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Power
07-12-2008, 02:01 PM
As I was sitting here thinking about my upcoming trip and stay at the Disneyland hotel I wondered..

Is there anything left of the original 1955 Hotel?

My first trip to the hotel was back in 1992 (honeymoon) and looking at old pictures today and pictures online I am not sure there is anything left. Even back then the Garden Rooms still existed although is need of great repair.

Is there something I can take my son to see and say "See there is the XX from the original hotel over 50 years ago".

He was very proud of himself for finding the centre spike in Disneyland on our last trip.

I'd also like to say "I MISS THE MONORAIL CAFE" man did they have great milkshakes...

tod
07-12-2008, 02:19 PM
Is there anything left of the original 1955 Hotel?

The Hotel was opened in 1956... and the low-rise buildings are gone, and the towers only go back to the '60s so I would say no, nothing is left of the original hotel.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

A lot of Disneyland is still original from 1955, though. You can go with that... ;)

--t

Power
07-12-2008, 06:33 PM
The Hotel was opened in 1956...

I thought I read somewhere it opened October 5, 1955 with 8 whole rooms! heheh

nursechrissy32
07-13-2008, 09:13 AM
Hi, I thought you might enjoy looking at some old Disney attractions/Hotel pics etc....

You can go to this website, it is fun looking at all the yesterland :)

www.yesterland.com

Nancy
07-13-2008, 07:30 PM
At DL the horses on the King Arthur Carrouse I thought were the same as July '55 just painted different colors. I could be wrong.

Chadsgal
07-13-2008, 08:14 PM
I love the Old Disneyland Hotel!! All the shops & dancing waters. We would take a night from our trip just to wander(sp) around the hotel.

They still have remote control boats but they are the Jungle Cruise Boats, I think they were normal ski boats before.

What's "Disney"?
07-15-2008, 06:44 AM
Yeah, the oldest thing on property is the Dreams Tower, which was built in 1961.

MickeyM00C0w
07-15-2008, 11:24 AM
Yeah, the oldest thing on property is the Dreams Tower, which was built in 1961.

Are we talking DLH property or DLR property? Cause I know for sure there is something a few years older than that hiding in the planters inside the resort. ;)

Power
07-15-2008, 12:00 PM
Are we talking DLH property or DLR property? Cause I know for sure there is something a few years older than that hiding in the planters inside the resort. ;)

I am looking for anything that is original from the 1955 construction of the DLH (be that on DLR property now aka Downtown Disney).

A corner stone.
Lamp Post.
Spike in the ground.
Planter.
Bench.

I'm thinking that along the line somewhere, something was purposely left in place as a link to the past.

I know there are items that were "Original DLH 1995" moved within the property over the years from signage to furnishings, but I am wondering if anything is in the "original spot" where it was placed or built.

That being said... What's in the planter? :)

MickeyM00C0w
07-15-2008, 12:20 PM
As seems to be the trend, if the attraction/building/what not is to removed to make way for something else, there will more than likely be some form of memorabilia left there. But since DLH is still technically there and has just been redone over the years, it seems a little unlikely that they'd keep something from the original floating around or hidden somewhere. Your best bet is to ask someone that works there. Information is generally passed down to new CMs through their trainers when it comes to hidden stuff or special information that may be asked.

As for the planter, why, it's the base for the House of the Future of course. That's been there since what? 1956?

What's "Disney"?
07-15-2008, 03:04 PM
Are we talking DLH property or DLR property? Cause I know for sure there is something a few years older than that hiding in the planters inside the resort. ;)

Yes, I am talking about the DLH property.

Matterhorn Yodeler
07-15-2008, 03:11 PM
Here's a website about the Disneyland Hotel and its history. I would suggest contacting the author of the book. He would likely know if there is anything left from the original.

My guess is that if something is original, it may be some of the plantings at the hotel. Certainly, all of the original buildings are gone.

This is an enjoyable website with lots of historic pictures!

http://www.magicalhotel.com/

Hope this helps your search!

Bytebear
07-15-2008, 04:41 PM
At DL the horses on the King Arthur Carrouse I thought were the same as July '55 just painted different colors. I could be wrong.

All of the horses on the carrousel have been replaced and the originals are either in storage, or on display in various places at the studios in Burbank. The same goes for the statues at Snow White's grotto.

Chadsgal
07-15-2008, 08:11 PM
So please correct me if I am wrong but I didn't think the hotel was ever moved??? :confused:

What's "Disney"?
07-16-2008, 06:41 AM
So please correct me if I am wrong but I didn't think the hotel was ever moved??? :confused:

Nope, never moved.

I have stayed at the hotel many times, both pre-1999 and post-1999, and it STILL took me a while to figure this out:

The original hotel building was built between the DTD monorail station and the towers. Disney demolished the original building and replaced it with ESPN Zone, Rainforest Cafe, AMC, and landscaping.

I think the OP is wondering if anything in that little stretch of Downtown Disney/ DLH landscaping is left from the original 1950s building.

I, for one, don't know.

I am still confused about the monorail station. I understand that it is in the same location as the 1961 station. BUT--was the old station completely torn down, OR was it heavily refurbished? In other words, is the current station using the old structure?

And I think that the 1961 station was carved out of an area of the original 50s hotel. If that's the case, then the monorail station is the closest you can get to the original hotel.

Klutch
07-16-2008, 10:32 AM
I used to live near Disneyland when I was a kid. As I recall, what's now Disneyland Drive used to be "West Street" and ran between Disneyland and the Disneyland Hotel. The monorail track crossed over West Street to get to the Disneyland Hotel station. Before the monorail, a tram and a private car were available to take hotel guests to the park and back.

So, you can go to Downtown Disney, stand on the large bridge over Disneyland Drive, look down and say, "There's the road that used to run in front of the original, 1956 Disneyland Hotel". That's all there is.

As for the expansion which came later, I'm pretty sure the towers are all that remain. There was a large lagoon area where you could ride paddle boats. I also seem to remember large cabin cruisers docked in this area for display. That entire lagoon was filled in for the Downtown Disney expansion. The water show stayed around for awhile, but that too is now gone.

A modern looking building at the Hotel complex featured shops and a salon maybe (??). It's was razed.

It would have been really cool if Disney could have preserved the orange trees which grew behind each garden room for a greenspace area, or something. Alas, shops and restaurants always trump green space. :rolleyes:

Power
07-16-2008, 03:55 PM
I think the OP is wondering if anything in that little stretch of Downtown Disney/ DLH landscaping is left from the original 1950s building.

You bet that's what I'm looking for.


And I think that the 1961 station was carved out of an area of the original 50s hotel. If that's the case, then the monorail station is the closest you can get to the original hotel.

Hmm now this has possibilities. It's safe to assume that when they modified the original hotel to accomadate the monorail the foundations may have remained. I guess the next question would be when they rebuilt the Monorail station in the DTD construction did they tear it down to the ground and rebuild or did they use any of the original foundations...

Matterhorn Yodeler
07-16-2008, 04:02 PM
Just keep in mind that the monorail was not part of the original hotel. It was an add-on in the early '60's. I think your best bet is still some of the landscaping that would have been around the original garden rooms. There may still be some stands of trees which were there when the hotel opened.

What's "Disney"?
07-16-2008, 07:11 PM
Although the monorail station was added in 1961, it seems as if it is just a modified version of the original 1956 tram stop. This link shows BEFORE the monorail was added and AFTER the monorail was added:

http://www.magicalhotel.com/funstuff/58-62maps.html

tod
07-16-2008, 07:19 PM
So, you can go to Downtown Disney, stand on the large bridge over Disneyland Drive, look down and say, "There's the road that used to run in front of the original, 1956 Disneyland Hotel". That's all there is.

Actually, West street was re-routed and excavated into that culvert that the Downtown Disney Bridge passes over.


As for the expansion which came later, I'm pretty sure the towers are all that remain. There was a large lagoon area where you could ride paddle boats. I also seem to remember large cabin cruisers docked in this area for display. That entire lagoon was filled in for the Downtown Disney expansion

Actually, that area ("the Marina") was between the towers and was replaced with the swimming pool that stands there now. The old swimming pool was west of the Sierra Tower.

--t

originalDLHotel
07-17-2008, 07:56 AM
I thought I read somewhere it opened October 5, 1955 with 8 whole rooms! heheh

Eight rooms however one was used as the registration office.

Don Ballard
http://www.magicalhotel.com

originalDLHotel
07-17-2008, 08:09 AM
As I was sitting here thinking about my upcoming trip and stay at the Disneyland hotel I wondered..

Is there anything left of the original 1955 Hotel?

My first trip to the hotel was back in 1992 (honeymoon) and looking at old pictures today and pictures online I am not sure there is anything left. Even back then the Garden Rooms still existed although is need of great repair.

Is there something I can take my son to see and say "See there is the XX from the original hotel over 50 years ago".

He was very proud of himself for finding the centre spike in Disneyland on our last trip.

I'd also like to say "I MISS THE MONORAIL CAFE" man did they have great milkshakes...

Unfortunately, there are no structures remaining from the original 1955 Disneyland Hotel. There may be some trees or plants but I don't know. I've heard there is an original orange tree somewhere on the grounds but I have never seen it. The oldest building is the Sierra Tower (name changed recently) which opened in June of 1962 and that was only half (North half) of the building. The other half was completed in 1966.

The Monorail Station that was constructed in 1961 at the Disneyland Hotel was completely removed in 1999 and a new platform was created called the Downtown Disney Station.

Some times I stand on that new Monorail platform and imagine where the old buildings used to be. I can even swear I smell chlorine at the spot of the Olympic size pool.

I loved the two-story Garden Villa rooms. In the early 90's, they were mostly all converted to two-room suites. They were the biggest rooms and also the cheapest. The bellmen at the Hotel were not big fans of the Villas. There was no elevator in them and often times, they had to lug heavy luggage up those stairs.

I was also a huge Monorail Cafe fan. I loved just walking inside the place and looking at all the picturtes of Walt with the Monorail. It didn't hurt that they had reasonable food and the best milk shakes in town. Disney should seriously consider opening a new Monorail Cafe in Downtown Disney. I bet it would be packed.

I created a blog on the Original Disneyland Hotel http://www.magicalhotel.blogspot.com. Have a look when you get a chance.

Donald W. Ballard
http://www.magicalhotel.com

originalDLHotel
07-17-2008, 08:14 AM
Nope, never moved.

I have stayed at the hotel many times, both pre-1999 and post-1999, and it STILL took me a while to figure this out:

The original hotel building was built between the DTD monorail station and the towers. Disney demolished the original building and replaced it with ESPN Zone, Rainforest Cafe, AMC, and landscaping.

I think the OP is wondering if anything in that little stretch of Downtown Disney/ DLH landscaping is left from the original 1950s building.

I, for one, don't know.

I am still confused about the monorail station. I understand that it is in the same location as the 1961 station. BUT--was the old station completely torn down, OR was it heavily refurbished? In other words, is the current station using the old structure?

And I think that the 1961 station was carved out of an area of the original 50s hotel. If that's the case, then the monorail station is the closest you can get to the original hotel.

Old Monorail station was completely removed. I'll try and post some pictures of the destruction.

Donald W. Ballard
http://www.magicalhotel.blogspot.com

What's "Disney"?
07-17-2008, 11:11 AM
Thanks for clearing everything up, Don! I have viewed your blog before, and it is very nice!

Klutch
07-17-2008, 01:44 PM
Old Monorail station was completely removed. I'll try and post some pictures of the destruction.

Donald W. Ballard
http://www.magicalhotel.blogspot.com

I'd like to see those pics, Don. BTW, I own a copy of your book. I've actually read it, so you think I'd be more accurate in my description of the old Disneyland Hotel. I was going more from childhood memories than the book.

Thanks for sharing your info and insights, Don. What I haven't seen in your book or elsewhere is an overhead shot, or ground shots, directly comparing the old Hotel site to the new. Is such a comparison available somewhere?