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Storybook Land and the “Class of 1955” | ||
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005 Striped lighthouse with two shades of gold |
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It’s 2005 at Yesterland. The Happiest Homecoming on Earth marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of Disneyland. The familiar red-and-white-striped lighthouse of the Storybook Land Canal Boats has an unfamiliar paint scheme and a medallion on its side. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005 “Class of 1955—An Original” |
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Some attractions—the “Class of 1955”— have been operating since the park’s opening year. The Storybook Land Canal Boats ride proudly wears the badge. Other alumni of the “Class of 1955” are:
They’ve been dressed up with gold paint for this golden anniversary. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005 One canal boat stands out |
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The colorful Dutch canal boats look familiar—with one exception. Let some other guests go in front of you so that you can take a ride on the golden boat. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005 Golden vessel |
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Take a seat where the cast member tells you to. Although this boat looks different, it’s like the other boats, just with a temporary paint scheme. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005 The Walt Disney Limited |
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Enjoy the ride. But don’t expect to see the same scenery that guests would have seen 50 years ago. Originally, the canals went past bare dirt and wooden railroad trestles. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005 Casey Jr. Circus Train |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005 “Class of 1955” locomotive |
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From your golden boat, you’re likely to see a golden locomotive. The Casey Jr. Circus Train is from 1955. Back then, its passengers could see canal boats going through ditches in bare dirt. |
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The Storybook Land Canal Boats at Disneyland opened June 18, 1956—which begs the question, why is this second-year attraction part of the “Class of 1955”? |
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Photo by Charles R. Lympany, courtesy of Chris Taylor Casey Jr. Circus Train and Canal Boats of the World |
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The answer is that the canal boats themselves go back to the opening of Disneyland. Walt Disney wanted Canal Boats of the World to be patterned after Madurodam in the Netherlands, an attraction which had opened in 1952 with miniature Dutch landmarks viewed from small boats. Walt planned to give his guests an international tour. Canal Boats of the World opened without scenery. With Disneyland construction severely over budget, the miniatures would have to wait. Until then, the boats themselves would have to be the attraction. Guests did not have to wait long. According to Disney A to Z by Dave Smith (Hyperion, 1998), Canal Boats of the World in Fantasyland only lasted from July 17 to September 15, 1955. Entertainment journalist Bob Thomas toured Disneyland while Storybookland was under construction. Here is his May 1956 Associated Press article, in its entirety for historical context: ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—Walt Disney, who once labored over a mouse, can now move mountains. And he’s having the time of his life. Nobody ever had a realm like Disney’s. His sprawling wonderland for the young and old, Disneyland, is now getting ready to celebrate its first anniversary, and Disney is supervising a million and a half dollars worth of improvements. It’s an experience to tag along after the movie wizard—you have to hustle to keep up with him—as he surveys the park. He started in front of the city hall of the Main Street Circa 1890. Then away we go! Disney strode straight through the towering castle of Sleeping Beauty and into Fantasyland. He walked into a construction zone where a huge whale gaped menacingly. “This will be a canal boats of the world ride,” he explained. “The boats will be made to look like canal boats of different countries, and they’ll start the ride by going through Monstro’s mouth.” Then he climbed up a small hill and viewed what the canal boats will see. Craftsmen were meticulously creating miniature villages from Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Three Little Pigs, Cinderella and other stories. “Isn’t that Dutch village too low to see from the boat?” Disney called to a supervisor. The man adjusted a platform to simulate the boat level. Disney sat on it and assured himself the village was high enough.” But raise that bridge or it’ll be too much under the water,” he added. Pressing into Frontierland, he explained the workings of the mine ride, which will take people through the mines and canyons of the old west and then through a series of spectacular waterfalls. The new topography, which will be used for the stage coach and mule trains, includes an unnatural natural bridge and numerous peaks. “Let’s get that mountain higher,” Disney suggested to a foreman. “And broaden out the canyon.” Disney took a swing around the riverways of the world, along which the steamboat Mark Twain plies. He gazed proudly at the huge boulders that dotted the shores. Disney paused and explained why he was making all the additions: “This is how I conceived the park from the beginning—a place that will constantly grow.” Eleven months after the opening of Disneyland, this boat ride became Storybook Land Canal Boats. |
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Photo by Charles R. Lympany, courtesy of Chris Taylor Casey Jr. Circus Train at Storybook Land, early years |
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Photo by Roger J. Runck, 1961, courtesy of Robin Runck Casey Jr. Circus Train at Storybook Land, 1961 |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2009 Casey Jr. Circus Train at Storybook Land, 2009 |
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Now guests would get a world tour—a Eurocentric world tour—using miniatures based on settings from some of Walt Disney’s animated features and shorts: England, home of Mr. Toad and Alice; Germany, home of Snow White; France, home of Cinderella; the Italian Alps, home of Pinocchio; and Holland, home of the windmills from The Old Mill. What had been bare dirt was covered with plants—carefully chosen and pruned to enhance the miniature worlds. Storybook Land also served as scenery for the winding route of the Casey Jr. Circus Train. |
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Photo by Charles R. Lympany, courtesy of Chris Taylor Monstro, the canal-boat-swallowing whale, as he looked in the 1950s |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2009 Monstro, the canal-boat-swallowing whale, as he looked in 2009 |
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In Walt Disney’s 1940 animated feature, Pinocchio, Monstro the Whale was enormous. That makes Monstro at Storybook Land Canal Boats a miniature, despite being much larger than the miniature villages along the canals. |
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Photo by Charles R. Lympany, courtesy of Chris Taylor Monstro’s mouth adjacent to a Casey Jr. tunnel, in the 1950s |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2017 Monstro’s mouth adjacent to a Casey Jr. tunnel, in 2017 |
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Storybook Land has aged gracefully. The miniatures have been maintained meticulously. The trees have grown and the landscaping looks better than ever. |
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Photo by Roger J. Runck, 1961, courtesy of Robin Runck Cinderella’s Castle, 1961 |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018 Cinderella’s Castle, 2018 |
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Because Cinderella’s Castle stood on the top of a tapering “mountain“ and there were no large trees around it when viewed from the boats, a forced perspective effect made it look larger than its actual size That’s no longer the case. A backdrop of huge trees leaves no doubt that it’s one of the miniatures of Storybook Land. |
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Photo by Roger J. Runck, 1960, courtesy of Robin Runck Cinderella’s Castle, from the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad |
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For the first ten years of Cinderella’s Castle, guests could get a different perspective on it. Until the railroad track around Disneyland was rerouted to provide room for expansion (including “it’s a small world”), it went right by the north side of the castle. |
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Photo by Roger J. Runck, 1961, courtesy of Robin Runck Geppetto’s Village in 1961 |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Geppetto’s Village in 2013 |
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The village where Geppetto carved Pinocchio is still one of the highlights of the boat ride. There are newer miniatures too—from The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. The Old Mill is gone from Storybook Land, replaced by settings from Frozen. Hats off to Storybook Land and the two “Class of 1955” rides that have only improved with age! |
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© 2015-2021 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated April 9, 2021 |
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