Lame Stuff
Today's photos may induce drowsiness; please do not operate heavy machinery while viewing them.
Hey, where the heck are we? I could have sworn that we were just on Interstate 5, and now we're in the middle of a vast wilderness, with mountain lions, meese, and mule deer (a hideous hybrid with the body of a mule and the head of a deer). This is actually kind of an interesting view looking north along the Rivers of America; the Mark Twain is just scooting past the Friendly Indian Village. That end of the river has been forever changed due to the "Star Wars Land" addition coming in a year or two.
The Mad Tea Party has moved from its original location, but I am glad that it is still in Fantasyland, adding color and frantic movement - not to mention that "calliope" music, on endless repeat (just talking about it is going to make it run through my head for the next half hour). This photo is not the greatest, but it makes me smile, because I loved the old Fantasyland.
19 comments:
Oh, man! The river is shining like blue glass, and the steamboat looks lije an elegant building peeking through the trees. Just lovely.
Just look at that flimsy strap across the openings of the Tea Cups. If the Mad Tea Party turntable made a sudden stop, that little girl on the far left could go flying right under that strap. I think they need to add a padded door to each Tea Cup, or a seat belt for each rider.....or both!
Maybe for "phase two" of Star Wars Land, management will get rid of what's left of that stagnant old river and that dirty old Tom Sawyer Island, and give us an attraction based on 1978's "Star Wars Holiday Special." A "meet 'n greet" with Lumpy and Diahann Carroll would be nice.
They should change the Mad Tea party into Elsa's Frozen Fractals with "Let it Go" as the song playing on endless repeat. We need more Frozen! Thanks, Major.
TokyoMagic!, I sure hope what you are saying is true about the Star Wars Holiday Special replacing TSI & ROA because Star Wars rules the Galaxy! But it has to have Bea Arthur or I'm not biting.
Major-
Isn't that angle of the ROA looking around south-southeast, with the M T heading around north-? But you can't go by me, though, 'cause I could'a sworn a spied a Wookie poking his head out of a teepee. (As if-!)
@ TM!-
All your good advice has come a bit too late - as you can clearly see that poor fella with his turned-up jacket collar has already lost both his arms to extreme centrifugal forces. Oh, the shame.
Thanks, Major.
I thought Nanook was say off base with his perceived angle of view, but after close inspection I have to agree. Logic is a funny thing, is it not? And that's funny-peculiar, not funny-ha-ha mind you. That first one is certainly a paradigm to which the views in Frontierland should aspire: nothing man-made in site, save the white jewel of a steam-boat, perched in a verdant setting of nature's own making. Sigh.
I wonder if anyone ever tried making out in a teacup.
That second picture makes you feel like you are really there, about to share your lunch with everyone.
Not sure I agree with you guys on the idea that the first photo was taken to the south, with the visitor-accessible Indian Village in the background. It's too overgrown to be the southern end of the island, which would have been criss-crossed with well worn trails down to the water's edge by 1959. Spyglass Hill should also be visible if we're looking south.
If you blow up that white blob on the extreme left of the image, it resolves into a bison skull on a post. Compare its position to the clumps of vegetation and rocks in the water in this photo and I think today's picture just misses including the Indian Burial Ground. I found another photo that shows the area including the moose and that wooden, box-looking thing on the corner of the island, but unfortunately the slide was scanned backwards so it can be a bit disorienting if you aren't expecting it.
I'd like to change my mind again after further review. That's a man's prerogative, ain't it?
Over the prow and foredeck of the Twain one can see the tops of teepees that I think belong to the friendly Indian village, the same village that's there today. So my final answer, Regis, is that the MT is just about at the farthest reaches of the ROA, and turning to make for her home port. That's it...unless I change my mind again.
Isn't every Indian Village just around the river bend?
Major, that teacup pic has just the right "You Are There" feeling to it. Not enough to be really dizzy or nauseated, but enough to remember what it's like.
Bonus inclusions of Cinderella's castle and the long-lamented Skyway tower. Oh to be young again in Fantasyland.
I'm going with your take on the first picture, Major. The teepees are the friendly village, and MT is making the turn to come back to port. I'm basing this on the moose (meese, moos-i) in the water to the left. These mannequin moose (mooseiquins) have occupied this location since the River began, and there are no corresponding figures in the location this would be if the viewpoint were reversed. Also, the moose are in proximity to the hostile Indian burial ground, whose beginnings we can just see to the extreme left, as Chuck so adroitly points out.
I'm most puzzled as to the vantage point from which the photo was taken. It seems to be elevated above the River, but too close to MT to be from the Columbia. Is it possible this was taken from a pack mule on the trail above the Mine Train track? Or from the train itself? I think it's too far out over the water to be taken from one of the bridges on TSI.
Puzzles. I love them.
JG
Taking a second look at the Mark Twain pic, I am now wondering where it was taken from (is that a dangling participle?). It appears to have been shot from an elevated point. Could it have been taken from the Columbia? Did the two big boats ever travel that close together? Or could it have been taken from the upper level of Fort Wilderness?
And I've changed my mind about wanting a Star Wars Land expansion taking over what's left of the river and the island, even though Ken's idea of a meet 'n greet with Bea Arthur sounds like a heavenly experience. I think that land would be better suited for a "20th Century Fox Land," with an "Aliens" meet 'n greet featuring Sigourney Weaver, an Alien queen and a "chest-burster" baby.
I see I took too long composing my last comment. JG was already questioning the location of the photographer.
And to further clarify or perhaps cloud the view it would seem that the mild promontory on the right hand side is the future location of Cascade Peak. Anything firm on the dates of these slides, Major?
I look forward to observations and corrections guys. I'd also take the vantage point as on board Columbia since the Twain is only at this point about halfway around the trip. That would make sense if Columbia was just pulling into the pier to unload. I'm also amenable to corrections,of course.
Melissa, your comment reminds me of when I read an article about stereo slides, and they compared the water in Disneyland photos to Jello. It might have been in “The E-Ticket” magazine. Anyway, I can’t look at Disneyland water without thinking of Jello.
TokyoMagic!, originally that flimsy strap was made of piano wire, but it cut several dozen guests in half like ripe cheeses. They managed to cover it up, but I have the inside scoop. And I agree, get rid of that stupid river! It would be worth it if I can meet and greet with Bea Arthur and Art Carney. Diahann Carroll, she was way to classy, how did she wind up in that awful holiday special?
K. Martinez, it’s so funny, I feel like I’m the only person on the planet who does NOT particularly like “Let it Go”. It does nothing for me. And yet… it was the most popular damn song. I liked the songs in “Tangled” way better, as a rule. And I see that you are a man of taste and distinction, since you also love Bea Arthur.
Nanook, er um, I guess I am really confused. It the Friendly Indian Village is next to the Mark Twain, doesn’t that mean that we are looking toward the northern end of the river?
Patrick Devlin, E tu, Brute? ;-)
Melissa, I hope it wasn’t somebody with braces. Double ouch.
Chuck, once again you have proven yourself to be a scholar and a gentleman! And a pretty good dancer too. I feel like your conclusions are similar to my own, but maybe this will turn into a terrible war of words. In a way, I love that back in those days the river was so “wild” that it was not 100% clear which direction one was facing.
Patrick Devlin, OH NO, that’s not how it works! There are no take-backsies!
Gnometrek, I see what you did there…!
JG, I am lucky to not suffer from motion sickness on the Teacups, though I know the ride is horrible for some. My old girlfriend used to get mad at me for spinning the cup too fast. “But you were laughing!” I would reply. “Well I wasn’t having fun!”. Sometimes you can’t win. “Mooseiquins”, I hope I remember that for future posts. I figured that the photo could have been taken from somewhere on Tom Sawyer Island, but it also might have been taken from the Columbia. You’re right though, it’s a very elevated perspective.
TokyoMagic!, it’s funny, until JG pointed out the elevated vantage point, I didn’t even notice. I think it was taken from the Monorail! Why not have the “Alien” burst out of Bea Arthur’s chest??
TokyoMagic!, just don’t let it happen again. There is a firm “three strikes” rule here on GDB!
Patrick Devlin, I should have mentioned that these are from 1959, so the Columbia was there, and Cascade Peak was still a year or so away. I thought that perhaps Tom’s Treehouse could have been the vantage point, but that doesn’t feel right to me upon further consideration.
Major-
I had tried to post a comment earlier, but for some reason it was landing in the great ether. But, I was gonna say, I'm beginning to agree with the others that this view may indeed be as you suggest. (However, I'm sticking to my guns about the Wookie sighting-!!)
Major, I totally agree with you about Tangled vs. Frozen. I don't hate Frozen, but I thought the songs in Tangled were far more memorable and enjoyable. That and Disney has this habit of taking something and running it into the ground. Frozen is one of those examples.
If Art Carney is there I say ditch the river. I'm just hoping he's either Twilight Zone Santa Claus or else Harry Coombes...
Major, I have concluded that the River photo was taken, as you surmised, from the monorail, during the filming of "40 Pounds of Trouble".
JK
Looking at old aerial photo (Thank you Daveland), I think it might have been taken from the Mine Train, whether before or after Cascade Peak construction, I'm not sure, but probably from the part of the track just beyond the waterfalls.
You can see the spot in this photo just across from the tip of the Davy Crockett canoe. >>
https://davelandblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/tpe-natures-wonderland.html
The train track turns inland into a tunnel before crossing the elevated trestle above Bear Country, but there is a vantage looking back toward the friendly village that could fit the angle of the photo.
This photo >> https://davelandblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/tpe-natures-wonderland.html
shows the train track was elevated above the river, not as much as one of the boat decks, but higher than the canoes.
Also, the Daveland post which accompanies the photo includes some great reminiscence narration from a Daveland reader, and lots more photos illustrating the whole ride.
So much fun.
JG
I'm embarrassed I didn't think of this earlier. The river photo vantage might be from the upper deck of one of the keelboats. Those rode pretty high in the water and could also be in the center of the channel, as this picture seems to be.
JG
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