--- title: Disneyland History: Vintage Posters From Park's Early Days description: An upcoming auction of Disneyland memorabilia is a chance to see rare images that evoke great 20th-century poster art with a Disney twist canonical: https://time.com/4553176/vintage-disneyland-posters/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-11T13:30:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:33.215Z article:section: History og:title: See Gorgeous Vintage Disneyland Posters From the Park's Early Years og:description: They evoke famous early-20th century poster art, with a Disney twist og:url: https://time.com/4553176/vintage-disneyland-posters/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cf9625eab9109ea/6988ac6f428a9e8938cd4d55/161101-disneyland-posters-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Vintage Disneyland Poster og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See Gorgeous Vintage Disneyland Posters From the Park's Early Years twitter:description: They evoke famous early-20th century poster art, with a Disney twist twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cf9625eab9109ea/6988ac6f428a9e8938cd4d55/161101-disneyland-posters-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Gorgeous Vintage Disneyland Posters From the Park's Early Years by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Nov 11, 2016 1:30 PM UTC  Original Disneyland "Fantasyland" Attraction Poster, Disneyland, 1950s. Original Disneyland "Fantasyland" Attraction Poster, Disneyland, 1950s.Courtesy Van Eaton Galleries by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Nov 11, 2016 1:30 PM UTC When Disneyland [opened](http://time.com/3957667/walt-disney-video-clip/) in July of 1955, parents noticed something right away: as LIFE magazine [reported](http://time.com/3943789/disneyland-1955/), the price of admission wasn’t quite the whole cost of attendance. Children brought to the theme park clamored for souvenirs, and the park’s operators were only too happy to provide them with many options. Now, more than 60 years later, that’s still true—but it’s not just kids who want to stock up. That feeling of wanting to bring a piece of the park home is one remembered by Mike Van Eaton in an essay introducing the [catalog](https://vegalleries.com/releases/souvenirs-of-disneyland-2016) for an upcoming Nov. 19 auction at Van Eaton Galleries in Los Angeles: “Souvenirs of Disneyland.” The auction, a preview exhibition for which is now ongoing until the auction date, features more than 1,000 rare pieces of Disney memorabilia, including the posters seen here. Since the beginning of [Disneyland](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/disney-world-travel-tips), posters were used within the park to draw visitors to specific attractions—some of them are known as “near-attraction posters”—as well as manufactured for sale to guests. Some of the artists’ visions of the attractions provide a peek at an their inside knowledge. For example, the Dumbo poster, as the Van Eaton catalog explains, shows a pink elephant, matching the original conception of the ride; however, on Walt Disney’s personal request, the actual elephants in the ride were painted gray rather than pink, to match Dumbo rather than his hallucinations. Other posters reference the American themes that Disney strove to evoke; he loved American trains and the park fittingly gestures at [some of American history’s most famous travel posters](http://time.com/4282408/national-parks-posters-wpa/) in the designs for the Disneyland railroad. ### See Photos of Disneyland When It Opened in 1955  Caption from LIFE. Sleeping Beauty's castle in Fantasyland is overrun by children crossing drawbridge over moat. Inside, Disney plans a model torture chamber. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  One of Disneyland's boat rides, Anaheim, California, 1955. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Rides at Disneyland in 1955. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  People riding the teacup ride at Disneyland Amusement Park, 1955. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  People riding a riverboat at Disneyland Amusement Park, 1955. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Disneyland Parade done as a preview for national television, 1955. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Planted flowers forming design of Mickey Mouse's face, with Disneyland train in background, 1955. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Mickey Mouse riding the Disneyland Railroad, 1955. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Disneyland rides in 1955. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Children scared during Snow White ride at Disneyland Amusement Park, 1955. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Cups and saucers filled with squealing children as paying guests whirl through park's Fantasyland at Disney's "Mad Hatter's Tea Party." Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Showgirl performers taking a break and having a drink at Disneyland Amusement Park, 1955. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  People resting by TWA rocket at Disneyland Amusement Park, 1955. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Disneyland rides, 1955. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A family at Disneyland in 1955. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Disneyland rides in 1955. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images [_Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter_](http://time.com/newsletter) Other items in the auction range from more typical theme park fare to surprising finds like a 1965 animatronic hand that was used in a “Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln” attraction and a tin of Disneyland-branded tobacco from the 1960s.  Original Disneyland "Fantasyland" Attraction Poster, Disneyland, 1950s. Courtesy Van Eaton Galleries  Original Disneyland "Skyway" Attraction Poster. Disneyland, 1956. Courtesy Van Eaton Galleries  Original Disneyland "Jungle River" Attraction Poster. Disneyland, 1956. Courtesy Van Eaton Galleries  Original "Sante Fe & Disneyland R.R. Via Grand Canyon Diorama. Disneyland, 1958. Courtesy Van Eaton Galleries  Original Disneyland "Sailing Ship Columbia" Attraction Poster. Disneyland, 1958. Courtesy Van Eaton Galleries  Original Disneyland "Matterhorn Bobsleds" Attraction Poster. Disneyland, 1959. Courtesy Van Eaton Galleries  Original Disneyland Displayed Sheet Metal "PeopleMover" Attraction Poster. Disneyland, 1960s. Courtesy Van Eaton Galleries  Original Disneyland "Golden Horseshoe Revue" Attraction Poster. Disneyland, 1961. Courtesy Van Eaton Galleries  DIsneyland "New Orleans Square" Near-Attraction Poster. Disneyland, 1966. Courtesy Van Eaton Galleries  Disneyland Main Street "Near-Attraction" Poster. Disneyland, 1966. Courtesy Van Eaton Galleries  Original "Adventure Thru Inner Space" Attraction Poster. Disneyland, 1967. Courtesy Van Eaton Galleries  Country Bear Jamboree "Bear Country" Disneyland Attraction Poster. Disneyland, 1972. 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