Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 21.

48 Years of Disney's Progress.

As I demonstrated last week, visiting the same location has advantages, especially after several years. Indeed, I have known people who return to the same venue year after year. But that isn't what I mean. Rather, it was visiting a site after more than ten years, only to see various great or small changes.

Downtown Los Angeles is a prime example. Its skyline had changed dramatically after my first visit in 1978 and before my second visit in 1995. I could say the same about Singapore. Although I only visited that city once in 1997, it was only last year when three of my friends stopped at Singapore on their way home from the Philippines. In 2024, my three friends saw a very different Singapore from the one I stopped at 27 years earlier, whilst on my way to Australia. Like Los Angeles, Singapore at present has new structures and facilities that I would never have dreamed possible.

Therefore, I considered it a wise decision to visit Disneyland in 1995, 17 years after my last visit in 1978. There were some changes there, too, but more subtle. Sadly, the Skyway had disappeared. This cable car used to move slowly and silently around Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, and actually passed through the Space Mountain indoor roller coaster, the Inner Space carousel, It's a Small World, and the Matterhorn Bobsleds. 

Another attraction that was well in 1978 but had disappeared by 1995 included Inner Space, a carousel ride that shrank the rider to the size of an atom within a single snowflake. Then there are others which changed slightly by 1995. The Monorail was a loop in 1978, stopping at Tomorrowland Station and then exiting the park to stop at the Disneyland Hotel before completing the circuit at Tomorrowland. By 1995, it had become a reduced out-and-back line, at least temporarily until reconstruction allowed the full circuit to become operational in 2001.

Gulliver's Travels also disappeared after 1978.

Liquid Space, a submarine ride offering views of plastic underwater life. In 1978, the subs were battleship grey. In 1998, they were bright yellow. At present, the name of the attraction has changed to Finding Nemo. 

However, the biggest changes to Disneyland were the introduction of new facilities between 1978 and 1995. Toontown didn't exist in 1978. But by 1998, this attraction replicated the cartoon background with tilting houses and oval vehicle wheels. Toontown became the home of the park's major star, Mickey Mouse, and while I photographed him, he turned his attention to me, as if he were a human being! No, it can't be. He's a mouse. Yet, I once read a story in a national newspaper about how Disneyland was successfully sued by a customer when Mickey had to remove his headgear in an emergency to reveal a human, who distressed the customer's young child.

Another attraction that was introduced between 1978 and 1995 was the Indiana Jones' Temple of the Forbidden Eye, an indoor roller coaster ride based on the film, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Also, the Runaway Train was also set up by 1995.

At present (2025), the whole of the Disneyland area has been transformed. Where the large car park was, there is now a new resort, California Adventure. Since I had not returned to Disneyland since 1997, I know almost nothing about this new venue, but I'm aware of its existence.

Prices have changed enormously during the 48 years since my first visit to Disneyland in 1977. The initial entry price was less than $10, but to use the facilities, I also had to buy a book of vouchers.  There were five different vouchers: A, B, C, D, and E. Voucher A was for theatre attractions such as the singing bears playing their guitars in what was Bear Country (now the Bayou). By contrast, Voucher E admitted me onto the more "gutsy" rides, such as Space Mountain and the Matterhorn Bobsleds. Voucher C took me into It's a Small World, and rides such as Snow White and Pinocchio. However, the voucher system was done away with during the 1980s, and the entry fee covered all the amenities.

The difference in pricing was, in my opinion, quite astounding! In 1977 and 1978, the entry fee was less than $10, but in addition, I had to buy a book of vouchers. However, by 1995, the entry fee was $33.00, and in 1997, it was $36.00, the same as SeaWorld in San Diego. At present (2025), a peak ticket would cost each person up to $206 a day. Then there are the added costs of food, drink, and souvenirs. A family of four on a day out to Disneyland during peak times (summer school holidays) could empty their wallets of up to $1,000.

The Next Stop: San Francisco.

To complete this week's extravaganza, I have included some photos of Downtown San Francisco. Like Disneyland, this is my third visit to this remarkable coastal city. This week, I concentrate on Union Square, the central hub of the city and its environs. However, between 1978 and 1995, I saw no real changes in the city, unlike what was in Los Angeles.

I arrived at the San Francisco Greyhound Bus station, and having already chosen where to stay by using my hostel guide, I walked up Market Street, and I was offered a bed at the Central Hostel, a private, non-affiliated establishment where I had my own bedroom. This, despite that, like in San Diego, each room had two beds. The other occupant, a Frenchman, vacated the room on the same day I arrived, and throughout my stay, no one else arrived to occupy the other bed.

San Francisco was the final stop of my 1995 USA backpacking holiday. After five days spent in the city, I would be on board the United Airlines flight to London Heathrow, but already with plans for the Round the World less than two years later.

Click here for the Index to the main Biography of San Francisco, Weeks 70-72.

Photos of Disneyland 1995.

The Matterhorn, 1978. The Skyway passes through.

The Matterhorn, 1995. The 2 disused holes are seen.

Main Street USA.

Posing with Walt Disney.

I caught this guy's attention.

Another view of the Matterhorn.

Main Street USA.

This railroad encircles the entire park.

Sleeping Beauty Castle, Fantasyland.

It's a Small World, Fantasyland.

New Orleans Square.

The Haunted Mansion, New Orleans Square.

Paddle Steamer, Frontierland.

Tom Sawyer Island, Frontierland.

Thunder Mountain Railroad, Frontierland.

The Runaway Train, Frontierland.

Entrance to Tomorrowland.

The Monorail, Tomorrowland.

Liquid Space, Tomorrowland.

Liquid Space became Finding Nemo.

Underwater scene from the submarine.

Pity the sealife isn't real. I assume, plastic.

This is Toontown, a new feature in Disneyland.

Tilting houses and oval wheels? Yes, it's a cartoon.

Toontown even has its own railroad system.

Toontown, for childhood dreams.

After Santa Monica, I head north to my final stop, San Francisco.

The Symbol of San Francisco.

Pier 39.

The Pyramid, in 1995, was the tallest building.

On the Golden Gate Bridge.

Grace Cathedral.

I had to wait a while for this.

Alcatraz and Yerba Buena Island as seen across the Bay.

Union Square, downtown San Francisco.

I was surprised at the lack of pedestrians.

Another view of Union Square.

Summit of Nob Hill

View of the Bay from Russian Hill and Lombard Street.

Vallaincourt Fountain.

Many say that this is the ugliest monument in the city.

Cable Car turnaround at the Market St. terminal.

These cars move by gripping an underground cable.

 Cable Car Museum, these wheels power the cables.

One wheel drives, the other balances.

Gateway to Chinatown.

A street in Chinatown.

A Chinese-style house.

Another view of the Pyramid.

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Next Week, The Bay Wharfs, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Golden Gate Park.