Two Nice Randos!
It's "rando" time, two random (but nice) photo scans for your Friday enjoyment.
First up is this slide, date-stamped "April 1959"; our photographer is looking through the chain-link fence that surrounded the old Flight Circle in Tomorrowland. Standing on that large compass rose must have felt like being in the center of the universe! A lucky boy has been picked from the crowd to try out a Cox "Prop-Rod". I wish our friend Cox Pilot was still with us to provide some info - looking at Daveland's always-wonderful site, I would guess that the CM helping the boy might be Bart Klapinski.
There is nothing else of interest in this photo. NOTHING!
Next is this very nice shot from April 1960, taken as our Skyway gondola zips away from the Tomorrowland terminal and toward the Matterhorn and Fantasyland behind us. The line isn't too bad, I'll bet those folks will be on board in five to ten minutes, tops.
23 comments:
Major-
"The Mighty Slopes of the Majestic Matterhorn". Such a wonderful shot-!
Thanks, Major.
'
I wonder what the rest of that "Sorry" sign says, at the entrance to the Skyway line. I'm also wondering what that poster is for, on the little booth at the entrance (just to the right of the "Sorry" sign). It doesn't look like the Skyway attraction poster.
Great "randos" today, Major!
I spy three sailors in the crowd on the first image. One very obvious one is to the left of Mr. Klapinski. The other two, father to our left, can really only be identified by their white "dixie cup" hats.
I see that Disney-MGM Studios (as it was then known) wasn't the first Disney Park to feature a giant sorcerer's hat. I wonder why they painted this one white?
Note the traditional fire hydrant at the base of the Skyway station. Don't remember ever noticing that before, but after looking at other photos, it appears that there was a ticket booth in front of it for many years.
TM!, that sign is apologizing for how blurry it is.
You're wrong, Major! There's a (very interesting) Grand Canyon Diorama poster in the first picture!
TM!, I figured out that the sign says "This ride (!) does not accommodate wheel chairs or strollers." Next puzzle in the same image: which motel's sign is above the Space Bar?
Chuck, I thought it was too blurry to decipher, but then Andrew goes and does it!
Andrew, do you eat a lot of carrots? Or maybe you got a few irradiated ones, like Mary Ann ate on an episode of Gilligan's Island. Awwww, poor Dawn Wells! I was thinking there was a possibility of that sign mentioning strollers, but that was totally a guess, based on the stroller that was parked behind the sign. And that lady standing in front of the stroller does NOT look too happy. I wonder if she was the one who was designated as the "stroller watcher," while the rest of the people in her party went happily on their way to ride the Skyway?
Ah, the flight circle! Some people say that it was an unusual thing to have in Tomorrowland, but those people would be forgetting how cool and futuristic those tiny engine planes and cars were back then!
The shot makes me miss Cox Pilot too. He always had tons of info that really fleshed out the shots! His memory was incredible!
My own experience with these small planes growing up was not great. I had no less than three (a Testors chrome P-51 Mustang, a Testors Solar Wind, and a Cox Stuka) Of the three, I only got the Stuka started, and I never flew it. That's why I went into rockets instead. Much simpler to get them in the air (for better or worse!)
Fun pics!
Two gems.
TM, I think it's a case of lots of carrots and young eyes. That or it's Andrew's super power.
The Flight Circle was cool. I barely remember it but it got me interested in Cox planes. I only had one. A P-51, like Stu's. I flew it once, but there was no control on my part and it crashed in to the side of the carport after a brief flight (4 or 6 seconds). After that, I stuck with securing the plane to a piece of plywood, starting it up and fiddling with the engine. Maybe I was born to be an engineer and not a pilot.
Chuck, Now that you mention it, that does look suspiciously like a sorcerer's hat. The fire hydrant does pull that area together, doesn't it.
Thanks Major. Two winners.
Nothing to see here?!?
All over the internet Cal OSHA employees heads are exploding at the thought of those rickety wood scaffolds (sans safety attachment points) that today would (or "wood"-pun intended)be outlawed in lieu of full safety cages with multi-point harnesses for construction workers. It's amazing so few souls lost their lives in the construction of that steel and shotcrete mountain with such brazen disregard for human safety.
@tokyomagic RIP Maryann :-( I would love some of those radioactive Sugar Beets Mrs Howell got! I could blaze through my honey-do list on Saturday and have a little time for myself.
The sign just says, “Sorry!” It was put up by a friendly Canadian cast member.
If the photographer had looked up just a little bit, they would have missed that lady in one of my favorite paper hats!
Oh, and helloooo, sailors!
Amazing how such simple scenes can make me feel better.
I also miss Cox Pilot very much. He had great memories and insights.
I had a little Cox plane, a Piper Cub in WWII scout livery. I think it flew once, crashed and broke. I pulled the motor off and mounted it on a homemade skateboard. I could send it roaring down the ten feet of sidewalk we had in the back.
I’ve noticed a number of conventional fire hydrants in the Park over the years, mostly in Tomorrowland, presumably the theming is more flexible there. There might be many more hidden in shrubbery etc. in other lands. usually these are required to be conspicuously located, but Disney probably gets a variance since their staff would know where they all are located. I wonder how fire water is distributed in Wookie World?
@Alonzo, LOL for scaffolding. Amazing anything was ever built at all.
JG
So much goodness in these two shots.
The inadvertent documentary of the construction of the Matterhorn, the full colorful glory of the flight circle and upper edge of the north show building, the clear head-on look at the Skyway platform and edge of the Space Bar... awesome.
The simple lines and colors, and lack of visual clutter in those days are a refreshing vista.
Thanks for these!
Great pics today, Major – thanks. In that first photo, one can see on the right-hand side of the image (just behind the people watching the Flight Circle) the large pictorial sign announcing the new attractions opening that coming summer. For those unfamiliar with the sign, it can be seen in this previous post by the Major.
I tried to fly my P-51 a few times...only to find I couldn't control it because I got dizzy! After that it was fun just to hold it with the prop going...at least for a few more times before I lost interest. KS
Nanook, it is pretty cool to see the Matterhorn only 1/4 built!
TokyoMagic!, It says, “Sorry Charlie, StarKist don’t want tunas with good taste, StarKist wants tunas that taste good!”. Seems like a weird thing to put in the line, but hey, Walt had his reasons. I don’t see a poster on the little booth, just reflections, and some text I think?
Chuck, I did notice the one sailor, but not the other two. They’re just big kids! I’m sure they’d love to have their own RC cars and planes to play with. Heck, I wouldn’t mind having one NOW. And your comment made me imagine the Matterhorn painted in Mickey’s sorcerer hat design, dark blue with stars and moons. Not that I want them to do that. I wonder if there are any plainly obvious fire hydrants anymore? You do see them around the park in old photos, it might be that the fire regulations demanded that hydrants needed to be clearly visible.
Andrew, oh yeah! I’m glad that first photo is worth a darn, finally. Thank you for solving the “Sorry” sign mystery! As for the Motel, I did know which one that was, but have since forgotten! Typical me.
TokyoMagic!, so funny, that particular episode of “Gilligan’s Island” always stuck in my head. The way Mr. Howell moved so fast because of the sugar beets. Did Gilligan eat spinach? I forget, though there must have been some “strong man” gags. Aw, Dawn Wells. She was only married for a few years back in the 60s, it surprised me that no rich guy courted her. I would have!
Stu29573, I suppose you’re right, those tiny engines were probably pretty miraculous in their day. I still remember my grandpa taking me over to the Sepulveda Dam area where lots of people were operating their RC airplanes; my favorite had a pink-haired troll in the cockpit. It was so fun watching them make the planes loop and barrel-roll. You had some pretty great success with rockets, so I think the switch worked for you!
DrGoat, I am always amazed at what my young niece and nephew can do without breaking a sweat. It really makes me appreciate the wonder of youth! My dad would never get an RC plane because he knew that we would crash the thing eventually, and he was right. It would have been a waste of money in our Navy family. We never wanted for anything important, but it did seem like my dad said “no” to toy requests a LOT! Ha ha.
Alonzo, I agree, that wooden scaffolding looks surprisingly rickety, though I am unaware of any accidents or fatalities in the building of the Matterhorn. Maybe I just never heard about them? For decades, men who worked on tall structures (like the New York skyscrapers) seemed to love to show how badass they were, walking around on those steel beams without a care in the world. Meanwhile, just watching the old footage makes me break into a cold sweat! How did they do that?
Melissa, I’m just imagining somebody actually thinking they could haul a stroller up those steps and into one of the little gondolas. Take the Disneyland RR, it’s nicer! I do like those paper hats.
JG, I know, it’s a bummer that we have lost some of our friends over the years. Cox Pilot especially had many vivid memories of his years at the park, it sounds like quite an experience. Wow, very resourceful taking your little motor off and putting it on your skateboard (which was also homemade)!! I know nothing about fire regulations, but as you say, I’m sure Disney gets some sort of special treatment. Maybe the area supervisors will always be on hand to point out every source of water?
Tom, you probably know that “Vintage Tomorrowland” is the thing I love the most; and that’s saying something, because I love most of vintage Disneyland! Somehow even the low(ish) budget of Tomorrowland appeals to me, which sounds crazy.
Pegleg Pete, oh yeah! Good eye on that sign. Thank you for pointing that out! I still wish I had a good photo of it myself, but at least other people have shared their images.
KS, YES, I would imagine that you weren’t the only person to get dizzy spinning around! I wonder how the CMs who worked that attraction didn’t get dizzy? Maybe they got used to it?
Major, if the CM's point at the hydrants, they have to use two fingers.
I'm only assuming that there is some special dispensation for the Park, because fire truck access to outside equipment is so constrained. I'm sure there is some kind of in-Park aerial access trucks, pumpers, etc. Come to think of it, maybe this is why we have seen so many above-grade locations closed over the years. No room for the boom truck to get in.
The closing of Ft. Wilderness to the public, even after re-building might also be partly due to fire reg's. I'm sure the original fort was not sprinklered, and the costs of getting high volume fire water over to the island might have been more than management wanted to pay.
Do any former CM's have any knowledge of this? I'm fascinated by the regulation of theme park design.
JG
The Matterhorn's getting plastered!
JG, I wonder if Disneyland has its own little fire department for smaller blazes? Universal Studios does. If so, that’s the job I want; lay around for many months at a time, watching cartoons, and then every once in a while rush out to extinguish a little blaze. If fireworks are ever completely phased out, then they will REALLY have nothing to do. In the case of Fort Wilderness, it is surrounded by a river (albeit an artificial one), I don’t know if they could have somehow tapped into the river water for fire sprinklers. My theory is that the powers that be just didn’t consider Fort Wilderness to be “big enough” to restore, and instead built an ugly building used strictly for Fantasmic performers.
Lou and Sue, I wonder what Swiss mountains like to drink? Kirsch? Röteli? Abricotine? Budweiser?
Major, I am sure there are some fire trucks somewhere backstage, just not sure where or how many. You are right, firefighters would have it pretty soft in Disneyland.
River water can be used for hydrants but not sprinklers, due to the potential of clogging. It's possible that there is a fire pump on the island to tap that resource for hydrants.
Major, Lou and Sue, the Matterhorn drinks Swiss Miss cocoa, on ice.
JG
Major and JG: Mountain Dew, too
Major, thank you for these terrific shots, today!
JG, I didn't consider the fact that the river water might clog sprinklers - I don't think it's actually very muddy in spite of its appearance, but still, you don't want sprinklers clogging when there's a fire. Swiss Miss cocoa on ice? I've only had it hot! For cold chocolate milk, it's Nesquik.
Lou and Sue, man I loved Mountain Dew back when I was a kid. Thing is, I can't even remember if it tasted the way it does today.
I don't know if Disneyland does the same thing, but the Magic Kingdom in WDW hides fire hydrants under fake barrels, crates, etc. to keep the area on theme
https://guide4wdw.com/2017/05/the-lost-boys-fire-brigade-hidden/
Dean, thats exactly what I mean! CMs have to know those locations since City fireman would never find it.
JG
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