Friday, July 06, 2012

Instamatic A Go-Go

Recently, I was the lucky recipient of a nice batch of vintage Disneyland photos, given to me by a friend who was going to throw them out! They are all negatives from a Kodak Instamatic that he used when he was a kid; Instamatics were not exactly the finest cameras in the world (they had plastic lenses, and recorded their images on lumps of photochemically sensitive whale blubber), but  there are some real winners in the lot. The negatives were all in a jumble and undated, but he said that they were from between 1963 to about 1968. So.... THANKS to Mr. X!

Check out this unusual view, taken from the Skyway as it was about to go through the Matterhorn. The four-car red Monorail passes below us, and just a little bit of Tomorrowland is visible in the distance. If you look really carefully, you can spot yellow and blue Peoplemover vehicles, and even a molecule of one of the Mary Blair murals. I guess the yellow tent structure was a souvenir stand? That or you could give blood before riding the Autopia. On the horizon in the upper right is the space-age Anaheim Convention Center, which opened in 1967.


It was sunny and bright, with a vivid blue sky, but the overcoats tell us that there was a chill in the air when this picture was shot. We've certainly seen a zillion pictures of Sleeping Beauty Castle, but not many from this angle... and the people add a lot to the vintage quality.


And finally (for today), here's the Disneyland Band, in vivid red uniforms, as their leader in spotless white leads them around the hub and back down Main Street USA. I'm so used to seeing Vesey Walker leading the band that it is something of a jolt to see somebody else with the baton.


Oh boy, there are lots more Instamatic A Go-Go pictures to come!

12 comments:

D ticket said...

The yellow structure behind the Monsanto Home Of The Future was the Monsanto Home Of The Future Gazebo, which was a kind of garden tent with metal lawn furniture inside and some Star Treky planters around it.

TokyoMagic! said...

....and after the House of the Future was removed, the tent structure was converted to a souvenir stand. It remained there until sometime in the nineties when Ariel's meet 'n greet replaced it. Unfortunately, it's all about the meet 'n greets, don't you know. :-(

K. Martinez said...

What a nice unusual view of the Mark II Red and Alpine Gardens souvenir stand. Is that the Primeval World/Disneyland Administration Building in the background?

I’m glad you rescued these images. I’m now looking forward to the Mr. X series!

Nancy said...

Definitely I agree.

Many thanks to Mr. X....hard to believe he would just pitch them....I have a hard time parting with a photo that is so out of focus that no one but me knows what I was taking the picture of!!

Love the different than usual aspect of Monorail Red, and speaking of red, the band members kinda look like firemen to me in those particular uniforms! :D

Melissa said...

BABUSHKA!

Unknown said...

I, too, am loving that Monorail shot! Awesome! And the main street Disneyland band pic is so fab!

pursuit agent said...

I found some old negatives from Disneyland from my Instamatic from the early 80s. Too bad I was like 7 and the photos are pretty blurry...

Katella Gate said...

Awesome pictures. Maybe because kids take pictures of what interests them, and what interest them interests Disneyland Kooks.

D Ticket: Funny line. Split my milk through my nose. If they are serving Tranya, count me in for the party.

Connie Moreno said...

"That or you could give blood before riding the Autopia." I've said it many time before but WHERE do you come up with this stuff? I laughed so hard I almost choked!

Regarding that castle shot...is there any possibility that the photo is flipped?

Major Pepperidge said...

D Ticket, now that you say it, I recognize the yellow tent, mostly from a Monsanto flyer that I think I posted on this blog a while ago.

TM, wow, it was there until the 90's?!

K. Martinez, I think that you are correct, that is the administration building.

Nancy, yes I feel very lucky to have been in the right place at the right time. Otherwise the photos might have gone in the trash without my ever even knowing.

Melissa, gesundheit!

Merrick, thanks!

pursuit agent, my own instamatic photos were taken at night with a flash, and are terrible!

Katella, you might be right, although he wasn't a little kid... high school is more like it.

Chiana_Chat said...

Looking forwards to the series, Maj, glad you received these. The majority of pics of course have been or still are being simply thrown into the trash never to be seen again. A lot of records, especially 78s or non-rock vinyl, have been and are meeting the same fate. Always glad to see when some find their way to the right hands as these have. Plus, it couldn't have happened to a nicer Major.

As for the blood draw tent, few realize the price for the House of the Future. They wanted blood!

Looks like this is the time when, responding to noise complaints, the DL Band was playing with The Think System, picked up from The Music Man. The leader is noting the system does not seem to be garnering them much notice...

Katella Gate said...

Very droll Chiana, thanks.