Friday, January 19, 2018

Beautiful Frontierland, 1957

I have two very nice Frontierland views for you, circa 1957! Let's start with this lovely view of the Rivers of America - classic Disneyland! There's so much to like; how about the aluminum boats stored in Fowler's Harbor? Maintenance people had to get to the island some way. The Mark Twain looks super authentic, as does the old mill, and even the ramshackle treehouse on Tom Sawyer Island.


That duck (goose?) is too dumb to realize that he can just fly over that fence (or walk around it).


Here's a fun one! A lovable Stagecoach is loaded and ready for its trip around the Rainbow Desert (no "Nature's Wonderland" yet). The driver does not have "The Disney Look" - check out the cigarette! - but he was probably good with horses, so that's what mattered. A second coach is waiting to pick up more greenhorns, while just a few guests wait for a Mine Train in the background.


12 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

I never went in for any of those new-fangled aluminum-hulled boats. I prefer birch bark, white cedar, with some pine and spruce pitch to seal those seams.

The "Disney Look" may be lacking on that CM, but he sure knows how to smoke it-!

Thanks, Major.

Gnometrek said...

The woman sporting the red/white beanie is a VIPPP. A vision in purple peddle pushers. Where did she and her partner get those cool hats?

DrGoat said...

That is a great image. Castle in the backround, cigarette, and all. My Dad started smoking in WW2. Cigarettes were free to the bomber squadrons. Lucky Strikes.

K. Martinez said...

Both images are great today. Frontierland is one of those lands I think was best in its early years. It just looks more authentic with its various modes of transportation on both land and water.

Back then at one time the transportation style attractions consisted of Riverboat, Sailing Ship, Keel Boat, Canoe, Raft, Mine Train, Pack Mule, Conestoga wagon, Stagecoach and more. And what real animals are there in Frontierland today? Thanks, Major.

Melissa said...

Man, I would have loved to ride in the Stagecoach! I wonder if the lines ever got long for such a slow-loading, low-capacity ride.

That river panorama is so gorgeous, it looks like movie credits should be rolling over it.

Anonymous said...

Ha, I watched a Bugs Bunny cartoon segment last week where Bugs rolled his own cigarette and hung it from his lip just like the stage driver.

You would never see that in today's cartoons, unless it was a joint.

It is somewhat amazing to see this guy smoking on the job in Disneyland, though. I wonder if having the stage driver skills made him special, or if it just wasn't a rule yet?

JG

Nanook said...

@ Melissa-
Don’t feel too bad - I DID ride in the Stagecoach - but do you think I remember doing so-?? (Well, it has been a while). But still, you would’a thought the experience to be etched permanently in my mind.

K. Martinez said...

Melissa, the Stagecoach at Knott's Berry Farm takes a while to get on. It's a slow loader, but still enjoyable.

Anonymous said...

Is it just me, or does the Disneyland Frontierland not look as rugged as its Florida counterpart. Maybe it's just the fact that these photos were taken only three years after it was all created, so the foliage still needs to grow in.

Chuck said...

Melissa, you mean something like this?

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, those must be those crazy Phantom Boats I keep hearing about! I guess when it comes to smoking, that is about as Disney (as in “Walt”) as you can get.

Gnometrek, those are souvenir hats that show up in many early Disneyland pix. I would love to know how much the park made in souvenir hats - I’ll bet it was a bundle.

DrGoat, yeah, I think a lot of servicemen started smoking thanks to those generous tobacco companies. That’s how my dad got started too, when he was in the Navy.

K. Martinez, you’re right! Where are the animals in Frontierland? They don’t even have the live goats in the petting zoo at Big Thunder Ranch anymore. Craziness.

Melissa, yes, I think the Stagecoach looks like a lot of fun, though it was tippy and a low-capacity thing. As for rolling credits, how about some music from Dimitri Tiomkin, Elmer Bernstein, or Jerome Moross?

JG, I’m surprised that cartoon hasn’t been re-edited, the way so many Disney cartoons have. Pecos Bill no longer rolls his own. I’m sure that the Stage driver was an exception to the rule, being a rough and manly type.

Nanook, you were probably pretty young when the Stagecoach was running; if you’re like me, a LOT of things have become lost in the fog of time.

K. Martinez, I have STILL never gone of the Stage at Knott’s! Something tells me I’d better do it, it won’t be there forever.

The Disney Dudebro, yes, remember that Frontierland was only 2 years old at this point, having been orange and walnut groves before that. In a few years, the trees grew considerably.

Chuck, ah, the 70’s! It’s funny the way a style can be pinned to a certain era by virtue of its appearance.

Melissa said...

I've got to make it out to Knott's someday.

I had forgotten all about The New Adventures of Huck Finn!