magic-of-main-street:

Mermaids ☼

missmaceymouse:

I love how chill the Disneyland mermaids look, 1966

(Source: micechat.com)

jaberw0ck:

disneyland mermaids circa 1959

vintagedisneyparks:

Before the Little Mermaid swam into theaters and our hearts, Disney had a school of finny females who enchanted Disneyland guests and made male hearts race a little faster.

dreamydisney:

Former Disneyland mermaid, Edie, shares what it was like to don a tail and swim in the happiest place on earth:

Being a professional mermaid for Walt was nothing to take lightly.  The Productions Department measured us from hip to toe for neoprene tails, complete with large flukes, and green starfish bras.  We were taught to slither into the Submarine Lagoon from a hidden chamber and dolphin kick underwater to magically surface in the center of the pool.  There we sat on a rock and untangled our hair with immense blue and yellow plastic combs, and plucked ersatz lyres.We worked in shifts of two, and traded off hourly.

Each time a submarine passed, we dove underwater to frolic about, hang upside down by spinning our tails, and to wave at curious faces plastered against the portholes.  With practice we learned to smile without emitting bubble screens that would distort our faces into repulsive creatures from the deep.  For all this we were paid $1.85 an hour - a whopping net of $59.55 each week. 

To read more of “Diary of a Disneyland Mermaid”, visit here! :)

one of my favorite publicity stills. 

sellador:

THE OLD DAYS: In the summers of `65 through `67, women in mermaid 
tails sunned in the Submarine Voyage lagoon for about 4 hours each day.

     In the 1960s, there was no Ariel. We had living mermaids who greeted you from the rocks of the Submarine Voyage lagoon at Disneyland in Anaheim. If you were lucky, one would swim over with her big fin and wave through a porthole.