Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs So the first time my sister and I (and possibly the rest of my family) stayed at the DLH was back in summer of '87. Man, I miss the pre-DCA DLH... it wasn't so much in-your-face Disney (which isn't always bad). It was as if it was still Disney, but you were taking a break from it (ie the main lobby, Monorail Cafe, Chef's Kitchen before Goofy became the proprietor and there was normal breakfast food, lol). I even miss the restaurant marquee posters, lol. Anyway, I have never eaten there (although my mom wasn't too crazy about the food), but I remember walking through the lobby where all the kids were greeted by that classic Disney character, Yukon Clem, the mascot character for Sgt. Preston's. I even remember seeing clips of it on the DLH channel in the hotel room. Anyone have any fond, medium fond, or not-too-fond memories of it?
Originally Posted By Darkbeer I have plenty of memories of the place, most of them very fond. I participated in the show a few times, and always had a great time. I loved the memorabilia from the TV and Radio show, Sgt. Preston of the Yukon. (Which was owned by Jack Wrather, who also owned the hotel, and Lassie Heck, some of the current Lost Bar bartenders used to serve me in the late 70's, early 80's at Sgt. Prestons.... I hated it when it was changed to Neon Cactus when Disney took over control of the hotel. The one bad memory, when the inventory control collars were installed. The only way to pour liquor was to place the bottle in a special collar. It sucked, and was removed, thank goodness!
Originally Posted By Labuda Dude, you're older than I thought if you could legally drink in the 70s, Darkbeer!
Originally Posted By Darkbeer I never said I was drinking, or legally drinking in the 70's But since it is past the statue of limitations, I did look older than most when I was 18 to 21...
Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs <<Darkbeer: Heck, some of the current Lost Bar bartenders used to serve me in the late 70's, early 80's at Sgt. Prestons....>> This brings me to a question for Darkbeer, Dug and any other frequent DLanders: Do you guys work or are you just using the 350 sick/vacation days your company offers? For DL's 30th, Evening Magazine (a local SanFran Bay Area show) did an episode at DL and also featured the "World's Biggest DL Fan" which featured some guy who went every other day at the park, yet looked nothing like Dug, Darkbeer, friendofdd, BU or any of the mods. The scary thing is that you guys probably still managed to beat him... Ahem. <<Darkbeer: I hated it when it was changed to Neon Cactus when Disney took over control of the hotel.>> Now this caught my attention... perhaps this is why the DL Hotel wasn't so Disneyish in the 80s/90s? I never knew that Disney didn't own it before. Could you elaborate a bit more?
Originally Posted By Darkbeer Here is a review of a good book that talks about the history of the Disneyland Hotel. http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm050817lt
Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs Ah yes, I've heard of that book... if memory serves me right, the author is a part of our lovely little cult, er, fanbase. Don't tempt me with books, Darkbeer, I need to save money. Although there is a new Imagineering book coming out in April... Anyway, back to the topic at hand, Sgt. Preston's was audience-participation, was it not?
Originally Posted By roberts1398 LOL! I went to Sgt. Preston's bar alone one night on a trip with my family shortly after I turned 21. I had totally forgotten about it until I saw this thread! I remember some sort of game involving a garter and removing it with teeth, but it's a dim alcohol-hazed memory, LOL! I remember feeling very grown-up!
