Monday, March 24, 2014

Donruss Bubblegum Cards, Part Three

It's time for part three of my continuing series featuring the wonderful 1965 bubblegum cards from the Donruss company. If you wish to see part one, click HERE; for part two, kindly click HERE.

Card #16: Disneyland mountain climbers, Fritz and Otto, ascent the 90 feet height of Matterhorn Mountain.


A similar photo was used on the cover of this 1963 Vacationland magazine.


Card #17: Gaily decorated tree brings Christmas to Disneyland Town Square during Yuletide Season.


Card #18: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs welcome guests to Fantasyland in Disneyland.


Seeing this photo on the 1961 Summer issue of Vacationland made me realize that the Donruss card was printed in reverse. 


Card #19: Corps of Toy Soldiers marches down Main Street during Disneyland's Christmas Season's parades.


Card #20: Disneyland African Veldt is viewed from aboard Jungle Cruise Launches in Adventureland.


Card #21: Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room marks the entrance to Adventureland.


Never fear, there are still 45 cards to go!

7 comments:

Chuck said...

Love that aerial view of the Submarine Lagoon in Card #1. Red shirts and dangerous situations...hmmm. Didn't these guys ever watch "Star Trek?" Of course not - it wouldn't air for another three years.

If the caption is accurate, the photo on Card #20 must have been taken from the top of the first lift hill on the Jungle Cruise. I think that was removed with the 1962 Marc Davis redesign.

I am loving these cards, Major!

Clyde Hughes said...

Thank you for the wonderful photos!
What an awe inspiring sight with the photos of the climbers! The Vacationland covers have a little more warmth of color, but that sea green water below is stunning. Is there a mermaid to be seen?

Looking at card #18 and then the Vacationland cover makes me wonder what happened to the little boy, as he is absent on the Vacationland cover. Hmmm...that angry dwarf just behind the little girl (in the Vacationland cover) could have something to do with the disappearance... ;-)

Melissa said...

Otto's really Swiss-cheese-and-hamming it up for the camera on that Vacationland cover.

The Snow White picture seems to lend credence to what we speculated about the Alice bubblegum card: that the child models were deliberately dressed to coordinate with the characters.

I can't get enough of those black-eared balloons!




K. Martinez said...

In Card#18/Vacation Summer 1961, the area near the "Tomorrowland" castle passage" is one of my favorite rest areas. It's somewhat quieter and still feels like Disneyland of yesteryear.

Card#20 is a great unusual view. I love any views of the Jungle Cruise before they started importing the Magic Kingdom influenced scenes for the 1976 upgrade. It looks like this shot was taken from atop the "Elephant Bathing Pool" structure. Aren't the lions and sleeping zebra closer to the shore now?

I'm glad to hear you'll be posting the rest of the Don Russ cards. While I have this set, reading the various reader comments adds a new dimension and calls attention to details often overlooked. Thanks, Major.

Major Pepperidge said...

Chuck, red is also known to repel yetis, so it was a risk worth taking. And thanks for pointing out the odd vantage point on the Jungle Cruise card, I didn’t notice!

Clyde, you are welcome. The quality of the printing on the Donruss cards leaves something to be desired, but I still love them. It DOES look like there might be mermaids on that rock! The little girl was way more photogenic than the boy, at least I think so.

Melissa, I still hold out hope that the kids were just picked from the crowd. Though I’m not sure why it matters to me!

K. Martinez, I’m surprised any place near the castle is still a quiet rest area. Were all of the upgrades after 1976 basically the same as the Florida Jungle Cruise? Yes, I have all 66 cards already scanned, so I am ready to go!

SundayNight said...

The climbers on the Vacationland cover is my favorite pic. I wonder if the climbers ever went on dates with the mermaids? The mind boggles.

BTW, I'm late on this but wanted to thank you for the great early L.A. pics, especially the Bullocks Westwood.

Snow White Archive said...

I've got that same Snow White card but didn't realize the image had also appeared on the cover of the Vacationland magazine. Thanks for sharing Major!