Monday, September 17, 2007

Frontierland Stagecoach

A friend sent me copies of these two photo prints (new prints from vintage negatives). I believe that they are from 1955, and they feature the short-lived Stagecoach rattling its way through an early Frontierland.

In this first shot, the coach is crossing a treacherous pool of water left behind after one of the desert's deadly flash floods. The heat and dehydration play tricks on the mind, in this photo you can see a mirage that looks suspiciously like the back side of a Bavarian castle. That's just plain crazy! A friendly indian is there to reassure us that there will be no war parties today. A tupperware party will be later.


Whut the....there's that indian agin! He's everywhere at once, like Droopy the dog in Tex Avery's cartoons. Perhaps he is a helpful spirit guide. Or he has a twin brother. Whichever the case, he's freaking me out.

4 comments:

Chris Merritt said...

Oh man! Amazing shots! You, DeCaro & PJ routinely shame what we have in our archives! Thanks again...

Unknown said...

Awesome post, Major!

You and Daveland have some of the best shots from the early days at Disneyland.

Can you imagine a stagecoach riding down a huge dirt hill today?

Not me!

Matterhorn1959 said...

I love the color of the water and the closeness to the castle in the first image. When you think about it, the overall design of Disneyland is an amazing piece of work. To fit that many things into the acreage is almost unbelievable.

Anonymous said...

One of Walt's red stagecoaches lives in the carriage barn at Tri-Circle-D at WDW. I saw it. I touched it. :) What a great ride that must have been.