, to begin, I posted the first image (above), as one of my favorites of the Anaheim property.  I captured icons of both Parks, past and present.

(FYI. I have always loved, and have missed, the original Disneyland sign... I came up with these images long before the Hotel pool remodel went retro with the same idea!)

(Disclaimer: I do not work for, nor do I represent the Disney Company.  I create images for my own personal satisfaction and do not sell or promote the images I create that are based on Disney copyright materials)