Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Santa's Village, June 1958 - Part 2

Oh boy, Christmas is almost here! I am eating mistletoe-flavored Oreos and wearing an ugly sweater, to really get into the mood. I'm also looking at some great photos from Steve Stuart's family collection. Check 'em out!

Some unidentified folks and myself seem to be heading-off in Cinderella’s Pumpkin Coach – which can now be had for a “mere” $29,500.00 (with free local pickup in Roseville Oregon-!) – see here:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-1954-Pumpkin-Coach-from-Santas-Village-Skyforest-/161071192766 .  The coach should barely be three years old when this picture was taken – and it certainly has that ‘showroom new look’ about it.


And once again, just back from her latest photo shoot… my mom poses next to-??


And finally, my dad also posing next to the ‘mystery vehicle’.

[It's me, your humble editor again; what IS that vehicle? It's like a charming sled with wire mesh to hold hardened criminals. Maybe some sort of potentially dangerous animal (a bear?) was sometimes inside? Chime in if you know].


Supposedly, Santa's Village will be reopening sometime soon, I am very curious to see what it will look like. Thanks as always to Steve Stuart for sharing his photos.

9 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

Yay, more great pics from Nanook! I love that first shot! The current owners of Santa's Village should buy that coach for their new park....especially since they appear to have so few rides now.

I think that caged vehicle might be the black mariah.....but painted red.

Unknown said...

Ooh, black mariah reference! I'm impressed at that trivial knowledge tidbit.

I think that cage was to store the wild Capuchin monkeys that were previously stored in the "Wild Animals" cage on the Casey Jr. train at Disneyland.

Good stuff, Steve: thank for the show-and-tell.

K. Martinez said...

Yep, It's Christmas time again and what better way to get into the spirit of things than with the Stuart Family today. Wonderful photos of each one of the family members.

A Cinderella Pumpkin Coach and the Black Mariah (painted red) we did not have up here in Santa's Village, Scotts Valley. These are really nice photos!

Thanks again for sharing your personal family photos with us, Steve.

Irene said...

Santa's Village is now open - but only the Village part. They have other things to do (sport type things) but those won't open until 2017 as the permits for that stuff have not come through yet. It is my understanding that tickets to Santa's Village must be purchased online in advance. No tickets sales on site. My daughter and son-in-law drove by there the weekend they opened thinking they could at least park there and take photos by the sign, but no one was even allowed in the parking lot unless they had a ticket! His family lives up there so we have been following this saga :)

Anonymous said...

Looks like snow on the ground. Part of my faded memory of this spot includes snow and being cold.

Thank you Nanook / Steve and Major.

JG

Joey said...

Yep, it's open, but not finished. The new goal for the park is less on simple flat rides and more on outdoor adventure. Hiking, camping, fishing, zipline, etc.

The village is basically all finished up, though. They went for a decidedly much more naturalistic tone without the kitschy 1950s tupperware color schemes.

http://www.mouseinfo.com/new/2016/12/inside-and-in-depth-mouseinfo-visits-skypark-at-santas-village/

Major Pepperidge said...

Hey Ladies and Gents, I just thought I would say that when I originally composed this post, Santa's Village had not reopened yet! I have read the review on the outsidetheberm blog, and it definitely sounds like a work in progress.

Dean Finder said...

I thought the mystery vehicle was the thing Fred Astaire drives at the beginning of Santa Claus is Coming to Town
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/70/a6/c0/70a6c0ff7d2b8d3df188036745607557.jpg

Nanook said...

Dear All-

I'm glad to continue sharing these family images. (Thank you Major).

Evidently the "mystery" vehicle has stumped the panel. I was beginning to think that was the place Santa used to 'lock-up' misbehaving little boys & girls. Sorta akin to a child's version of a stockade in the town square.