Scenes From October, 1981
I have a quartet of photos taken by Lou Perry, scanned (as always) by his daughter, Sue B. These feature the Plaza area.
Like many before him, Lou was mighty taken with the sight of a Horse Drawn Streetcar as it made its way around the central hub. I want to jump on board while it's moving! Sort of an 1890s version of Tony Hawk (or some daredevil). But that's probably frowned upon. Notice that Smitty has forgotten to open the umbrellas... we'll have to give him a talking-to. That Smitty!
Did Lou run ahead to catch the same Streetcar at a different point on the Plaza? Or did he patiently wait (while whistling "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain") for it to come back around? Everything is so green and lush. Even the guests.
There's a popcorn vendor, I think that we've heard that this particular location can be the busiest (and most profitable) during busy days. Did you know that they won't give you free popcorn, even if you tell them that you are Walt Disney's son? The nerve!
I admit that this one is a bit of a cheat... technically Lou might be standing on Adventureland pavement, though he has not yet stepped beneath the arched sign. It's nice to see Uti (goddess of fishing) in her canoe overhead. According to an article on the Re-Imagineering blog, Uti and her canoe collapsed onto the ground due to negligence (i.e. wood rot) on January 8, 2000).
THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!
13 comments:
Señor Horse looks kind of... plump. I've never seen a Disneyland horse this 'sturdy' before. So why are the umbrellas not open? They do look kinda nice and elegant like this, though. I bet kidney-stone kid's tree is in this pic somewhere.
Three trashcans in his photo. And the number of the trashcans in this photo shall be three; no more, no less. Four, is right out!
In the 2nd pic, it looks like somebody hung their cookware out to dry on that lamppost back there.
3) There are several pigeons eating popcorn next to the popcorn wagon. Did someone throw some corn around for the pigeons? Or is that just the natural spillage that occurs around the wagon?
4) I have no idea what those things are printed on that guy's shirt. A flock of feral strollers are grazing on the right. You can tell they're feral because there aren't any kids in them.
Thank you Sue, and your dad, too. Thanks, Major.
In the first pic, one (probably both) of the Tomorrowland entrance planters is all dirt! Maybe they were trying something different with the landscaping. Maybe whoever was responsible for Tomorrowland '98 was already thinking ahead, back in 1981, and wanted to give "the color of dirt" a trial run at the entrance to the land. I know.....I just can't let that go.
The second pic has the same people riding on the Horse Drawn Streetcar, so it was actually taken before photo #1.
In the third pic, Popcorn Guy is leaning and has his hand on his hip....or in his pocket. Bad show! We need Bu to give him a "write-up" in his employee file.
This must have been a weekday, to have so few people in the park. However, just being the month of October would have made it the off-season, back then. I'm having trouble remembering now, but based on the date that Sue gave me previously, I seem to remember that this series of pics from October 1981 were taken either just before, or just after I had auditioned for the Christmas parade. It was the same month, anyway.
I remember that sad blog post about Uti. I can't believe that was from 17 years ago! And it's just another example of Disney not caring anymore.
Thank you for more 1981 DL pics, Lou, Sue, and Major, too!
Now I can't shake the mental image of Tony Hawk doing a kickflip dressed as Bert the chimney sweep. "Grind the railing, step in time, grind the railing, step in time..."
She'll be comin' 'round the Plaza when she comes,
She'll be comin' 'round the Plaza when she comes,
She'll be comin' 'round the Plaza
In a streetcar, not a Mazda,
She'll be comin' 'round the Plaza when she comes!
Very thoughtful of the popcorn vendor to hold that umbrella up.
I wish I could make out the pattern on the straggler's shirt. Tall ships? I can't see Uti's name written out without thinking, "better get some antibiotics and cranberry juice."
Thanks to Lou & Sue & the Major, too!
Comprehensive tour of the Plaza today. We are seeing the same three trash cans from different angles, but I think the ODV popcorn pic wins with certainly five and possibly seven (seen through the shrubbery). JB there’s 2 Monty Python references today.
I spot my favorite can design at the Adventureland entry with the bamboo pattern.
Disney should hire big game hunters to reduce the population of feral strollers and make their skins into luggage and ladies’ coats.
Remember when they tried to hide speakers by painting them go-away green instead of building giant castle-like gate houses to house them?
Thanks to Lou & Sue & the Major, too!
JG
A lot to say, and not a lot of time this morning to say it! Awesome LUSH Central Plaza! Loving all of it. Umbrellas down? It was a windy night probably and they are not up yet...OR...a windy day is coming. Dirt in Tomorrowland planters: just the season. Remember that this is soon after the Monday Tuesday closed thing where that work was done on those days. Landscaping is hard in the dark, so now it has become part of the vernacular of everyday life in Disneyland to see empty beds in transition. I used to be horrified...and "bad show" blah blah blah...then got used to it. I think I only remember sturdy horses like this: the side of the hooves...wow...he is a biggie, and probably had a butch name to go with it...or something opposite, like "Delilah"... Speakers appropriately sized and in go away green. Thank you. OK, Popcorn Vendor: there is a lot going on here: 1st of all: it's a releif...giving Gene a break/lunch/etc. This guys name (I think) was LEE, but he also had a second name tag that said another name as his alternate personality. If you look up "Shennanigans"...this guys photo shows up. He was legendary, and I think has been in a couple of other photos in other parts of the park. I've told some stories...and if they were somewhat unbelievable: this is the ring leader. This was busy cart because it was the ONLY one open that was operating open to close every day. It's the only full time wagon in the park: or "was" and Gene was the only (statused) full time vendor in the park. Gene was SOP all the way. Lee: nope...if there was popcorn on the ground it was your job to clean it up. there was a dust pan and broom at every wagon in the bin with the popcorn seed, oil, boxes and everything else you needed. If there was popcorn on the ground here, I can pretty much guarantee that Lee threw it down there to feed the birds tuppence a bag. This location's costume was officially Main St. Merchandise, which is why the yellows dictate that the relief is giving some relief to Gene. I am looking at that photo again...that is not Lee...this is another shenanigans guy, and don't remember his name. Lee wasn't this tall. Anyway...it still took me back :) That was a busy wagon due to the parades, etc. The overall busiest wagon was Frontierland, it was a bit unhinged, but there was more constant foot traffic there. The cash was in the hub: Parades/Fireworks/Etc. Very easily thousands of dollars a day at .50 a box. Do the math. Basically all in $1 bills, and quarters. Your money bag was heavy at the end of the day. And you BETTER balance TO. THE. PENNY. And correct: NO free popcorn for anyone. Some characters tried to bring back empty boxes and say since they weren't in inventory, we can get free popcorn. Uhhhh: "no". Characters are annoying, and I'd rather not risk my employment for you. But thanks. Thats all I got. Thanks Lou and Sue and Major!
Ah...how it reminds me of those days. That plump horse is probably a mature draft as they, like us, add a few more pounds as we age. Hands in pockets is definitely a 'bad show' as I was scolded by Bob Gault while doing same once on the JC dock. Scared me so much I don't do it in formal situations to this day. Talk about the (former) Disney Way staying with you for life! Yes, poor Uti. Change is inevitable no matter how much we prefer it wouldn't. Walked by him numerous times without a thought starting or ending my shift. Cheers to Lou (and Sue) for such nice pics of what was once "off-season" days. KS
Dreamy days! No crowds, no screaming kids, just a handful of strollers. Crisp light, full trees, no holiday decor. THIS is the Disneyland I know best and fell in love with, as my birthday is at the very end of Sept., this is how I would see it every year - while staying at the shockingly affordable DLHotel circa 1970s / early 80s. Good times.
Oops MS
JB, ha ha, maybe that horse was retaining water? That’s something that happens. I guess. Maybe the umbrellas were closed because it was breezy - a stiff wind can lift one of those big umbrellas up and send it flying. I was at a restaurant a few weeks ago, and had fun watching their umbrellas go whipping across the street! I had to look for the “cookware”, I think those are speakers (though you probably knew that). And I’m sure that there will always be some popcorn that falls on to the ground - smart pigeons know that! I can’t quite tell what’s on that guy’s shirt - at first I thought it was sailing ships, but now I’m baffled.
TokyoMagic!, there is nothing more magical than “the color of dirt”. Flowers are so boring, but dirt is where it’s at, daddy-o! The more you think about it, the more your mind will be blown. Maybe the second photo shows the rare time when the streetcar went backwards? You didn’t think of that, did you? DID YOU? Sorry, I get carried away. Oh man, Bu is going to have something to say about Popcorn Guy. Employees MUST stand at attention at all times, and they can’t even use contractions because they are lazy. The whole Uti debacle was a real disgrace, and it makes me crazy that nobody seems to know where Uti actually wound up. Some Imagineer’s backyard, I’m sure. Maybe it will show up at a Van Eaton auction someday.
Melissa, Tony Hawk seems like a good guy, but it’s hard for me to imagine him doing a song and dance routine! Who knows, maybe he’s like a modern day Gene Kelly. Hey, I thought the shirt pattern might be ships too, so… that’s a quorum of two!
JG, it is important to view trash cans from all angles, so that we get to truly know them. Their hopes, their dreams, their insecurities. It’s what makes each one so lovable. Ha ha, “shrubbery”, now that’s an obscure Monty Python reference. OR IS IT? I do love that bamboo pattern on the trash cans as well, and believe that it is entirely hand-painted. Which is cool. Strollers are so bony, it’s hard to make a garment out of them. This is why I prefer to kill endangered animals, like those annoying snow leopards. My Sumatran tiger car seat covers are cool as heck!
Bu, you must be a fast typist if you didn’t have a lot of time! ;-) The Plaza is always a sort of interesting limbo. It’s where we all decide where we want to go next. Decisions, decisions! It’s so crazy to me to think of a time when the park was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, I have to wonder how many hundreds of people made a long drive to Anaheim only to discover the horrible truth? Hopefully they could at least make the short drive over to Knott’s Berry Farm. Or follow their noses to the Alligator Farm - The Smelliest Place on Earth. Oh boy, I was looking forward to your Popcorn Guy commentary! You actually KNEW him?? Amazing. I have no doubt that any ODV in the Plaza would be VERY busy. As a CM, I think I would prefer to be less busy. Because I’m lazy. I kind of admire Lee’s chutzpah, but am not cool with feeding pigeons for any reason. They give me the heebie-jeebies. Imagine making thousands of dollars a day selling 50 cent boxes of popcorn! I’m not sure I can do it. Or I can, but it makes me tired. I’m sort of fascinated that they were SO militant about the popcorn and boxes, but I guess they don’t want to let bad habits set in. Let them know they are being watched and accounted for! Where do they think they are, Six Flags??
KS, I always think of you when I see those horses, knowing that you love them so much. From what I’m told, Disneyland horses are well treated and loved, which is what we would hope for. If “hands in pockets” was bad, I guess picking one’s teeth with a switchblade was a real no-no. Sounds like the “Disney Way” is kind of like military discipline. It never leaves you!
MS, in my mind I don’t tend to think of the 1980s as “the good old days”, but looking at Lou and Sue’s photos, they really were pretty special! This must have been just before Eisner and Co. realized that they could be charing a LOT more for everything.
Tokyo!, Tomorrowland '98: "Someone needs to take a hose to Space Mountain and powerwash all that dirt off!"
Melissa, I liked your "Step In Time" lyrics. [Lawrence Welk voice]: "A real toe-tapper!". "Plaza", "Mazda"... works for me! I thought of tall ships on that guys shirt as well, but some of them don't seem to fit in.
JG, A day without Monty Python is like a day without fish slapping, or silly walks.
Bu, I think the horse's name was "Clodhopper".
KS, I think I'm also a "mature draft" as well.
MS, the '70s and '80s were definitely Disneyland's halcyon days.
Major, Not sure if horses retain water, but I sure do! I have to take a 'water pill' every morning. Well, that's three guesses for "ships" on that guy's shirt; so "ships" it is! (Whether he likes it or not.)
"This guys name (I think) was LEE, but he also had a second name tag that said another name as his alternate personality."
Reminds me of when I used to usher at the opera back in college. I was a sub and not a regular usher, and only the regulars had name tags. So I'd have to grab the name tag of some regular that wasn't there that night. That's how I came to be known as Michelle at the opera. Lots of people called me that anyway, so I was used to answering to it.
JB, "feral strollers" lol!
"The second pic has the same people riding on the Horse Drawn Streetcar, so it was actually taken before photo #1."
TM! I guess when I'm not flopping slides, I'm jumbling the order.
It makes this task much more interesting. Especially for Major. ;o)
Melissa, yeah, "Uti" isn't the best name choice.
"Remember when they tried to hide speakers by painting them go-away green instead of building giant castle-like gate houses to house them?"
JG, HOW can anyone ruin a beautiful castle?? Let me count the ways.
They thought of every way for the Cinderella castle.
Bu, I LOVE that you still love popcorn (your favorite food) -- and treasure your time at DL, selling it. Your stories are fun!
KS, did your time at DL influence your love of horses?
MS, you mention your birthday's the end of September, but I don't know the date. If you want us to throw you a party, let me or Major know the date ASAP, as Major's already on October blog posts. We'd love to celebrate YOU!
Major, you mentioned that Uti collapsed to the ground on January 8, 2000, but it was NOT due to negligence. It was due to Y2K....remember, all sorts of things were supposed to happen including all the planes were going to fall out of the sky?? Yep, and Uti's were supposed to fall from the sky, too. Very sad.
Thanks, everyone, for a fun day with me and my dad in DL!
Sue....not at all. In fact, I never gave them a thought. Today I wish I had taken the opportunity to visit 'The Farm' out back during one of my many beaks in Bear Country. All the years there and I never did. Horses came some 30 years later in life. Go figure! And yes Major, from my understanding of those who worked with them not to mention a visit to their stables in WDW...and almost purchasing a retired one...they are well cared for. KS
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