Being a millennial means my childhood, and a fair amount of my teenage years were captured on film. Recently I stumbled across a collection of photos from visits to Disneyland made in the early 1990s. Awhile ago I shared photos of a visit to Universal in 1997, and I thought let’s do that again, but with Disneyland! When it comes to film photos, sometimes they can get jumbled without any certainty as to date. However, based on research on various parades, shows, and attractions, these photos date to December of 1992 through summer of 1994.

While there were a lot of photos, I tried to focus on ones of me and of things that no longer exist. However that didn’t stop me from putting in a few of my favorite attractions.

I am uncertain exactly when the above photo was taken. I know this Duckburg photo op was a part of the Disney Afternoon Adventure Live, which took place in 1991. However Yesterland notes that some portions stuck around into 1992 before being removed entirely as Disneyland prepped for Toontown. So this very well could have been taken in 1991 or 1992. I do know that somewhere there are photos of “Plane Crazy” the show that took place on the Videopolis Stage, and was part of the Disney Afternoon Adventure Live. But I did not run across them.

Speaking of the Videopolis Stage let’s take a look at two different productions that took place there. First “Mickey’s Nutcracker” from 1992 and then “Beauty and the Beast” from 1994.

Videopolis was originally designed as a teenage night club, opening 1985. Ten years later it would be revamped and renamed the Fantasyland Theatre. Over the years it has played host to a variety of productions and seasonal offerings.

As mentioned the Disney Afternoon theming disappeared as Disneyland prepped for Toontown, which opened in 1993. Toontown experienced a revamp a couple of years ago, so there is a peek at how it looked roughly a year after opening.

Gotta love a good ol’ out of focus photo right? These photos showcase some of the now lost attractions of Toontown, from Chip ‘n Dale’s Treehouse, and Acorn Crawl, which was just a ball pit and closed in 1998, Goofy’s Bounce House, which was revamped in 2008, and the Jolly Trolley, which served Guests until 2003 when it just became a photo op before being removed entirely in the latest revamp.

On the right in the above photo is what used to be one of my favorite Easter eggs in Disneyland, the abandoned Mine Train. In 1956 the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train opened and was expanded upon in 1960, becoming Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland. The whimsical look at the American west filled with all sorts of critters took up a large portion of Frontierland, but was closed in 1977 to make room for the wildest ride in the wilderness, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. A portion of the tracks remained with a single train place on the tracks. The abandoned train sat, slowly decaying until 2010 when it was removed and was to be restored and displayed at Walt’s Barn in Griffith Park. You can still spy the tracks though at Disneyland while on the Mark Twain.

In 1974 Disneyland added a new land, Bear Country, and welcomed the Country Bear Jamboree. In 1989, the land was renamed Critter Country when Splash Mountain was added. The area recently received yet another name change, becoming Bayou Country, when Slash shuttered to make way for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which opened in 2024.

Tomorrowland is yet another area that has had multiple incarnations. It opened with science and space focused attractions back in 1955, but it was revamped becoming “New Tomorrowland” a gleaming white vision of the future, including the much missed Peoplemover, which lasted from 1967 to 1995. In 1998 “New New Tomorrowland” arrived, and with it the persnickety Rocket Robs which replaced the Peoplemover. The navy and gold color scheme evoked Jules Verne, but the theming just never caught on in a cohesive way. Today Tomorrowland sits in a bizarre state of limbo awaiting yet another revamp.

Over in Adventureland, Aladdin’s Oasis, a lively dinner show, opened in 1993, replacing the Tahitian Terrace. One of my more vivid memories comes from Aladdin’s Oasis.

I can tell you nothing about the show itself, but I can very clearly remember the dessert, which was a chocolate version of the lamp, with chocolate mousse inside. I so desperately wanted to keep it. I swear a photo of it was taken, but I did not come across it.

The dinner show incarnation of Aladdin’s Oasis closed in August of 1994, and it became an on and off again entertainment location, but never of the caliber it originally was. From a storyteller with characters to “Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stone Tiger” in 2008. Finally in 2018 the location got a new life, becoming the Tropical Hideaway, offering small bites and views of the Jungle Cruise.

And let’s end with not one, not two, but three parades! First “A Very Merry Christmas Parade”!

Disneyland still offers a Christmas parade, today known as “A Christmas Fantasy” (first introduced in 1995) and several of the floats seen here have survived the years and have been revamped, including the gingerbread house.

Next up, Lion King Celebration!

Lion King Celebration was very popular and lasted from 1994 to 1997. It was one of the handful of single film themed parades, which also included Aladdin, Hercules, and Mulan. Eventually I think Disney realized it was smarter to have parades include multiple properties and could last longer than a year or two.

And we will conclude with one of my favorite parades, the Main Street Electrical Parade.

The Main Street Electrical Parade ran off and on from 1972 until it was suppose to “Glow Away Forever” in 1996, however it returned a handful of times, the latest in 2022.

I hope enjoyed the look back at Disneyland in the 1990s.