Sunday, March 20, 2016

So-So Pix, September 1972

It's always fun to present extra-nice photos of Disneyland, but the sad truth is that those are the exception rather than the rule. Sometimes, every single slide in a group (of perhaps 15 or 20) is a dud. It's a bit disheartening. Thank goodness for Sundays here on GDB, when I don't feel as guilty sharing some of those less-than-wonderful pictures. 

This first one is an unusual angle, but that doesn't make it good.  We're looking down the pathway & steps that lead up to the Skyway chalet in Fantasyland. It's pretty enough, I guess, what with the plants and flowers. The background is blown out, but we can still see the Pirate Ship and the tiny station for the Casey Jr. Circus Train.


And speaking of Casey Jr... there he is now! Maybe our photographer liked the idea of framing the image with the fence at the bottom and the elbow to our right. You can just see a smidgen of "It's a Small World over there, too. That hedge behind Casey must have been there to screen out.... something? Just a guess, I'm not sure what unsightly mess would have been visible if the hedge was not there.


10 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

The first image may not win any awards - but, ya gotta love how the stern of the Pirate Ship looms over the background. And how can you not like the second image with that rare capture of everyone's favorite fence-!

Thanks, Major.

TokyoMagic! said...

That hedge keeps riders from looking down into a small backstage area (which includes a section of spur track for storing the Casey Jr. trains) That same backstage area was the former pathway of the Disneyland/Santa Fe train prior to the tracks being moved further northward for the construction of It's A Small World.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I guess I didn't know that the fence was so popular! ;-) Now I feel lucky to have included it, because of all the joy and happiness it will bring.

TokyoMagic!, was the hedge there in earlier years? I'll have to look, but I don't remember it. Maybe it was just smaller. So many rides allowed a look into unsightly backstage areas, (Skyway, Peoplemover, Monorail, Disneyland RR, and probably others), but I guess they had to at least TRY to block stuff out when they could.

TokyoMagic! said...

Major, looking back at your past Casey Jr. posts, it appears the hedge was not there in '55 or '56, but by '57, it appears that the tiny plants that would eventually grow into the hedge were already in place.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bananaphone5000/media/GoGoGorilla5/1957_Canal.jpg.html

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/bananaphone5000/GORILLLAS/Storybookland57.jpg

Unknown said...

Here's a look at what was blocked. I love telephone poles, too, but I could see hiding that from view.

Major Pepperidge said...

TokyoMagic!, thanks for the links to those photos - it's almost noon and I've still been too lazy to do the research. I always love seeing how much things change (in this case, the foliage) over the years.

Patrick Devlin, that's a great photo! Notice the open "canal" that presumably connected the dark water system from Tomorrowland (the old Phantom Boats lake) with the dark water from the rest of the park.

Anonymous said...

I always enjoyed the area around the chalet. It was a shady, idyllic, escape from the 'carny' feeling of the original Fantasyland. Another small section of peacefulness that has been eliminated today. KS

K. Martinez said...

Always liked the towering eucalyptus behind Storybook land providing a beautiful backdrop. Thanks, Major.

Anonymous said...

I will treasure that first picture as a view from a place where we can no longer visit.

Yup, the back side of Casey is just a glimpse into Neverland.

I'm hoping that someday Disney will either tear down or repurpose the old chalet. It's so sad to see it just decaying all alone.

Thanks, Major. The trip back is always restful.

JG

Major Pepperidge said...

Anonymous, there have been a number of places around the park that were quiet little setbacks where you could relax and take it all in. I guess the real estate is too valuable to just let it sit there and “do nothing”.

K. Martinez, I agree, those trees are like old friends (just like the ones that were at Knott’s).

JG, supposedly the chalet has been slated for demolition sometime this year (although I thought they said the same thing last year). I can only hope that they’ll do something great with that small patch of land, and not just put in a souvenir shop.