I'm beginning with posters from Disneyland, but I also have collections from California Adventure, Walt Disney World and even Tokyo Disney Resort and more.
Soon, we will be adding a poster for Walt Disney – A Magical Life. Those of you newer to the blog might find this article interesting. It was an interview with Disney historian Didier Ghez and a surprise guest, Eddie Sotto, who revealed that an Audio Animatronic of Walt Disney was first discussed by Imagineering decades ago. Yes, decades. You can read this article here.
Soon, we will be adding a poster for Walt Disney – A Magical Life. Those of you newer to the blog might find this article interesting. It was an interview with Disney historian Didier Ghez and a surprise guest, Eddie Sotto, who revealed that an Audio Animatronic of Walt Disney was first discussed by Imagineering decades ago. Yes, decades. You can read this article here.
Enjoy these beautiful posters! As long as there is imagination left in Imagineering, there should be more attraction posters!
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As Walt Disney and his team were planning Disneyland, they instinctively knew this was going to be a different type of park. How could they communicate to the public what they would see in it? Of course, television played a huge role in sharing the vision and the details.
With a plan for the park to be defined by the railroad tracks, it was only natural that the Main Street U.S.A. train station would be at the park's entrance. It would have two tunnels in which to pull guests from the front of the turnstiles into Main Street, one on the left and one on the right. Inside these tunnels, the Imagineering team proudly created posters advertising the attractions.
Over the years, the attractions would also be found in front of the park along the fences and over park benches as guests found seating alongside the main entrance. It's only fitting that we begin this look at the attraction posters by starting with the ones first encountered by the earliest guests- the ones for Main Street U.S.A.
Although the Grand Canyon Diorama was a very small part of the route, this poster did a magnificent job of communicating the grandeur and beauty to be found by guests making the full circle tour on the trains.
It's difficult to tell which color scheme of the attraction poster was actually used. Either way, the artist's use of colors not normally associated with railroading and bold imagery created a stunning representation! The beautifully intricate version at the top of this post came many years later, communicating the elegance of Disneyland's railroad in an entirely different way than earlier versions.
The Red Wagon Inn restaurant was the predecessor to the beautiful Plaza Inn and operated by that name until the mid 1960s. Again, the colors in these two posters are slightly different.
Arguably the greatest attraction found on Main Street U.S.A., Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was quickly recognized as a masterpiece of engineering, artistic accomplishment, and exquisite storytelling. The poster above advertised the attraction at its opening.
Several years after Walt's passing, the Disneyland Opera House presented "The Walt Disney Story", a very fitting tribute to the man who started it all. The first version of the attraction replaced time with Mr. Lincoln in favor of a film about Walt. A later version left Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln as the stunning finale of sorts to the attraction. A new poster reflected that change.
The posters for attractions found on Main Street, U.S.A. are quite an impressive lot! There's more to come as we explore the other lands of Disneyland- and eventually Disney parks all over the world.Next time, we'll take a look at those posters for attractions in Adventureland. The exotic attractions form a very beautiful basis for another set are great artistic interpretations. Stay tuned for the next segment in this series- and stay tuned for additional posters to be added!
(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)
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As Walt Disney and his team were planning Disneyland, they instinctively knew this was going to be a different type of park. How could they communicate to the public what they would see in it? Of course, television played a huge role in sharing the vision and the details.
With a plan for the park to be defined by the railroad tracks, it was only natural that the Main Street U.S.A. train station would be at the park's entrance. It would have two tunnels in which to pull guests from the front of the turnstiles into Main Street, one on the left and one on the right. Inside these tunnels, the Imagineering team proudly created posters advertising the attractions.
Over the years, the attractions would also be found in front of the park along the fences and over park benches as guests found seating alongside the main entrance. It's only fitting that we begin this look at the attraction posters by starting with the ones first encountered by the earliest guests- the ones for Main Street U.S.A.
Although the Grand Canyon Diorama was a very small part of the route, this poster did a magnificent job of communicating the grandeur and beauty to be found by guests making the full circle tour on the trains. 
Primeval World would come later and provide even more thrills.
It's difficult to tell which color scheme of the attraction poster was actually used. Either way, the artist's use of colors not normally associated with railroading and bold imagery created a stunning representation! The beautifully intricate version at the top of this post came many years later, communicating the elegance of Disneyland's railroad in an entirely different way than earlier versions. 
The Red Wagon Inn restaurant was the predecessor to the beautiful Plaza Inn and operated by that name until the mid 1960s. Again, the colors in these two posters are slightly different. 
Above is a proposed version of the poster.
Another variation on a theme.
This poster was used during the park's 50th anniversary.
The posters for attractions found on Main Street, U.S.A. are quite an impressive lot! There's more to come as we explore the other lands of Disneyland- and eventually Disney parks all over the world.Next time, we'll take a look at those posters for attractions in Adventureland. The exotic attractions form a very beautiful basis for another set are great artistic interpretations. Stay tuned for the next segment in this series- and stay tuned for additional posters to be added!
