Forgotten, But Not Gone!!!!!

Hello, Blog Werld!

Been a long time....

I continue to get requests for more stuff. It's flattering for sure that anyone would still check in to the Barrel. Honestly, I'm just a lazy bones about it. Also, the once small and uncharted (and once inexpensive!) world of Disneyland slides has simply become difficult to keep up with.

So, with that in mind, I'll occasionally come on to post random items from my collection.

I've been fortunate to work with the Disney Archives on several projects of late relating to Disneyland. They are a terrific bunch over there and I can tell you from first hand experience, we Disneyland fans have much to look forward to.

If you are not a member of D23, I highly recommend it. The magazine and club could use your support. It's expensive, I know. Try not to think of it as forking money over to big, rich corporate Disney, but rather, helping a fringe part of the Company prove that the REAL history and traditions of Disney is something worth celebrating. It's no coincidence the D23 magazine is so....'Disneyland-centric'. In fact, just take a look at the freebies so far: an exact replica of the 1956 pictorial fold out fan and a full set of the Disneyland '59 attraction shields in embroidered patch form! I don't know about you, but that's fairly specific Disneyland stuff! Somebody up there likes Disneyland! Woo-Hoo!!!

That said, now would be a great time to join. The D23 expo is coming up in September. It will be loaded with amazing stuff, including some major historical objects in the "Treasures of the Archives" walk-through presentation. This elaborate display will have the class and feel of a Tutankhamen exhibit at the Met. I don't know about you, but it's the historical objects relating to Disney that get me going! Seeing the animated children's blocks from Mary Poppins or a hero shooting figure of V.I.N.C.E.N.T. from The Black Hole in person is tre' cool!

Also, the latest issue of D23 magazine is one for the books! The lead article is by long-time Disney photo librarian and historian, Ed Squair and centers on the 40th Anniversary of THE Haunted Mansion in Disneyland. Some terrific insights are revealed for a topic which one would think has been beaten to death....well, I can assure you, there's still some life there to extinguish! Also, the magazine asked if they could use an artifact in my collection for the article and I said, 'sure'!

(To see the full image, get D23 magazine!)

It's this super-rare employee preview poster for the two days immediately before the August 9th opening of the attraction. To this day, the massive work force at Disney parks is a great/safe way to test an attraction under full load conditions before it opens to the public. On August 7th and 8th 1969, from 7pm to midnight, Disneyland employees stopped into their break rooms and found this poster inviting them to preview what was probably the most anticipated Disneyland attraction of all time!

Another great article, by Rob Klein, celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland '59. To all extensive purposes, June 14th, 1959 was the 'second opening' of Disneyland. Well, worth the price of the magazine plus you'll get one of those great attraction shield patches!

Ok, so navigate back every now and then and I'll try to keep posting. Thanks for checking in!