More From Irene & Her Brother
Here's another selection of snapshots, courtesy of GDB reader Irene, and her brother! These are undated and unlabeled, so sometimes a little guesswork is required.
This Skyway view of Storybook Land's Monstro shows that the canal has been drained. This might just be for regular maintenance, or it might be in preparation for Monstro's facelift. At some point the original cement was chipped off, and the angriest whale in the world was resculpted. Now he's smoother, bluer, and the teeth of his lower jaw poke out of the water. Does anybody know when that happened? I used to think that it was done for the 1983 New Fantasyland, but most of these photos date from the mid to late 1990's.
Here's the old abominable snowman, looking mighty fierce! I'm not going to insult you by pretending that you don't already know his nickname. (It's not "Major Pepperidge").
Another interior view from the Matterhorn features these giant glittering ice crystals. I used to love the way they glowed with colorful light! You can just see a disguised speaker, if I recall correctly it played the sound of icy wind (not hot wind, which sounds totally different).
Meanwhile, over in Frontierland, we get this lovely view of the Rivers of America, with a packed Canoe, and the much-missed Cascade Peak in the background.
Thank you, Irene and her brother!
14 comments:
Major-
These are all lovely images. That's a particularly nice shot of 'Harold', looking all "fluffed-out". Once again this week, we are treated to a shot of Cascade Peak. Ahhhh...
Thanks, Irene, for more Disneyland goodness.
Monstro's uppers became more rounded at some point. Less threatening.
Maybe Disney could paint Monstro's face with clown make up so he can play Willie the Operatic Whale for a while.
This is really a great of set photos this week from Irene and her brother. I like the Matterhorn interiors and the packed Canoe passing Cascade Peak. Obviously this is from before 1995 because of the Skyway shots. Thanks, Irene and brother! And thank you too, Major.
I miss the Skyway! And the original version of the Abominable Snowman! And the ice crystals! And Cascade Peak! Remember when they used to pump "fog" into the ice crystal cavern? Man, they ruin everything, don't they?
Two things: The framework ribbing on Monstro's top really stands out - I had never noticed that before. And the fourth photo - hard to imagine you're in a busy suburb of L.A.
I'm also wondering when the walkway around Monstro was redone; that is, when it became impossible to park your stroller up against the craggy rocks (or sit on them as some old photos show). Was that during the 1983 Fantasyland upgrade? The first photo is clearly after the walkway was changed.
Nanook, yeah, as relatively crude as Harold was compared to the current abdominal snowman (!), I kind of miss him.
Graffer, they just became worn down after eating over 100,000,000 guests!
K. Martinez, you know, now that you mention it, I would love it if they somehow added more obscure characters to Disneyland. Willie would be a great one! How about Peter from “Peter and the Wolf”? Trouble is, most people wouldn’t know who they were.
TokyoMagic!, oh yeah, I had forgotten about the fog! They DO ruin a lot, don’t they?
Anonymous, yeah, it’s as if he’d lost weight after the flu. And I always love Frontierland photos that show no hint of the nearby civilization.
Tom, hm, I didn’t even notice that, but you’re right. People used to be able to sit so close they could reach out and touch him. I really don’t know when that was changed, though 1983 is a good guess.
Tom, that planter was built out in front of the craggy rocks during the 1983 Fantasyland redo.
Major, I would love to see more obscure characters used in the park as well. Tokyo Disneyland has Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow walking around the park. And Disneyland Paris' Storybook Land actually has a scene from Peter and the Wolf (and Night On Bald Mountain!). I hope we never lose Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in Anaheim because the "bean counters" think Mr. Toad is too obscure.
I keep looking to see if I am one of the guides in the Canoe pictures. But I'm talking 70's. It was a great workout with a great bunch of guys...some of whom were real "jocks". One of them ended up as the starting quarterback for the Seahawks...Jim Zorn. KS
TM!, I'd love to see more obscure characters, too, but I think that there should be some logical parameters. I was really weird seeing a Big Al character walking around Disneyland Paris, considering they don't even have the Country Bear Jamboree at DLP.
Chuck, I agree. And I didn't know that Big Al was used at DL Paris. That is weird!
Monstro changed his look in 1993/1994 timeframe. Definitely before the end of 1994.
It wasn't 1990
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1qHOBAEaLA
Teeth look sharp 12/31/1991
https://youtu.be/CvuFnFkzilA?t=1m44s
Skip to 1993/1994 (still old Monstro)
https://youtu.be/4Qef2LWGb1Y?t=16m14s
1994 (ah the new one!)
https://youtu.be/jJ6o4nPxHrA?t=1m9s
Beautiful pics, thanks Irene, Brother, and Major.
Yes, the planter area around Monstro has changed a lot over the years.
From "none" to "a lot", to "less but still some". Also, the big tree is now gone. I think you can now stand right next to the rock face where the tree used to be.
I figure it was to keep people from trying to jump into the boats as they pass.
JG
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