Tuesday, June 26, 2018

In the Parking Lot, July 1972

Everyone loves the old Disneyland parking lot! Fun Mom and her friend are just about to hop on to a convenient tram on this overcast July (probably June, in actuality) day. We can enjoy such details as the Disneyland Hotel, a classy station wagon or two, and more high tension power lines than you can shake a stick at. 


EXTRA! K. Martinez and TokyoMagic both commented on the flyer in the hand of the lady to the right. I happen to have that one! Here's a scan of it:


Even though we are way out in section "R" we can see a few of the taller landmarks from inside the park. The cupola of City Hall, Main Street Station, and (of course) the Matterhorn all entice us toward the ticket booths. I wonder if sounds such as the train whistle or the Monorail's air horn could make it this far?


25 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

Two big thumbs-up for Fun Mom's sun glasses. Hubba-hubba-!

Thanks, Major.

Melissa said...

R: You R Here

Melissa said...

It bugged me how familiar the tram conductor seemed, then I remembered this post from a few years back, in which a young woman with similar hair modeled a similar costume.

K. Martinez said...

June 17, 1972 was the debut of the Main Street Electrical Parade. Could that be a MSEP flyer in the women's hand? It sure looks like it.

Thanks, Major.

TokyoMagic! said...

Is the lady next to Fun Mom holding one of those "3 Ways To Enjoy Disneyland" flyers that they would hand out at the parking lot toll booth? It almost looks like it has something Haunted Mansion related on it.

TokyoMagic! said...

Ken, the MSEP....that's it! I fell asleep in front of my computer screen before finishing my comment. If I had refreshed the screen, I would have seen your comment!

Chuck said...

Major, not sure about the train whistle this far out, although it's probable. I know you could hear the Mark Twain whistle and bell in the Vacationland campground.

Stefano said...

Major, Chuck, early one morning before the park's opening, I heard the elephants of the Sacred Bathing Pool out in the parking lot, it was probably section "S". People using the picnic area must have got an earful of Jungle Cruise sounds. Late one summer night, after the official closing hour as visitors headed back to Main Street, by some acoustical freak the tick-tock of the Small World clock was audible in New Orleans Square.

JC Shannon said...

You gotta hand it to Fun Dad. He documented their trips all the way out to the family "Funmobile". I had forgotten how massive the parking lot was. Riding the Tram and anticipating the day to come was a big part of being a kid at Disneyland. Thanks Major, for the memory jolt.

Melissa said...

My first trip to Walt Disney World in 1983. Back then, the Magic Kingdom parking lots were named for the Seven Dwarfs. We were riding the tram back to our car at the end of the day, and there was an older couple across from us who weren't having a very good time. All the way back, the wife was complaining about every little thing that happened during the day, chiding the husband for a bunch of petty little stuff, and just generally being a grouch.
She finally said, “Now we have to spend an hour getting back to the car, and we’ll probably have to look for it all night. Did you even remember to notice which lot… “
“GRUMPY 116,” he cut in, in a pointed manner.
They were quiet the rest of the way, while we tried not to giggle.

JC Shannon said...

Mellissa, poetic justice, love it. The Disney stars aligned to provide the poor guy the last word.

Anonymous said...

Major, I can hear the monorail air horn just looking at these pictures.

Amazing that you have the brochure from that time. The wood-grain station wagon in the first pic looks like the model we had, but ours had no wood grain.

Thufer would have loved these. They really take me back, just awesome.

Thank you.

JG

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I’m sure Fun Mom got those glasses as a gift from Jackie O.

Melissa, WHO R U? (Alice in Wonderland reference)

Melissa II, those conductors were grown in vats beneath the Matterhorn.

K. Martinez, please see the addendum to today’s post!

TokyoMagic!, you should also see the addendum! I have over 30 different varieties of those “Two Wonderful Ways” fliers.

TokyoMagic!, how can you fall asleep with this exciting blog to stimulate you?

Chuck, I would be sure to call the police to complain about the noise!

Stefano, wow, that would be cool to hear those sounds, especially on a quiet morning. I can understand the trumpeting elephant sounds carrying, but the tick tock clock… that is amazing.

Jonathan, yes, I have the feeling that Fun Dad was the person who herded the whole family into the car to go to Disneyland. He’s my kind of guy!

Melissa, ha ha, I have been on dates like that! One fairly recently, now that I ruminate. Fortunately not at Disneyland. Good for the old fellow for being able to shut the whining right down!

Jonathan, that guy has been living with the woman for a long time, I am sure he has learned that she would expect him to forget the parking area, and things like that!

JG, I can still remember the thrill of seeing the Disneyland RR or the Monorail (or both) from the parking lot. So great! Our second Buick station wagon was sort of a frosty olive green with wood-grain panels.

Patrick Devlin said...

I onlyl remember the parking lot sections as being named for characters, not letters. When was the change, or which was earlier?

K. Martinez said...

Major, I knew it! The flyer looked like it had Mickey's MSEP Drum unit on it and the year 1972 triggered it for me.

Big Bands and "Fantasy in the Sky" Fireworks! Those were the days. Thanks for posting a pic of it, Major.

Alonzo P Hawk said...

If I said it once I said it a dozen times. They put in the VR ride that can program in Nature's Wonderland, COP, Peoplemover, ATIS "and" the old parking lot tram ride I'll pay the $135 to get in. Just put the VR ride as far from the StarWars land crowd as you can get.

JC Shannon said...

Major Pepperidge should change his name to Major Magic. Just mention a Disneyland pamphlet and Abra Cadabra it's posted! Bravo!

TokyoMagic! said...

Major, I assure you that falling asleep in front of the computer screen has nothing to do with your blog. It has more to do with staying up way past my bedtime. Thanks for posting that flyer. "During The Summer, Disneyland Is Open Every Day From 8 AM to 1 AM" I remember those days when the park was open that late!

TokyoMagic! said...

"Rock Recording Stars!" I want to know who. Could they mean The Mike Curb Congregation and Papa Doo Run Run?

TokyoMagic! said...

Patrick, that is a good question. The characters on the signs came later, but if I'm not mistaken, even before the characters were put on the signs, I think they still assigned each section a character name on the parking lot map, or maybe it was only mentioned on the tram when they would pick you up or drop you off...."We are now stopping in Section F, for Flower."

Anonymous said...

Seeing the parking lot again, and reading some of the folks above about hearing the sounds of the Park after hours brings back the memories. So much fun even before reaching the Main Gate...and only 50 cents for parking brings a smile to my face today. Why do those cars look so old? Guess I need to look into the mirror. KS

Chuck said...

By the time I was driving there myself in the early-to-mid '90s, there was only one car exit from the parking lot in use, the one next to Lot G on the map. I do remember noting the other gates, though, and wondering if they had ever been used or if they were there "just in case." Any idea as to when they narrowed the exits to one?

Note the old U-Haul car-top carrier in the second photo. It's just under the Monorail beam to the right of the Matterhorn. I wouldn't have noticed it if my wife hadn't shown me a vintage photo of one earlier today.

Major Pepperidge said...

Patrick Devlin, I know that when I was a kid they would say, “You are parked in section ‘B’ - that’s ‘B’ like ‘Balloo’”. Or something to that effect.

K. Martinez, I have several fliers with essentially that same MSEP graphic on them - I suppose I’ll get around to scanning them one of these days!

Alonzo, Amen! Something tells me we won’t see that kind of advanced tech for a long time, but someday it could happen.

Jonathan, I don’t know about “magic”… maybe “manic”?! Only a crazy person would have over 30 different versions of those fliers!

TokyoMagic!, I was kidding, as you probably knew. You can fall asleep in front of GDB any time you want! And yes, it seemed like the park was always open until 1 AM when I was a kid. Now it’s, what, only 11 o’clock? Criminal.

TokyoMagic!, I have a flyer that shows the Association was performing at Disneyland, they actually had some radio hits! And I believe that some other well known bands occasionally showed up.

KS, I can’t think of any other parking lot that gets as much love as the old Disneyland lot. And yeah, only 50 cents. Now they must make half a million a day just in parking fees (if not more).

Chuck, as usual, I will have to rely on the knowledge of the GDB readers to answer you queries. I’ll bet the especially crazy summer days found the lot pretty darn full. Good eye on the U-Haul car carrier, I would have never spotted it.

Anonymous said...

Major, back in 1969 when I started the Park operated til midnight during the peak times. Then it moved to 1 AM in 1970. KS

Melissa said...

Oh, man, we had all the Mike Curb Congregation's 8-tracks. Now I'm going to have "The Man Who Never Returned* stuck in my head.