Friday, August 05, 2011

A Bunch From October 1975

I have one fairly interesting slide from October '75, with a few "ho hum" photos. You have been warned.


I like this unusual image from Adventureland; I'd have to dig out a map to figure out exactly where the photographer was standing, but I'm reasonably sure that the Jungle Cruise queue is the covered area to our right. Check out the sign for "Sunkist, I Presume"!


Well, I don't see any problems with that sign at all! (Why the American Flag? Stanley was Welsh, and Livingstone was Scottish, and I'm pretty sure the Africans were African).



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Extra! Extra! Reader and blogger TokyoMagic! has kindly sent me one of his personal photos, showing the sign for what is now the Bengal Barbecue. As you can see, it is the same piece of wood (or fiberglass or molybdenum or whatever) as the old Sunkist sign. Pretty cool! Be sure to check out TokyoMagic!'s "Meet The World" blog HERE.


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A nice castle shot, but.. snore. Try to ignore the hippie in the middle!


Two women check out a souvenir guidebook in front of Captain Hook's pirate ship.


And the teacups; I love 'em but have seen enough photos from this angle to last me a lifetime!

18 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

Major, you're right about the Jungle Cruise. The circular sign is even visible in the pic, but the words are washed out by the bright sun.

I believe the sign post for Sunkist I Presume is the same one used for the Bengal BBQ today. I think that tree is still there too, but it now has a counter built all the way around it for people to stand next to and eat their BBQ'd skewers.

I love the woman with the Priscilla Presley hair in front of Captain Hook's pirate ship!

These are not "ho hum", Major!

Chiana_Chat said...

It's funny what we remember sometimes, isn't it? Those rock benches are so clear in my memory I actually remember sitting on them (in the sun - it was hot!). But what does the sign read, over on our left? Something "Trail"? Anyone know?

The teacup pics are nice people looking sometimes. There are two skinny ladies going to be taking turns, a dad with a small fry in his lap and one teacup brimming with people upper middle. Can't remember sitting in one, but I remember struggling to turn the wheel to make it spin faster and most of all, the excitement of getting to the cup: the music, the rushing - but don't run - to your swillmobile. WDW still have theirs? It's said over there, they prefer stirred, never shaken. Maybe Nancy can confirm. But seriously, the folks at Disneyland deserve kudos for the fantastic setting it enjoys these days.

The guy in the castle pic is no hippie, but he sure is 1975, man. The young lady behind him meanwhile could be out of a pic today.

Ah the Jungle Cruise. I remember that thatched queue very well. Never minded the wait, anticipating the ride and soaking in the Adventureland vibe. Neat sign - never seen a closeup! Thanks Maj!

Chiana_Chat said...

TM! asked the Maj what his most missed attraction was. I'd like to lay a list of my own on all you good people.

That has me thinking what is the most missed for me... maybe:

- Tahitian Terrace

- Mine Train

- Skull Rock Cove

- The Golden Horseshoe Revue

- Fort Wilderness

- Treehouse in Robinson family ownership

- Tom Sawyer's with its Old Mill Frontierland-themed frontage instead of a Universal Studios like show stage

- Carousel of Progress

- America Sings

- Adv. Inner Space

- Skyway

- Main St. and other shops having more varied themed content.

- PeopleMovers - it was nice to go easy for a bit.

A few dated (and would be fine today if they were updated) but in my opinion most were needlessly omitted and left holes not fulfilled by a visit to the park today.

Nancy said...

ahh, 1975 a very good year!!

yes, Chiana, the Teacups are still alive and well at WDW! unfortunately, i cant ride them anymore because of an eye condition that makes me too dizzy to walk after :(

love this set, so bright and sunny.

the hut to the left of the sign does look like it is still the one today that is Bengal Barbecue. i got a chicken skewer on each of my three visits...precious memories to be sure.

any That 70s Show fans here? i think i see Hyde there in that picture with his camera and fancy metal stroller checking out the Sunkist!

i too seem to often end up with people in my photos, but doing weird things or other undesirable looking stuff (thank goodness for photo shop)! i took this really nice snap of Cinderella Castle and in the left corner is a bunch of kids from some band or group with yellow t-shirts on and i can crop them out b/c it would be part of the castle too...grrr

just hand over the guide, ladies, and no one ends up in the water!! you wouldnt want that Priscilla 'do messed up, would you?

i love the overhead shots of the Teacups. after all, rainbow is my favorite color ;-) you can see them spinning...so cool

as for what i missed at Disneyland...

House of the Future

Adventure Thru Inner Space

Rainbow Ridge and all that goes with it

Everything else in the Original Tomrrowland

again, darn my parents for staying East Coasters !!!



love the sign...maybe the American flag is to welcome the visitors to the good old USA.

Katella Gate said...

When you look carefully at the Sunkist, I Presume sign you can see that the lettering was changed. The original only had the name "Sunkist" at the top, but somebody wanted a logo as well, so the lettering was shifted to make space.

Unknown said...

These are actually really fun - Hair was so fabulous in the 70s LOL

Major Pepperidge said...

TM!, I wonder if I can find a photo of the former Sunkist sign online? I'd love to confirm that it's still there.

Chiana, the "Trail" is part of the GAF photo trail, formerly the Kodak picture spots. You're right about the people watching on the teacups, but I've even become numb to that! ;-) Maybe that guy isn't a full-fledged hippie, but he need a haircut, and that's good enough for me.

And your list has a lot of good entries! I never saw the Tahitian Terrace, so I don't technically miss it. Semantics. I DO wish I'd seen it though! Same with the Golden Horseshoe Revue. Skull Rock Cove (and the Pirate Ship) YES! The Fort, the original Swiss Family Treehouse, the Carousel of Progress, fo' sho'. I don't miss "America Sings" much to be honest, but that's just me.

Nancy, you need to get those new bionic eyes like they have on Star Trek. I'm thinking about it too, because I hate wearing glasses. And you're right, that does look like Hyde! The House of the Future is another thing I can't technically miss, because I don't have any personal memories of it.

Katella, good eye!

theelfqueen, I know that MY hair was fabulous in the 70's!

Connie Moreno said...

Major, these were great to look at! I almost fell over when I first saw "the hippie"...I thought it was my ex brother-in-law, LOL!!

TokyoMagic! said...

Major, I have a pic of the new sign somewhere, so I'll try to find it. I know the new one is in the shape of a tiger's head, so I'm not sure if the old sign was reused, but it does seem like the sign post itself is in the same spot and could have been reused.

I agree with you on HOTF and Tahitian Terrace. I never did see them, so I really don't miss them like I do the other attractions.....but I would still be happy if they returned!

Nancy said...

i also forgot to say Tahitian Terrace and Skull Rock on my list AND the Kids of the Kingdom on the Tomorrowland Terrace Stage!!!

SundayNight said...

I remember that the photo spot signs changed from Kodak to GAF. It seemed so wrong since Kodak was such a strong sponsor of the Disneyland shows. Just seeing an orange Kodak film box brings back good memories of the 50s, 60s and 70s.

JG said...

Major, these are great pictures. Of course, I could look at pictures of disneyland all day long.

Yes to the Bengal BBQ, little has changed here.

@Chiana, my list is much like yours, a few changes in sequence. I think I miss the Pirate Ship and Skull Rock most of all. I can't think of a single thing added in the last 30 years that makes up for the loss of any one of the things on that list.

Sigh.

JG

Nate Parrish said...

I think that Stanley was assignment from a NY newspaper, which is why theres an American flag.

Chiana_Chat said...

The Maj, a grizzled veteran of many a teacup slide.

Well I mostly like America Sings because of its theme: trying to help kids to like our musical heritage. It's a good idea/message that the "interactive" doohickeys and what not the space was used for since don't offer.

Critter Country seems a bit gift-shop precious and lacking the more realistic frontier / country ambiance that used to be there as an Indian village and even as Country Bear Jamboree.

Gosh House of the Future. It'd be a fantastic "retro artifact" now but why not a new one? Of course we'd need a forward looking positive vision...

Wouldn't it be great if there were a new Kids of the Kingdom on the Tomorrowland Terrace Stage and if they were good and the family could stand to listen to them?

I do like a lot of new DL and appreciate what the people at DL are doing right and keeping in good or better-than-ever order but I agree with JG that most of those things listed aren't made up for.

Liked Bengal BBQ right off though. A neat idea right in theme and I remember having a hot-ish peppery beef and peppers skewer. Fun, tasty and quick.

TokyoMagic! said...

A-ha! I just found my Bengal BBQ sign pic and it looks like it IS the same one that was used for Sunkist. I'm sending it to you now, Major!

Anonymous said...

Nice to see the first pic. Being a former JC skipper from that year, I was looking hard to see if by chance I could have been in it!

Chiana_Chat said...

@ TM! Thanks for the Bengal pic & to the Maj for posting it. Cool!

@ Anon, you picked a good time to be a skipper. I habitually look for myself or family to turn up in a pic sometime too. No odds on it but it's a habit. :)

Anonymous said...

I didn't pick the time of course. Still I DO feel lucky.