Christmas at the Studio

Today some Christmas scenes from the Studios.

The Main Entrance

Sid Cahuenga's One-Of-A-Kind.

Hollywood Boulevard

Ah, the good old days when they could erect a Christmas Tree in front of the Chinese Theater before that moronic hat was erected!

The train set that circled the tree had miniature Los Angeles landmarks like the Hollywood Bowl and Los Angeles Union Station.

Cinderella Castle Christmas

Long before the beautiful sparkling ice castle that we have today, Cinderella Castle was flanked by two giant white Christmas trees for the holiday season.  These pictures are from the late 80's or early 90's.  I don't recall seeing these trees anymore after the early 90's.

Christmas Ornaments

Some more Christmas ornaments for today.  These were made by Schmid and represent 1974, 1975 and 1976.  All three are glass ornaments with the picture on plastic which is sort of shrink wrapped onto the glass.  The 1974 ornament came in a clear plastic tube with red caps on either end so I scanned the ornament itself.  The other two years came in nice boxes and it was eisier to just scan the box.  I find the 1975 ornament to be the most interesting.  The depiction of the characters seems a little off which is really how I remember a lot of character merchandise from the era.

Christmas Ornaments

As Christmas is rapidly approaching (and I happened upon some Disney Christmas ornaments while decorating) I though I would post some of these.  The first two are from the Disney Cruise Line and the second two are from the Disney's Christmas Past collection.

Disney Magic 2000 Ornament

These ornaments were made by Barlow Designs.  They were made for at least two years as I also have one from 1999.

Disney Wonder Ornament 2000

These ornaments were made by Barlow Designs.

Disney's Christmas Past Ornament 1996 LE of 15,000

This pewter ornament was inspired by the animated feature Fun & Fancy Free and the 1946 Walt Disney Studio Christmas card.

Disney's Christmas Past Ornament 1994 LE of 15,000

This pewter ornament was inspired by the animated feature The Three Caballeros and the 1944 Walt Disney Studio Christmas card.

Entrance To Tommorow

How I miss the old Tomorrowland entrance.  This was always so cool with water cascading down the front and the soaring spires which I always saw as a futuristic interpretation of the spires of Cinderella's Castle just across the hub.  I don't believe the water still flowed by the time i took these pictures.  The entrance to Tomorrowland at Tokyo Disneyland is very similar to this but with a different tile pattern and color scheme.

Mickey's Birthdayland/Starland/Toontown Fair

Matsuriza

Always fun to catch the Matsuriza drummers in the Japan pavillion at EPCOT.  They always put on a great show.

The Backlot

The Disney's Hollywood Studios has probably changed more than any other park over the years.  This was especially true in the first few years after opening.  During those first couple of years things seemed to change almost weekly (since that was about how often I would visit, it was very noticable).  The Backlot area of the park was probably the most affected.  Initially, the Backstage Studio Tour was a two hour combined tram and walking tour that began with the tram portion which boarded  in the Animation Courtyard.  The tram tour ended near the Looney Bin where you could take a shop, use the restroom, or grab a quick snack at the Studio Catering Co. and then begin the walking portion of the tour.  You couldn't walk on New York Street (the trams actually toured it), there were no Muppets, Honey I Shrunk The Kids playground, or Star Tours.  There was no Mickey Avenue.  As crowds increased and more space was needed for guests to wander around all of this changed.  Parts of New York Street were opened for pedestrians (and eventually all of it was opened).  Mickey Avenue was opened providing traffic flow between the Animation Courtyard and the Backlot.  And eventually Commisary Lane opened.

These photos are from the area that would later become Commisary Lane.  This was a cul-de-sac off New York Street that the tram initially drove down but that was quickly opened for pedestrians.  The Monahan's Freight Company facade was later moved between the Looney Bin and Mickey Avenue to serve as the entrance to the Backlot Tour.  The Dipmobile would later be moved to Washington Square on New York Street and the Pacific Red Car to the Boneyard behind Residential Street.

Here is the fountain from Splash which is located just outside the Looney Bin.  The first picture is from April 1989 shortly before the official opening of the park.  I assume the giant Godzilla like thing in the background was simply to add interest.  The inflatable is sitting in what would be Mickey Avenue and which is now Pixar Place.  The second picture is probably from early 1990.  The final picture is a much more recent photo of the fountain from 2008. 

1986 Ticket Brochure

Today we have a ticketing brochure that would have been handed out at the Auto Plaza on the way into the parking lot back in 1986.  Take a look at the price of a 4-Day World Passport back in 1986.  It is about the same as a One-Day ticket today.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party 2003

Liberty Tree Tavern

Today we have a kid's menu from the Liberty Tree Tavern in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom.  I can't remember exactly when I got this.  It was some time between 1993 and 1996.  One side has the actual menu and the other has a board game with little punch out game pieces on the bottom.  The menu measures about 9.75 and 11.75 inches.

AMC Pleasure Island 10

I was so excited when Pleasure Island opened and along with it the AMC Pleasure Island 10 theaters. I lived in Winter Haven at the time about 30 miles away and got my drivers license about the same time as well. I spent many an hour on the road driving 45 minutes each way to see a movie. Not only was it just a far superior theater to anything in Winter Haven, but it was at Disney so it was doubley cool. At this time, AMC was at the tip of civilization. Behind the theater was dense pine forest. There was no Planet Hollywood blocking the view of Pleasure Island either. On June 19, 1991 there was a premiere event for The Rocketeer at the theater. I sat out all day long to get my pass which also included admission to Pleasure Island.


The theater was at the end of civilization. This shot is probably sometime between 1989 and 1991. The theater was only 10 screens then as opposed to the 24 it has now.


Decoratation for The Rocketeer event.


Some vintage vehicle to set the mood. You could normally see these vehicles on the backlot at the Studios.

The badge that granted admission to the movie and later to Pleasure Island.