SNOOZLES™
It's time for more SNOOZLES™ - slides that maybe shoulda stayed in bed. First up is this Canoe-level view of Cascade Peak, from July, 1960. If you're taking pictures, you're not paddling! And even though this is not a great image, it's sort of interesting to see the peak from this low vantage point. It would be fun to get much closer to the waterfalls, perhaps there was a good reason why they didn't?
Next is a shot from August, 1962, another unusual view, but flawed. We're inside a Monorail, and below is a lot of dirt, presumably the early stages of some additions to Frontierland/New Orleans Square. And in the distance is another blurry Monorail, heading toward the Disneyland Hotel station!
20 comments:
Major-
At least the oars in the first image are sharp. Clearly, that was where the photographer's interest was focused, so to speak.
Thanks, Major.
Major, do we get extra points or good luck for spotting a mountain goat - like when we spot a bobsled on the Matterhorn?
….cuz I spot one.
Ooh, Sue is right! There's a bighorn sheep (or is it a mountain goat?) up near the top of Cascade Peak! I thought they had all migrated to greener pastures by this time?
Ah, we can see more of Tokyo!'s Parking Lot Skyway cables... but no buckets... must not have been operating that day... again. There is a light pole way in the background, but I'm gonna pretend it's the Goodyear Blimp, off in the distance.
Are these Snoozles or Snerzles? Whatever they are, thanks, Major.
Row, row, row your boat.
Gently 'round the Peak.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily.
Hope the boat won't leak.
Row, row, row your boat.
In your coonskin cap.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily.
Now I need a nap.
Row, row, row your boat.
'Round the great outdoors.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily.
Oops, I dropped the oars.
Row, row, row your boat.
Hey, pick up the slack!.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily.
Drop the camera, Jack.
^ Wow, four verses! What a treat!
Melissa, absolutely WONDERFUL!
JB, it looks like your Goodyear Blimp is traveling on my Skyway cables!
Ah….JB, you are right. I got my Cascade climbing critters confused.
Melissa, FUN song! Great lyrics and catchy tune.
Now I will be singing that all day.
Melissa, you should compile these and publish “The GDB Songbook: Gorilla Tunes”!
Major, the Dark Water intake was somewhere near those falls, we have to keep our distance to avoid getting drawn in…
I’m looking for the water gong, but the pic is out of focus… I’m sure it’s there.
And the Parking Lot when there were still orange trees growing in it! And maybe no development on Katella yet? Too far away I guess.
Thanks Major!
JG
One of the reasons I love the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes is because of the low-level view of the Rivers of America and how close to the water one is when on the canoes. Such a unique perspective.
Thanks, Major.
As a task mastering canoe captain my first reaction to the first photo was "WHY ARE YOU TAKING PICTURES AND NOT PADDLING!!!" Perhaps and maybe someone was very ambidextrous and managed to snap the shutter whilst paddling. It's possible. I never understood the people who would go on the canoe and then sit there. Isn't paddling what you are supposed to do? That is part of the fun. Unless you are a kid, get your paddle in the water and DO YOUR PART! Nuns excepted. We needed to take down Cascade Peak? why? now it's a big ball of dirt...so why? No explanations will be acceptable. Don't care about Big Thunder or WookWorld. The last waterfall is especially Jungle Cruise murky green. yum. Don't see a goat, but I can't see dents or fudgies either. I am sure there was a reason that the canoe took this path. Anything can happen and Disneyland and there is an SOP for all of it. In explicit gory detail. Maybe KS can weigh in. The Monorail shot is awesome. Parking lot, orchards, dirt...."total magi"c, and that is probably New Orleans Square dirt. I heard people are selling dirt now. Interesting, and a good science project. Monorail: I'm enjoying rivets on aluminum. They don't make em like they used to. What an amazing design inside and out. Thanks Bob. Thanks for the Snoozles (tm) Major!
Nanook, I will be starting a new blog dedicated to vintage oars. STAY TUNED!
Lou and Sue, oh man, you get 50 extra points! I didn’t even notice the Bighorn up there!
JB, yes, as far as I am aware, it’s a bighorn sheep, but what the hell do I know? It’s not like we have them where I live. Because I killed them all. Cascade Peak was brand new in 1960, so the sheep hadn’t migrated yet. I really like the idea of being able to take a Skyway gondola out to the parking lot, and Disney should do this immediately!
Melissa, another masterpiece! You should be living in Topanga Canyon near Joni Mitchell. Randy Newman used to write songs for other people, you should too!
JB, five would have been too much, as Melissa knew!
TokyoMagic!, at first I thought I missed a blimp in that picture, just like I missed the bighorn sheep in the first one. Maybe there are TWO blimps? ;-)
Lou and Sue, IFGAOMC (the International Federation of Goats and Other Mountain Creatures) will be coming after you.
JG, I will get my close personal friend Madonna to write the forward for Melissa’s song book. I actually did not know (or more likely forgot) that the dark water intake was near the falls. Why there, I wonder? The picture is dark and blurry, but the water gong might be behind that little tree. I think it’s safe to say that there were motels and restaurants on Katella by 1962, but it is surprising that we can’t seem to see any evidence of them in the second photo. Again, blurry, so that might be one problem.
K. Martinez, I really do have to do the Canoes someday! They were operating on my last trip, but I was so feeling lazy.
@ JG-
The dark water intake should be near the 'NE' corner of Big River (RoA), on the river-side of where the Painted Desert formerly resided. The dark water is pumped up about 15 feet, to its highest point behind Storybook Land, where it's diverted to the Storybook Land canals on the way to the Motorboat Cruise (the highest point in the system). It is a circulation system designed to fill, drain and maintain optimum water levels within the attractions, and this is accomplished using a series of pumps and valves throughout the Park.
Major-
I suppose Joe Fowler knows why that particular location for the 'low point' of the system. (Maybe he used a spinner...).
Oh...sometimes we did get closer to Big Thunder, but the fastest route back to the dock was staying next to TSI. LOL And we also wanted to stay out of the way of the Columbia and MT. I don't recall an edict to follow a particular path other than to use some common sense!! When the coast was clear, it was quite a view looking UP the falls! KS
Ooh - one of the elusive mountain sheep! For some reason, they are always out of focus. It’s like looking at a photo of Bigfoot.
We can’t see the water gong because it’s around the corner of the mountain to the right. We are looking at the Three Sisters side of Cascade Peak rather than the Big Thunder side.
Ken, on my last trip, I got REALLY close to the water while riding the canoes. The little kid behind me didn’t quite understand how to efficiently work the paddle. The back of my shirt was pretty wet by the time we passed where Cascade Peak used to be.
Tokyo!, Blimps often travel on cables... any kind of cables. Have you seen the cost of helium lately?!
Sue, the critter looks a little brown. Maybe it IS a goat?
JG, I'm anxiously awaiting my copy of "Gorilla Tunes"!
Bu, you don't see the sheep/goat?!?! Use the eyes that Father Odin gave you! (Ironic, since Odin only has one eye.) It's close to the top of the photo, slightly to the left. Tan, in color. Facing left. It's making little grunting noises. You can't miss it!
Major, oh there are definitely TWO Blimps in that picture! I wasn't sure which one I was referring to in my first comment; they both look Blimpy. The light pole looks pretty obvious in the nearer one, but I guess the pole could be the landing lines that hang down, used by the handlers to moor the Blimp.
Chuck, are you sure your back was wet with River water? Maybe the kid had to 'go' reeeal bad!
Chuck....getting wet was part of the fun of the canoes. Especially on a warm day. Fortunately, we had showers in the locker room if needed. As for guests, well...it was a real attraction with real water and real paddles for which you were expected to paddle for us...or we would have to paddle you! And you do bring back memories
of little kids that would skim the surface of the water with their paddle splashing the person sitting in front of them. Most times the parents would take the paddle from them if we interceded. For us CMs, when we were sitting in the steering position at the rear of the canoe, we were 'fair game' by CMs in other canoes. We could get pretty accurate with our paddles in splashing water on each other from a distance and miss everyone else. Fun times. KS
Nanook, thank you for the dark water info. If only I had my “E-Ticket” magazines handy…! Joe Fowler used a Magic 8-Ball to decide where to put the water intake.
KS, I would have wanted to get as close to the falls as possible, but of course a CM would have to consider the safety and comfort of the passengers. Still, it would be exciting to at least feel the spray and hear the roar of the falls!
Chuck, I have some “in focus” pix of the bighorn sheep, but they are also distant, so it’s on par with being blurry I suppose. The little kid who splashed your shirt? A young Justin Bieber.
JB, bighorn sheep can shift their colors depending on their surroundings, like chameleons. It’s a scientific fact. “Gorilla Tunes”, watch out, Apple! Speaking of two blimps, I just composed a blog post with two vintage photos, each featuring two blimps. COINCIDENCE?
KS, somehow getting wet due to a clumsy paddler seems like it would be frustrating. Spray from a waterfall (or even from a Jungle Cruise elephant) is a different matter! Wow, splashing water on each other and missing the guests sounds like some sort of superpower.
KS, this was in November, so getting wet was a little less fun than it might otherwise have been. Didn’t get mad. Just a little cold.
I had thoughts of opening mornings with splashers. Yeah..that wasn't fun. We'd be wearing our pea-coats. KS
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