Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Omnibus, January 1975

I think that the Omnibus might be my favorite Main Street vehicle, mostly because of the 2nd-level views it provides. Who sits on the lower level (besides grandmas and babies)?? Here's a totally omni bus, getting a new load of winter-coated passengers. Notice the scaffolding in front of the train station, and the tarp covered thingamajigs - probably spotlights for the Christmas festivities.


Since I represent the poster-obsessed Disneyland fan, I wanted a closer look at the unique signs that used to grace the sides of the Omnibuses. I always assumed that these were silkscreened onto metal, but one collector has a set of these signs, and they are hand painted. Many years ago a set was sold at a Hake's American auction - I'm not sure if they are the same ones as my collector friend owns. In any case, they are extremely rare, and I love 'em.


Town Square looks a LOT more Christmasy in this part of Town Square. Wreaths and garlands, the tree, and even though we can't see them, I'll bet there are some wonderful animated displays in the Emporium windows.

11 comments:

Thufer said...

Major, I agree; best way from here to the Hub is on top of the Omnibus.
Postersssssssssssssssssssss! :)
What's funny, I can not ever remember taking the 'bus' back down Main Street USA to exit the park, ever. Guess hitting the shops has always been the last moments in the Park endeavor.

JG said...

Fun!

JG

Major Pepperidge said...

Thufer, I'm pretty sure that most (if not all) of the Main Street vehicles stop running at dusk; I can't recall ever seeing an Omnibus in operation at night. Maybe because the street can get pretty crazy when all the guests are starting to slowly work their way out of the park.

JG, are you sure you don't mean Ca-razy??

Connie Moreno said...

Super neato, dude. I see in the last photo that the lights (?) on the roof of the Emporium are covered also. Protection from rain, perhaps?

TokyoMagic! said...

Let's climb up to the second level of the Omnibus....Connie can pretend she's E.J. Peaker, the rest of us will pretend we're Osmonds and we'll all sing "Down On The Corner"!

Thufer said...

LOL
I knew the horsy types when to bed at twilight but I forgot or never noticed that gas powered thingys when away in the dark as well. Does sound smart as the Street is very, very packed at closing. I did think that the horsey-less types did operate later into the evening.
My bad but that does make sense.
That said, I still like the Omnibus ride, heheheheheehehe.

rusty said...

Yep. Great old photos. Nothing like riding the omnibus. When we arrive and when we leave, we're usually preoccupied with just strolling up and down Main St. Sometimes during the day, we'll take an hour or so and ride all of the vehicles up and back. Odd, maybe...but fun.

Anonymous said...

"Who's E.J. Peaker?"

Anonymous said...

The next time one of you does a trip report ask the driver of one of the Main Street vehicles to turn on the lights for a photograph. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture with the lights on.

Major Pepperidge said...

Anon #1, E.J. Peaker was a young actress who gained some fame in the Disney community for being in an episode of "The Wonderful World of Color" called "Disneyland After Dark" in which she, Kurt Russell, and the Osmond brothers run amok in Disneyland. It gave much of the public their first glimpse at the new Haunted Mansion. And yes, they rode the Omnibus!

Anon #2, do you think that the headlights are just "dummies" that don't work? You might be right!
Anon #2,

JG said...

Maybe closing the vehicles in the evening is a more "recent" policy.

I remember riding the horseless carriage (for sure, and maybe others) at least once in the evening, when Mom and Dad were older and didn't want to walk all the way to the gates at closing. But that was close to forty years ago and the evening crowds were much less...crowded.

Of course, I jumped off at the bookstore.

JG