Two Random Pix From the 1950's
Today's pictures aren't super awesome, but they're just going to have to do on a lazy Sunday.
Fearsome wild animals! I hope they don't escape and remove someone's entrails with their pointy teeth. The one on the right has a cigarette, which as we all know, makes him extra cool. Like the Fonz (who didn't smoke)!
"Let's see, I'll try to get a nice picture of those crocodiles. I'm looking through the viewfinder, adjusting the focus, wondering what exposure to use, aaaaaand.... curses! They're gone". This is an unsuccessful photo, and yet I love it because it reminds me of most of my own pictures. I am no Henri Cartier-Bresson.
10 comments:
I know smokers smoked just about everywhere back in the day, but were they really allowed to smoke ON the rides? I'm assuming that smoking wasn't ever allowed on any of the indoor attractions. Or am I assuming too much?
Is that an orchid growing just above the crocodile's tail?
Major-
If the truth be told, the 'disappearing' crocodile is actually named Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Thanks, Major.
I love a lot of things about Disneyland, but those "Wild Animals" and "Monkeys" cages on the Casey Jr. Train aren't one of them. Locked in and bunched up knee-to-knee with other guests isn't my idea of a fun time. But, they do look great. Still, it's the dragon cars for me. Thanks, Major.
TokyoMagic!, I guess that it wasn’t considered such a crime since Casey Jr. was outdoors. Still, I’m sure that the Disney folks would have frowned at the idea. That looks like an orchid to me. The Sumatran Death Orchid! (I just made that up).
Nanook, that is a crocodile I would like to meet.
K. Martinez, I have never been in one of those cages… I’m tall-ish, and it just looked like a miserable experience. My one and only (!) ride on Case Jr. (I always rode the Canal Boats) found me right behind the engine, which seemed like a great spot. Then I realized why smart people don’t sit there… you get hot diesel fumes right in your face.
I remember riding in one of the "Wild Animals" cars with my grandparents when I was two. Plenty of leg room back then.
They still make great photo ops. Who can resist a photo of their kids in a cage labeled "Wild Animals" or "Monkeys?"
That second picture illustrates a memory of my first ride that has never left me. I distinctly remember being in a red railroad car, sitting across from my grandparents and looking past bars in a window and seeing the castle far off in the distance on a hilltop to the left of a train. This was a favorite memory that got replayed a lot in the ensuing years, particularly during the interminable gap between my first visit in 1971 and my second in 1975.
That memory also confused me for years during my long Disneyland hiatus from 1976-1993 - the DL&SFRR didn't have opposing seating, the train was going the wrong way, Sleeping Beauty Castle isn't on a hill - and I finally convinced myself my memory was faulty. Then my wife and I bundled ourselves into a pink "Monkeys" car on my first visit in 17 years...and suddenly, my memory was validated.
I wonder how many other very young visitors misinterpret the scale of what they're seeing, too?
Those people in the circus car are experiencing insane levels of happiness. They got the Crazee Teeth.
i never realized that Casey Jr. had more than one train....go figure! :)
Major - I'm 6'4 and some of the ride vehicles at Disneyland feel small to me these days. Submarine Voyage never bothered me back in the old days. Then I rode Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and wanted to get out ASAP. It felt too confined. I can't tolerate discomfort like I used to I guess.
I rode in the Monkey cage car a couple of years ago, and almost had to be helped out after that long with my knees under my chin.
Still loved it.
Thanks, Major.
JG
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