Thursday, October 01, 2020

Adventureland From Lou and Sue

Here's a nice selection of photos from Adventureland, from May, 1984. The photos were taken by Lou Perry, and have been shared with us thanks to Sue B. 

We'll start with this view of the arched sign at the entrance to the land of adventure - it's made of bamboo and sticks and other found materials. My favorite detail is the glowering face on the carved mask dangling from the elephant tusks.


Looking to Lou's left, there are skulls on poles (it's a way of saying "welcome"), spears, and there is an assortment of wooden masks and shields. I've always wondered if the Imagineers purchased these items at Oceanic Arts in Whittier? Why make them when you can just buy them!


I've always especially liked those four elaborate shields on the upper part of the Enchanted Tiki Room building. There's something "Crumpish" about them to me, I wonder if they were designed by Rolly himself?


Here's a nice shot of the Tahitian Terrace, sponsored by Kikkoman at this point. Did they still have the dancers and the full show? In 8 years, it would be changed to Aladdin's Oasis, sadly.


It's nice to see that the Jungle Cruise launches still had their clean appearance and their striped canopies. They'd be weathered for "Indy" in 1993, and I know that this look made more sense, but... I still miss the boats that looked like they did as far back as 1955.


Everybody out! They started with 20 passengers, but somehow only 19 are disembarking. Oh well!


Thank you as always to Lou and Sue.

24 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

I certainly saw at least one dinner show at the Tahitian Terrace - in about 1963. I only wish I could remember more of the details.

More thanks to Lou and Sue for these images.

TokyoMagic! said...

The entrance to Tahitian Terrace and it's surrounding landscape certainly was lush and beautiful. And I like how the entrance to Adventureland looked here, before they put those fake rocks (which totally look fake) in front of the bathrooms.

Thank you, Lou and Sue!

By the way, I've been meaning to ask for a while now....does anyone know what happened to Stefano?

MIKE COZART said...

The tiki masks and shields that have adorned the AVENTURELAND entry came from Oceanic Arts and Benson Imports. Kikoman sponsored not only the Tahitian Terrace at Disneyland but also the Adventureland Veranda at Walt Disney World.

That mask/head that hangs from the Adventureland arch has changed many times of the years - but the one in today’s picture is the first time I’ve noticed that one - it looks like one of the native warriors in The Jungle Cruise. I miss the colorful stripped “1912” Namptha Launches , but when the Temple of the Forbidden Eye joined Disneyland , Adventureland got pushed from the “teens” to about 1938.

Andrew said...

That's a great shot of the Tahitian Terrace entrance, and what makes it even better is how it shows a "sunken" Jungle Cruise boat in the unload area. Thanks, Lou and Sue.

Anonymous said...

I think I would like the Tahitian Terrace now, as an adult, but I'm pretty sure as a kid, I would have been itching to run off to the rides. Still, I've always liked Adventureland best for some reason. I guess it's how it seems to really be some exotic far away place. (When I first typed that, spell check inserted "erotic" for "exotic." NOT what I meant!)

DrGoat said...

Our parents dragged us in there 1 or 2 times back in the 60s. I do remember the show with the Polynesian and fire dancers. It must have been pretty exciting, if I remember it at all. Like stu, we were all about running amok and going on the rides.
Noticed there's the two little tikis hanging from the beams in the upper Tiki room building pic. So cool.
Thanks Lou & Sue, great shots. You always capture the memory.
Thanks Major.

JC Shannon said...

As always, Lou's shots are great. The sign is reminding me that how much I want it over my front door. It is super cool, and besides, the guy in the tusks reminds me of my uncle Fred. Major, everyone knows you can get anything you want, at Alice's restaurant...in Whittier. Thanks Lou and Sue and Major.

"Lou and Sue" said...

DrGoat, thanks for pointing out the little tikis...I didn't notice them, at first. Those must be like the ones Mike has in his guest bathroom, that he mentioned recently. (Mike, you still owe us a bathroom picture!)

The Tahitian Terrace was wonderful - I enjoyed it, even as a kid. And, yes, as adults we would all enjoy it more, I'm sure!

Andrew, speaking of that JC boat, by the Tahitian Terrace entrance, I wonder if any past skippers can identify that skipper from the view we have.

Stu, I noticed with spellcheck that it tries to revert to words you commonly use (have used a lot in the past). ;)

Thank you Major, and everyone for your nice comments! I would love to step back in time and meet all of you for lunch at the Tahitian Terrace, today! My treat.

Sue

zach said...

Fun pics today, thank you Lou and Sue.

Some of my most vivid memories of early DL is Adventureland's Jungle Cruise. The animals looked very realistic to this 50s little boy. I look forward to visiting the new terrace, sipping a Dole whip, watching the boats go by. Too bad there's no rum available.

I hear Disney is in negotiations for the swearing parrots as a new Adventure land attraction.

Thanks, Major

zach

Kel said...

I remember going to the Tahitian Terrace in the early 90's. I was a young kid, but it was a fun show with dancers that danced with fire and poi balls. I remember there was a segment where they brought people up on stage and would put men in a coconut type bikini and make them dance. Pretty funny at the time. Food was great as well!

I felt like I was in a far off land due to atmosphere. It was a great fit for Adventureland. Aladdin, not so much. Thanks for the great pics!

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, the one detail everyone remembers is the pie fight.

TokyoMagic!, jeez, I didn’t even know they’d put fake rocks in front of the bathrooms. What is it with putting fake rocks where they don’t belong (like the ones formerly blocking the entrance to Tomorrowland)? Unfortunately for me, when people stop commenting, I have no idea 99% of the time, and assume they just got sick of the blog!

Mike Cozart, I have one of the Kikkoman menus, but it isn’t as cute as the old ones that we all have seen pictures of. Still, I am glad to have it. I knew that the mask changed at least a few times, but am not surprised to learn that it was switched out often. It would be kind of fun to do a study of the different versions over the years. I’m way too lazy. I also miss the striped-awning naphtha launches, that was “classic” Jungle Cruise to me.

Andrew, didn’t a Jungle Cruise boat actually sink fairly recently? Maybe that was in Florida, I kind of forget. There’s a fun story to tell your friends when you get back home. Did the park give everyone a free change of clothes?

Stu29573, yeah, I’m sure I would not have been crazy about sitting there watching a show when the Haunted Mansion was so close. Then again, there were those pretty hula dancers…! I think spell check should be renamed “Freudian check”!

DrGoat, I’ll bet a lot of people in the audience weren’t even paying attention to the performers, who had to smile and act like they were the center of the universe! I’ve seen photos of people smoking and stuffing their faces and chatting with each other. That must have been a little disheartening for the dancers. I love those little tikis and wish I could afford to own one, they sometimes come up for auction.

Jonathan, all of the Adventureland stuff would go great in my tiki-themed mansion. You know, the one in Malibu. Not the one in Santa Barbara. There’s even a “tusk room”, which doubles as a video arcade!

Lou and Sue, at least you were smart and went to the Tahitian Terrace. For me, it’s just another extinct attraction that I only know about from books and photos. Do we really want to see a bathroom picture from Mike? I sure would love to go eat some Polynesian-style cuisine and enjoy a relaxing show at the Tahitian Terrace nowadays, and it would be even better with all my GDB peeps.

zach, my eight year-old niece loved to point out things that she thought were fake. “That’s fake!” she’d say, looking at a moose in Frontierland. But she thought most of the animals on the Jungle Cruise were real. Not all of them, though I’ve forgotten which ones didn’t pass her judgement. I like the idea of swearing parrots!

Kel, I forget who was talking about it, but they mentioned the part where somebody from the audience would be chosen to go up on stage and dance, whoever was telling the story was so scared that they would be picked! Luckily, I think they generally looked for chunky “dad” types.

K. Martinez said...

I never experienced the Tahitian Terrace because I already went to Hawaii so many times to visit family through the years and had seen so many of those types of shows that it held no interest for me. Now I wish I had gone just to have seen it once and be able to say "I went there". It's gone now. Architecturally, I was so disappointed when it was replaced by Aladdin's Oasis.

Excellent photos as usual, Lou and Sue. I especially love the rare Tahitian Terrace shot. Thanks! Thank you too, Major.

Nanook said...

Major-
As Kel has pointed out - "... there was a segment where they brought people up on stage and would put men in a coconut type bikini and make them dance. That, I remember fairly-well, as this visit was with my best friend's family, whose Dad was in management at Disney Studios. He had arranged specifically for my dad to be "the victim". However, signals got crossed and another 'Dad' was chosen. Phil dashed-away, spoke to those in-charge, and in short order my dad was hauled-up on stage to 'perform'. Good times. (Am fairly certain back then [1963], the coconut bikini wasn't yet a part of the gag, however).

Good times.

"Lou and Sue" said...

Do we really want to see a bathroom picture from Mike?
Heck, yeah! Mike said it's tiki-themed. I also want to see a picture of his Peoplemover.

I think Chuck needs to quit his new job. It's taking up too much of his time for GDB.

Melissa said...

Look at all that big ‘80’s hair in that first JC picture - from the back it looks like a boat full of big head caricature people!

Adventureland was second only to Tomorrowland when I first went to WDW in the early eighties. I was really into Raiders if the Lost Ark and Tales of the Gold Monkey, and all the atmosphere and detail was like stepping through the screen.

Melissa said...

And I also vote yes for the bathroom picture! Disney bathrooms are the best.

DrGoat said...

Major, Watched this and had to laugh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwQVTlHyiyI
Probably staged to a large extent, but the guy eating ribs took the cake. You are so right. What's not to like about that show!
K. Martinez, we were fortunate and got to spend a couple of months on Maui. They had to drag me onto the plane to go home, kicking and screaming, figuratively. Well maybe a little bit literally.
Love to see that bathroom pic myself.

Anonymous said...

These are wonderful, thank you so much L+S, and Major.

Its fun to see how the iconic entrance evolves a little over time.

Tokyo, you are right about those rocks. Research of these entry pics shows that there has always been some kind of barrier at this point, probably to screen the restrooms and the phone booth from direct view of the entry. First it was the big tiki carving, then increasing elaborate planters, and finally the big fake rocks.

When I first saw those rocks in 2008, they were dyed a hideous turquoise blue, presumably to contrast with the bright orange pottery accents. I was relieved to see that mess didn't last and by the next visit, the rocks were stained more rock-colored and mossy looking.

Anything tiki catches my eye, and I want those signs and surfboards too.

Cheers all. GDB is essential to my mental health now.

JG

TokyoMagic! said...

Major, it seems like for the last 20-30 years, the "people" at Disney just like to "stick" stuff in places, without any thought to what they are doing.

JG, I was baffled by the color of those rocks. I meant to mention that they were originally blue. And they were that color for many years, so you are lucky if you only saw them like that, once. I wonder if that color choice was made by the same person who chose the current neon colors for the Castle, or maybe it was decided by the person who chose "brown" as the color of "Tomorrowland '98."

Major Pepperidge said...

K. Martinez, yes, I suppose once you’ve seen the real thing in Hawaii, you might not feel so motivated to see the Disney version. Still, it looks like it was a lot of fun. And again… pretty girls doing the hula. What’s not to like?

Nanook, I think you’ve told us about your Dad having to do the honors at the Tahitian Terrace, though I don’t remember the details about somebody else getting picked first, by accident! It’s too bad you don’t have photos of that, even without the coconut bikini top!

Lou and Sue, I suppose I am curious too… is everything bamboo? Are there faux tiki birds hanging from the ceiling? Does it rain every 15 minutes?

Melissa, I still have magnificent 1980s hair. Maybe even ‘70s! Think Travolta meets Bon Jovi. Only bigger. I think Frontierland was second for me after Tomorrowland, but Adventureland is cool too!

Melissa, all right everybody, send in your random bathroom photos! (Just kidding, don’t do it unless you have a tiki bathroom).

DrGoat, yikes, look at those babes! I can only imagine how scandalous they were back in the early 1960s. The crowd shots are definitely the icing on the cake, all of those nice middle-class folks smiling and chowing down (Mr. Ribs, ha ha). A couple of MONTHS on Maui, holy smokes.

JG, I understand wanting to screen the bathrooms and pay phones, but what’s wrong with some bamboo? It’s green, it’s authentically tropical, and it grows fast. The idea of dyed turquoise rockwork is kind of gross. Unless they put glitter on the rocks too, then that would have been classy. I love the idea of having an elaborate tiki-themed room, my sister is friends with a guy who is well-known in tiki circles, he’s a true die-hard.

TokyoMagic!, that sure seems to be the case, and I don’t get it. It’d be one thing if the objects were interesting, but rocks? The blue rocks make me think of the fake ones that were in my sister’s aquarium. I appreciate your diplomatic reference to “the person” responsible for the colors!!

DrGoat said...

I must say it was the most relaxing, mind and body healing time I've ever had. This was back in 2003. Have a fiend that moved there in the 80s and invited us to stay at his house. All the lush vegetation, friendly people and slow driving settled in very quickly. His friends took to us and made sure we had a good time.
Found that one of the key things was to rent a wreck, not an even close to being new. The local folks seemed to treat you a bit friendlier than if you pulled up in a new rental. The rear axle was going out in ours, so the noise even added to the effect.
It was wonderful time in every sense of the word.

"Lou and Sue" said...

I suppose I am curious too… is everything bamboo? Are there faux tiki birds hanging from the ceiling? Does it rain every 15 minutes?

Major, when everyone sits down, they have to sing.

Anonymous said...

@DrGoat, had a similar experience in Kauai. I didn't stay for very long in any one trip, but went back a lot. Probably 7-8 times in two years for a project so maybe a month total. With longer experience, it is easier to be more local, and people definitely act differently when you are not obviously a tourist, even in super-friendly Hawaii. There is a lot of fun to be had off the beaten track in the Outer Islands.

JG

Major Pepperidge said...

DrGoat, that sounds like an amazing life experience! I’ve never been to Hawaii, but I’m sure that tropical atmosphere would be incredibly relaxing, especially when you have the time to really unload old habits and adapt to the slower lifestyle.

Lou and Sue, don’t people do that anyway?

JG, I’m sure there are plenty of “bad tourists” who give the nice ones an uphill battle. Just like Europe or any other place, I guess. I would definitely want to get away from the high-rise hotels and get out to the less populated areas.