#Disneyland60.....Today In Disneyland History......August 22, 1956

Carefree Corner Opens

August 22, 1956

On August 22, 1956 The Carefree Corner guest registration area opened at Disneyland. This little shop which was located at the Hub end of Main Street housed registry books from each state in which guests could sign their names. In addition to hosting the guest sign-in books, The Carefree Corner was the official information center on Main Street, U.S. A.

Guests could sign their names in books from their home state, Canada or other countries, as well as get travel and reservation assistance and directions to park attractions. And when the first free guides to the park were available in 1965, guests picked them up at Carefree Corner.

 The Carefree Corner operated until 1985, it closed and reopened as Card Corner. This card shop was sponsored by the Gibson Card Co.  and actually was located on a different part of Main Street until it moved into the Carefree Corner location. When Carefree Corner was open, it also served as the official Information Center maintained by INA--Insurance Company of North America and their 20,000 local agents. Among the friendly services found here included a souvenir gift, directions to Disneyland attractions, travel and reservation assistance.

The Carefree Corner is now the home to the Main Street Photo Supply.  Over the years, in addition the Carefree Corner, it has been the home to:

        1955-             The Plaza Hotel

        1955-1956-     The Plaza Apartments- a guest registry

        1956- 1985 –   The Carefree Corner

        1985 – 1988 –  The Card Corner, Gibson Greetings

        1989 – 1994 –   Carefree Corner Merchandise Location & Official

                                Disneyland Registration & Information Center

        1994 – Present – Main Street Photo Supply Company 

The address remains the same – 222 Main Street- but throughout the years, needs of the Disneyland guests, although always changing, were always met with the Disney attention to detail and treating each guest as if they were family.  And that’s what happened today in Disneyland’s history. 

Trivia

·        The gold lettering on the wall behind the original desk read:
INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA COMPANIES

• INA was the company that produced the Disneyland guide books for many years.
• A guest register used to lie open on the front desk of this service center for anyone to sign. By 1973 it was put under the counter and guests had to ask to be able to sign it.

When Everything Goes Wrong, Can Customer Service Make it Right?

I'm sure you have all heard the Disney Parks referred to as "The Happiest Place on Earth", but what happens when your dream trip turns into a nightmare? Allow me to share my story with you.

After 15 years of traveling to Walt Disney World with my children, my mother and I decided it was high time just us girls had a little get-away. We had always wanted to take a tour, but with kids along it just wasn't in the cards. This trip was providing the perfect opportunity, and seeing as we were going in December, there was no doubt we would do the Yuletide Fantasy tour. Mom wanted to try out a new resort too and liked the idea of getting to Downtown Disney by boat, so you guessed it, booked Port Orleans for our stay.

The only obstacle we saw, was Mom needed a wheelchair. I knew I could handle pushing her all weekend, but was the tour wheelchair friendly? I made our reservations, making sure the tour was handicap accessible  and to also let the resort know we needed a chair and a 1st floor room if possible.

Fast forward to our arrival. Checked in at Port Orleans and they had a wheelchair waiting for us. We drove down to our designated parking area and I helped Mom in the chair and grabbed the suitcases. Picture in your mind a crazy woman pushing a chair, dragging suitcases behind, circling the building over and over looking for the elevator, only to be told after my 3rd lap and much swearing, that the building only had stairs. Really?! Back to the front desk to hear "Oh I see you needed 1st floor. Our apologies". Back in the car and off to a new building, with a first floor room.