Casa De Fritos, 1978
Here is a series of slides taken outside the fondly-remembered Casa de Fritos restaurant in Frontierland, circa 1978. Courtesy of the Mysterious Benefactor! There were actually 11 photos, all taken seconds apart from the same angle, but I figured that four of them would do nicely.
With that long line, it must have been peak lunchtime! And while we don't have a more specific date, this had to be winter, either very early in 1978 or very late - everyone is wearing a sweater or coat. The kids at the planter are being typical kids... I can't see myself taking a little nap on the ground, ever! Well, maybe during one of those 48-hour events. Notice that the restaurant still had the outdoor dining area to the left.
Casa de Fritos had been at the park since 1955 (opening on August 11th), though it was in a different location at that time. I believe that it moved to this "adobe"-style building in 1957. Who doesn't love a nice tamale, taco, or enchilada? Served with crispy golden Fritos, of course.
I was never really sure why Casa de Fritos closed (it did, in 1982, becoming Casa Mexicana), and assumed that PepsiCo (which owned Frito-Lay by then) had pulled their sponsorship. But one online article said that it was Disney's decision. Who knows!
Many thanks to the Mysterious Benefactor!
37 comments:
Major-
Judging from the attire, the temperatures must've been hovering around 10° - or since it's So. California - about 68°.
I presume the disappearance of Casa de Fritos coincides with Coca-Cola's exclusive deal w/Disney, coinciding with the opening of EPCOT.
My sources say the Casa de Fritos move actually took place sometime in 1956.
(Oh, if we could only pop-into Mineral Hall...)
Thanks, Major.
In the 1st pic, I like the crumbling adobe on the tower (and elsewhere), especially that big crack angling downward.
The girl on the right, closest to us, has a scary face. I think she's a zombie!
2nd pic, Major, that's not a kid lying on the ground. It's a malfunctioning audio animatronic figure. He was sitting on the edge of the planter but, you know, he did an Abe Lincoln and slowly crumpled to the ground.
Blue must have been the color-of-the-day.
3rd pic, Oh look! Someone (one of the guests?) put the AA figure back up on the wall... except they got him backwards.
I wonder when Fritos became a thing? Five seconds of Googling would tell me the answer, but I'll let one of the Jr. Gorillas chime in.
4th pic, Now the animatronic boy is in a different place. They keep moving him around like the papooseses in the Friendly Indian Village. I have to say though, the Imagineers got the kid's skin texture a lot more life-like than Shiny Boy's.
Thanks to the MB and to Major P.
- Joyously Bright (the lights this time of year)
There are red poinsettia flowers in the planter, so that would probably narrow down the time frame, even further.
There is a lady in the second pic, who looks like she is attempting to approach the kid on the ground. She could be the mother, and is about to say, "I swear! I told you kids to behave today! Do want to go to the car? Because I'll take you to the car! We can go to the car, right now!" And no, my mother never spoke to me like that, but I have been at Disneyland, and heard parents talking to their kids that way, on more than one occasion.
Of course, she might not be the mother, because in all of the other pics, she seems to be ignoring the kids. If these photos were taken in more recent times, and the mother was ignoring the kids, then I would say yeah, that's probably the mother. I have seen kids doing all sorts of hideous things at the parks, and the parents were completely oblivious to their kids' actions.
Major, I was hoping to see all 11 photos in this series. I was going to print them all out, stack them in the correct order, and then flip them like a "flip book," to watch the action!
- Twinkle Magic!
Disney DID kick out Frito-Lay ( it was a division of PEPSICO) as bully Coca-Cola threaten Disney to remove all Pepsi from its parks. Coca Cola was still bitterly pissed off at Coca cola’s big losses at the well publicized “ Pepsi Challenge” promotion. Coca Cola has existed at Disney’s parks quite amicably for a quarter century ... then Coke told Disney - if Disney didn’t pull all PepsiCo products and sponsorships from its parks Coke would end its sponsorships INCLUDING the much need sponsorship money for EPCOT CENTER and Tokyo Disneyland .... overnight Pepsi & Frito Lay disappeared!
Sore loser ; I’ve never looked at Coca Cola the same way again. Same thing with Arthur Godfrey ..........
Lowrys became the restaurant’s new sponsor.
I was so amazed when I found out the Dorito was invented at Disneyland, I told all my friends in third grade.
Here's a modern view of the entrance if anyone's interested. Thanks, Major.
I had a blue jacket with white stripes encircling the sleeves similar to the one worn by the little boy balancing on the edge of the planter in the first photo, and my dad had a yellow Windjammer windbreaker identical to the one worn by the gentleman in grey slacks in the last three pictures. He’s carrying a little girl wearing a Mickey-eared hat in the second and third photo, although by the last image the girl has been transferred to Mom.
Was that outdoor fireplace (behind the crowd, but visible in the picture Andrew linked) functional, and if so, was it ever used?
Nanook, these photos were taken during one of Anaheim’s occasional ice ages - as you said, the temperatures dropped into the mid-60s! (FYI t was 35 degrees around here last night, so it DOES get cold. Just not -20 “cold”!). I didn’t know that Coca-Cola had an exclusive deal with Disney coinciding with the opening of EPCOT, so there’s something new. Thanks for the Casa de Fritos info.
JB, gosh, that girl DOES have a scary face, as if she’s been eating brains. Nobody offers napkins to a zombie. Think about it. I wonder if the malfunctioning animatronic said a phrase over and over, such as “Four score and seven years ago… beeep! Four score…”. You know how robots are. Fritos were first harvested from South American Frito bushes, where they were dried and baked and served to soldiers during WWI.
TokyoMagic!, aha! Poinsettia flowers mean just one thing: the Fourth of July. Your quote from the angry mom is just a little too on the nose. TokyoMagic!, did you misbehave at Disneyland when you were a kid? Inquiring minds want to know. Like you, I have watched unattended kids getting into all kinds of mischief, to the point that a cast member will walk over and scold them. No parents to be seen! I’m sorry I didn’t post all 11 photos, but there was so much quality television to watch.
Mike Cozart, I guess it’s not a surprise these days when we hear about a big company being pushy and nasty. But… they got what they wanted, so somebody probably got a raise. Maybe it was Arthur Godfrey! How many people even remember who he was? I barely do, and I’m a dinosaur.
Andrew, I know that the story has floated around that Doritos were invented at Casa de Fritos, but I’ve always found it to be one of those “Well… stories. Supposedly somebody cut up some leftover tortillas and fried them up and served them. That’s a tortilla chip, I find it hard to believe that nobody else in the long history of tortillas ever thought to do that before. Plus, to me, a Dorito has to be coated with a flavored dust; original taco, nacho cheese, cool ranch, etc. I’m taking this to the Supreme Court!
Chuck, I think I had a jacket like that too. Well, mine was red, but still. And my dad had at least one yellow windbreaker, though it was more of a pale, butter yellow. He wore it when he golfed, seems like he had that thing for decades. When you wrote “the girl has been transferred to Mom” I thought that you meant that they’d been waiting in line for so long that the little girl literally grew up and became a mother. I’m really dumb! I’ve also wondered if that outdoor fireplace was ever used, it would be a great place to roast marshmallows.
During the short time around 1988 -1989 when the Disney Gallery sold off some actual Imagineering artwork , two pieces were for a two sections of the “Casa De Fritos location #2” seen here in today’s pictures . Interestingly the area was much larger in area concept .... almost like a mini-Land .... also one of the concepts featured a fountain almost identical to one of the seven fountains that were once at Walt Disney World’s CARIBBEAN PLAZA ..... obviously a WED imagineer remembered that fountain design. Infact the piece featuring the Spanish style fountain was thought to be Caribbean Plaza concept art by the Disney Gallery director Van Romans. I used to take photos everytime the gallery put out original WED art for sale ..... and when I couldn’t get up there a friend of mine who lived locally would get pictures ( so many pieces sold out the day they were placed our for sale , but were required to remain in display for two weeks) some of my friends would laugh at me for taking pictures of that artwork , but I’m glad I did! Some of it was artwork very recognizable and well published .... but most I’ve never seen anywhere again .... in any format. It’s funny back then some of the prices seemed crazy high .... but 3,500.00 for a Marc Davis pirate sketch today : a total bargain !!!
As someone mentioned today’s images show the second location of Casa De Fritos.
Authur Godfrey was a well lived movie - radio abd tv personality ..., he’s was a lovable type guy ..... he was also the spokesman for Dolly Madison cakes and cookies ........ “ not a sweeter man could represent our sweeter baked goods!” He was the nicest guy......UNTIL a live tv broadcast DIDN'T cut to a commercial and Godfrey showed his tru colors as a tyrant and yelled and belittled people working for him and with him...... all broadcast LIVE to millions of SHOCKED American’s in TV LAND . His famed plummeted and he faded away as a no longer liked celebrity. I grew up hearing this story from BOTH sides of my grandparents and my mom and how America over nite dislike him. You don’t see re-runs of any Arthur Godfrey tv shows or holiday specials .......he became a real Berger Meister - Meister Berger !!! ( sorry my phone refuses to spell “Berger” correctly ....)
Major, I was a good kid, honest! My mom told me that she never had to get after me for anything, or worry about me getting into trouble. Maybe that is why I have zero tolerance for rude and unruly children!
I think if that fireplace did actually work, it could have been used for punishing unruly children, by making them clean it out! They could have made them dress up like Cinderella. Or Bobby Brady.
So I guess what happened was that Arthur Godfrey fired a popular singer on his show that was simultaneously broadcasting on tv AND radio .... when the TV broadcast ended ... Godfrey didn’t realize the radio part of the show was still broadcasting and made a scene and fired the popular singer to America —- live! At the time it was a big deal and American fell out of love with celebrity Arthur Godfrey.
In 1965 Godfrey reappeared playing Doris Day’s dad in a small role in one of my favorite movies THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT.
TM!, I thought you were going to say "I think if that fireplace did actually work, it could have been used for punishing unruly children, by slowly roasting them alive. Then they could be fed to the floating crocs for ballast." But that's just me - wasting today trying to solve yesterday's problem.
People credit C.E. Doolin with creating Fritos, but this is not exactly true. In reality, he bought the recipe in 1932 from Gustavo Olguin, who had been selling them commercially for a few years but decided to get out of the business. This all happened in San Antonio, Texas (which is a charming city to visit. I suggest any good tavern on the Riverwalk. I have some great stories at Durty Nellie's that I wish I could remember, but I digress.) Doolin started making them in the family kitchen and then moved to his garage and the think kind of took off from there.
By the way, don't feel too sad for Pepsico (home office, Plano, Tx) They are pretty much their own sovereign nation and own KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Wingstreet, etc- all of which they've made fairly horrible since taking them over. Still they have more locations that McDonalds, so there's that, I guess.
That being said, I've never thought of Fritos as being too "Mexican." (of course they are actually Texan, and not our best work in my estimation), Casa de Fritos always sounds odd to me.
Chuck, I am shocked! You hear me? Shocked! Shocked that you didn't know that crocs prefer their food to be served raw.
Joyously Bright, I forgot to mention that I love that footage of the Lincoln animatronic, slowly "crumpling" to the ground. I can just watch that video over and over!
1978: peak Disney for me. Thanks MB & Major.
I’m pretty sure I never went Casa de Fritos. Good Mexican food was readily available at home, and this place was no novelty to us. Dad preferred the French Market, he was a fan of NOLA from prior travel, although we never visited there in my lifetime at home.
I preferred Coke to Pepsi, beginning to regret that.
Stu, I agree about San Antonio, I’ve been there several times and Riverwalk is the place to go. Hotel Menger has a fine historic bar with many celebrity associations, but stay in a modern place that’s quiet. I enjoy the boats too. We traveled in Mexico many years back and one city seemed “owned” by PepsiCo, the logo was on every street sign and on the schools and public buildings. I never figured it out, maybe they had a local plant or something.
JG
Wow, JG, that's weird about the town in Mexico! I was being snarky when I said they were their own nation. Maybe that's not far from the truth!
I agree that the Menger is very cool, but not the best place to stay. The cost and the ghosts are a bit daunting.
@ MIKE-
The singer who Godfrey fired is Julius La Rosa. The story, as you point out, is pretty famous. LOOK HERE for more.
Mike Cozart, I remember that brief time when Disney was selling items on eBay, though I do NOT remember seeing anything as amazing as original Marc Davis “Pirates” artwork! Holy moly. I’m glad you saved images of the items that interested you. I got a Mickey Mouse Circus book (the large one with the horrifying clown on the cover) from Disney/eBay, and the bonus is that it had a Mickey Mouse Club circus flyer tucked inside, in mint condition, that wasn’t even mentioned in the listing. It’s still one of my treasures. I know the general story about Arthur Godfrey, and that he was famous for (among other things) playing a ukulele. And his tyrannical behavior behind the scenes was also legendary!
TokyoMagic!, Well, OK, I guess I won’t report you to the authorities. YET! I think I was like you, I was generally well-behaved, though I’m sure I had my moments, ha ha. One of my top peeves is going to a restaurant, only to find somebody’s kids running wild through the place, while the parents sit and stare at their phones. It ain’t right! My buddy, who literally looks like Satan, always says, “My dad would NEVER let me get away with behavior like that!”.
Mike Cozart, I think they parodied that whole Arthur Godfrey situation on The Simpsons in one of the earlier seasons. Was the popular singer Julius La Rosa? I have a few photos from the filming of his show from the 1950s.
Chuck, roasted children are not authentic Mexican cuisine… it’s more of a Transylvania thing.
Stu29573, how do you know so much about the history of Fritos? All I know is that they are great with onion dip. I like Fritos a lot, but at some point I must have eaten too many, and I felt like I was going to hurl, and since then I don’t really eat them. Doritos are another story! Those are snacks sent directly from heaven. And I will never feel sorry for Pepsico! While I still make the occasional Taco Bell run (I’m not proud of it), I haven’t been to a KFC or Pizza Hut in many years, and never plan to go to a “Wingstreet” restaurant.
TokyoMagic!, I think that in some cases crocodiles like their food cooked, it just has to be rare. And low-sodium.
JG, yeah, I don’t think I visited that restaurant location until it became Casa Mexicana, and then Rancho El Zocalo. I also prefer Coke to Pepsi if I have to choose, though that isn’t an endorsement of the Coca-Cola company’s behavior. Funny about the Mexican city with the Pepsi signs, because I’ve seen old photos of Mexican towns, and they almost always seem to have the famous red Coke “button” signs above the doorway.
Stu29573, I pledge allegiance to the flag of Pepsico (tears running down my cheeks). Long may it wave.
Nanook, yay I was right! I’ll have to scan those slides someday, they’re not great, but maybe interesting from a historical standpoint.
Saw the new Casa De Whatever...wow...well...I guess DeRuin Vreything got right to work. I am unclear why things have to be so garish with hundreds of curly Q's, and a rampantly preposterous color palette. Casa De Fritos food was nothing to write home about, but the seating area, the Mariachi Band, et al. was quite nice to hang out in. Any who doesn't love the Fritos? I love the BBQ ones. I also love Fritos Scoops with big blobs of French Onion dip made with French's Onion Soup mix. I can have that for dinner. The Doritos legend may just be that...it had to do with the Disneyland old sign on Harbor matching the logo of the Doritos bag...it all kind of made sense of a "nod" to it's creation, but I would be very hard pressed with Disney relinquishing any proprietary product that was created by some fry cook to a gigantical entity run in part by a part of "Hollywood Royalty". Crawford rarely appeared in an interview without that bottle next to her. There's got to be pictures somewhere of her swilling Pepsi at the Golden Horseshoe. Anyone?
Major, I knew about half of that stuff, but I actually got interested enough to ask ol' Google about it.
I agree Doritos are the king of the pseudo Mexican chip, but I do enjoy a small bag of Chili-Cheese Fritos every now and then. They taste nothing like chili nor cheese and probably take more minutes off of your life that a pack of cigarettes, but they taste so good!
Major, our first trip to that location (it was called El Rancho Zocalo or something like that, then) was in 2008 when we took our nieces to the Park.
They were picky, unadventurous eaters, and the food there was familiar. I remember one night, they refused to eat in the Park at all and we went outside to Love's BBQ on Harbor.
I've never gone back into ERZ (or whatever) since. Too many good things in NOS.
Nanook, thanks for that link, never knew that story. Arthur was a real specimen.
Stu, I had a terrible experience staying at the Menger. Never again. I complained vigorously and management didn't do a thing. Marriott and Hilton are both close by.
JG
Bu, I couldn't find a picture of Ms. Crawford swilling a Pepsi in the Golden Horseshoe, but I did find these interesting images:
Picture 1
Picture 2
Chuck, Ms Crawford was a regular "pop" star.
I'll just step quietly out this side door here...
JG
I was actually eating some Doritos when I read these comments. Conicidence? I think not!!
Mike C. - when I was a kid I saw them filming The GLASS BOTTOM BOAT near the beach in Avalon on Catalina.
Of course Crawford flipped camps from Coke and RC to Pepsi when she became Mrs. Steele. Looks like "Lucille" was the one who talked Mr. Disney into "It's a Small World" when the rest of the studio camp turned Pepsi down. I hear she was quite a force to be recokend with in all matters. Who knew? Here's a link, with JC, and her twins (the ones apparently that weren't tortured) and a few other characters. I like Pepsi better, but Coke is easier to find as the control most of the both developed and undeveloped world.
https://topdisneyblog.com/how-the-actress-joan-crawford-helped-to-create-its-a-small-world/
Mike, Coca-Cola has no humility!
I’ll always be grateful I got to see Caribbean Plaza as it was designed, and not just the hacked up version it is today.
Second and third pics:
‘Wilting kid’ at far left, seated at table.
Great comments today — very entertaining, especially with all the added links. Thanks, all!
I prefer Pepsi. Only love Coke if it has chocolate syrup added.
Twinkle Magic!, (very Christmas-y!) You've got the 'parent speak' down pat. I wonder if any parent (in recent years) actually took their kid(s) out to the car... and wasted a hundred bucks, or whatever it cost to get in.
I remember getting small decks of playing cards, Crazy 8s or something, and there would be a 'flip show' printed in one of the corners. Of course, you'd have to arrange them in order to see the 'movie'.
Major, actually, some people DO offer napkins to zombies. But it's the last thing they do before their brains get eaten, so the information never gets passed along.
Thanks for the interesting Frito history. I'll file it away in the Valuable Info folder in my brain. Which will then be eaten by zombies (again with the zombies!) and lost forever.
Bu, don’t get me started on the decor of today’s Disneyland! It’s a “more is more” attitude, with no subtlety or taste involved. The crowds love it too, unsurprisingly. I feel like the American version of Mexican food is almost like pizza, it’s pretty hard to screw it up, unless they truly don’t try. I like going to places like El Torito, but I also like my “hole in the wall” Mexican places that are much more authentic.Did the Doritos legend actually have something to do with the Disneyland sign?? That’s quite a tenuous connection!
Stu29573, admit it, you are a walking computer, but only with Fritos history and facts! Change the subject, and you have to wait until Fritos come up again. Chili cheese Fritos, I didn’t even know such a thing existed!!
JG, yes, I’ve enjoyed eating there as the Rancho El Zocalo (or whatever) several times… partly because we’ve always been able to find a seat! Sometimes all you need is a place to sit down, I suppose. But I think the food was OK. Maybe I was so hungry by then that you could have served paper towels in tamale sauce and I would have been satisfied. I need to make it my mission to rehabilitate the reputation of Arthur Godfrey!
Chuck, I had no idea that Joan did so many advertisements, much less COLA advertisements.
JG, I can’t decide if I feel admiration or pity! ;-)
Sunday Night, WHAT KIND OF DORITOS?
Bu, yes, being married to the head of PepsiCo has a way of changing allegiances. I’ve heard that Joan had some part in convincing Walt to create “It’s a Small World”, she probably threatened him with a wire coat hanger (too soon?). I think I used to like Pepsi better, but my brother is a Pepsi fan, and whenever I “borrow” one of his sodas I wish I had a Coke instead.
Melissa, sometimes we just have to be happy with our fond memories - that’s a lesson that I have learned here on GDB.
Lou and Sue, that poor kid is just tuckered out. He’ll be crying in the next hour or so. Coke with chocolate syrup, how can that be bad?
JB, what about car bingo? That was one of our favorites! Such a triumph to be able to slide the little clear plastic window over “MOTEL” or a “BICYCLE”. My sister like to play something called “Slug Bug”, if you saw a Volkswagen Beetle, you could punch your sibling in the shoulder. She was really good at that game. I guess a zombie probably wouldn’t know what to do with a napkin, even if it was holding it.
There is a counter-attack to Slug Bug: Slap Back Cadillac!
I remember riding in a car with a friend and her family when I was in college. Out of the blue, her younger sister (aged twelve) punched her in the shoulder and yelled "Volkswagen!!!" We all turned and stared, and she turned several shades of pink and looked like she was going to melt into the upholstery. There are consequences to breaking protocol.
Years later, we played "Punch Buggy" as a family when the kids were young. We had a couple of extra rules, like declaring the car's color, and you had to call "no punch back" or the other players could claim the same car and punch you, too. For some inexplicable reason, my kids expanded the game to include PT Cruisers. It was really weird to hear them exclaim "yellow PT Cruiser! No PT back!"
"Lou and Sue, that poor kid is just tuckered out. He’ll be crying in the next hour or so."
Grandma always used to say, "There'll be tears before bedtime."
My college friends and I used to play a nonviolent version of those car games whe carpooling after dark. When you spied a car with a headlight missing, you were supposed to slap the ceiling of the car you were riding in and yell, "Padiddle!" (I have no idea where the word came from.) First one to padiddle was the winner.
Chuck : in San Diego we also called it “PUNCH BUGGY”. I suppose the game faded away as the VW Beatle became fewer . About 10 years ago I was driving my three nieces somewhere ( I think to a WE STILL HATE AURTHUR GODFREY rally - San Diegans don’t easily forget things!!) and my youngest niece Hayley screamed “1 cute car!!” And the other 2 also excited started counting “cute cars” ..... I quickly realized what they were doing : playing a modernized version of PUNCH BUGGY ..., but the “cute cars” ( the mini Fiats) were replacing the VW Beatles.
I don’t think they would call those Mini Fiats “cute” if they knew how expensive repairs are for them “ FIX IT AGAIN TONY! “
That log lean-to seating area to the right of the Casa De Fritos entrance in today’s images is where the FRITO KID and Klondike were located and the “Golden Frito Mining Co.” explosive plunger and Frito chip bag chute was.
Melissa: Caribbean Plaza ... was pretty impressive to me - its atmosphere and theming was so detailed - especially for be added so quickly. It’s sad they way it now compared to how it looked for many glorious decades when Disney placed importance to things like that .... today imagineers can only do what carnivals and amusement piers used to do “YO HO HO!! And a bottle rum!! This is the Pirates Ride Land!!! Yo ho!!! “See all the scary pirate skeletons we placed around the entrance!?? “And we added a out-of-place ship mast with tattered sail and a crows nest too!! Just in case you don’t get the pirate ride is here!” Yo- ho ho and shiver me timbers !!! “Oh and we added more pirate skeletons too!!”
Take a billion dollar attraction and decorate the exterior like a dying amusement pier from 1974!! ....... all the new children imagineers being hired straight outta design school just don’t get what made the Disney theme park successful ....
Wasn’t Arthur Godfrey responsible for the “tacky pirate ride” make over to CARIBBEAN PLAZA??
Melissa, we played “Padiddle” in college, too. A car with both headlights out (or, more usually, just off) was a “padumb.” When I mentioned it to my mom (I think I actually “padiddled” automatically without thinking - you need lightning-fast reflexes to win - one time while driving with her), she told me that she and my dad had played the same game thirty years before when they were in college.
Mike, it’s always neat to see how folk traditions live on (often in language) long after whatever initiated them is no longer a part of the culture. “Cute Car” is a perfect example of that.
When did they add those restrooms in that passageway to the right of the entrance you can see in Andrew’s linked Google walk-around imagery? They don’t seem to be extant in guidebooks from that era.
Chuck, that area was heavily remodeled at some point and a passage opened to Fantasyland after the removal of Rainbow Caverns. Those restrooms might have been added then, or maybe as part of the removal of Carnation Gardens. There have been several times when this might have happened.
I blame Arthur Godfrey.
My kids used to play “slug-bug”, which they learned from friends. I had never heard of it.
JG
Thanks, JG. I don't remember restrooms there from '94-'95 when we were going all the time as APHs, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. We never went to La Casa Mexicana, so I wouldn't have noticed. Will need to dig up a guidebook from the era.
Well, that was easier than expected: https://i.redd.it/rspy2ldz8ye61.jpg.
No bathrooms at that location in 1995ish, so the Carnation Plaza Gardens transformation is a likely candidate.
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