Monday, July 20, 2015

Fantasyland, July 1958

Today I continue a series of slides from July, 1958; in theory I am posting them in the order in which they were taken. (Eventually it seems that my plan doesn't work so well).

Anyhoo, we're in Fantasyland this time... the photos are familiar subjects, but nicely done. This first one is kind of an unusual angle, with the Flying Dumbos attraction, either ramping up, or slowing down. I don't see any passengers, which is odd. As usual I get a kick out of Timothy (one of my favorite animated characters) cruelly waving his whip in order to get Dumbo to perform. 

The Skyway looks great (orange bucket! orange bucket!) vanishing into the distance (where the Matterhorn isn't). And the stripe-sailed Pirate Ship looks fantastic.


Well, maybe the Dumbo attraction wasn't operating this day, because, once again, there aren't any people riding it. You'd think that the elephants would be grounded, if that's the case.


8 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

These images are both quite swell. It's hard to believe they were both shot in the middle of the summer, but it just goes to show you how times have changed - boy, have they-! I see the Dumbos' still have their articulating ears, too.

And as for trying to "ground the elephants" - Major, that reminds me of the old joke about 'How do you stop an elephant from charging-?...'

Thanks, Major.

K. Martinez said...

Pastels and palms! We must be in ye olde Fantasyland. All that's missing are the pink elephants and pink slurry.

I really do love the dreamlike quality of the palette of colors Disney used in the original Fantasyland. Both images are quite special. Thanks, Major.

Chuck said...

This may have been taken on July 3rd, 1958, a day infamous in Disneyland lore as "The Day the 'B' Tickets Ran Out." Either that, or these were taken during one of those special events designed to attract a larger share of the ghost demographic away from Knott's.

Either way, I share K. Martinez' assessment. Love the dreamlike color. In fact, I'm going to pinch myself now to make sure I'm awake. OUCH!!! Yep - I'm apparently awake alright...

Thanks again, major. Looking forward to the rest of the set (crossing my fingers for some Viewliner action).

Melissa said...

How crisp and clear and beautiful!

I remember buying a brand new, crisp, all-white capri pants outfit like the Mom in the second picture, for a whale-watching trip to Cape Cod when I was a teenager. About ten minutes into the walking tour of the sand dunes, I fell smack! into some kind of sulfur pit and was covered in rotten-egg-smelling mud for the rest of the day. I don;t think I've voluntarily worn all-white ever since. Junior is much more practical in his fence-climbing gear. THAT'S the way to go about a life of crime.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I’ve always wondered if some of these old slides were taken with cameras that had a UV haze filter (which, I have been told, generally results in nicer, bluer skies). Or was it just a matter of luck? And I stop elephants from charging by taking away their credit cards! I also shot an elephant in my pajamas.

K. Martinez, pink slurry? Isn’t that what they serve in school lunches? I still have some nice slides left, but this particular bunch was one of the last groups that I remember looking at with a loupe and thinking, “Wow, these are good!”.

Chuck, part of the color difference is due to the fact that I scanned these using different scanner settings. I liked the way they turned out, but occasionally found that weird things happened in dark areas; so this is the only batch that has this appearance. And yes, there are two Viewliner images!

Melissa, your story reminded me of a trip my family made to a large salt water lake out in the desert, called Mono Lake (not terribly far from Yosemite). It is a fascinating and beautiful place, full of birds, and strange “tufa towers” - not to mention swarms of brine flies down by the water’s edge (which were eaten by the birds and the local Indian tribes). Anyway, I was walking on the shore when the crusty surface of the ground gave way, and I was up to my ankles in stinking, awful mud. Sounds very similar to what you experienced, though I was not wearing white capri pants!

Nanook said...

@ Major-

Yup - you got 'em both. (...How he got into my pajamas, I'll never know-!)

Melissa said...

But in Alabama the Tuskaloosa.

Melissa said...

But in Alabama the Tuskaloosa.