Thursday, September 04, 2014

It's a Small World, July 1967

Here's a fun, busy view of the wonderful façade of "It's a Small World" when it was still pretty new. I am always astonished at the amount of real estate that was dedicated to the plaza in front of the attraction. It sort of reminds me of a mid-century, bizarro St. Mark's Square in Venice. 

Doesn't it seem as if one or two other rides could have been squeezed in there? Maybe not.

Balloon lady doesn't look happy; those squeaky balloons are driving her crazy!


Late at night, when the moon is full, these topiaries come to life. I seen it with my own eyes!!


15 comments:

Chiana_Chat said...

...and when the full moon is bright, comes a horseman known as Zorro! Also Disney related, which I guess isn't so surprising; it's a small world, after all...

K. Martinez said...

You don't have to wait for the night when the moon is full for the topiaries to come to life at the Overlook Hotel.

Nanook said...

Major-

Man - there sure are a lot of folks in that first picture-! On the other hand - look at all that room on the 'midway'-! Oh, for those days...

Thanks, Major.

Chuck said...

All of those people are futilely trying to confirm rumors of a secret "Toon Town" (as it was spelled in the purply, smudged, fragrantly-mimeographed conspiracy literature of the time) located somewhere nearby. Rumors were finally confirmed in 1993, when changing defense requirements after the end of the Cold War led DoD to declassify the highly-secluded facility, allowing Disney to open it to the public.

Balloon lady is upset because they didn't issue her any Mickey ear-shaped balloons to sell, and those are her favorite. They taste like peppermint. Trust me on that one.

Tom said...

I never get tired of looking at that facade. Mary Blair did an amazing work there and I'm glad it's still there to see today.

Nanook said...

@ Chuck-

Make that fragrantly-"dittoed" ...

Anonymous said...

Wish they would bring back the foliage "behind" the façade...loved that effect that the façade was truly flat and you enter this magical world.

Chuck said...

Nanook - I cheerfully stand corrected. Mimeography and spirit duplication (which produced those sweet-smelling school handouts of our youth) are indeed two separate processes. Spirit duplication used an alcohol-based ink (hence the name and the smell), while mimeographs used a thick paste made from pureed mimes.

Nanook said...

@ Chuck-

Hic-!! Yes, spirit and stencil duplication, now essentially abandoned to the dustbins of technologies gone by. Oh, but what good times could be had with one long, deep inhalation of those fine "spirits" early in the morning. Hic, indeed-!

JG said...

I love the close-ups of the topiary, reminding me of Fantasia with the ostrich and the hippo.

We recently viewed the Mary Blair exhibit at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. A brilliant and gifted artist. The exhibit had a little wedge of info about the IASW facade and how the whole show concept evolved out of an indoor ceramic mural MB designed for a childrens Hospital.

Seeing the sketch work was a real joy. The models did not survive, but could be seen in a video, which I think was a portion of the "Tencennial" show since the Red Wagon Inn model was also shown.

JG

Major Pepperidge said...

Chiana_Chat (hi Chiana!), was that part of the Zorro song (or TV show)? I used to watch it, but I barely remember.

K. Martinez, that's exactly what I was thinking of!

Nanook, that was before the gift shops and giant ugly light towers.

Chuck, I sure wish that they would do something with Toon Town. It needs a redo, like California Adventure did. As of now, the only thing I am interested in back there is the Cartoon Spin. Also, aren't those balloons the ones with the Mickey ears?

Tom, I think Rolly Crump had a hand in the look of the façade too. I love Mary Blair, but let's not leave out Rolly!

Nanook, I don't know what the difference between a ditto and a mimeograph is (was).

Anon, you mean the foliage that was on top of the building?

Chuck, this was back in the days before mimes had become so unloved. Remember "Shields and Yarnell"?

Nanook, I remember kids in class always being so in love with the smell of dittos, and it just didn't do it for me. Maybe because dittos usually meant a test or pop quiz!

JG, I am jealous that you got to see that exhibit… I've still never been to the WDFM. Apparently they have a small Marc Davis exhibit there as well. Why did the museum have to up in San Francisco (I ask selfishly)?

Nanook said...

@ Major-

Spirit duplication (or more commonly-know as Ditto copies) named for the most-popular brand of machine) used a two-layered master, the top layer was typed (or written) upon. The second layer beneath it contained a colored wax - the most common being analine purple - which would "transfer" to the back of the top sheet. The bottom (wax) sheet was discarded, and the top sheet, with the 'relief image' was loaded into the Ditto machine, ready to receive the 'spirits', that would release the colored wax onto the individual sheets of paper as they were fed through the machine.

I don't know if you remember, but it was possible, by "splicing" sections from different-colored masters to create multiple-colored copies. Cool. I'd always thought all Ditto machines were manually-fed. Until I went to college, where I saw an electrically-operated Ditto machine. By adjusting the platten pressure from very low (when the 'master' was fresh) up to the highest setting, it was possible to easily achieve 100+ copies - usually unheared-of using spirit duplication.

Mimeograph machines - most commonly sold by A. B. Dick, who coined the name, was a stencil process. The user would first remove or disable the ribbon from a typewritter (remember those gadgets-?) to obtain very clean typed edges on the master, which has a wax-coated top layer, backed by card stock-thickness paper. The card stock is discarded and the "cut" wax master is attached onto a drum (as with spirit duplication), but in this case the master acts as a stencil, allowing black ink to be forced through it onto individual sheets of paper. Most mimeograph machines were electric, as they could produce several hundred copies from a single master, if handled properly.

And that is your lesson for the day. Now - I need to take a looooong, deep breath as I inhale some 'fine spirits'. Zzzzzzz.

Dean Finder said...

When I was in college, I met an older alum who made a considerable amount of money while there with a ditto machine he got for free and jury-rigged a motor to.

Chuck said...

Major - you are right - those most assuredly ARE Mickey ear-shaped balloons. I could have sworn those were plain balloons when I looked at the image this morning.

Called out TWICE in one day. Not sure why I am having such trouble with the facts in my posts today. At the rate I'm going, next you'll be telling me that Toontown wasn't even built until 1993...

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, well… after my own comment about not knowing the difference, I actually looked it up on (yes) Wikipedia! I honestly don't remember multi-colored Dittos, just the plain old purple ones. I might have even USED a Ditto machine in High School, but it has all become so hazy.

Dean Finder, I applaud that alum's ingenuity! He deserved every penny.

Chuck, it took me a moment (and a really good look) to be sure, so it is understandable. And if these are the worst errors you have today, you're doing pretty good As for Toon Town, I figured you were "just saying"!