Monday, March 21, 2016

Frontierland, 1956

Yo yo yo! Today I have a few repeats/rescans. They are only a little better than the original scans, so I didn't bother doing a "before and after" comparison. Still, they are great vintage shots (originally posted in 2007) that are worth another look. 

So... here's a nice shot of the muddy river (circa 1956), with a bustling Frontierland in the distance. I love the headdresses on the Indian guides in charge of the canoe.. the passengers are not helping at all. The Bertha Mae looks great, and we can also see a raft over on Tom Sawyer Island.

We can even see Skyway buckets, the Castle, and the Moonliner.


Next is this interesting shot of a rather barren hillside with some spindly trees and plenty of brown plants (maybe it was an extra hot summer?). But the coolest detail is that huge grizzly!


Until I saw this photo, I was unaware of this particular bear. I've never seen another photo of him! Perhaps the foliage eventually swallowed him and he was removed. I wonder if he growled?


Here is a version of the previous photo in "Bigfoot-Vision!", for Monkey Cage Kurt.


12 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

I don't think I've ever seen a canoe so bereft of passengers. Who needs to help-? Heck, there're only four passengers, for crying out loud-!

And that bear is a biggen-! I can't say I've seen him (her) before, either.

Thanks, Major, for the fun rescans.

TokyoMagic! said...

That bear seems to be saying, "Not even YOU, can prevent forest demolition for the impending Star Wars Land". Of course it's probably just the voices in my head that are saying that.

Anonymous said...

The river is an interesting color. Disney version of "The Big Muddy?"

K. Martinez said...

Love all the new tree plantings and the old mechanical wildlife in early Disneyland. Thanks, Major.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, the bear is only 4 feet high, but thanks to the magic of forced perspective, he looks 9 feet tall!

TokyoMagic!, that grizzly moved out long ago, due to excessive crowds. Imagine how miserable he’d bee NOW.

Anonymous, it is kind of interesting to see the change in the color of the river over the years, from that very muddy brown, to a lighter yellow/green, a darker green, and even a very dark blue/green.

K. Martinez, actually, those are audio-animatronic trees! EVERYTHING at Disneyland is audio-animatronic.

Matthew said...

Like you all, I don't think I've ever seen this bear before. So judging by the second slide with the wagon trail in the foreground and the backside (Adventureland side) of the Plaza Pavilion in the background, I would place this bear where the "Twin Sister Falls" used to be (where the Eagle's nest was 2015, before the Star Wars land demolition of the river (funny how we need to write that now, so GDBs of the future know what we're talking about).

Always your pal,
Amazon Belle

Monkey Cage Kurt said...

If that second pic was just ever so slightly more out of focus I would venture to say it was a photo of Bigfoot. But it’s just sharp enough not to qualify. RATS!

Monkey Cage Kurt said...

Oh my gosh! It’s him, it’s the big guy himself! Bears don’t walk on two legs. This is irrefutable. I’m a believer now Major. Thank you.

On a side note…ask me if I’ve seen Bigfoot.

Major Pepperidge said...

Matthew, your guess is better than mine, because I didn't have any clue! Yes, pre "Star Wars Land" will be a major landmark in Disneyland history, for better or worse (hopefully better).

Monkey Cage Kurt, have you seen Bigfoot?

Monkey Cage Kurt said...

“NOT YETI!!!”

Monkey Cage Kurt said...

Thanks for making that photo for me Major. You should try to sell it. it’s got to be worth like…a LOT of money.

Matthew said...

OK - THAT IS funny!

Always your pal,
Amazon Belle