January 26, 2007
Disneyland Ticket books
You know, if there is one thing that takes me back to the good old days at Disneyland, and makes me feel like a child all giddy with anticipation at the thought of going on a trip to the park, it would have to be the old Disneyland ticket books.
I remember being eight or nine years old, and going with my parents to my grandparents house on the eve before the Big Day, the day we were going to go to Disneyland! It was one of those times when you are a kid and time just seems to move at a snail's pace. My parents had told us we were going to go about a week before the actual day, and it seemed to me after a while that I just couldn't wait any longer... I HAD to go to Disneyland!
The usual trip started off with us staying the night at my grandparent's house in Azusa. My family lived in Ventura at the time, and Ventura is a good hour and a half drive to Disneyland. By staying with my grandparent's in Azusa my wise old man knew we could get to the park inside twenty minutes, and there would be no bathroom breaks necessary along the way. He could sleep in a little longer, and we would get maximum hourage at the park.
The night before Disneyland at my grandparents house was worse for me anticipation-wise than any Christmas Eve. Seriously. That is how much I loved the place. While waiting for my bedtime, (which was the only time as a kid I wished would hurry up as well,) I would plan my day at the park by looking at the inside back cover of one of the many partial ticket books my parents would bring from past trips.
On the inside back cover there was a list with every attraction at Disneyland, and next to each attraction was a little box that I assumed was a check box. I would look at that list, and put a mark in the little check box to mark each ride that I wanted to go on. Even s a child I knew that it was pointless to go through this exercise because I already knew what I wanted to go on, and I even knew where each ride I wanted to go on was located inside the park. But, what my little planning of my day did do for me was let me imagine going on each ride in my head. It was sort of like going to Disneyland before going to Disneyland. A "pre-trip" of sorts.
When Disney realized the obvious, and eliminated the cumbersome, wasteful ticket book format in favor of a single pass wherein the guest pays a large fee for regardless of how many attractions they go on, I really didn't mind much. It's funny, and true, that you don't really appreciate what you have until some one takes it away from you.
When I became an adult I inherited all the partially consumed ticket books my parents had collected through the years. In those days Disney was pretty cool about bestowing an unlimited life to their ticket books. You could use the tickets out of a book you purchased in 1966 to gain admittance to an attraction in 1976. Even today, if you have a ticket book that still has the admission ticket attached you could present it at the gate and get into the park. It is still valid. You would be foolish to do so, though, because Disneyland ticket books are hot collectibles, and a full book with the admission ticket still attached is the holy grail of ticket books.
I not only have the ticket books my folks gave me, but several that friends and other relatives have given me as well. And I do have a few with the admission ticket still attached. I really cherish these scraps of paper.
I have a problem, though. See, I have a ceder chest that I keep a lot of that sort of ephemera in, and while it is safe there, it isn't the best way to display them. So, the other day I went to a local crafts store and bought a nice frame, and here is what I did with it..
So there are a few of my ticket books from the good old days at Disneyland. Next time maybe we will take a look at some old souvenir maps of the park.