Main Street, U.S.A.
Q : Was there ever a shop on Main Street in Walt Disney World where you could dress in period costumes and they would take your picture like you were on the back of a train? A friend swears they had this in the mid 1980's but they don't have the pictures to back it up.
Jim, New Fairfield, CT
A: This was part of the Camera Center on Main Street, U.S.A. in the early 1980s when it was sponsored by Polaroid (they sponsored from 1979 to 1984). Guests would put on 19th century costumes and pose for photos in the back of a railroad car, themed to the Walt Disney World Railroad, for an “instant 8x10 portrait.”
Rocket to the Moon
Q : When Disneyland first opened wasn't there a ride "spaceship to the Moon and back"" or something like that? any information you have will be most appreciated. I remember my parents taking me on a ride to the moon and when we came out hysterically crying. I thought we were still on the moon. I was about 11 years old and I did not want to stay on the moon.
Joan, Palm Coast, Florida
A: The very realistic Rocket to the Moon attraction opened in Tomorrowland on July 22, 1955, just a few days after the park’s opening.  It was originally sponsored by TWA and later by McDonnell-Douglas.  Each sponsor, during their sponsorship, had their logo on the tall upright rocket ship displayed outside the attraction.  It later became Flight to the Moon (1967) and Mission to Mars (1975), finally closing in 1992.
Q : When Disney-MGM studios changed to Disney's Hollywood studios why did they have to get rid of residential street? And why did the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles become Nickelodeon?
Matt, Tampa, Florida
A: The residential street was demolished in 2003, to make room for the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show, which debuted in 2005. The park’s name change to Disney’s Hollywood Studios did not come until 2008. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were never a Disney franchise, but they were licensed to appear on New York Street starting in 1990 during the time the Turtles’ TV show was popular. They remained at the park until 1996. (Nickelodeon purchased the rights to the Turtles in 2009.)
Q : When the new Tomorrowland was built in 1967, the company had no Archives, so the World Clock and other elements from the original land were not retained. The Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland locomotive that was displayed along the Rivers of America was saved and is being restored by the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society.
Ben, Long Beach, California
A: When the new Tomorrowland was built in 1967, the company had no Archives, so the World Clock and other elements from the original land were not retained. The Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland locomotive that was displayed along the Rivers of America was saved and is being restored by the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society.
Q : A few years ago, my grandma gave me an old ashtray. Upon further investigation, though faint, it appeared to show Cinderella’s castle. My grandma told me it was her mother’s from a trip to Disneyland back in the ’60s. The picture appears to be done in gold and silver paint and is of rectangular shape. I guess my question is: What is the exact year or years that Disneyland sold these ash trays?
Chase, Pickering, Ontario
A: In the 1950s, Disneyland sold a porcelain ashtray featuring Sleeping Beauty Castle; in a 1959 Disneyland mail order catalog it is offered for 69 cents. If the ashtray shows Cinderella Castle, it would be from Walt Disney World.
Q : On the Internet, I found that Disneyland was closed on November 23, 1963, after John F. Kennedy was killed. What about November 22, 1963; November 24, 1963; and November 25, 1963? Was Disneyland closed all three of those days, too?
Jimmy, Lexington, Kentucky
A: November 23 was a National Day of Mourning, which accounts for Disneyland being closed that day. The park was open regular hours on November 22 and 24, but in those days it was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays during the off-season, so it was closed on Monday, November 25.
Q : Can you give me information on artist Bjorn Aronsen, and is he still alive?
John, Orlando, Florida
A: Aronsen, a Norwegian artist, had joined the staff of the Disney Studio in August 1955 as an apprentice inbetweener, but his art talent caught the eye of artist Bruce Bushman, who moved him to the Art Department, where he designed most of the original Disneyland park attraction posters. He left Disney in 1958, and passed away in 1994.
Q : In Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant, by the bulletin board in the waiting area, there is an old-fashioned phone booth telephone and on the phone there is a phone number: (213)-560-4052. What is this for? My family tried to call it, but got no response. I know the 213 area code is for Los Angeles.
Hannah, Brooksville, Florida
A: The Disney Studio in Burbank formerly used the (213) 560-4xxx phone numbers, though the area code changed to 818 in 1984. I do not know who might have had that particular extension back in the 1980s.
Q : I contacted Disney World with a question, and they suggested I asked you instead. I live in Gothenburg, Sweden. Our city has an old history of trams, and I’ve heard that in 1992, 18 Gothenburg trams (In Gothenburg called “M25” trams) were sold to Disney World, Florida. I am not sure if this is true, but as the story goes, the trams were taken apart before they were shipped, and a lot of them were never shipped at all. From what I've heard, only one tram (No. 618) was delivered without any parts removed. My question is: Do you know what happened to this tram, or any of the other trams?
Albin, Gothenburg, Sweden
A: I am unaware of any Gothenburg trams being purchased by Walt Disney World. There are no similar trams in operation anywhere at the Resort.