September 9, 1967: I'm going to Disneyland!

Diary entry for September 9, 1967:

Went to Disneyland today. Everything was wonderful. We especially enjoyed Tomorrowland section. David Wayne did an Indian dance in a show at Indian Village. Bought Mickey Mouse bank and some things for Tracey. Stayed ten hours but had a wonderful day. Had a midnight snack when we got home.

It sounds like we had a really good time at Disneyland, especially if we were there ten hours and didn't get home until almost midnight. I suppose this was good training for my parents because years later we would go to Six Flags over Texas at least once every summer and stay all day, sometimes until the park was closing.

The Tomorrowland we visited was not the original Tomorrowland that had been there since Disneyland opened in 1955. According to Wikipedia, this Tomorrowland had just opened in the summer of 1967 and the theme was "World on the Move."

I don't think I ever heard about my participation in this Indian dance show. Too bad there aren't any pictures of it in the photo album because I would definitely publish them.

Hey, I thought Mom already bought a birthday present for my cousin Tracey. I guess you can't pass up a chance to spread some Disney cheer.

I don't have any specific memories of going to Disneyland, but let's take a look at some items and pictures.

First up is a small (4" x 3") booklet that I believe my grandmother saved as a souvenir. It's about 20 pages and is sort of like mini postcards, with each flip of the page showing a picture of a Disneyland attraction on the right hand side and a description of that attraction on the left side. Here are pictures of the front cover and the Monorail pages.

The next four pictures are the Dwarf Series. The captions for each photo are my mother's captions from the photo album. Try not to be distracted by my belly sticking out from under my shirt in a few of these pictures.

One of seven dwarfs at Disneyland

I'm not entirely sure which dwarf this is. My best guess is Sneezy.

David Wayne with Happy, one of Snow White's dwarfs

David Wayne with Doc

Snow White and Seven Dwarfs figures at Disneyland

Unfortunately I only see six dwarf figures in this picture.
[Edit: Thanks to someone who said Bashful is hiding, I now see seven dwarf figures. Bashful is hiding behind a post to my right.]


Next up is Mom and I standing in front of the Matterhorn ride, followed by a closeup of me and Mom.

The Matterhorn Mountain at Disneyland. A very bumpy bobsled ride toured the inside.

Next is me in front of a ride in Storybook land.

This whale is the entrance to a ride through Storybook land. Boat sails right through mouth of whale.

Of course, a trip to Disneyland wouldn't be complete without visiting (and hearing) "It's a Small World." Here is a picture of me and my grandmother standing in front of it.

Mother and David Wayne at Disneyland in front of "It's a Small World" ride.

Once again, Nana is dressed like she could be going to church. Also note the animal-shaped hedges in the background.

Here's a wide shot of "It's a Small World." That thing was huge.

Ride at Disneyland - go inside in a boat and animated dolls from all countries sing "It's a Small World."

Lest you think corporate sponsorship is a new thing, here is a closeup of that long sign in front of "It's a Small World."

"it's a small world" Presented by Bank of America

That's almost all of the Disneyland photos that include me. The rest are photos of different areas at Disneyland, none particularly noteworthy. Too bad there aren't more of Mom and Nana, and none of Dad.

The Mickey Mouse bank purchased today brings the bank total to 9. I do still have the bank, but there is so much to write about that particular one that it deserves its own post. I'll probably save that for a future slow news day.

Ok, the first day of the weekend was a long one but a good one. Will we be able to top that on Sunday?