Greetings family, friends and Disney buddies! Today's vignette is about a little known but well traveled Disneyland feature that surprisingly still exists after 66 years....enjoy!

MUSINGS OF A THEME PARK FAN

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THE DISNEYLAND BANDSTAND

An ornate Victorian bandstand in the center of Disneyland’s Town Square at the foot of Main Street made perfect sense and would have been an deal location for the Disneyland band to perform in addition to serving as a focal point for special park events. The town square bandstand appeared in early park development sketches, in promotional material and on pre-opening merchandise. However, once the the charming structure was completed it was immediately evident that the intended prime location was a mistake. The full scale structure clashed with the carefully scaled forced perspective facades of the Main Street shops and unfortunately blocked a clear view of Sleeping Beauty Castle for guests entering the park. With a short time remaining before opening day, Walt had the bandstand relocated to a large unused open space on the left side of the Castle where it would become home to Vesey Walker & the Disneyland Band. The new location, visible in this pre-opening 1955 aerial photo in the open field right of center, failed to draw large crowds and when the decision was made to create Carnation Plaza in it’s place the bandstand was on the move again.The third location was in Adventureland where it was tucked between the Jungle Cruise ride and the Plantation Inn Restaurant in an open space renamed Magnolia Park were it remained until 1962 when Disneyland decided to expand the popular Jungle Cruise ride. Once planned as a Disneyland center of activity, the bandstand was donated to the City of Anaheim. Unable to find a proper use, the well traveled structure was offered to Roger’s Gardens, a nursery in Corona del Mar by Anaheim for just the cost of having it moved. The folks at Roger’s were probably not pleased with the $28,000 moving bill for a “free” gazebo! The 1955 original Disneyland Bandstand still resides inside the Farm-to-Table Restaurant at Roger’s Gardens as a unique dining spot for guests and for nostalgic Disneyland fans. 

From the Disneyana collection of Bill Ralph