Fantasyland, August 1967
Here are two more beautiful, colorful photos from Fantasyland, 1967. They're from Fun Dad, so you know that they are special.
I don't know if Fun Dad was on a roll, or if it was a combination of a sunny summer day along with whatever version of Kodachrome was being sold at that time, but these look especially vibrant and clear. There's not much I can add to this image that you don't already know; we've got the Skyway going back and forth through the Matterhorn, with the "Fan 2" food service tent to our left.
Talk about eye candy; those rich hues really pop - which makes sense; August of '67 was smack-dab in the middle of the Summer of Love. Hippies were flocking to San Francisco, but based on the short hair and neat and tidy clothing, the counter culture hadn't really hit the mainstream yet.
The Fun Dad Collection is down to just over a dozen photos!
12 comments:
Major-
Kodachrome & Disneyland in August 1967, seems to be a winning combination. And with Fun Dad® 'at the controls', the "picture" is complete.
Thanks, Major - and Fun Dad® - wherever you may be.
I see another "Bubble" drink dispenser inside Fan 2. Whatever it contains, appears to be something other than a punch. Perhaps it's lemonade or maybe it's Horchata?
I believe those people under the Skyway support tower are waiting to go on "a hilarious ride through old London".
Did the counter culture ever happen behind the orange curtain? I highly doubt it.
Nice pics today. Thanks, Major.
Looking right up the Matterhorn's nose! Fun fact: It had a nose on the other side too! (Ok, that was fairly obvious, but something I never really thought about before). Great shots today!
Lots of cabins on the cable - Looks like the max of 42 on a busy day.
Nanook, I wonder how often Kodak monkeyed with the emulsion for Kodachrome slides? There are examples that tended to turn blue, or yellow, while others produced amazingly vivid colors throughout the spectrum. I guess they were always trying to improve it to some degree.
TokyoMagic!, lemonade seems like a good guess… I’m not sure Disneyland ever served horchata, unless it was in Casa de Fritos or a related restaurant. Who knows though, maybe I’d be surprised!
K. Martinez, I would bet money that there was at least some hippies and radicals in Orange County! Perhaps not as many as nearby L.A., though. I lived in Huntington Beach in the early 70s and saw some freaky people around town.
Stuart Powley, ever since high school biology (dissecting those frogs), I have known that many creatures have two kidneys, two lungs, two hearts, and two noses, and basically two of everything. It’s just science!
Anon, now I know that the max load of gondolas on the Skyway was 42! Thanks.
Major...when I visit HB these days (grew up in Costa Mesa 60s-70s) I can tell you the freaky people are still there...some of them are our age too. And that's REALLY freaky! KS
42 is the answer to everything. I learned that in school too. 1967 was a great time to be in Disneyland. Interesting to see the bright colors that don't feel jarring like the recent color schemes at the park. Color design is an underappreciated art.
Major, these are amazing, great photos with the "you-are-there" feeling. I can almost hear the sounds and smell the popcorn. Sad to hear we are nearing the end of the Fun Family productions.
As to the contents of the drinks dispenser, my bet is lemonade. Horchata is a trifle exotic, even for mid-60's southern CA. Even now, it isn't that common in restaurants around here, but I see it occasionally in the Central Valley.
JG
Major-
One would think with Kodachrome existing for so many years (1935-2009), some sort of tweaking of the color 'look' took place, but you never know. Kodachrome II was introduced in 1961, and Kodachrome-X in 1974, both replaced by Kodachrome 25 & Kodachrome 64 (which were the ASA speeds of Kodachrome II & Kodachrome-X, respectively). Originally it had an ASA speed of 10... Yikes-! Talk about slow. But, then again - when the image was sharp - OMG-!! Although speaking of 'slow', it was purported in the early days of Technicolor, using what is referred to as Technicolor System #4 (3-Strip Camera/Dye-transfer print), the ASA speed was somewhere around 5. No wonder the process required so much light-!
Technicolor was always dinking-around with their dye transfer process, and changed the dyes used, along with the formulation of the mordant several times throughout their history. (The mordant was used to limit the "spread" of the color dyes, thus improving the sharpness of the image) - something the Technicolor process sorely lacked, in spite of the overall beauty of the process.
Really great color in these scans. I remember '67 as a transition time. The peace and love movement hadn't fully caught on. Music of the time reflected that, with The Monkees on one end and Cream on the other. But in the house of mouse, you could escape all of that and bond with your brothers and sisters over a ride on the Matterhorn. Groovy. In other words, Disneyland was a constant in a fast changing society. Far out and solid and right on. Thanks to Major for sharing all these outa sight scans.
I grew up with so called "freaky" people, so I'm sure I would've felt fine in Huntington Beach. I remember my straight-laced cousins used to come to Santa Cruz and point out all the "freaky" people they saw. I guess I never considered them to be freaks, but just nonconformists who didn't tow the social line.
KS, yes, I’m sure Huntington Beach has its share of weirdos! When I was a kid I loved living there, so close to the beach. And we could climb the bleachers at Edison High School to see Disneyland’s fireworks, way way in the distance.
JG, I see that you know the answer to the Ultimate Question! Now all we need to figure out is what the question is. And I agree, color design is an underappreciated art - I don’t want to be mean to whoever is doing that job at Disneyland, but something is definitely lacking. When Main Street starts feeling like a Six Flags park, you know they are in trouble. As for horchata, I like it, but I know for certain that many eateries at Disneyland sold lemonade.
Nanook, I don’t know anything about the history of Kodachrome, but I always was under the impression that it was continually modified. Perhaps I am mistaken. That ASA of 10 explains why so many of my vintage slides are so dark. But you are so right, when conditions were right, there was just nothing like Kodachrome. I had no idea that the old 3-strip Technicolor was ASA 5. I think I’ve read that some movie stars would experience something called “Klieg eye”.
Jonathan, it’s funny, it was probably around 1968 or 1969 or so when I suddenly became aware of day-glo colors. I was perhaps 7 when I saw a girl in a day-glo chartreuse bikini, and I still remember her to this day. “Hey, girls aren’t so yucky after all!”. I also recall my family going to visit my mom’s cousin in San Francisco and seeing weird art (possibly posters for psychedelic rock shows).
K. Martinez, perhaps my life as a navy kid (moving a lot) made me kind of sheltered in a way. As I got older I definitely felt more of a kinship with the punks and weirdos in L.A. I liked that they were nonconformists who wanted something new and different in their lives.
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