Christmastime at the The Magic Kingdom, 1990
Our friend Sue B. scanned some great photos taken by her father, Lou Perry, during a 1990 visit to the Magic Kingdom in Florida. That's recent by many standards, but still 21 years ago. It's nice to have something with a holiday touch to share.
There's the Fire Station - I've seen a lot of photos from the Magic Kingdom, but to be honest, I don't remember ever seeing a picture of this particular structure before. It's very tall and thin! I guess the firefighters could slide waaaay down a pole from that upper floor - sounds like fun. The upper floor looks tall enough for grown adults - I am assuming that it was used for some employee function.
Next is this very pretty shot looking down toward the Emporium, with Main Street Station in the distance to our left. I love the garlands and wreaths... it feels just right. And of course the Horse Drawn Streetcar and Horseless Carriage are great additions to the image.
"The Chapeau". Ooo-la-la! I need a souvenir hat, though I doubt that the kind with the dyed ostrich feather was still being sold by 1990. And there weren't any Keppy Kaps. Maybe I'll get a nice cavalry hat, and have them stitch my name on it.
I hear so much about Florida's heat and humidity that it is a little odd to see all of the guests in sweaters, sweatshirts, and light jackets. But hey, it was December after all. The sky is a little overcast, but it doesn't look like we need to worry about rain. Yet.
I have no idea which building this is, but I'm sure some of you hotshots will know! Judging from the turned spindles, the building to our left is The Chapeau. That door is blocked off, though it looks like it could be used if need be.
I love a decorated window, and this one looks suitably Christmasy, though it is clear that plush dolls were already dominating at that point. I don't mind dolls, but it got to the point where other more interesting merchandise had no place to go.
And finally, a topiary of Mickey Mouse was placed at the apex of a mountain of poinsettias - right where the "Partners" statue would go in June of 1995.
THANKS AS ALWAYS to Lou and Sue!
27 comments:
Major-
At a time when Xmas decorations at the Parks could still fall in the category of Less is More. Those days have long since passed into the annals of history.
That 'mystery' building in the fifth image is right next door to The Chapeau - and at one time was a part of The Chapeau. LOOK HERE.
Thank you Lou & Sue for helping put us into the Christmas spirit.
"Christmastime at the The Magic Kingdom, 1990". The the? ;-)
Next to the Fire Station, it looks like Eeyore is being taken to jail. Perp walk!
The 2nd photo is a keeper! (and I did!) I see lots of Disney rain ponchos, no doubt to protect guests from the incessant dust storms that occur daily in the dry Florida desert climate.
In the Christmas tree photo, the trashcan is imploring us to "waste please". Seems odd that they're telling us to waste, at least they're polite about it.
Thanks to Lou and Sue for the photos. And thanks to Major for posting them.
- Jerked Bed-curtains (the Ghost of Christmas Past quickly drawing aside Scrooge's bed-curtains as the clock strikes 'One')
Major, I wish 1990 was only "21 years ago." Time is flying by too fast!
It's funny that out of that family of three (in front of the "Chapeau" shop), the dad is the one who is wearing the character hat. And it's not just "mouse ears," it's a full "Mickey face" hat.
Could they have possibly built another apartment above the Firehouse at WDW? I'm guessing that Roy didn't plan to spend the night in the park very often, if at all, but could an apartment have been built for other Disney family members to use?
"Jerked Bed"....it's what you serve jerk chicken or jerk pork on, and can consist of either a bed of rice, or a bed of lettuce. ;-)
- Toky O Holy Night!
Oooops! I forgot to thank Lou, Sue, and the Major, too!
And DrGoat...I'm still thinking of you and your wife, and sending good thoughts your way!
- Toky O (fill in the blank with the appropriate Christmas song.)
Test
This is the fourth time my comment disappeared
The WDW Fire House is a beauty! It’s a combination of two real structures .... ironically neither that were fire stations. The tower is a hose drying tower - Disneyland has one too but it’s located towards the rear of the structure.
The Chapeau facade annex has also had a odd look to me - like part victorian and part colonial . I don’t think it was ever Accessible by guests - in fact most of its time in the 70’s and 80’s it had a static Borden Dairy wagon parked out front guests liked to take pictures with - similar to Disneyland’s Carnation Milk Truck.
Seeing these pictures reminds me of how nice holiday visits to Disneyland and Walt Disney World used to be. You knew there could be crowds but it was festive not chaotic and frustrating .
Test.
In my wife’s family tradition, the Chapeau was your first stop inside the Magic Kingdom to get yourself a hat with your name on it. We did the same thing with our kids on their first visit.
The 1982 MK guide actually puts the location number (24) on top of the “Chapeau Annex” rather than the actual entrance, while the 1971 guide shows a rough outline of the interior of the shops, showing that space (as well as a significant amount of real estate behind the facade) as part of the shop. I have no personal memory of the shop being that big, but I probably just wasn’t paying attention, being completely focused on my own almost-three-year-old’s experience.
Jerked Bed-curtains, if you consider “The Magic Kingdom” to be a complete proper noun, “the The Magic Kingdom” is perfectly cromulent.
Toky O (fill in the blank with the appropriate Christmas song), “Toky O Christmas Tree,” maybe? I think that’s appropriate in your case. ;-)
My understanding is that they were planning a Disney family apartment in the upper levels of Cinderella Castle, but that plan - like the apartment over the Pirates of the Caribbean entrance at Disneyland - was scrapped after Roy’s death. Both were eventually - like 35 years later - turned into Million Dreams Suites.
That has me wondering…was there a plan to turn the apartment over the Disneyland Fire Station into something else once the New Orleans Square apartment was finished?
Mike, I feel your pain. I guess I got lucky today.
Chuck, I forgot about the Dream Suite in Cinderella's Castle. Gee, there must be a lot of room up there if they can have a full service restaurant for guests, AND a suite for contest winners and VIPs.
I used Toky O Tannenbaum earlier this month, but thanks for the suggestion. I may still use it, if I run out of Christmas names!
Pic 1- Yes, obviously our favorite gloomy donkey has been busted for arson...again. By the way, the "71" on the station is a nod to the year the park opened.
Pic 2- I stood in that same spot (ok, maybe slightly to the left) and listened to the Main Street Philharmonic play Christmas songs. I have it on video, so I know it really happened! That was about 2010.
Pic 3- "The Chapeau" doesn't stand out in my memory. I wonder if it's still there or has it been gobbled up by a plush and t-shirt store? By the way, when they opened the walls to the shops all the way down on the west side of the street, it pretty much destroyed the illusion that you were in different buildings. TRE.
Pic 4- I seem to remember current trees being fuller than that, but maybe not. I've akways liked how MK's train station is massive! It alao makes a great place to catch an up- high view of the parades.
Pic 5 is a good example of how the style of buildings and paint selection is more "Eastern Seaboard" than at Disneyland.
Pic 6- I always love the window displays...especially if they're animated!
Pic 7- This one hints at how big Cindy's Castle really it. Even in the background, it dwarfs (IP tie in) the Mickey in the foreground. Even though they used forced perspective, the building is genuinely huge. Granted it's pretty much restaurant and apartment with a bunch of fiddley bits around them, but that restaurant is big, baby, BIG! All in all, it's brilliantly done.
Thanks, Lou and Sue!
Good views today, Major.
The Victorian styling atWDW was more elongated and exaggerated than Disneyland. I prefer the more “normal” proportions of the original. I wonder if there was a sense of being able to stretch out, not constrained by the smaller Park? It was a design trope that we saw in other places during the 70’s Victorian Revival, so maybe not.
I like the detailing on those buildings, but they just seem too tall.
Thanks Lou and Sue.
JG
1990 is 31 years ago (I wish it were 21!) :)
Also, "The Chapeau" is now sadly history as it was recently taken over by the expanded Confectionary next door (the north east corner shop)...the interior renovation has not been well received...bland and barely in theme.
Nanook, like I said, the decorations seen in today’s photos are *JUST RIGHT*. Christmasy, without being over the top or garish (I guess that’s redundant). Thank you for the ID on The Chapeau!
JB, “The the” is a cool band from the ‘80s and ‘90s, I saw them live! Imagine sharing a cell with Eeyore, nothing but griping all day long. I think it’s funny when I see those rain ponchos on eBay, some sellers think they’re going to get $50 for one. Good luck to them. A trash can’s only purpose is to eat trash, so of course they want us to “waste please”.
TokyoMagic!, I guess you didn’t learn the New Math! I’d blame it on a typo but… nope. That Mickey Face hat is weird, not sure I like it. THOSE EYES! I doubt Roy ever wanted to spend the night at a Disney park, although I have heard that there used to be a cabin (or something) from the construction days. Not sure if that’s true.
TokyoMagic!, yes, get well soon DrGoat!
Mike Cozart, you get an A++ with a smiley face.
Mike Cozart, I am very sorry! I actually wrote to Google/Blogger telling them about the problem, but of course I will get no reply, and I have no idea if anybody has seen my letter.
Mike Cozart, I agree, that building is very nice, it looks so “stretched”. Funny that it was based on two structures that were not fire houses! I’m not sure where The Chapeau is in relation to Liberty Square, if it’s close to the Plaza, maybe they adjusted the architecture to reflect what was going on in that nearby land? I never knew about the Borden Dairy wagon, now I have to look for pix of it. Thanks Mike, sorry again about the lost comments.
Mike Cozart, now you get THREE smiley faces and two stars.
Chuck, well so much for my theory that The Chapeau was up near the Plaza! Thank you (as always) for all of the research and “visual aids” (as they called them in school), you go above and beyond the call of duty. And yes, what three-year-old would be paying attention to the size of a particular shop! I would just wonder where the “baffroom” is. I didn’t know that there was ever a plan to have a Disney family apartment in the Castle, the thought is intriguing. They would need their own discreet entrance, maybe even an elevator. And a soft-serve ice cream machine, of course. What are they doing with those dumb “Million Dreams” suites, anyway? I wonder about Walt’s Apartment as well; today it is “sacred ground”, but maybe in 1966 somebody might have had a bright idea to sell plush dolls up there.
Chuck, it’s a Christmas miracle!
TokyoMagic!, they should have a half-court basketball area up there too, in honor of the one in the Matterhorn.
Stu29573, arson, the nastiest crime. Or is that murder? I always forget. I thought that the “71” was a hint: 7 + 1 = 8, and that’s how many pieces of gum I am chewing. How did they know? I would assume that there is still a good demand for souvenir hats, but can’t say for sure. On my last visit to Disneyland I sure saw plenty of silly hats. Like Disneyland, they have probably replaced the trees at the Magic Kingdom a few times over the years, so that might explain the size disparity. I personally admire Cinderella Castle for its size, and it is pretty, but somehow it leaves me kind of cold. I realize that this is probably due to my bias, and the fact that I am a cyborg.
JG, I’ve always felt that the architecture on Main Street in Florida is SO grand, and so elaborate that it stops feeling as if it has any connection to a real town. That being said, I have seen postcards of some old cities with some crazy elaborate architecture, so maybe I am completely wrong. It’s like my feelings about the castle… I admire it, but I can’t love it.
Anon, I was using lizard years, I should have said.
Anon, ah, so much for my assumption that The Chapeau was still going strong! People love their candy, I guess. Thank you.
There;s no Christmas like a Disney Christmas!
They're not taking Eeyore to jail; just for a 72-hour psychiatric hold to adjust his depression medication. It always gets worse this time of year.
Great photos Sue. I sight for sore eyes.
Thanks TM, Chuck....well everyone, for your thoughts. You are all very special.
Dr. had me on steroids and anti biotics for a week, finally done with that. Especially the steroids(ugh). Getting a little better. At least feeling a bit human again. More than human may come later.
Wishing you all a healthy, fun Christmas with lots of good food with family. May all our wishes come as close to true as possible.
Thank you Sue and Lou and David.
@ MIKE-
Not certain the year of this image [obviously around Halloween], but as you can see HERE, at one point in time the 'annex' was hats-a-plenty - including a fancy sign.
Yay DrGoat! Am glad you’re back!
I’ll stop back later today, when I have some free time.
Melissa, with today’s modern drugs, Eeyore should be much more happy!
DrGoat, thanks for letting us know that you are doing better! Sounds like this flu really hit you hard. Looking forward to hearing from you more as you continue to improve.
Nanook, I can only assume that some genius figured out that the park could sell way more candy than hats. Gotta increase those sales!
Lou and Sue, you’re too busy! ;-)
Good News, Dr. Goat. Glad to hear you are feeling better!
JG
Nanook: the Chapeau annex image would have to be in the 2000’s period as the parade gate features the “River Excursion” billboard .... and now lots of safety railings have been added. At I’ve point I know there was a Disney Vacation Club “office” in the same space.
Toky OHN, I caught the double "the" but I somehow missed the "21 years".
Ha! I actually did think of jerked chicken when I wrote that.
Toky O(...), about the only other one I can think of (that you haven't used yet) is "O Come All Ye Faithful". At least, I don't think you've used it yet?
Chuck, cromulent or not cromulent, one still stumbles over it and scrapes their knee.
Stu, "TRE", is that the first time it's been abbreviated like that?
Major, "7 + 1 = 8, and that’s how many pieces of gum I am chewing. How did they know?" That's a good summation of how Numerology 'works'. You can take any set of numbers and make them mean anything you want.
Wow, I didn't know you were a cyborg! I guess that means you'll be doing this blog for at least another hundred years, right? RIGHT?!
Melissa, I'm glad to hear Eeyore is just getting his meds adjusted. Everything is right with the world again.
DrGoat, thank you for chiming in to give us an update. Getting better is always good news.
DrGoat! So glad things are taking a turn for the better.
I'm not sure, JB, but it's a huge time saver! Especially since it needs to be said so much!
Thank you for the nice comments.
I wish Disney World was still like this, but at least we can go back together, with these pictures.
Stu, "TRE" is perfect. Short and simple. (Though I love Bu's term, but can't remember exactly how he spelled it...D'ruin Vreethin ??)
Am so glad DrGoat is back. Now, all we need is to hear from Irene - so that we know she's doing well, too. (I sure hope ALL the Jr. Gorillas are healthy and doing well.)
Thanks, Major!
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