Thursday, May 18, 2017

Two From July, 1963

Main Street U.S.A. just wouldn't be the same without an old-fashioned marching band - thanks (probably) to "The Music Man". Was there ever a time when small towns actually had regular marching band performances? I want it to be true.

Looking at the clock, we can see that it's 5:30 (ish), which seems a little early to be the flag-lowering ceremony. What you don't know is that at 5:29 there were no flowers in that dirt at all - the music caused them to emerge from the soil, like cobras from a wicker basket. 

I love the sign for the "Horse Cars" (?!), and those Mickey balloons with the black ears. Not long ago I watched a recent YouTube video of the current Disneyland Band - they all look like high school kids! They sounded good though.


High (but not too high) above Fantasyland, we are gliding backward toward the now-demolished Skyway chalet. Even with the "June Gloom", Fantasyland looks colorful and enticing. The Matterhorn somehow looks even bigger with all of that misty atmosphere. 


8 comments:

K. Martinez said...

Lack of flowers in the flower beds. Ya got trouble, folks, right here in River City.

I wonder how many of those old band costumes with the Disneyland patches are floating around out there unseen, or never having been up for auction on eBay.

Another good set today. Thanks, Major.

MRaymond said...

I do prefer the old school Disneyland Band but the new band is excellent.

Unknown said...

Lovely shot of pre 1983 Fantasyland, there, Major. It goes to show that the Park got crowded even back in the good old days. And I can always use a reminder as to which way the gondolas ran on the Skyway 'cause the memories are fading, always fading. I like to think of "June Gloom" as Nature's Shade.

Anonymous said...

Just fine views today. Like Patrick, I need the occasional reminder of the Skyway direction. I miss that old cuckoo clock building with it's weird Illuminati clockface. It was a weird feeling to see the empty spot there through the trees from Casey Jones.

Thanks Major.

JG

Major Pepperidge said...

K. Martinez, it does look weird to see so much dirt around the flagpole. Hopefully the gardeners would plant more flowers soon? I know that a few of those band costumes have turned up (didn’t Matterhorn1959 find one that way?), but there can’t be that many out there.

MRaymond, I think that “old school” is most appropriate for a band that is supposed to be on a 1910 (or whatever) Main Street.

Patrick Devlin, the easiest way to remember which way the Skyway ran is that it was the opposite of how we drive. Or how I drive anyway - you might drive on the left side of the road!

JG, I need to look for photos of the area where the Skyway Chalet used to be - I knew it was torn down, but never really looked for photographic evidence.

Nanook said...

The easiest way to remember the direction of the Skyway is to imagine you're looking down at it from the heavens, you'll observe it running clockwise. What could be easier, unless of course you learned how to tell time using one of those 'funny clocks', where the hands run backwards.

(Hey, wait a minute - what do 'hands' have to do with telling time-?)

Anonymous said...

@Major, I just checked the Google satellite, the picture is still old enough that the chalet is still there. It's barely visible through the trees.

I'm not sure when it was demolished, but it was gone when I was there in March of this year. It was hard to make out from the moving train, but I think that some of the concrete slab was still visible.

JG

walterworld said...

Major, you can never be TOO HIGH above Fantasyland. Heck, the best we can do these days is 20 or so feet on the Dumbo-Jets...