1984 Donald Ducks Birthday

1984
The Year of the Los Angeles Olympic Games,
The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale and
It's Donald Duck's 50th Birthday!

All year Disneyland Celebrated with a Parade!

Mickey and Minnie "Rockin Out"
with Hewy, Dewy and Louie
and yes that's Tim O'Day in the brown slacks!

Here we have Donald, Daisy, Uncle Scrooge, Grandma Duck
and Ludwig Von Drake in the back...

Ducktales was still years away,so there was
No - Launchpad McQuack,
No - Darkwing Duck...

Just a bunch of Characters that hung out in the park...
doing a parade for the Duck!

Now here's a mixed group of characters-
Baloo and Louie, Pooh, Tigger, Practical and Fifer Pig
and Clara Cluck!

But why stop at Clara Cluck,
Let's throw in Little John, Orville, Bernard and Bianca
and if you look behind the sign
*Eeyore*

A sign of the times:
you'll note that all the characters "Dancing" on the floats
had a handle to hold onto if they needed...
there were NO Safety Belts, hooks, wires and chains
bolting them down, restricting their performance...
we just got up there and did the routine

and nobody got hurt...

Now when I see the character tethered to the float I think... how sad...
but "Safety" comes first...
Just sad...

I want to thank my friend Mark for these
great photo memories!

and now 28 years later...
I still have that damn DD Birthday song in my head!
*Chorus*
Happy Birthday,
It's Donald's Birthday.
Happy, Happy, Birthday to you.
Hey Donald

Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday
Happy, Happy Birthday to you.
Hey Donald

There's a party,Party,
a party today
A once a year occasion
A party, party!
is comin' our way
Donald's Birthday celebration!
Now repeat for the next 30 min...

It was worse that the "Small World" Parade loop in your head!

Stolen Pictures from Guest!?

Back in the late 70s and 80s
*Polaroid*

was the Camera/Film sponsor of the park...You could walk into the camera shop on Main St.

plop down your ID or Drivers Lic.
and use one of their cameras for FREE!

OK ... so you had to buy the pack of Polaroid film
at $10 a pack...
[and when you looked at it, that was $1 a picture!]
[Now with digital we just shoot and delete!
But how many guest back then did I see
waving the picture back and forth to make it develop faster...lol]
The following are pictures given us from very kind guest!

Geppito

Now this may look like the Tweedle
is chopping off this kids head with a tomahawk...
ok he is... but it was all in fun...
The kid was a twin also...
the tomahawk belonged to his brother!
Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny
Wish Merlin was back in the park today...
the Sword and the Stone show was a great touch in Fantasyland
The Dwarfs... not looking so small...

Eeyore...

When I first saw this next one,
I thought the kid had a really hairy chest!

Rescuers!!!!

Before Annual passes... guests had to Pay EVERYDAY to get in the park...
[but then again it wasn't $80 a day!]
even back then we had our park regulars!
why were they there every day?!
[my guess is some really nice employees signed them in EVERYDAY!]
One of our favorite was ELLEN!
Some days she would wear her cat eye glasses, a mousekteer shirt with her name and ears!

We all know now
we should have taken more pictures back then...
I'm very grateful to the guest who gave me these memories!
Thank you!