Sunday, October 20, 2013

The Castle, February 1964

Europe is lousy with castles, but in America you usually only see castles at miniature golf courses. Disneyland has a good one... it's not the biggest or the most grand, but it has its own special charm. When seen from Main Street Station, it looks tiny, but close-up, it's juuuust right.


We've seen a bajillion photos of it, but this one is awfully nice. 


6 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

Yes, she sure do look grand, merely standing there, in all her majestic castle-i-ness. And revealing just a touch of portcullis. You're correct - The Sleeping Beauty Castle is 'just right'.

Thanks, Major.

Melissa said...

Normally, one of the things I love best about GDB pictures is the people-watching, but that second picture is really special in that it has that same You-Are-There quality because it's taken with a regular tourist's camera, but it's devoid of the distraction of anybody on the bridge so you can just soak up the architecture of the castle like you're just hanging out there in the past. It's so special that it merited that extra-long sentence, brought to you by my second cup of coffee.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I just listened to a podcast from WDW people describing their first visit to Disneyland, and they said some disparaging things about our castle. I am kind of amazed that these people have NO concept of history or appreciation for something different.

Melissa, ordinarily I enjoy run-on sentences, especially when reading comments on the internet and even more especially Yahoo comments because those people seem to be 99% crazies and it makes me worry about the kind of people who seem to be dominating the internet.

Nanook said...

@ Major and then @ Melissa...

If one is used to The Cinderella Castle, with its majestic height, it can be a bit jarring to finally see The Sleeping Beauty Castle, which by comparison seems a bit 'diminutive'. But it's all about proportionality and scale. I'm afraid a Super-Sized Sleeping Beauty Castle (if it could even fit) would seem as if it fell off a truck destined for a Land of the Giants set.

Each one provides just the right size for its surroundings, and BOTH castles can be enjoyed for the beautiful structures they are. Perhaps if the folks espousing discouraging words towards The Original Disney Castle would take the time to take it ALL in, they might come away with a more nuanced appreciation for good 'ol Sleeping Beauty.

Okay Melissa - finally-! Remember: a semi-colon is a run-on sentence's best friend. The New Yorker has always been a big fan; and me too-!

Melissa said...

Oh, I loves me a good semi-colon, and a good compound sentence. But every once in a while I just crave the manic energy of a caffeinated run-on. It's kind of like that horrible junk food snack that you wouldn't want every day.

JG said...

The Castle, as it should always be.

Thanks Major, I've been out of town and catching up.

I can read the blog on the iPad, but somehow, cannot comment.

JG