Two Leftuggies
I have a pair of Leftuggies™ for you today, but they are particularly tasty examples.
First up is this nice shot of the wonderful Motor Boat Cruise (from May, 1960). Sure, everything looks placid and peaceful now, but at the end, the hair on these two will be swept straight back, permanently. No comb will ever tame it. This picture makes me miss this calm, relaxing ride through beautiful "backwater Fantasyland".
Just for fun I am reposting another Motor Boat photo that is also from May, 1960. So it's not a leftuggie, but rather a re-uggie.
At first I thought that this next photo (dated "August, 1969") showed the Alpine Gardens, where the Monsanto House of the Future used to be (but the ponds and waterfalls remained), with pathways leading to the entrance to Tomorrowland in the distance. But now I'm thinking that it might not be? It seems awfully far from Tomorrowland proper. In any case, it's a pretty view. What are those flowers, snapdragons?
I zoomed in because I thought I spied the red vests of Disneyland Tour Guides, but it appears to be a group of school girls who just happen to also wear red vests. And maybe even plaid skirts?
17 comments:
Major-
Snapdragons, fer certain.
Thanks, Major.
#1: Are those two, in the boat closest to us, guys? They're looking very early-seventies with their hairstyles. I'd never guess 1960. In the next boat, I like the kid with his grandma; they give me a good feeling somehow.
The kid in the light-colored coat, to the left of the CM is a pod person, pointing his finger at us and emitting an awful gurgling scream to alert the others of his kind.
#2: A "re-uggie" you say? I wonder what this leftuggie is made of? It may be past its pull date; it's repeating.
#3 & #4: Hmm, definitely close to Tomorrowland. We see the PeopleMover and the America the Beautiful building. Is that a Picture Spot sign? The HOTF had to have been in this general area (before it got chopped to bits). I think your initial guess is probably correct, Major.
Pleasant photos today, Major. Thanks.
Mmmmmmm, Leftuggies™!!!!
JB, "gurgling scream"......that's the best kind of scream.
Major, believe it or not, that water is a part of the Castle moat. That pathway in the foreground, is the one that leads to Snow White's Grotto. Just above that family that is walking towards the vested girls, is Kidney-Stone-Kid's olive tree, which we saw last Friday. Alpine Gardens is just beyond those vested girls. In fact, we can see the remnant of the green planter wall, that was underneath one of the wings of the HOTF. No, not that brick/stone wall that matches the Castle's wall, beyond that. It's kind of washed out in the sunlight. Here's where the photographer was standing when he/she took that pic:
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8126249,-117.9189787,3a,75y,112.38h,107.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sIT20YVqE3WHFH9K1In5loQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
I love the motorboats! I think I've mentioned before that as a kid I even loved those little boat rides that just went around in a circle at carnavals. 'Twas a simpler time...a time when people said "'twas..."
I'm not sure if I want to know the mechanics of a "re-uggie...". Yuck! Nice pic, though!
I'm pretty sure those are flowers, not dragons.
Nice, happy pics today! Thanks!
That could be me and my gran on the boat ride. I liked the boats when I was a young lad, not to scary for an eight year old. The two in the first boat could be time travelers from the 70s, or pod people. Spooky. Thanks Major!
Loved the motorboat cruise. I can understand why it was taken out; slow, gentle, hard to encrust with IP. Rode with my toddler kids when it had plywood cut-outs of Gummi Bears, of all things. Egad.
Thanks for re-upping the second photo, appearing somewhat arid but still worth a look. I thought that souvenir stand didn’t come till later, but it’s welcome just the same.
Agree with Tokyo, photo 3 with snapdragons (lots and lots of snapdragons!) shows the same tree we saw a few days back, right behind the man in the green shirt.
If we look closely in the moat, the wire swan fence is visible in the shrubbery.
Thanks Major!
JG
JG, that structure in the second image is the Fantasyland Train Station. The train is either parked there, or just pulling out of the station. I didn't realize just how close the train tracks were to the Motor Boat waterways, prior to their relocation for It's A Small World.
And the Gummi Bears were Walt's favorite characters to ever come out of his studio. He always said that he wanted them to have their own attraction at Disneyland, but it was just not in the budget for the park's opening. You see, the Imagineers were finally fulfilling Walt's wish, when they created that wonderfully detailed Gummi Bear overlay of the Motor Boat Cruise.
Nanook, I got something right!
JB, I do believe that the two passengers are male. Still in that boyish period. I can sure picture myself riding the Motor Boats with my grandma, my California grandparents spoiled us rotten. It was great. I do wish those pod people would be a bit more chill, all that screaming really gets on my nerves. “Hey, Poddie! Say it, don’t spray it!”. (Got ‘im). To explain the difference between a Leftuggie and a Re-uggie would be like trying to explain quantum physics. Disneyland is so small that you can be near the entrance to Frontierland and still not be that far from Tomorrowland!
TokyoMagic!, I like the kind of scream that ends with me coughing uncontrollably for five minutes. In a nice restaurant. I DO believe that the water could be part of the moat, thank you for the correction. And THAT’S Kidney Stone Kid’s olive tree? I would have never guessed. Cool! Thanks also for the location link.
Stu29573, I guess I wouldn’t mind the removal of the Motor Boats if they’d put something else in. But they just shut them down. Those real USC MBA geniuses, “We can cut costs by eliminating rides and reducing maintenance and personnel”. Gee, really? I would have never thought of that.
Jonathan, I’ve joked that guests could literally fall asleep on the Motor Boats, you’ll wind up back at the dock no matter what. That’s a good thing!
JG, remember, they did encrust the Motor Boats with the Gummi Bears for a while. I never saw that iteration, and from the photos I’ve seen, it was done “on the cheap”, with cheesy plywood cutouts. The bad old days. That “souvenir stand” is Fantasyland Station! Oh yeah, the Swan Fence, developed by DuPont!
TokyoMagic!, great minds think alike. I’m guessing that the train is just pulling away, the engine is pretty far from the station. But… I can’t say for sure. Ha ha, I should have just left YOUR comment, you said the same things I did. I’ve always been baffled by the Gummi Bears/Disney connection. WHY? I never watched the show. Does the company still own a piece of that IP? Why not a Gummi Coaster? Gummi Mountain?
@Tokyo, thanks for the tip on the train station, now that I look closely, I see the train. Had no idea these were that close together back then.
I have no memory of the Fantasyland train station, so no wonder I have a blind spot for it.
Yes, the Gummi overlay was a work of art, no question. Maybe they will put the "Avatar Experience" here by reopening the motorboats and putting up plywood cutouts of the blue aliens, and charging 25$ for a Lightning Pass to ride it.
JG
The kid in the right-hand seat of the foreground boat looks like he beamed in from the planet Vulcan for a motorboat ride. Must be "fasinating" for a desert-dweller!
I love the cast members' snappy striped-shirt costumes. Helloooo, sailors!
JG, I also have no memories of the Fantasyland Train Station, by the time I was old enough to be aware of such things it was long gone. I’m assuming that there could have been a charming Gummi overlay to the Motor Boats (even though I have zero desire for such a thing), the plywood-cutout solution is so unbelievably chintzy and demonstrates that they were only willing to expend the minimal amount of effort on rides at that time.
Melissa, your comment reminds me of when I went to a restaurant for lunch with my grandmother. It was pouring rain that day, and as we waited to be seated, an old gentleman walked up to me, saw my hair plastered down, and said “You look like Mr. Spock”. I had to laugh.
A: I love Gummy Bears...in any form, from any company. I could eat them all day, and sometimes do. I would like a Gummy Bear ride that you ride in a giant gummy bear up a giant gummy mountain and you pass gummy trees and eat them as you ride along. After that, let me go get a shot from my insulin injector...moving on to Motor Boats...which I ALSO love! Looks like HM QE2 is there doing service to the former colonies of America running the mechanics. Thanks your Majesty! The Motor Boats were even fun as bombastic teens as we completely got into the low brow aspects of slow boat on a track...and would start screaming when the got to rocks and rapids...like giddy school girls. So much fun for a B ticket! Those guys look like they have just figured out..."oh...shoot...this is on a track..." Love the employee costume Boatneck and big white trousers...and keds! Looks comfy. The shot of boat/Monorail track and train is awesome and a keeper. Does Cozart have a motor boat in his garage. We all want to know. The motor boat is actually a fun size to go tooling around ponds and such. I would like to have a little one like that. Snapdragons were frequent along the castle moat and always look colorful and pretty. There is "the Tree". You can speculate if it is THE TREE, or A tree...I think that #2 is THE TREE. I thought those were TG's as well...but no riding hats...so "no". You can see foundations for HOTF....another thing they just should have left there. "dash it all". Thanks for the morning fun Major.
Maj, your hair story reminds me of a story Leonard Nimoy used to tell about his father, who was a barber. He saw that his father had put up a picture of Spock in the shop and thought it was just because he was a proud Dad. Turns out the Spock haircut had become so popular that he'd put it up as a reference guide.
Tokyo!, not just a gurgling scream, but an awful gurgling scream!
Stu, I love that "'twas" quote.
JG, as if that puny little fence could keep the infamous Killer Swans from their prey! It is to laugh!
Tokyo!2, your telling of "Walt and the Gummies" contained so much sarcasm that it came up in my throat like last night's pizza.
Major, I think those two guys are foreigners; French maybe. Or some other 'long-haired' country. The guy on the left especially, looks like he just stepped out of 1974.
Melissa, I think the guy next to the Vulcan is a Romulan. Note how they both are covering the tops of their pointy ears; sneaky aliens!
Bu, haha. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about you and your pals feigning sheer terror on the Motorboats. That does seem like fun.
Just to be a contrarian, I think the kids on the boat are girls with pixie cuts.
Dean, I think you absolutely could be right. They both have a kind of androgynous look going on.
I believe only two motorboats were saved and both are suspended above the diners at the “EAT” Ticket restaurant backstage at Disneyland. Disney really got stingy on storage space when DCA was pending … they cleared out all sorts of storage buildings behind fantasyland / TOONTOWN …. And for a time in the late 80’s and 90’s … saved very little … then began getting rid of things that had been protected for a long time …. So much was trashed before a small amount went to Disney Auctioneer’s on EBAY and the MICKEYS ATTIC at the official DisneyAnna Conventions ….
Post a Comment