Sunday, October 08, 2023

Snoozles™

It's SNOOZLE TIME! Like Hammer Time only snoozelier. Both of today's scans are dated "January, 1964", not that you can really tell by looking at them. 

This first one could have been taken from the Columbia, but I'd bet dollars to donuts that it was taken from the top deck of the Mark Twain. The old spidey senses don't lie. Anyway, I know that this view has been seen by all of us at least 4,335 times, but that's why this picture is on a Snoozle Sunday. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just kind of "blah". To the right we can see a man walking away from us in shirtsleeves and a black vest, I wonder if he was a performer in the Golden Horseshoe?


This is kind of an unusual angle taken from the Plaza, with a Horse Drawn Streetcar clippety-clopping past. Professor Henry Higgins is followed by Dottie Doolittle (Eliza's younger sister), they're headed to the Candy Palace for some vanilla fudge. The Plaza Pavillion is barely visible in the background.


 

11 comments:

  1. We get a really good look at the crane/hoist atop the Golden Horseshoe roof. Probably the best we've seen. It looks like the crane is about to snag the CM in the black vest. Hey! Maybe that's what the crane is for: Hoisting up CMs to get them backstage in a hurry. (Or vice versa.)
    Not sure, but I think Mr. Blackvest is a Mark Twain/Columbia CM. We've seen other CMs dressed like that at the dock.

    Dottie Doolittle has a name tag on her Barbie Pink sweater. Her whole getup looks conspicuous to me, like she's a caricature. Meanwhile, Professor Higgins is checking his phone for recent texts.

    I've never seen such nice Snoozles before; not blurry, not faded, perfect lighting. Thanks, Major.

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  2. I second JB’s motion, Mr. Chairman. I think that’s Mark Twain crew member, too, possibly heading to get something to eat on break. Roberts’ Rules of Order say you have to open the floor for a vote now.

    If you look to the left of the “1871 Slue-Foot Sue’s Golden Horseshoe” sign, you can see a couple of details from the Tiki Room roofline peeking up over the GH’s, um, whaddyacallit, not cornice but, uhhh, oh, maybe the word I’m looking for is facade?

    If you look really closely, in the lower left corner of the first photo, just in front of the roof of the Twain / Columbia loading dock structure, you can see this website’s watermark.

    I agree with JB that these are pretty nice. They’re really more Drowzles than Snoozles - enjoyable, but still not a great idea to drive immediately after viewing.

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  3. I concur that black vest is a Mark Twain employee. A costume that has stayed basically intact for decades, although I do not agree with unbuttoned vests at any time, on any employee...ever. That is quite the crowd waiting for the Horseshoe....very disappointing that this venue is no more than a quick service location, that smells of quick service food. I would say "bring back the show"....in my fantasy world, this is a full service restaurant, with an organized floor show with dancing girls and Slue Foot Sue. I don't really need the Irish tenors (sorry Fulton), or even a comic...(sorry...there was only one Wally.) But I will absolutely take a sassy buxom MC, and lot's of dancing girls. "An appeal to Heaven"....yep...look it up...it looks kind of modern, but it's pre-revolutionary. The Union Jack? I like it...but am not completely understanding...also possibly mixing time periods, but Plaza Pavillion becoming Jolly Holiday is also mixing Victorian and Edwardian...Pink Costume Dot...hmm...wonder what this costume was...complete with headscarf...I'm vexed. Could it be Carnation Plaza Gardens? Could be. Will have to cross reference. Quite amazingly, I think this particular photo could be recreated today...although Mr. Streetcar is sitting down and that is verboten..verboted in my world anyway. Why don't you just put your hands in your pockets and chew gum too...with an unbuttoned vest! He is wearing his jacket, so that is appreciated. I can hear the clippity clop in my head and the moving of the wheels underneath. Time for a Pepsi. Thanks Major!

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  4. Major, don’t feel too bad, photo 1 shows a location for the Lafitte Anchor, previously unknown to me. I recall only seeing it along the esplanade, before that ill-fated attempt to make a bigger Lafitte backstory and moving it to NOS. Didn’t Walt buy the anchor as an anniversary gift for Lillian, as a bookend to the petrified stump?

    And photo 2 is remarkable as a view of the Hub with only one green & yellow trash can. Although to be fair, another can in the restaurant color scheme is visible in the background.

    Bu, you are right, the Golden Horseshoe calls out to be a dinner theater, maybe not quite a burlesque, but that would fit right into the NOS theme. It could be prix-fixe at $150/ pp, two-drink minimum, Mobile Order only, with a Zinger for dessert and the Show is the life of Michael Eisner as a musical, with a Gummi Bear chorus and a bubble machine. My fantasy world is a dark place.

    Thanks Major!

    JG

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  5. JB, I think you’ve finally solved the mystery of the Golden Horseshoe crane. I will alert all of the major news outlets! You could be right about Mr. Blackvest, come to think of it, lots of CMs on Main Street and Frontierland wore black vests. It does sort of look like Dottie is wearing a nametag, but she isn’t a CM, so who knows.

    Chuck, I don’t know why Tanya Roberts has rules of order, but… rules are rules, and without them, we have arachnids. Or something like that. I don’t know what you call that architectural detail, I would have thought it was from the top of a Main Street building though. But I’m always wrong! I don’t see the watermark, are you sure about that?

    Bu, how are you supposed to scratch your belly if your vest is buttoned up? I guess you didn’t think about that. Did you? DID YOU? I’d love to know if people would still line up for a show like the original GH Revue… my guess is that the true fans would go ALL the time, kind of like they did for the Aladdin show over at DCA. Irish tenors are appropriately old fashioned, so they belong in a show like the Revue, even if they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. As for buxom showgirls… they are always appropriate! I can’t believe that Dottie is a CM, she is just an odd duck. Not that that’s a bad thing. I swear the streetcar driver sat when I finally rode that attraction, were tey really supposed to stand the whole time?

    JG, good eye on Lafitte’s Anchor, somehow I always think of it as being more or less in the location in the photo, and not so much in NOS, even though I could see why New Orleans would make sense. Walt bought Lillian a bowling ball that was way too heavy for her. “Oh well, I guess I”ll use it! Heh heh”. Poor Lillian. The good news is that Walt later bought her a vacuum cleaner, every woman’s dream gift. I’m not crazy about the idea of the Golden Horseshoe theatre being turned into a dinner theatre (theater?), just because it would be another case of overcharging for an underwhelming experience and underwhelming food. But there WOULD be a Zinger, so….

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  6. @ Chuck-
    "...oh, maybe the word I’m looking for is facade?"

    All I know is, in the 'olden days' of the backlot tour at USH, a portion of the spiel included a discussion of the standing sets, and part of the description went like this: "... those are called 'facades'. Facade is French for 'false front' ". There ya go.

    Major-
    I think "Dottie" IS a CM. By wearing a babushka and carrying a "guide book", she's moving around incognito-!

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  7. Two different times in the last 10 years Disneyland brought back The Golden Horseshoe show as a special ticket event of a 3 - 4 day showing. All times the performances sold out immediately. The show featured performers and musicians that had been a part of the original DL & WDW versions of the show … and combined numbers from The Golden Horseshoe Revue and The Golden Horseshoe Jamboree … a few of the dancers were new . The shows were glorious … it was like it never went away…. But I imagine the cost to do a show like that several times a day would be way more than Disney would like to spend : besides : guests already are in the park … why give them more for free!???

    Tokyo Disneyland still performs 3 different shows multiple times a day …including the HOOP DE DO REVUE dinner show … the Diamond Horseshoe Revue and an alternating show usually character based .. like Pecos Goofy country Western hoedown … etc …

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  8. "Professor Henry Higgins is followed by Dottie Doolittle (Eliza's younger sister)"

    "The rain on Main falls mainly on the train!"

    You know, it's never struck me until just now that Rex Harrison played both Dr Dolittle and the teacher of Eliza Doolittle. Coincidence?

    The absence of a show in both Horseshoe saloons is sad indeed. Do they even do a show during hard ticket events anymore? I remember them doing a Halloween themed one in Florida a few years ago during the Not So Scary Party, but I'm not sure if they've continued with it.

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  9. The Golden Horseshoe in my fantasy world, has amazing food, with amazing servers that don't say cliche things like "My name is Julie and I will be your server today." I'm a grump, sorry: I just don't need to know your name...and I'd rather get a "whaddayawant?" but a "whaddayawant" with amazing food. The park needs some amazing food...be known for something other than "wow that was expensive and I was on my phone all day". I will take..."yes...so very crowded, but had the most amazing Cowboy Steak at the Golden Horseshoe! With amazing dancing girls". Just my .02. The Golden Horseshoe is a historic place...one day it's the glamorous anniversary party of the person who's Company bears your name...and the next: "Quick Service". I am not particularly sad, as the building is still standing and intact...just disappointed that they (the TRE-ers) just can't see the forest through the trees.

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  10. @ Melissa-
    Spot-on, as per usual-!

    (Is there room for this... The rain on Jolly Holi... falls mainly on the trolley).

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  11. @Nanok, always room for a second verse!

    With alcohol being served in all the parks now, I wonder why they don't turn the saloons into actual saloons.

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