Disneyland opening day maintenance facility?

[EricsBiscuit]

Hello! Does anyone know what DL's opening day maintenance facility was (if any) and what their maintenance regiment was? Thanks

 

[Phroobar]

Why would we know that?

 

[Disney Irish]

Why would we know that?

Because we're Disney nerds Bruh....

I'm sure someone knows.

 

[Darkbeer1]

The area behind the Opera House was a key backstage area in year 1.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

The area behind the Opera House was a key backstage area in year 1.

Cool! Reason I ask is I did a backstage tour at MK to see central shops where they do all the fabrication for all the AAs and some other stuff along with maintenance for ride vehicles. Then I though, "well golly gee, where do the other resorts do this?" At WDW it's a huge building the size of Fantasyland and Toontown at DL.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

They just did everything in the parking lot and the alleys behind the buildings. This is why the design of The Magic Kingdom integrated a massive series of "underground" facilities. They had forgotten this when they built Disneyland and "corrected" the oversight for the second park.

 

[Darkbeer1]

The Opera House was used as a wood workshop during the initial construction, and the upper level held most offices. The original shed that came with the property (moved now to the main Ball CM entrance) was the original construction office during planning and construction, located near the Jungle Cruise entrance. I will try and get more details later, at break during an election academy class now. This is just off the top of my head.

 

[Darkbeer1]

OK, home after class. I learned tonight that in Orange County, Businessowner is one word, and at the State level it is two.... (Limit of three words on the "occupation" listed on the election ballot), and some of the crazy campaign and ethics rules, and other things that drives candidates crazy in the election codes, and there are many of them....

So, to expand on the basic "weird" Disneyland history in my head. Here is a good website, with pretty photos.

https://www.designingdisney.com/content/construction-disneyland

And more pretty photos...

http://abc7news.com/entertainment/photos-disneyland-being-built-in-1950s/729388/#gallery-10

And my memory is still there, the Opera House was only a façade to the public until 1961, and was the main maintenance building for the first few years.

http://davelandweb.com/operahouse/

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2016/09/01/main-street-usa-disneyland-secrets_n_6471192.html

>>5. The Main Street Opera House is considered to be the oldest building in the Park, even though it wasn’t originally the Opera House; it served as the Park’s lumber mill until roughly 1961.<<


I got my memory a bit mixed up, the oldest building on the property was the Pope House, which become the home for the Circle D Ranch backstage. (A total of 15 buildings were on site when the land was purchased, along with a lot of Orange Trees.)

https://www.ocregister.com/2016/01/...he-pope-house-to-just-outside-the-theme-park/

The house I was thinking off, was the Dominguez House, which was the house converted to the General Construction Office in 1954.

http://blog.silive.com/goofy_about_...the_eyes_of_some_of_those_who_were_there.html

Of course, the property was built in just over a year (the starting date in History doesn't count some "pre-construction" done, as the Disneyland Press folks came up with year and a day story line). As with many things at the company, the whole truth wasn't mentioned, they preferred their own version. Heck, the opening day "first" visitors on opening day publicity wasn't the true first ticket purchaser.

https://www.mouseplanet.com/10797/The_First_Disneyland_Ticket

I covered a couple of the milestone visitors in the early 2000's and got the real story of how they are picked by the PR Staff to match the image they want to present. The family is "lucky" as it wasn't preplanned, the PR folks picked from those in line at the booths. (Done so the guests were spontaneous in their reactions in the on the record comments made. (One time early, I don't remember the actual event, the head PR guy told me they did stage it fully, and it was not a good day and event, so they never did it again). I spent more time talking to the family friends that day, as I was covering the "event" and not the basic story they wanted presented. (Something I specialized in, as I hated having the babysitter (press agent) forcing me into specific places and locations, and was looking for different/unique things.

If someone has a more detailed question, please ask.

 

[Phroobar]

They just did everything in the parking lot and the alleys behind the buildings. This is why the design of The Magic Kingdom integrated a massive series of "underground" facilities. They had forgotten this when they built Disneyland and "corrected" the oversight for the second park.

I know Disneyland tested the new loop for the Matterhorn in Super Star Limo.

 

[s8film40]

Cool! Reason I ask is I did a backstage tour at MK to see central shops where they do all the fabrication for all the AAs and some other stuff along with maintenance for ride vehicles. Then I though, "well golly gee, where do the other resorts do this?" At WDW it's a huge building the size of Fantasyland and Toontown at DL.

A lot of the sort of stuff that would be done in Central Shops was done at the studio when Disneyland first opened.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

A lot of the sort of stuff that would be done in Central Shops was done at the studio when Disneyland first opened.

That is so true! I didn't even think of that. Also I bet a lot of stuff was done at Glendale fabrication wise. Where WED is

 

[Darkbeer1]

One more thought Disneyland was built on a very tight budget, especially near the end of construction, so a 'nicety' like a Maintenance Facility, if planned, was cut. They focused on front of the stage items. Even in the first few years, due to the large attendance and popularity, the focus was on the front of the house.

Doing a web search, I hit a MAJOR Jackpot...

http://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1168&context=buzzprice

>>
As I understand it, the resources of Walt Disney Productions were then harnessed to buy up 240 acres of. land at a price of about $4,500.00 per acre .

The dream. Walt and his brother Roy had been born and bred in the middle west, and Roy was to say, "Only God can make an acre." They were practical men.

I speculate there were ·some practical ideas behind the dream ..

Taxes: I feel that Walt disliked .paying taxes. He wanted to spend the money on the organization as he wished ... for his purposes. When a Disney movie was a smash hit, most of the profits went to taxes. A "Disneyland" would provide a source for reinvestment of ·profits before sending taxes to Washington.

Tourism and Studio Visitors: Before the time of Disneyland, tourists came to Southern California. to pick an orange, see the Pacific Ocean and ... if possible ... visit a movie studio. Studio visitors upset production schedules. A Disneyland would be a place where people could sight-see, without needing to be guided through the· studio.

* Building: This is not speculation. Walt said that one of the great things about Disneyland was that it was not like a film that you produce and put in a can for distribution.

Disneyland was a place which he would be .. able to constantly change ..• add to ... develop. I'm sure that when he said, "Disneyland will never be completed as long as there is imagination left in the world," he was totally honest. Besides, the records shows he loved to build. It was his life.

Walt knew about all things practical. · He learned about operating a lathe when he built his own trains. His life was a total educational process •.. and he always retained the best possible instructors.

Thus, the Disneyland dream had a solid base. By the time I arrived, it was well on the way to reality .•• although the outcome was. still in doubt. Some felt it was a nightmare. <<

>>If you've ever wondered about the kind of ticket book to purchase at Disneyland, you may be surprised to learn that in the beginning nobody even thought of them. In fact, Nat would say in his soft voice that the entrance price was to be twenty-five cents for adults and fifteen cents for children. The only reason for any price was to keep undesirables out.<<

>>
Fred, Chuck, and Jan were my working neighbors on West Street and we were all out of the construction confusion on the "site.

The Administration Building was inside what we call "the berm" that surrounds Disneyland ... the earthen wall that separates the outside world of "today" from the inside world of "yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy" .. as the plaque says above the tunnel entrances to Disneyland.

Actually, the "Administration Building" was made up of two old Anaheim homes, one of which belonged to the present Vice President for Disneyland operations, a nice guy named Ron Dominquez.<<

>>On Main Street the restrooms are hidden behind our flower display. One .guest asked for restroom directions for her child, and was told "behind the flowers" ... and took the direction at face value ... and went... behind the flowers.<<

>>
With the money going out, Walt had decided on a new gate admission of 90¢, rather than the original 15 and 25 cents I'd heard in my orientation. In 1955, that would be about the same as $5.00 now, in 1980.

Twenty years of dreaming, and years, months, days and hours of effort and financing had not, as yet, been proven · to be a good investment. To this day, I don't understand how Walt Disney could take the gamble ... against the advice of bankers, "experts" ... and many people in his organization.<<

>>
Roy had a little glint in his eye, and. his wife, Edna, seemed to have that worried look which wives have when their husbands get up to speak. His words went something like this •...

"Well, on that day, I headed down the Santa Ana Freeway, and I wondered where all the cars were· going. The traffic was heavy •.. and it could have been people going to the beach.

I finally entered the Disneyland parking lot, and there were cars and people all over the place. A young man recognized me, and carne up in a bit of a panic. He wasn't familiar with our first name policy, and said ... 'Mr. Disney, people are jamming the parking lot, and children are peeing all over the place.'

With a great sense of financial relief, I answered, "God bless 'em, let 'em pee."<<

>>
OFFICE SPACE

Although today we have a rather extensive Administration Building, in those days the last thing that Walt would pay for was office space. He-considered it, I've been told, (and I've always agreed) ... a waste of money.

The Operations Department was housed in. a bunch of old shacks, which were called "Tijuana Row." Accounting was in two places. One was a wet, hot and uncomfortable shack ... repeat "shack" ... called the "snake pit," and another_ group were housed in an old construction shack with a corrugated roof which let both the sun and the cold in without interruption. <<

>>
EMPLOYEE FACILITIES ... were bad, or non-existent. The center of activity was in a tent ... called HARLEY'S TENT •.. named after the owner and operator of the sandwich concession.

It was totally democratic, with Walt frequently sitting down to have a hot dog •.. along with everyone else. And, as »roach wagons" go, this wasn't too bad. In addition to providing shade, it was the betting place for football pools. Also, I believe that Harley had a way of booking horse races. I'm not sure of that, but it was a fact that he'd lend out $5.00 to be repaid with six on pay day.

Today we have two wonderful employee cafeterias. In fact ... and it is rare in my experience in other organizations ... there are very few complaints. But, I'm not sure that Harley's Tent wasn't more democratic and. friendly. <<

 

[Darkbeer1]

Thinking back, I guess the first true Maintenance facility was on the West Side, much of which was torn down. The original Train Barn, before being combined with the Monorail, was out there. So basically across from where the Mickey and Friends structure was. I also presume there was some facilities where "iasw" was, along with the Submarine voyage.

But it seems each ride had a small maintenance area where they took care of the vehicles, and nothing centralized.

Many of the original attractions used animals, so they had the Circle D Ranch.

So I think I would say the original Train Barn area would be the first sort of centralized Maintenance facility, instead of the spread out smaller places.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Here is a good photo from 1955... (Third one down, with the train tracks highlighted in yellow)

https://kolbykonnection.com/2016/03/25/disneyland-railroad-layout-through-the-years/

So the original barn is at the upper left. And on the west end, you see employee parking where New Orleans Square, and Critter Country was added. Some original backstage services were there outside the berm. And of course, the Parade Staging area behind the Opera House was another large spot inside the berm.

Hope that gets to the specifics as where the Opening Day centralized facility was. Basically nowhere, as it hadn't been built, just spread out all over the property.

If you look at the 1958 & 1962 photos in the link above, you can see a group of buildings next to the train barn, and I would call that the first centralized maintenance facility. You also had the Warehouse on the north side next to Circle D.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

And on the west end, you see employee parking where New Orleans Square, and Critter Country was added.

I think I like it better that way.

 

[Darkbeer1]

I preferred NOS as the all you can drink beer Picnic zone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holidayland

 

[TP2000]

Hello! Does anyone know what DL's opening day maintenance facility was (if any) and what their maintenance regiment was? Thanks

In 1954-55? It was a different world than anything we'd know today, or even anything they attempted in 1969-1971 for WDW. For Disneyland's construction in 1954-55, it was all mostly handled by the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank and trucked down to Anaheim.

For example, the Mark Twain superstructure was built in Burbank in a Studio soundstage, then deconstructed and trucked down the brand-new Santa Ana Freeway to Anaheim to be reconstructed at Disneyland. The Mark Twain's hull was built at Todd Shipyard in Long Beach, and then trucked over to Anaheim on surface streets because the Garden Grove Freeway was still 10 years from completion in 1955.

Here's the paddlewheel for the Mark Twain being lowered into place in Anaheim in spring, 1955.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

In 1954-55? It was a different world than anything we'd know today, or even anything they attempted in 1969-1971 for WDW. For Disneyland's construction in 1954-55, it was all mostly handled by the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank and trucked down to Anaheim.

For example, the Mark Twain superstructure was built in Burbank in a Studio soundstage, then deconstructed and trucked down the brand-new Santa Ana Freeway to Anaheim to be reconstructed at Disneyland. The Mark Twain's hull was built at Todd Shipyard in Long Beach, and then trucked over to Anaheim on surface streets because the Garden Grove Freeway was still 10 years from completion in 1955.

Here's the paddlewheel for the Mark Twain being lowered into place in Anaheim in spring, 1955.

Awesome! MT is my number 2nd favorite attraction at DL after the DLRR.

 

[spock8113]

Mornin' DarkBeer1- excellent homework! I need to book mark this thread as you've put up some great links.
I did a little homework myself on the 1939 and 1964 Worlds Fairs. Living here in NY, I am old enough to barely remember the 64 Fair and seeing firsthand Disney's accomplishments there. However, I was looking into the 39 Fair's influence on Disney. I found these interesting snippets:

http://www.disneyhistoryinstitute.com/2012/10/the-1939-worlds-fair-and-disneyland.html

https://www.dizavenue.com/2014/08/epcot-and-1939-worlds-fair.html

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

Here is a good photo from 1955... (Third one down, with the train tracks highlighted in yellow)

https://kolbykonnection.com/2016/03/25/disneyland-railroad-layout-through-the-years/

So the original barn is at the upper left. And on the west end, you see employee parking where New Orleans Square, and Critter Country was added. Some original backstage services were there outside the berm. And of course, the Parade Staging area behind the Opera House was another large spot inside the berm.

Hope that gets to the specifics as where the Opening Day centralized facility was. Basically nowhere, as it hadn't been built, just spread out all over the property.

If you look at the 1958 & 1962 photos in the link above, you can see a group of buildings next to the train barn, and I would call that the first centralized maintenance facility. You also had the Warehouse on the north side next to Circle D.

It was the growing group of corrugated metal buildings that developed around and mostly South of the original train barn along the West side of DL (all South of Winston Road) that would be known until the construction of SW:GE as the Staff Shops, including paint, plaster, and metal shops. They were initially modeled on the Studios' Staff Shops. The ride vehicle facilities buildings surrounding the Pyro farm grew and spread out later.

Really great work in a short amount of time, Darkbeer!