Sunday, October 04, 2015

So-So Sunday

It's Sunday, and that means that it's time to use up a few not-ready-for-primetime photos. I almost threw these in the "reject" folder (otherwise known as the trash), but at this point, I can't be too choosy. 

Both of today's photos are from November of 1955; this photo was presumably shot from the Disneyland RR, which might explain its blurriness. It's kind of an odd angle, looking back toward Fantasyland, with the sails of the Pirate Ship just visible over the hill. I've always loved the ornate and fanciful little Casey Jr. Circus Trains.


The "Court of Honor" was in Tomorrowland (it definitely felt like a temporary space-filler); from the air it was shaped like an eight-pointed star, and it held 48 flagpoles, each pole bearing the flag of one of the States. This was before Hawaii and Alaska! The flags were placed in the order in which each state was admitted to the Union. When construction began on the Astro Jets in 1956, the flags were moved to either side of the entrance to Tomorrowland.


13 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

Wow...so even in 1955, people just left their strollers wherever the heck they wanted to. So rude! I can't believe these were considered for the trash, Major! I'm glad they didn't end up there.....or if they did, that you fished them out for us! ;-)

Nanook said...

Major-

Okay, I get the unintentional "3D-look" of the first image wasn't exactly what you wanted to share. On the other hand, the composition is so unusual - not to mention a photographers "don't" - turning Casey Jr. into a flying train - what, with all the sails suddenly appearing out of the engine and tender-! Ahhh, what can you do-? I say go with the flow and publish. And indeed you did. Thanks.

I think I'm gonna convert a portion of my garden into a Court of Honor-! Frankly, I'm surprised one of the shopping channels hasn't offered-up one for sale. Every backyard needs one.

Thanks again, Major.

Scott Lane said...

I think Nanook's on to something. A flying circus train! I think Casey Jr deserves his own stand-alone made-for-dvd movie!
Let me stop before somebody from Disney sees this and takes it seriously.

K. Martinez said...

Glad you saved these and posted them. Love the rare angle of the first image. I like the semi-silhouette couplings and wheels of the Casey Jr. Circus Train. You can definitely see where Disney once considered making the attraction a roller coaster. Of course they finally did do that in Paris. Sometimes not-ready-for-primetime photos yield treasures. Thanks, Major.

Major Pepperidge said...

TokyoMagic!, look at how tiny that stroller is, though! It’s not like the SUVs that you see these days.

Nanook, I suppose Casey Jr. does look a bit “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”! You can make your own court of honor using pipe cleaners, Elmer’s glue, and glitter.

Kenneth Lane, yes, don’t say anything more! We already know that Tim Burton is doing a live-action “Dumbo” remake - now it will probably have a flying train.

K. Martinez, I’m kind of glad that Casey Jr. is not a roller coaster; first of all, the ride would last about 10 seconds. And you wouldn’t see all of those wonderful vignettes. I didn’t know that Casey WAS a roller coaster in Paris! Time to look for it on Google.

K. Martinez said...

Major, Our Casey Jr. goes pretty fast around its course as it is.

As for finding the Disneyland Paris version, I'll save you the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYJb06CN-wc

Unknown said...

That first shot put me in mind of "Windwagon Smith's" Conestoga wagon (train) from that old Disney cartoon short. Boy, hadn't thought about that in a long time...

TokyoMagic! said...

Ken, that's funny...I've been on Casey Jr. in Paris, and while I noticed that it was on a tubular roller coaster-type of track, I never thought of it as a roller coaster. It doesn't go any faster than Anaheim's version. And it did seem to be propelled by something rather than just free-falling or coasting downhill with gravity. But now that I look at that video, I can't figure where a motor would be unless it was really small and in Casey's engine. Now you got me wondering about the whole thing! :-)

TokyoMagic! said...

By the way, at the 2:10 mark, there is a brief appearance by Chernabog from Fantasia in the village below (lower left corner of the screen). Most (maybe all) of the characters appear in their corresponding scenes in Paris' Storybook Land.

Major Pepperidge said...

K. Martinez, thank you for the link to that YouTube video! It really looks like a fantastic ride; a little faster than our Casey Jr., but you still have the opportunity to view some wonderful scenes.

Patrick Devlin, OK, that's another thing I need to look up on YouTube; I don't think I've ever seen "Windwagon Smith", though I certainly have heard of it.

TokyoMagic!, Are you sure it doesn't go faster than ours? It looks a little bit speedier, anyway. Also, Thanks for pointing out Chernabog! That is so cool. Could they include him in an American park, or is he too devilish? Now, if only that small figure moved (subtle wing movement, or something)...

TokyoMagic! said...

Major, I went on Casey Jr. last night and it goes pretty fast.....I'm not absolutely sure of the speed of either park's Casey Jr. I was just going by the way the ride felt. Paris' did not feel like a coaster to me even though it is on tubular tracks. Also, Chernabog does make a projected appearance in Fantasmic. He was supposed to be in the World of Color (I can't remember if it was going to be as a projection, or as a 3-dimensional figure of some sort), but he was cut from the show at some point. At Disneyland, they recently started selling a large light-up Chernabog "sipper" filled with your favorite drink for only $25.99! He lights up and "glows with the show" during Fantasmic. Then when you take him home, he controls your thoughts and actions just like the "glow with the show" mouse ears.

K. Martinez said...

TokyoMagic!, on RCDB (Roller Coaster Database) "Casey Jr., Le Petit Train due Cirque" is listed as a powered coaster by Vekoma. If you want to know all of the coasters at the Disney Parks or any park in the world, RCDB is the place to look it up. It's also where I found the stats for BTMRR when someone asked about number of trains and capacity.

http://rcdb.com/1835.htm

Patrick Devlin, I remember Windwagon Smith! I thought it was such an odd cartoon when I saw it as a kid. Very stylized if I remember correctly.

K. Martinez said...

Did anyone notice in the video, there are no operators on the Casey Jr. Circus Train itself or on the canal boats floating through Storybook Land? I assume that when they designed it, they wanted to figure a way to operate Storybook Land with less personnel overhead. The Canal Boat loading area is similar to the Jet Steam loading area at SFMM.