Disneyland, March 1992
GDB friend Sue B. scanned some slides, photos that were taken by her cousin Stu. You've seen some of his stuff here before! They are from March, 1992, which was just a few years ago. Wait, what do you MEAN it was over 30 years ago?
It looks like Stu was in line to ride the Matterhorn when he noticed a parade of some sort going by in the distance. I did some Googlin' and saw that there was a parade called "The World According to Goofy" in 1922, but that didn't start until June. I'm sure one of you will know the right answer! We can see Mickey Mouse in his sporty red and yellow roadster.
The Disneyland Band is right behind him, and Monstro even seems to be smiling a little bit. The big softie.
Now we can see some characters, including Pluto, Goofy, Balloo Von Bruinwald XIII (from Talespin), and Darkwing Duck, riding in the Motorized Firetruck. Behind Balloo is Don Karnage (also from Talespin), who I did not know about until the fine Junior Gorillas told me who he was in THIS POST.
Next we have two photos of Splash Mountain, a truly wonderful ride that I am going to miss (it closed in early 2023), though I understand why it had to change. At this point it was about three years old.
I'll be very curious to see what the replacement, "Tiana's Bayou Adventure" is like, and will try to remain objective!
THANK YOU, Lou and Stu and Sue!
11 comments:
Major-
"...Splash Mountain, a truly wonderful ride that I am going to miss (it closed in early 2023), though I understand why it had to change."
Ahh, NO it didn't-!
Thanks to Sue and Stu.
In the first pic, the Storybook Land floral looks kinda strange. I don't remember the floral background being that white before?
#2- Major, Monstro isn't smiling. He's just letting out a big ol' belch! Swallowing all those guests causes indigestion.
#3- I like those colorful clear balloons. I suspect they're only used in the parade, and not available to buy?
#4- We don't often see photos of Splash Mountain here; probably because we don't often see any photos from the late '80s-'90s here.
#5- It's cool how Stu took the photo just as those guests were sliding down the roof ridge... looks painful. ;-)
It's nice that Stu's photos still provide interest and entertainment even after he's gone; thanks, Stu. And thanks to Sue and Major.
More of Sue's Stu via Sue! Woo-hoo!
Unfortunately, Mickey got pulled over right after this, and his blood cheese level tested way over the limit. Now he's only allowed to fly his biplane or pilot his steamboat to and from work. Sad. Just say no, kids.
I don't think I've ever seen Monstro from this angle before. He looks so much smaller than usual from over here!
The pictures I've seen so far of Tiana's Bayou Adventure in Florida are really lovely, and I've been impressed with the videos of the animatronics the company has released. I can't ride for medical reasons, but I' really excited to see video when it opens. (I've always thought it was a shame they didn't design it with one log for people with health conditions that make the big drop unsafe, that could be shunted off onto another exit track right before. Oh, well, it's not the worst example in the world of something that could have been designed with accessibility in mind but just wasn't, and it's certainly not the end of the world.)
In that first pic, we can see the Storybook Land lighthouse, way over on the far right side of the pic (partially cut off). It had been moved....if I remember correctly, in 1983 for the "New Fantasyland." They put it on the opposite side of the waterway, across from the boat storage opening (Tritan's Kingdom, today). It was painted all white at that time....boring! I believe they moved it back to the "mainland" at the time they added scenes from "Aladdin" and "The Little Mermaid" to the attraction.....probably just a year or two after these photos were taken.
We've seen that little car before on GDB. It was a 1995 photo from Irene and The Dream Team:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sH48nt2iPRD-Yb9tlB_32F6Fko3Lxg5Koe4wuGxn3tqCwO6N7mPAzemAiZ_M13FN8huBA7pmQ1Bo5_Nhyphenhyphenz8C-KaE0WmlWuHMf1JebRxslcXQXGZ12z_lVfu7GMzp8Mn681j_/s1224/40th-Parade.jpg
That little car used to go down the parade route, a few minutes before the Lion King Celebration parade would start. I guess it was a way of saying, "It's almost parade time, so sit your butts down and stop your complaining." But that car was also used in smaller scale "character parades", which I think is what we are seeing here, since some of the Main St. vehicles (the Fire Truck) were also being used. Those short character parades ran on weekdays, in the off-season. And they might have also been running a smaller scale parade like that, after a larger parade had ended it's run, but before the debut of a new parade like "The World According To Goofy."
I love the parade pics with the monorail beam overhead. It's a "U-R-there" kind of pic.
I've been following the development of Tiana's Bayou Adventure and the Audio-Animatronics look pretty amazing to me as do the characters. Like Melissa, I too look forward to watching the videos of the new attraction when it opens.
Thanks, Major.
Thank Sue and Stu!
I think we visited in 1991 or ‘92, and I vaguely remember a parade (or procession?) with the little car. I like this view with the flower beds. Off topic a bit, but the latest revisions to the Matterhorn queue are very nice.
We didn’t ride Splash Mountain on that trip, kids were too small. It’s never been a favorite of mine since I hate getting my clothes wet. I won’t ride in the winter and all my trips recent years have been in the winter. When it’s warm weather, it’s fun. The part where the logs run out in the River is pretty cool. I’m glad to have these pics since I can’t find any of ours from this era.
I have high hopes for this renovation, but I’m sad to see the wholesale changes to the rest of NOS. Wait and see, I guess.
Thanks Major!
JG
Nanook, well, I know what you mean. I’m sorry that they changed it, in spite of *everything*.
JB, I can’t tell if the Storybook Land floral looks weird because of the angle, or what. It seems hard to believe that the background would be white. Monstro and his belches; who among us hasn’t had to? I’ll need balloon expert Bu to chime in about those clear ones. And yes, Splash Mountain shows up very rarely here. Even Space Mountain doesn’t show up that much. I’m sure Stu would love knowing that people were enjoying his photos in 2024!
Melissa, “blood cheese levels”, ha ha. “It’s like fondue!”. DIsgraceful. Monstro does look small, but you see, when things are far away, they look small! It’s true! I’ve seen a few photos of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Florida, and so far it looks “OK”. I’m still not thrilled. Some of the animatronics look impressive, though I still don’t get why Tiana is in that safari outfit. Did she wear that in the movie??
TokyoMagic!, I had no idea that the Storybook Land lighthouse moved around. And that it had been painted white! I guess white seemed authentic? I remember seeing that car before, it’s pretty sweet. Funny that it was used BEFORE the parades to get folks to settle down. I wonder if they still have it in storage somewhere?
K. Martinez, “U-R-there”, just like the Caterpillar in “Alice in Wonderland”! The Animatronics for Tiana do look very impressive, it gives me hope, since they are clearly putting real effort into those. The smooth movement is impressive.
JG, I probably would have avoided this little parade, as cute as it is. You know how it goes: “Now’s the time to head to the crowded rides!”. I’m with you, I don’t like getting wet, but I did discover (thanks to the cast members) that if you sat in the back of the vehicle, you were less likely to get damp. I only had a few minor splashes that evaporated in no time. But I’ve had times in the past where my shoes were filled with water. Yuck!
@ TM!-
Thanks for the link to the CU of [yet another] Gurr Mobile, I presume. A nice little coupe. The three, horizontal S/S trim 'stripes' on the rear fender skirt are reminiscent of certain models from the 1941 Cadillac. And the hood ornament is a slightly sleeker version of what appeared on the 1938-1940 Graham. (Yes, a Graham).
Nanook, you are welcome!
I forgot to thank Sue, Stu, and the Major, too!
The little car is a 1938 (plus or minus) American Bantam Roadster. Second generation, it was a little more streamlined than the first, which came out in the early 1930s. The same company created the first 4x4 Blitz Buggy, later known as a Jeep for the US Army, before Willys and Ford developed the eventual production models.
Most people forget that wild lighthouses are migratory.
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