Miscellaneous Pix
Today I am sharing a trio of orphaned images… some are leftuggies, some were not part of a larger lot. Whatever the case, they are still very nice vintage photos.
Here's a neat and unusual 1957 view of Tomorrowland, taken from one of the old open-air freight cars of the Disneyland Railroad. Ya gots yer Autopia, yer Skyway and Moonliner, and even the Richfield eagle.
From December 1970 comes this postcard-worthy photo of a Jungle Cruise "naptha launches" (as they were called on an old sign). The river looks placid and inky-black, but we know that it hides crocodiles, hippos, piranhas, and the always-hilarious candiru.
And finally, let's enjoy this colorful August 1958 shot of the Mad Tea Party, with the old "Mr. Toad" façade in the background. The flat, painted awnings and tournament tents were low-budget, but they looked kind of great.
12 comments:
Regardless of their origin these are all great shots and are unique.
I really like number one as it's an angle I haven't seen before.
I agree, dark and moody shot 2 is postcard worthy.
Thanks for posting.
If they are orphans then GDB readers will adopt them for sure.
The original Tomorrowland Skyway station appears to have had a mini Tower of the Winds.
Good morning Major, nice pics today. Always fun to start my day at D-land. THANKS!
I had to look up “naphtha launches” on Google, found some really great images. Like I said the other day, I LOVE steam! Although technically the naphtha engine was not considered true “steam”, it still utilized steam, and functioned pretty much the same as a steamer.
Always educational here at GDB.
That first photo, from that awesome angle, is amazing and wonderful. I will be staring at it all day absorbing its crisp, clear tomorrowlandy goodness.
Imagine riding one of those early open-air freight cars on the Disneyland Railroad today. That would be awesome being out in the open with all the trees providing shade along the way.
I like the partially hidden view of the "Big Game Shoot" shooting gallery sign. I remember those days when Adventureland had it's own shooting gallery.
Anonymous - That tower was originally used for the "Space Bar" signage.
http://davelandweb.com/tomorrowland/popup.htm?../blog/dickgardner/rwg32_spacebar.jpg
Then later for the "Skyway to Fantsyland".
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/bananaphone5000/NEWGORILLA/1-5-57Skyway.jpg
Sharp eyes, Ken! The Big Game Shooting gallery was the only one I got to experience as a kid, and only once. I think I may have hit one target. I was in awe of my dad, who was a Air Force-qualified "expert" marksman and seemed to get a hit with every pull of the trigger. My mother, the gun-hater, never let us do that again.
Candiru are my favorite parasitic fish.
Major-
All these early images are a true delight for the senses. Not certain which one is my favorite, but any time you can use "inky black" in a sentence and not be referring to a video review of some sort, I'm right on board.
Thanks.
I loves me a good, high-quality Miscellaneous. It’s like the Potpourri column on the Jeopardy! board.
Old Fantasyland is like a pop-up fairytale book; it’s absolutely charming. And I spy a babushka/beehive combo right behind the pole of the left-hand umbrella in the Jungle Cruise picture. The wearer reminds me of TV’s Flo – she of “Kiss my grits!” fame. I suppose the babushka could just be a photographic aura of light, but I prefer to think she saved up her tips and got a weekend away from Mel’s Diner.
Wait, how did HE get on that ride? Was Universal closed for the weekend?
The Adventureland picture sure brings back memories of both attractions. I worked the JC and Gallery back then. I may have loaded the guns for both you and your father. We'll never know. KS
The combination of the movement of the railway and the Autopia car give the later a nice motion blur. Looks like it's going about 50 mph. ;)
Beautiful picture of the loading area as another jungle cruise sets sail. I love the pretty reflection on the water :)
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