Please step this way, as we examine Disneyland’s “one-and-only-genuine” original Magnolia Park bandstand.
The idea of a bandstand was always part of Walt’s original plan (according to countless Herb Ryman “brown-line” drawings of Disneyland). Walt originally envisioned the bandstand in a central location where guests could listen to concerts in a turn-of-the-century park setting.
The bandstand gazebo was a mainstay feature of some of the forty Herb Ryman “brown-line” hand-drawings, and photostat Disneyland concept images produced between 1953 and 1954. This is an excerpt from Herb Ryman’s “Aerial Schematic View” of Disneyland, first produced over a weekend in 1954.
Continuing to give the topic much thought during Disneyland’s development and construction, Walt finally decided to situate the bandstand in Main Street U.S.A.’s Town Square. Guests would be greeted by the Disneyland Band within the centerpiece of Mainstreet U.S.A., as soon as they stepped through Disneyland’s entryways! Drawings produced from 1954 to 1955 feature a band stand located in both the Town Square and the Plaza. Some drawings feature the detail “revolving bandstand” implying that the stage would have the ability to turn.
This image of the bandstand was included inside Mattel’s Disneyland Musical Map, produced and sold inside Disneyland as early as 1955. Notice it’s location in Main Street U.S.A.’s “Town Square”. This product was still being sold long after the bandstand was moved from this location.
What would eventually be known bygone Disneyland Magnolia Park Bandstand (appraised at a value of $4,600 to $12,000 in 1958) provided the Disneyland marching band with a perfect destination to march toward. Measuring 1,375 square-feet, the bandstand had a pine floor, ornate wood plywood and lattice, and turned wooden posts supporting a metal roof. It was planned that the bandstand would be the site of numerous Disneyland ceremonies, while encompassing the musicians in a picturesque town “square” setting. But after just a short time, Walt noticed that the roof blocked guest’s view of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Main Street U.S.A.’s horizon. So it was decided that the bandstand would be placed close to Sleeping Beauty Castle, in a location where guests could appreciate the music at the end of Mainstreet, after emerging from under Sleeping Beauty Castle’s portcullis.
As Carnation Plaza Gardens was being developed, the bandstand didn’t last long in it’s current location. It was moved again - this time to Magnolia Park behind Adventureland (between The Jungle Cruise and the Chicken Plantation Restaurant). So it was, that the Disneyland bandstand would move twice during it’s first year (from July of 1955, to the summer of 1956).
A couple of painters take a moment to make a memory as they take a pre-opening photograph near the Magnolia Park Bandstand. They stand near the future site of Carnation Plaza Gardens (southwest of Sleeping Beauty Castle), c. 1955
A family sits on a bench in the park, preparing to enjoy a Disneyland Marching Band concert under the Magnolia Park Bandstand, 1956. The stage area was extended to make room for the larger bands, drum kits, and even a piano.
This new location came to be called Magnolia Park. Nestled among the surrounding foliage, it entertained guests with marching bands, Kal-Kan Kennel Dog Shows, and Christmas Bowls. Many church choruses and High School marching bands once had the pleasure to perform from the Magnolia Park Bandstand.
BANDSTAND PRODUCT PLACEMENT : This 1955 licensed Whitman frame tray puzzle features not only the cast of Walt Disney’s Three Little Pigs, but a stylized version of Disneyland’s bandstand!
But yet again due to progressive growth and change, the bandstand wouldn’t last ten years inside Disneyland. When the Elephant bathing pool was added to The Jungle River Cruise, the bandstand was finally removed from Disneyland in 1962. The City of Anaheim took care of the bandstand until they sold it to Roger’s Gardens in 1975. After so many moves, the old Disneyland Bandstand still looked great!
During construction in 2016, the former Disneyland bandstand was still extremely recognizable with white paint and lightbulbs circumnavigating the interior of it’s canopy!
Presently, the site of the bandstand is a restaurant called The Farmhouse (inside Roger’s Gardens, Corona Del Mar). The artifact hasn’t been faithfully preserved (it’s lightbulbs are all gone, and it’s white paint with red trim has been sanded away in order to blend into the surrounding elements of the nursery). However, you will discover that the “one and only, genuine, original” Disneyland Bandstand (featured in Magnolia Park from 1955-1963) is now a centerpiece at the adjoining Farmhouse restaurant!
If “you’ve got a date tonight at eight”, The Farmhouse restaurant (Corona Del Mar) just might be the next best place to meet! Today you can enjoy a meal under the canopy of the Disneyland Bandstand by making a reservation with The Farmhouse restaurant. We’ve been told that if you listen real careful while under its cover, you can still hear the distant blaring of a certain 16-piece marching band in full regalia as it makes it’s way down Main Street U.S.A.!
SCHEDULE YOUR RESERVATION TODAY!
2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona Del Mar, California 92625
(949)640-1415
http://www.farmhouserg.com/