After today, I think there are only four more scans from Mr. X's 1971 photos from the Magic Kingdom.
Both of today's images are from Main Street in the evening, and that means lights. Lots of lights. There's The Greenhouse; from what little info I can find, I believe it was akin to Disneyland's Flower Market, selling faux blossoms. It was removed in 1984 for Emporium expansion. Next door is the Harmony Barber Shop, it looks like there is at least one customer getting a "reverse mohawk".
I like the "running horse" weathervane silhouetted against the sky.
Let's go into the Emporium, I'm sure it's full of many wondrous collectibles. I am only interested in plush Winnie the Pooh dolls, though. Give me 100 of each! By 2019, they will be worth a bundle, just like my Beanie Babies and pogs.
Major-
ReplyDelete'Pogs' - good one, Major-! I'm surprised Disney hasn't tried to revive them.
Who doesn't LOVE the Magic Kingdom at night?! And, it's "Christmas in July!" Thank you, Mr. X and Major!
ReplyDeleteSue
Seeing those flowers inside the shop, is now making me wonder something about Disneyland's Flower Market. Were all of those flowers left outside all the time? Or were they brought inside or maybe taken in the back, when the park closed? It's hard to imagine them having to set that up every morning, but then technically, it would be "merchandise" that they were just leaving out in the street.
ReplyDeleteYep this was before they filled in the side streets to create a more satisfying mall experience! I remember that after they did that, the illusion that there were different buildings really suffered. But who cares? We have plush and little useless vinyl figures to push, by golly! As Walt always said, "Take all their money and they'll keep coming back!" ...or...something...
ReplyDeleteYeah, isn't is amazing how foot traffic gets congested when you fill up the walkways that were designed with the park? (Lookin' at you, too, Adventureland.)
ReplyDeleteThese pictures really capture the atmosphere of Main Street after dark. I can practically smell it.
Nanook, I only recently learned that pogs were originally a think from Hawaii, for Pineapple/Orange/Guava juice!
ReplyDeleteLou and Sue, after all of the stories I’ve heard about Florida’s heat and humidity, I think I would love WDW at night.
TokyoMagic!, I would assume that all of the merch would be taken inside, or backstage, or something, so that the street could be vacuumed or scrubbed or whatever they did to clean it. But it does sound like a lot of work. I wondered about the “One of a Kind Shop” merchandise too, did they have to drag all of that stuff in and out every day?
stu29573, plush characters, who knew they would become so reviled by fans? I get it, they’re cute, and soft, and small children love them, but there have been so many examples of neat, creative kinds of merchandise. Stuffed animals are just boring!
Melissa, yes, now that you mention it, they’ve filled in areas that were intended to absorb some of the crowds that will now be forced out into the main avenues, making them more crowded. D’oh!
ALways struck by how tall the WDW buildings are in comparison to DL.
ReplyDeleteMajor, POG is the best thing ever. First thing on arrival in Hawaii, I head to the ABC Store for a cold bottle of POG. For some reason, I cannot find it on the mainland. I guess that's ok, because when I drink it, I know I have to be in Hawaii. Chug some rum into it for a simple mai-tai.
@Melissa, how does WDW Main Street smell? It must be a distinctive aroma? I hope it's a good smell.
JG
Stuffed animals are LAME. Disney needs to find a cost-effective way to give kids their own mini-Audio-Animatronics. They sort of did it with those "banshees" that are all the rage over in Animal Kingdom's Avatar area, but I for one would love to have a little Abraham Lincoln sit on my shoulder and recite random lines of speeches to strangers. ;)
ReplyDeleteI guess the smell is kind of a combination of humidity in the air,hot pavement cooling, popcorn, candy, and hot dogs?
ReplyDelete@Melissa, that sounds like it smells just fine.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was an interesting comment since I don't recall any particular smells with Disneyland, unless it might be train exhaust going into the Grand Canyon Diorama.
JG
@Andrew, more likely you will get a little Johnny Depp singing pirate songs. Which could be cool.
ReplyDeleteJG
@ JG & Andrew-
ReplyDeleteHow's about Honest Abe singing pirate songs, just to change things-up-??!!
@ JG & Melissa-
I'm all about the smells. The ones outdoors are often a bit harder to pin-down, but Melissa's description seems spot-on, when thinking of Main Street U.S.A. It's the indoor attractions that have the wonderful aromas, from the dark rides to the attractions with water, and/or water features; or the wonderful caves on TSI, etc.
Ah! The barber shop in its original location. Probably my second-most-memorable haircut ever.
ReplyDeleteI remember walking in Waikiki one evening and thinking "this place smells like Adventureland."
Personally, I'd like a little animatronic Walt to sit on my shoulder and spout random Marty Sklar quotes.
JG, you just jogged my memory - regarding your not recalling any "particular smells with Disneyland" . . .
ReplyDeleteI was recently asking my dad (Lou, 90) questions about his past trips to Disneyland - especially asking what he remembered and liked, when he went for the first time in 1956. One of the things he mentioned was that Disneyland "smelled so pretty." He recalled that you could smell oranges throughout the park. I know some orange trees were IN the park, but he said you could smell the orange groves that were outside the park. How pleasant! (Thank goodness, Walt didn't build next to a pig farm.)
I also recall, when we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel garden apartments in the 60's, that the patios outside of the individual rooms smelled heavenly - as there were orange trees and flowers, all around, that scented the air beautifully! To this day, I sometimes smell that same flower scent in the air - and am instantly brought back to 1960's-era Disneyland. It was a tube-rose-sort-of scent - but I really don't know my "California flowers," being from the midwest.
Though I'm not a big perfume user, the last time I was at Disneyland (two years ago), I stopped in the perfume shop in NOS and purchased a bottle. I purposely bought a new scent that would remind me of my trip to NOS/Disneyland, every time I use it.
Scent really does play a huge part in memories!
Sue
Hahahaha! - Chuck, regarding your Waikiki experience. On our "first and only" trip to Hawaii, one evening while eating at an outdoor restaurant with lush greenery all around and lit tiki torches - for a couple moments I thought I WAS in Disneyland, forgetting we were in Hawaii. (As a kid, our family occasionally ate at the Tahitian Terrace. This just goes to show you that Walt and his group really knew how to submerse people in the total experience.)
ReplyDeleteSue
JG, of course the sheer size of the Magic Kingdom was one of the points of the place, but it really does feel strange to those of us used to the smaller scale of Disneyland. Folks from Florida seem positively shocked at how small the Anaheim park is! I think I’ve seen POG juice at a local Asian market, but have never bought it. It sounds delicious though.
ReplyDeletePenna. Andrew, stuffed animals might be lame, but I’ll bet Disney has made billions on them over the years. I am unfamiliar with te Animal Kingdom “banshees”, I’ll have to look those up. I wonder if Disney ever had any Lincoln merch besides postcards and records?
Melissa, the only thing I think of regarding Disneyland’s Main Street smells is popcorn, and the candy smells pumped out into the street from the Candy Palace!
JG, for sure, that train exhaust smell is very distinctive!
JG, I don’t think we have to worry about Johnny Depp merch, with all of his most recent escapades.
Nanook, I want to hear Abe singing New Wave hits from the 80’s. I don’t care if it doesn’t make any sense! Didn’t an animatronic Lincoln rap on “The Simpsons”?
Chuck, did YOU get the “reverse mohawk” too?? Just like Peter Gabriel! Gosh, I always imagined Waikiki as smelling like fragrant tropical flowers, and “beach” smells. And car exhaust, these days? Marty Sklar seemed like a lovely person, but man, some of his “Walt quotes” are cringe-worthy.
Lou and Sue, I’m not sure there are any orange trees left in the park, though you can see some in old photos, fairly often. I’ve always assumed that they were survivors of the original orange groves from where Disneyland was carved. Aerial photos show that there were still farms (or groves) pretty close to the park, even into the mid-1960’s. For me, when I smell orange blossoms (one of the best smells in the world!), I’m always transported back to my grandma and grandpa’s home.
Lou and Sue, I would be disappointed if a luau didn’t make me think of the Enchanted Tiki Room! Right now I want to hear the Hawaiian War Chant.