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Tea Croc-kery at Disneyland Park - Mad Tea Party in 1961

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There are so many things that catch your eye while strolling around the Disneyland Resort. There’s the dazzling Sleeping Beauty Castle, the vibrant it’s a small world, the majestic Matterhorn, the colorful Mickey’s Fun Wheel, and the breathtaking Ornament Valley in Cars Land… just to name a few! But if you take a closer look, there are many other little Disney Details to be found around every corner.

One little Disney Detail that you may not have noticed at Disneyland park or Disney California Adventure park is the assortment of mailboxes. There are real functioning mailboxes spread around the resort and themed to blend in with the surroundings. They’re perfect for sending a postcard to commemorate your trip!

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Today at Disneyland - Blast to the Past 5-2 to 5-6, 1988

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Walt Disney and John Hench review the map of Disneyland

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Walt Disney and his grandson Christopher wearing Davy Crockett coonskin caps

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Earful Tower by Bob

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Concept art for the Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye, 1995

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Hani El Masri’s concept art for Walt Disney World’s Blizzard Beach.

To learn more about Imagineer Hani El Masri, click here.

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Journey into the future of Epcot today! Unscramble your face or see a crooning milk carton! This is what we came here for!!

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1950s Disneyland souvenir slides

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Andy Gaskill’s concept art for Figment and the Dreamfinder from EPCOT’s Journey Into Imagination pavilion.

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Imagineer Pat Burke (Well known for getting all the authentic mining equipment used as props in all the Big Thunder Mountains) messing around with Godzilla in the early 1980s when Walt Disney Imagineering was using the Toho lot as a staging area for development of Tokyo Disneyland.

Back in 1982 and 83, WED Enterprises was busy building it’s first international park called Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, as well as EPCOT in Walt Disney World. The Africa Pavillion was cancelled, so I went to Japan to help with props and sets for about 13 attractions. Based mostly at TOHO Studios, I was called upon one day to visit the Monster Room where all the TOHO Monsters hung around. Godzilla the most famous of their family was having a new premier revival at the Ginza. I offered to help out with a teeth cleaning and gave him a ride to make up, as seen in the 2 photos. I heard he made a Big Splash at the opening.

Full Interview at Disney And More, which has more stuff on working on Tokyo Disney (While working on It’s a Small World at Toho, he met Akira Kurosawa) as well as general career highlights. Sadly, Pat passed away back in 2014.

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The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, 1923 - 1926

“The world’s largest media company began in a small garage in Los Feliz, CA. […] As soon as Walt and his brother Roy signed their first deal in 1923, they hightailed it out of uncle Robert’s garage and into the back of a real estate office on Kingswell Avenue. Pictures of the brothers beaming in front of their building, which now houses a copy shop, seem so immediate and alive that you can almost feel Walt’s energy and enthusiasm jump from the page.”

– an excerpt of Chris Nichols’ 2016 article for LA Magazine

Pic 1: Ub Iwerks, Rollin ‘Ham’ Hamilton and Walt Disney outside the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Los, Feliz, CA (1925). In January 1926, with the completion of the Disney studio on Hyperion Street, the Disney Brothers Studio’s name was changed to the Walt Disney Studio.

Pic 2 + 3: Walt and Lillian (in the light-colored coat), Roy and Edna (in the scarf) and their sister, Ruth Disney (center, both pics)

Pic 4: How the building looks today, via la.curbed.com

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It all started on a napkin.

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Archery demonstration at Disneyland’s Indian Village, 1950s