Disneyland: 100 Years of Wonder, Part 2

As part of Disney's "100 Years of Wonder" centennial celebration, the Disneyland Opera House is hosting a brand-new exhibit.

"Film to Attraction, Attraction to Film" shows original artwork used to bring Disney films to life at Disneyland. In more recent years, some Disney attractions have in turn inspired films.

As the card below explains, Sleeping Beauty Castle was an unusual instance of attractions opening before the movie. The castle opened with the park on July 17, 1955; the walk-through attraction inside it opened two years later; and the movie itself opened in 1959.

Here's art for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, an opening day attraction inspired by "The Wind in the Willows" section of THE STORY OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD (1949).

Peter Pan's Flight, another opening day attraction, is one of the best "dark rides" in the park, with its "flying ships." It's based on PETER PAN (1953), one of my all-time favorite Disney cartoons, which opened two years ahead of the park.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1951) inspired not one but two rides: The Mad Tea Party, which was an opening day attraction...

...and the Alice in Wonderland dark ride which opened in 1958:

Dumbo the Flying Elephant, inspired by the 1941 movie, opened in August 1955, one month after the park first opened.

The details are simply beautiful. Here's a close-up of a sketch by Imagineer Bruce Bushman, whose father, incidentally, was silent film actor Francis X. Bushman.

Bushman also drew the Casey Jr. Circus Train, one of my favorite rides at the park. Casey Jr. was an opening day attraction.

The Matterhorn, which opened in 1959, was loosely inspired by Walt's trip to Switzerland where THIRD MAN ON THE MOUNTAIN (1959) was filmed.

Some of the inspirations for the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland, the 1960 reworking of the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train which had originally opened in 1956:

I've focused here on early Disney films and rides, as those are my greatest interests, but the photos above represent only a portion of the art on display in this extensive exhibit. For those who'd like to see even more exhibit photos, a gallery was posted at MiceChat.

The exhibit also includes a scale model of a Disney multiplane camera and an animator's desk, in a room viewed through a window:

Disney's animators' desks were designed by Kem Weber; there's an entire book about his Disney furniture, David A. Bossert's KEM WEBER: MID-CENTURY FURNITURE DESIGNS FOR THE DISNEY STUDIOS.

Coming soon: Photos from the new Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway ride in Toontown, along with photos of a visit on Valentine's Day.

Related Posts: Disneyland: 100 Years of Wonder, Part 1; A Disneyland Afternoon.

Tweet