Very Merry Christmas Parade, Part 3
Here is PART 3 in a series of photos from our friends Irene, Bruce, and James, featuring a look at Disneyland's "Very Merry Christmas Parade". Date unknown. But possibly from the late 1970's?
The toy train that we saw at the end of last weeks post seems to have some balloon leakage. It happens to everyone, nothing to be ashamed of. Those balloons are going straight to the Pacific Ocean, where they will be eaten by whales and sea turtles. Yum!
J. Worthington Foulfellow (or "Honest John") is spreading some Christmas cheer, but is also secretly looking for children to turn into donkeys. It's a living! I always like seeing adults in the crowd (like the ones to the right) who seem to be enjoying the parade as much as the children.
I'm sure I have the order of these photos all jumbled up, but that's how we do things here at Gorilla HQ. It keeps the competition guessing! A large drum festooned with a giant wreath, some garlands, and some big candles wishes us a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The sign coming up is for "Dumbo's Circus", which I believe was its own separate parade in Florida a few years earlier.
It's neat to see a real live tiger, but I can't help feeling a little sad for this fellow. I hope he was treated with a little love and kindness when he wasn't in that cage. I wonder if he was sedated at all, just in case anybody decided to stick their hand through the bars?
Oh boy, trained seals! The lovely lady has a stack of rings and balls, which happen to be the things that seals love most of all (after sardines, of course). The penguins from "Mary Poppins" are helping out, taking a nibble of sardine for themselves once in a while. In the background, a bathtub clown terrorizes innocent people.
These are NAUTICAL clowns, the most feared of all professional jesters. One is riding a genuine 200 year-old Galapagos tortoise, while another has a pelican sidekick.
More clowns! Ruuuuuunnnnnn! You know, each clown designs his appearance in order to be unique. Some also sharpen their teeth with a rusty file, the better to tear off large chunks of flesh.
The float behind the clowns has some jugglers aboard. I don't want to brag, but I can juggle four tennis balls at once.
Thanks to Irene, Bruce, and James for these wonderful Christmas parade photos!
9 comments:
I also feel sorry for that tiger in the cage! Maybe it was just the animatronic tiger from the Jungle Cruise, which was transferred temporarily to parade duty. I'll just keep telling myself that, anyway.
Clowns are scary. Always. Notice how there is a shower head above that bathtub clown, with fake water "spraying" out. I hope there was a hidden speaker inside the bathtub, blasting the Psycho theme music!
Major-
I'm gonna just assume the 'slide bolt' latch clearly visible on the tiger's cage is not the only locking device keeping that door locked-! I don't know...
Thanks to the Dream Team.
What says Christmas more than a circus with a tiger and clowns??
I'll tell you what Andrew. Goose-stepping show girls, that's what!
And replica Osmond Bros.
That fan-headed clown in the last pic reminds me of a ersatz Hopi Katchina. A personally frightening thing. Katchinas are usually a wonderful thing, but I had a bad dream once when I was a kid.
Never thought a Disneyland parade could be described as Felliniesque, but here it is.
Major, on the subject of tame/sedated big cats, Magic Mountain in its early years had a well-maned lion, also named Major, that visitors apparently could pet. There is a picture of a towheaded kid about five happily sitting on Major's back, with the feline looking relaxed and tolerant. In the 80s I remember a zoo area at MM with caged lions; free- roaming domestic cats were gathered around in the background, impressed by the size their species could attain.
Man, that tiger sure would not fly today! Kind of blows my mind.
I so remember the days as a young teen sitting on the curb and claiming a spot for the parade. My Mom would be with me and I would leave her to guard our place while I went off and did things. I would come back and let her go (probably to the bathroom) but mostly she did the place holding. What a patient woman she was!
So interesting to see how the Christmas parade has evolved over the years.
More fun parade pictures! Thanks Major and The Dream Team!
If it wasn't for the one picture with both the Merry Christmas - Happy New Year and Dumbo's Circus "banners," I would've thought that the Major was also juggling parades. It is sort-of crazy that Disney combined the two.
It's interesting how clowns went from lovable and fun - to creepy and scary, in "our" generation. You don't see cute clowns on anything anymore.
Sue
Thanks Major and Dream Team! I also see a beard on that seal trainer. Huh? Obviously the Disney Grooming Standards did not apply to someone so talented to have trained marine life to juggle and balance things on their noses. I seriously wonder how he got past those standards... or if they did not apply them to Entertainment in the late 70's.
Always your pal,
Amazon Belle
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