Just a few days ago we were celebrating a rather low key 69th birthday at Disneyland. Everyone knows that they will be pulling out the stops for next year’s milestone 70th.
Thirty years ago, the situation was kind of similar, except that the marketing mavens at the Happiest Place on Earth wanted to be sure that everyone knew there was to be another massive milestone celebration for the 40th. After all, the 30th and 35th had been a huge success. In July of 1994, signs and banners appeared, promoting the next year’s “Forty Years of Adventure.”
The entrance to the park was still directly adjacent to the parking lot, with a plaza lined with trees providing a place to absorb early morning crowds. They had dismantled the cumbersome pipe structures that had provided shade for several years, and now there were vertical banners running up the center.
On closer examination, it was possible to see that each banner represented one of the cardinal realms of Disneyland. Main Street was up front, followed by Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Toontown, and so on.
There was a major set piece at the end of the walk, placed just in front of the monorail beam. This not only promoted 40 Years of Adventure, but the new Indiana Jones Adventure, coming in Spring, 1995. This was also a big photo op, for people who were willing to slow down and take advantage of it.
But wait, there’s more! Stepping under the beam, one found a set of signs with the official Forty Years of Adventure logo, perched on top of the original turnstiles.
And just in case you had already forgotten seeing all of the other promotional signs, there was an even bigger one placed atop each of the tunnels leading under the railroad tracks.
And finally, there were the inevitable lamp post banners. These would remain in place for at least the next twelve months, promoting a very exciting year, and an exciting new attraction.
