Two Beauties From May 1980
I love Main Street almost as much as I love short shorts, and that's saying something. Especially when it's "classic" Main Street! I will randomly assign "1980 and before" as "classic" because it suits my needs today. Ask me tomorrow and I will probably give you a different answer.
SO... 1980 was Disneyland's 25th Birthday. And that was 42 years ago. Look, I'm not happy about it, but you depend on me to state the facts. It's part of my journalistic integrity.
Check out this beautiful late-afternoon photo looking north toward the castle. The Chinese Elms have gotten pretty tall, but they've obviously been given haircuts so that they don't block the view too much. (I originally mis-typed "Chinese Elmos", which is something else entirely). It's very busy for May, but gosh it looks so nice. I'll bet the air was starting to cool, and soon the lights would turn on, and the sky would continue to darken. What ride do we want to do first? It's never an easy decision.
We've walked through the castle, and into Fantasyland proper, with the Carrousel twinkling (always twinkling!). I am imagining the song "Once Upon a Dream" playing in that unique carrousel sound, smelling popcorn, watching the Skyway come and go in the distance... no wonder I loved Disneyland so much!
19 comments:
I count only 4 trashcans in the first photo (too many people). I love the lighting here; partly in sunlight, partly in shadow. And the castle looks especially pleasing, partly obscured like that. The Elmos look nice, all grown up. More like a real street.
In the second photo, that stroller to the left of center has two kids facing in opposite directions. Sort of like a Pushmi-Pullyu. I wonder if the boy facing us is sitting on an actual seat or just hitching a ride in the 'luggage compartment'.
I thought they switched to the white carousel horses during the Fantasyland re-do in '83. Guess not.
Yes, we have no trashcans. We have no trashcans today (in photo #2).
Thanks for a couple of nicely lit Disneyland photos, Major.
JB: I think it was in 1975 or 1976 all the King Arthur carousel horses were painted white. At some point a single white horse was added to the fleet of steeds … and caused a BIG problem with guests rushing to get the single white horse - so they were all painted white.
It was Disneyland of 1978 - 1981 that really solidified my passion for Disneyland …. So todays images are the way Disneyland is always in my mind. And on Main Street Disneyland showcase featured the “coming soon” Discovery Bay & Dumbo Circus displays and a display about the new Tokyo Disneyland. The Disneyanna Shop sold real animation cels and displays, signs and props used in disneyland. You couldn’t purchase any attraction posters … but you could buy attraction posters mirrors…. They were attraction posters like Disneyland Railroad , Jungle Cruise , Big Thunder etc… but done like those old fashioned beer or Coca Cola mirrors.
JB, I think that kid is riding in the basket on the back of the stroller.....and enjoying it. I don't see anyone attending to them. Maybe they came to the park by themselves, and he pushes his sister around in the stroller, by "kicking his feet" out in front of him?
Then a little to the right, we have a baby who has face-planted in his or her stroller. And to the right of that, we have another baby who is looking up in the sky for Tinkerbell and her fireworks. Silly baby.
Mike, I remember those mirrors. There was also a Space Mountain attraction poster mirror. I always regretted not buying that one. The JC one was nice too (even though it was the "newer" version of the JC poster), because it had a "bamboo" frame. The only mirror I bought, was the only one that wasn't an attraction poster. It had the image of the Castle on it. I still have it and the original box it came in!
Oh, and I think that's "Kitty Forman" from That '70s Show, in the first photo (red blouse with flowers).
Shoot! Everyone else has already pointed out all the cool details. So, um, note you can see the blue table umbrellas of Coke Corner in the first photo. And, uh, if you look really closely in the second picture, you can see that Ken Martinez is riding in that orange Skyway bucket. He’s just bent over to tie his shoe.
A sight for sore eyes. I agree with Mike. I got re-acquainted with Disneyland in 1979 after not visiting the park for about 5 or 6 years. From then on it was back to the park as often as I could. The 80s were a great decade for me and Disneyland. Till about '96 or '97. Didn't stop me from going, but things had changed. Something I can't quite put my finger on, or just don't want to think about.
Ma Barker and her son look appropriately stern in the second pic.
Thanks Major. I'd jump into that first photo in a heartbeat.
The pictures have the best you-are-there effects, and todays commentary is top-notch. Major, you have summed up Main Street, thank you.
Of course, the Junior Gorilla comments just add to the fun.
I never saw this Park, but it’s close enough to my last visit before my interregnum that it looks familiar and right.
Cheers all!
JG
JB, it’s funny, even now I still haven’t gotten into the habit of counting trash cans. Maybe someday? I think you are right about that one kid just sitting in the storage compartment, it doesn’t look particularly comfortable for sitting in that position for very long. Unless it’s supposed to give kids character.
Mike Cozart, it seems weird to me that so many people apparently wanted to ride a white carrousel horse. Not sure I ever cared, but… I believe it. I do miss the multi-colored horses, but painting them all white was probably a good solution to an odd problem. I wonder how much an animation cel cost back then? Just think how much those have increased in value! I don’t think I’ve ever see one of those attraction poster mirrors, surprisingly. I wonder if they were silkscreened onto the glass?
TokyoMagic!, yes, that was my thought too. The kids came to the park without parents, just moments before this photo was taken they were both smoking cigarettes. Laying face-down in a stroller is interesting, but I guess it keeps the sun out of your eyes. I wonder what the baby really was looking at! An escaped balloon? Also, do you recall how large those poster mirrors were?
TokyoMagic!, who is Kitty with? That’s not Red or Eric!
Chuck, those blue umbrellas are the coolest detail! ;-) I’m glad that Ken was tying his shoe, we don’t want any tripping accidents at Disneyland.
DrGoat, I’ve known people who used to go to the park ALL the time - Mr. X, for instance; and at some point he reduced his visits drastically. I think his situation changed, the park changed, and it just didn’t have the appeal that it used to. I know it broke his heart to see some of the changes that were done in the 1990s. But he has gone twice fairly recently, and as much as he wanted to hate “Rise of the Resistance”, he had to admit that it was a pretty great ride.
JG, it’s funny how a nice Main Street photo can make me so happy. Sure it’s fun to get rare photos of the Viewliner or whatever, but seeing the park at its best is such a joy. Cheers to you!
Mike, thanks for the change-over year of the carousel. You'd think they would've waited a couple more years to do it for the big Fantasyland make-over.
Tokyo!, I was going to mention the lack of parental supervision on that double-kid stroller. But then I spotted the lady in yellow just to the right. I assume she's the mom. But I like the idea of the boy pushing the stroller along with his feet. Sorta like a mini Mark Twain paddle wheel.
Chuck, thanks for pointing out those fascinating aspects of today's photos. I totally missed K. Martinez in the Skyway bucket... are you sure it wasn't J. Nartubez?
Major, I don't usually count the trashcans, either; only sometimes.
"Unless it’s supposed to give kids character". More likely, it'll give kids a crooked spine. But I suppose, that too, would give kids character.
My favorite bit of people-watching today is the two ladies pushing strollers by the carrousel: their outfits are color-coordinated with their babies'!
"And, uh, if you look really closely in the second picture, you can see that Ken Martinez is riding in that orange Skyway bucket. He’s just bent over to tie his shoe."
Schroedinger's Ken. You never know if he's in any given Skyway bucket or not. If the philosophy gets any deeper around here I'm going to need some more ice cream.
I love the blue-and-white anniversary banners, and I'm in total agreement that this era was a great time for the parks.
I can barely understand English Elmo, let alone Dutch Elmo!
^ To say nothing of Chinese Elmo!
Melissa, Schroedinger’s Ken - I love it!
And why wait for deep, philosophical thoughts? The ice cream’s right there. We won’t say anything.
Anon, Joy dishwashing liquid?! ;-)
JB, maybe they wanted to get a head-start on the upcoming Fantasyland redo, since I’m sure they knew it was coming many years in advance. You’re probably right about the lady in yellow being the mom of those kids. Chuck, it is sometimes hard to tell K. Maritnez from J. Nartubez, some poeple actually think they are the same person!
Melissa, ha ha, I didn’t notice that those women actually coordinated their wardrobe to go with their kids. The ultimate accessories! “Schroedinger’s Ken”, you mean the character from “Peanuts” who plays the piano? ;-) I was well into my Disneyland fandom in 1980, and was still getting “Disney News” in the mail, always a good day when one of those arrived. Poor Dutch Elmo had that disease. You know the one.
JB, Elmo had such a vast and rich lineage!
Chuck, thanks now I want ice cream.
in watching recent Park walk-through videos (which I find very entertaining to have on in the background while working), I see that the latest innovation is to have both bands and "face" characters ride on the Carousel. I think this is brilliant, but maybe it is only new to me. At least I don't recall seeing it.
One video has Mary Poppins and Bert riding on the horses, while the Pearly Band sits on one of the benches and some other horses, playing tunes from that movie. Just perfect recreation of the movie scene, right down to a poor guy in a stuffed penguin suit.
Another one had Gaston and Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Belle was a very pretty girl, as she should be, while Gaston had a funny padded fake torso so he had the exaggerated physique of the character, and a big wig with the pompadour.
I'm glad Ken got that Skyway ride, but I would wait till I arrived at the other end to tie my shoe so I wouldn't miss the view of the Castle roof. I always expected to see scorch marks from the fireworks rockets up there, but never did.
JG
Major, has anybody ever seen K. Martinez and J. Nartubez together at the same time? Maybe they are the same person!
Does Schroedinger's Ken have a cat? We'll only know for sure if we look inside the Skyway bucket. Meanwhile, yes. Schroedinger's Ken has a cat.
I love the first image. The buildings appear to all be wearing green headdresses. Beautiful Main Street view.
—Sue
Major; Those attraction poster mirrors featured a lithographed copy of the full attraction poster under glass. The area the featured the largest background color was covered up with a mirrored material on the front of the glass… then it was framed. It’s possible the mirror material was screenprinted … but I’m not sure how that process is done. The company that manufactured the attraction poster mirrors was MURRAY SKOFF ENTERPRISES of LA ( long gone ) they actually provided Disney with screenprinted graphics on decal like material for the popcorn wagons and some of the trashcans when Disney stopped hand painting them. So the company was doing silkscreening …. But they were not silkscreeening attraction posters for Disney… and least they were not one of three outside companies that screened attraction posters for Disney at various times.
I know the big new fantasyland project as built was a late in the game version - as early 1965 a New Fantasyland was tabled about … even by Walt at the Disneyland 10th dinner .. by 1973 a slow multiphase Fantasyland upgrade was in process … this brought new color schemes and graphic changes and dimensional animation created for Walt Disney World. The earliest “new fantasyland “ as we know it from 1983 is proposed in 1981. The idea was to get Discovery Bay constructed …. To open access to Discovery Bay … big thunder would go in …. But after big thunder to help open access to discovery bay some fantasyland improvements would need to done ….. and it was decided to go head with the fantasyland improvements first …. Then start work on Discovery Bay ….. then while work on discovery bay …. Along came Eisner and stopped ALL theme park projects …. Including discovery bay and a new Tomorrowland ( with the horizons ending “Century of Progress” attraction …”
.....do you recall how large those poster mirrors were?
Major, without getting it out, I would guess that the mirrors were about 12 or 14 inches x 18 inches. The "Castle" one had a pretty wide frame around it. I don't think the others had as wide of a frame. At least, the Space Mountain one didn't. The Castle version is a photo of the Castle, with the entire "sky" behind it being the mirror. That is the reason I bought that one. I will eventually get it out and photograph it, and then share the pic!
One more detail I remember about the souvenir mirrors. I remember they were on display in the Main St. Emporium (in a glass case under one of the counters), and in Tomorrowland's Character Shop (over in the section where the souvenir films and slides were sold, next to the exit to ATIS, and again, in a glass case underneath the counter). It doesn't mean that they weren't sold elsewhere in the park, but those are the only two places that I remember seeing them. You had to ask a salesperson to see them, and then when you told them which one you wanted to purchase, they had to go into a stockroom in the back, to get one that was still "sealed" in it's cardboard box.
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