Vintage 1960's Disneyland Souvenir Plate

Disneyland grew a ton during the 1960's. Many iconic rides and lands were introduced to the theme park in '60's.

New Orleans' Square started construction in 1961. Walt Disney realized that New Orleans would be the perfect companion to Frontierland and would be a great theme for new ride ideas. These new attractions included the Haunted Mansions, the Thieves' Marketplace, and a pirate wax museum.

In 1964 however, Disney became distracted by the World Fair. He created "It's A Small World", Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, the Primeval World Exhibit, and the Carousel of Progress. All of these attractions were moved to Disneyland once the World Fair was over.

The Haunted Mansion on opening day- Image from jimhillmedia.com

The World Fair resulted in more than just a few finished attractions. During the fair, Disney Imagineers became more adept at combining sound, motion, and 3-D characters. The still and silent pirate wax museum became the moving and singing Pirates of the Caribbean. The wax museum was moved from the New Orleans Square Basement into a larger, connected building. Today the New Orleans building hosts the Blue Bayou restaurant, Club 33, and a cast member cafeteria.

The plate above was likely released in 1969, the same year the Haunted Mansion attraction opened. This plate has many attractions that continue to remain popular in Disneyland today. To learn more about this product please check out my Etsy shop, East West Trade Route.