Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Fantasyland, 1959

Who loves vintage Fantasyland? Well, you are in luck if you raised your hand. K. Martinez, please spit out your gum!

Here's a hazy view of Fantasyland, on an amazingly sleepy day at the park. Monstro is chomping away at those canal boats. They should have made it so that his jaws actually opened and closed for each boat, using thousands of pounds of force. Talk about exciting! I love the little lighthouse ticket booth (by now the circular porthole window has been added). In the distance is the Motor Boat Cruise, the Monorail track, and some of the Fantasyland Autopia.


The Kodak film stock adds to the vintage appearance, somehow accenting anything that is turquoise in hue. Timothy (from Dumbo) waves his lash angrily at a passing Skyway bucket. Try decaf, Timothy. 


9 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

Monstro appears to be appended to the rock formation behind him. And please don't forget The Midget Autopia - my favorite - seen just beyond the white, scalloped fencing around the exit from Storybook Land.

Thanks, Major.

Melissa said...

Another unusual angle on the Prince of Whales. And more sado-mouseochism from Tiny Tim.

Tom said...

There's something about the misty, desaturated appearance that makes the first image seem so ancient, so vastly distant from the present day Disneyland. So much vintage goodness here, from the pirate ship to the simple landscaping to the lack of railings everywhere (e.g., you could climb all over those rocks by Monstro. What's to hold a kid back?).

Patrick Devlin said...

That rockwork that Monstro has so rashly (Yeah, I bet there's a rash)tried to crash through is now covered with hedge-like foliage, so that it looks like he has unwisely tried to barge through the neighbor's landscaping. If it was still there today I'd want a basketball for each guest on the Midget Autopia so they could take a shot at the hoop on over the garage door at the end. Guest service!

Pretty pictures.



JC Shannon said...

I love the Monstro image, so much going on here. Fantasyland as it was originally planned. The Dumbo pic is so colorful, and the original buckets on the Skyway are great fun. Everything is beautiful on this happy day. Thanks Major for the great scans.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to agree with Tom here. The overall emptiness of the park within these pictures, along with the older looking scenery and landscape, certainly makes this park contrast with the modern version, almost as if the two are completely separate entities. It's...eerie to say the least.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, when I watched “Pinocchio” for it’s 1984 theatrical release, I was surprised to see Monstro crash through a wall of rocks in an attempt to get Pinoke. “Hey, it’s just like at Disneyland” I shoulted over and over and over. And over. Until I was carried out of the theater in a straightjacket.

Melissa, your humor needs a bigger forum than this blog! (But keep doing it here too).

Tom, yes, these do have a misty, dreamy quality. I assume it’s the film stock that gives it that appearance. I have seen a few photos of kids climbing on those rocks, and one with a kid actually touching the whale!

Patrick Devlin, the hedge is pretty, but if you think about it, it really is dumb. That’s the kind of detail that they don’t consider anymore, or so it seems. I love your basketball idea!

Jonathan, these classic views are the reason I started collecting vintage Disneyland images; I’m glad you like them too.

The Magic Ears Dudebro, I think it’s safe to say that the park we see in these photos is QUITE different from the one that we can visit today. For better or worse….

steve2wdw said...

I love the simplicity of the queue for the Storybook Land Canal Boats in the first photo. It seems so organic. I too, love the original buckets of the Von Roll....also very organic! Awesome photos....as always!

Melissa said...

And if you zoom in, you can see (albeit fuzzily) the cute Canal Boat CM costumes, which are one of my favorites.