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bag3lbit3s
11-12-2007, 04:17 PM
I'm currently a PAP holder and well before I had my pass I honestly don't remember Disneyland much from when I was a kid. Probably the few things that I've always been curious about have been Indy, Mickey and Friends structure, and the monorail.

So Indy, I remember it being one of the coolest rides ever. I still remember the first time I went on it. For some reason me and my sister had school off during the week so my mom decided to take us. We got there and there was hardly anyone in the park. I still remember looking from adventure land across the rivers of america to haunted mansion and not seeing one person. The line for indy was incredible there were only two people in front of us. But the things I don't remember was what it was like before then. I had been to disneyland at least once maybe twice a year so I had been there plenty of times before Indy was made. I just simply can't recall anything before that day. What was construction like outside of the park, because I know they took a chunk out of the parking lot to make it.

Mickey and Friends Parking structure, how did they do this? I was still too young to really even understand let alone care what was going on outside the park. How did they work around traffic? Obviously the ramps leading from the I-5 wasn't there before I remember. Did they have to divert traffic? How did they redirect traffic of people going from the original entrance to the new one at the parking structure? Was California adventure and Downtown being made as soon as the structure was being made or did they start it right after? How was this all orchestrated?

And lastly the monorail...boy was it soo cool riding around that. I still remember my parents telling me not to get off at the station for the hotel, that that was only for people who stayed at the hotel. I still remember asking my parents "can we stay there, please?!???" But once again, I don't remember what things looked like back then. Did they change the monorail tracks or change the hotel around? how did they manage these things?

Any pictures of any of these things would be awesome. I've tried looking but just can't seem to find any anywhere. I feel like it's all memories that I've lost and never thought to hold onto. It's kinda sad...

Thanks,
-Mike

Toocherie
11-12-2007, 05:42 PM
Hi Mike:

I can remember the old Monorail station at the Disneyland hotel. Seems to me like it was right at the hotel--but can't really remember--not in DTD like now. I can picture it--just am not sure where it was in relation to the hotel. We used to go over there to get a cocktail since you couldn't get one anywhere at Disneyland! (Back in my 20's when we used to get cocktails for the fun of it . . . . )

I hadn't been to Disneyland in a LONG time when I went two or three years ago, so did not experience the transformation. I imagine it was a lot of construction and inconvenience.

I have to admit--I miss having the parking lot right in front of the ticket booths--I remember when I was a kid my Dad would pull up in front of the ticket booths and drop us off for the day then we would call from a public telephone (no cell phones then!) -- most likely the bank of phones in that one display that used to be in Tomorrowland-- and tell him when we were ready to get picked up. We would walk out--exhausted from the day--and he would be waiting for us!

Of course, this doesn't even address missing rides like the Skyway and People Mover (sigh--loved them both), Mission to Mars, etc. I also liked that ride where you rode in a buggy like the ones in HM, but you were "shrunk" to the size of a molecule. (Forgot the name of it now.) Oh, and Carousel of Progress. Loved Carousel of Progress (and only slightly less America Sings).

disneyhound
11-12-2007, 05:54 PM
Of course, this doesn't even address missing rides like the Skyway and People Mover (sigh--loved them both), Mission to Mars, etc. I also liked that ride where you rode in a buggy like the ones in HM, but you were "shrunk" to the size of a molecule. (Forgot the name of it now.) Oh, and Carousel of Progress. Loved Carousel of Progress (and only slightly less America Sings).

Adventure through Innerspace!

http://www.yesterland.com/innersp.html

I loved all the rides you listed as well, especially the People Mover!

Bytebear
11-12-2007, 06:04 PM
The Monorail wasn't moved. The hotel was. Actually the loading dock at the hotel was removed and replace with what is now at Downtown Disney. But the monorail track was not changed one inch.

Here is a thread that talks about the changes to the hotel and the monorail:

http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=65191

CV12Pirate
11-13-2007, 04:05 AM
Back in the sixties we stayed in one of the original bungalows, later trips it was the towers. The monorail used to stop in front/above of the coffee shop. They had lots of little gift shops around the coffee shop. It was a great set up. You get up, walk to the coffee shop, have a great breakfast then walk upstairs to get on the monorail and a few moments later you are pulling into the Tomorrowland station.

The bungalows were cool.

I just read someone mentioned Atari Adventure. I am the guy who put the video games there, I worked for Atari from 1977 to 1984. We drove the yellow and black Atari van to DL and parked it right up front. You should have seen the kids as we started rolling the games in, their eyes almost popped out as we started unpacking them.

I heard a dad say something about "we can't even get away from video games ad DL". As a Atari/Warner employee and stock holder I loved hearing that stuff. It was music to our ears, just like the sound of a quarter dropping into the coin box. Oh yeah, it was the first underwater arcade!

backsthepack
11-13-2007, 04:40 AM
I remember the Monorail at the hotel. We stayed there a few times in the 70's.

My thing was the parking lot. The few times we didn't stay at the resort I remember parking in that huge parking lot. To a kid, that was one huge parking lot to walk.

bloodnswash
11-13-2007, 04:57 AM
I actually miss that big parking lot. :) Getting lost...forgetting where we parked. Good times!

Yip, I remember the Monorail going right up to the DLH. We never got to stay there when I was a kid. In my mind only rich people got to do that. :) I remember the Monorail pulling up and someone getting off and the sliding doors to the hotel would open. I thought it was a treat to get to see a part of the lobby from my seat.

I also remember InnerSpace; the awesome old Rockets way up on the platform; The Carousel of Progress. Ahh, so many really cool things from the past. I love to visit Yesterland.

CV12Pirate
11-13-2007, 04:59 AM
Yeah, it all seemed so much bigger back then.

dawnid
11-13-2007, 09:50 AM
What I remember is just plants between the Jungle Cruise and the Tree House, if I remeber right you could see the boats departing. Past trips tend to morph together into one big memory so I think way back the foliage was smaller and there were benches.

The monorail line is the same, we used to leave the park and eat at the hotel or when I got old enough go to a bar and have a cocktail. The Monorail Cafe was under/around the hotel station. They had a huge almost WoD type store and The Neon Cactus that had kareokee (sp). So the area between the hotel and monorail station was full of shops, restaurants, and a pool with motorized pirate boats. If you came to the hotel for whatever reason you could take a round trip ride on the monorail locked into the end car. I forget how much this cost but it wasn't much.

Mickey & Friends used to be a strawberry field and you used to get into the park off of the Harbor exit so I think you could pass most of the construction mess.

DizneyMommy
11-13-2007, 10:38 AM
I remember the parking lot flooding when it rained. In high school my friends and I would go straight to the park after school on rainy days and we'd be soaked by the time we left, rainy Disneyland days were so fun!

Pirate Princess
11-13-2007, 12:46 PM
OH THANK GOODNESS... I thought my memory was shot! I went to DL years ago and remember the monorail got off at the DLH... I was certain of it! But for the last 3-4 years we have been going I had convinced myself otherwise.... I mean... it is no where remotely close to being attached to the DL hotel.
Yeah... I'm less insane than I thought.

Bytebear
11-13-2007, 01:10 PM
... and a pool with motorized pirate boats.

The pool with the boats is still there, but they are miniture Jungle Cruise boats now.

emmah
11-13-2007, 01:23 PM
we went to disneyland for my 10th birthday in 1979 and stayed at the DLH; I can remember the monorail - in my mind it actually ended up inside the hotel. I thought it was amazing. I also have memories of a huge lake at the hotel, where I rented a pedal-boat and spent a morning floating around out there while the folks slept in. I can't see where that lake was when I look at the map of the hotel now, but I have very definite memories of it and there is a photo of us standing in front of it, with my tank top, flared pants, wedgies and mouse ears - I thought I was so very cool!

CV12Pirate
11-13-2007, 07:37 PM
It was pool, not a lake in the middle of the three towers. Little electric boats and people powered pedal boats. Also where the Atari Adventure was.

emmah
11-13-2007, 10:52 PM
really???? where the neverland pool is now? in my memory it was HUGE. i can remember the pier and looking back at the hotel from the middle of the lake. i had assumed it was where the carpark is. how big was it (ie same footprint as neverland?).

LacyBelle
11-14-2007, 02:32 PM
I remember when the Neverland pool area housed the paddle wheel boats, too. The hotel grounds looked so different back then. I'm not sure about the size of the footprint...if the boat marina is the same as the Neverland pool. It may very well be.

Back then, the DLH swimming pool was just a rectangular pool on the DTD side of the Sierra tower (or whatever it's called now). ;) I guess the pool was filled in, as the site is now the walkway that goes over to PPH.

Gosh, this topic brings back so many memories...especially of the old Tomorrowland.

disneyjunkie
11-14-2007, 10:50 PM
Its so weird now that eveytime we go to DLH and DT Disney I use the monarail as a point of reference and can reconstruct the old layout. Number one the monarail station has never moved. I believe that parts of the hotel and DT disney on the area in front of the main forward facing tower is where the Olympic size swimming pool was.At one time in the area between the towers and the Monarail station we had the original Goofy Kitchen, Mazies Panty, Sargent Peppers , The Lani rooms with private garden patios, a wonderful anamation art studio, a large Disney gift store... a great book is called simply Disneyland Hotel by Donald Ballard. What I miss most is that as a child and young adult I felt immersed in the Disney experience by stepping off that monarail I remember characters at the bottom of the monarail by the stores that greeted you upon arrival.I do still love the hotels but its just not the same my dd got married there and it was wonderful but it still needs a bit more magic than just painted characters and a big sorceers hat to stand under.In its heyday there was even Fantasy Waters a show that was simple with music and lights but it made you feel you were inside the bearm even if only at the Hotel.

Wobble
11-15-2007, 10:48 AM
The only time I went to disneyland before Downtown Disney was in 1994 (I think) and I was 6 years old. My sister was 15 and my brother was 9, so they remember it better than I do... but I remember I loved to ride the monorail and I remembered watching people go into the Disneyland Hotel and hoping one day that I would stay there. I have vague memories of a parking lot, but not really; I remember that there were big signs with Disney characters on them?

I don't remember much about the park except for I got lost once (I was a runner when I was little) and found by a really nice CM who took me to the lost child place. :)

I also remember that my mom, sister and brother were on Space Mountain (I was too short I think? Or maybe just scared?) so my Dad took me on the Matterhorn. But right as we got into the car, I got a massive nosebleed (I got nosebleeds pretty much everyday when I was 4-10 but this was was really bad) so a CM gave us a card or something that said we could ride it later without waiting in line. (I think.) And then gave us some tissues, which was really sweet.

charpaul
11-15-2007, 12:45 PM
To address your questions about the Mickey and Friends parking structure and the building of DCA and DownTown Disney:

This is what I remember from my visits to Disney through that time period.

The parking structure was completed first – streets and access routes were changed in conjunction with the building of the parking structure.
When the structure was finished – the old parking lot began it’s transformation into DCA – Grand Californian Hotel – and Down Town Disney.
I believe that it happened like this:

Disney acquired the land that is to the north of the Disneyland Hotel and started to build the Parking Structure there at least one year before the ground breaking in the old parking lot for DCA and Downtown Disney.

While they were building the parking structure – guests were still using the old parking lot. When the structure was finished, they began to use the Mickey and Friends lot to park guests while they began work on DCA and Downtown Disney. I believe that at least part (if not all) of the tramway was complete to take guests on the trams from the parking structure to Disneyland.

Meanwhile, they were working on eliminating West Street (the street that the used to run in front of the Disneyland Hotel) and changing it into Disneyland Drive. I think that this was also done while they were working on the parking structure. I know that the part of Downtown Disney that goes OVER Disneyland Drive HAD to be complete before construction could begin there.

They were simultaneously working on Downtown Disney AND DCA after the parking structure was in use and the streets had been realigned.

Disney also paid for part of the additional freeway changes and upgrades in the resort area on the 5 Freeway. This was a project that was not handled by Disney - but the major off-ramps for the resort area were open in time for DCA’s opening. The final part of the 5 improvements in the resort area were not complete until about 2 years after DCA had opened.

And finally – they somehow had to keep access to the Disneyland Hotel and the Paradise Pier Hotel open to the guests. I believe that they had guests use Katella to go to “West street” from the south to gain access while they were changing West Street to Disneyland Drive. The entire north end of “West Street” was reworked to make access to the parking structure, Downtown Disney and the hotels easier. The south end of West Street was not changed much.

If I have this wrong - please correct me!! I am only using what I remember from that time period....