Disneyland at Dusk, July 1964
Say! Today is GDB pal MS's Birthday! And while he is probably relaxing on the white sandy beaches of Hawaii, we can enjoy this vintage photo, shared with us by Sue B., from her personal collection (but not taken by her father Lou). Five kids (Four boys and a girl? Hard to tell) pose next to a low-profile layer cake. The shape helps it to glide through the air with less friction, you see. Physics! The kid at the bottom of the frame has had more than enough sugar. Happy birthday, MS!
As you know, Sunday's are ordinarily the day for Snoozles™, those wretched photos that are too dark, or too blurry, or "not great" for other reasons. But I couldn't do that to MS, so instead I selected two scenes from Disneyland taken at dusk in July, 1964.
Standing in the Plaza, we see the Castle as the sun sinks low into the West. There's a pretty decent crowd, but it was July after all. Soon the twinkle lights would come on (if they weren't on already), the temperature would drop, and the whole place would become even more wonderful.
17 comments:
Those birthday party kids were all dumbfounded, by the supernova that was occurring in the dining room at that very moment!
It looks like there might also be a Frontierland employee in that second pic (far right, and in the background).
Thank you M. and S., and a very happy birthday, to M.S.!
The Frontierland employee is in the third photo, or the second "Disneyland" photo!
Happy Birthday MS-! I hope your cake is as nice as this one.
Major - there are actually six kids surrounding the birthday cake - one is [mostly] being obliterated by the image in the mirror from the flash. And speaking of the mirror... there are [at least] two other folks peeking into the scene, in addition to the backs of the heads from two of the brothers. Mom has certainly set-up a nice table, with the Dixie Cups, nicely spread-out napkins and a sensible stack of paper plates. A shout-out to the older brother's cool 1950's shirt.
Thanks, Sue and The Major.
Happy birthday, MS! Thank you for your participation here on GDB. And to all the rest of us, happy unbirthday! (I didn't want anybody to feel left out.)
The older brother on the right grew up to be a rocket scientist. The kid next to him grew up to play the Wolfman in the movies. Continuing to the left, the tow-headed kid became an Olympic gold medalist. Peeking out from behind the streamlined cake, that kid now owns a farm and grows soybeans. That leaves the over-sugared kid closest to us; she(?) retired at the age of 29 after winning $250,000 on Jeopardy. We can see the flash from the camera, along with Mom, in the mirror. Mom is trying to get her kids to smile for the camera... it didn't work.
Thank you, Sue. You do so much for GDB.
This is a great picture! I love the way things look at this time of day. I'm gonna keep this one. I like the glow of the Carousel lights through the Castle archway.
Another picture with glowing highlights. On the right, we can see a Frontierland CM with a (open) vest and a Colonel Sanders tie (Tokyo! spotted him too). On the left, that is one strange-looking baby in that stroller, and it has a pronounced sallow complexion to it's skin. Not to mention its cubic appearance.
Nanook, I didn't see that kid amidst the supernova either. He later went on the play the Invisible Man in movies.
Thanks, Major. Nice photos today.
Happy birthday, MS!
Thanks for explaining the first picture, gang. It looked to me like a bunch of possessed children and some supernatural ectoplasm, with some ghostly images of people in the mirror who weren’t really there!
While I can’t see them, knowing the Dent and Stain are there in the second picture makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Well, that and the shot of vodka I had with my Cheerios.
In the third image - skulls, a terrifying mask hanging from the gateway tusks, a lost lawman, and a boxed baby - everything we’ve come to love about Disneyland.
Thanks, Major!
Indeed, I am on my way to a beach, so reading here early today. Thanks for Bday wishes folks! Fun party scene Sue, thanks for choosing it, and I sure do appreciate a perfect castle photo Major, with proper banners and lush greenery. Hope everyone enjoys the day too. Cheers.
MS
Happy Birthday MS, many happy returns of the day! Enjoy the ocean!
Sue, thanks for the great party photo, I still have my Mom’s glass cake stand like the one in the picture. I wonder if the photographer was upset by the way this pic turned out?
The Castle photo is like kids in Lake Wobegon, Above Average. I can hear the carousel music, there’s a trash can and a couple of those Ace Hardware mushroom garden lights, everything as it should be.
Disneyland Photo 2 is equally excellent, a lady with a straw tackle box purse like my Mom’s, the Barker Bird, and many skulls. There’s nothing sarong with this photo!
Thanks Major, good stuff!
JG
HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS MS!!
The little boy at table level to the right of the cake tier looks like the actor who played the first “little Ricky( ricardo) “ on I LOVE LUCY.
That is a Frontierland Area Security cast member seen in the Adventureland entry image …. You can see his badge on his vest. This same costume was used for New Orleans Square area security - however the vest was usually brocade. Until the 1980’s area security was themed to the lands …. The standard uniform security costume introduced in 1968/1969 ( and variations have evolved since) eventually replaced the themed costumes.. as “visible security presence” became needed. Tokyo Disneyland is the only current park that still uses themed costumed security cast members.
@ MIKE-
"The little boy at table level to the right of the cake tier looks like the actor who played the first “little Ricky( ricardo) “ on I LOVE LUCY."
The resemblance really is striking. But, you're thinking of Keith Thibodeaux, billed as 'Richard Keith' on I Love Lucy - who was the 2nd actor to portray 'Little Ricky' - LOOK HERE.
TokyoMagic!, I hate when stars explode when I’m in the middle of something! I agree, that must be a CM of some kind back there.
TokyoMagic!, this is just too complicated! ;-)
Nanook, oh yeah, that kid. Nobody wants to acknowledge THAT kid. He wound up getting in all kinds of trouble and went to juvie. Dixie cups… we used to have a dispenser for our Dixie Riddle Cups! Greatest invention ever?
JB, the kid with glasses was always dropping a math fact or history tidbit, he was a real Krelboyne. “Any number multiplied by 9 will always result in a number whose digits add up to 9”. I would win Jeopardy! easily, I just don’t want to. “Who is Captain Crunch, Alex”. “That’s correct!”. Do you think that all of Colonel Sanders’ kids wore string ties? Even his four daughters? Sally Sanders inherited the whole shebang.
Chuck, it’s like an episode of The Twilight Zone! “Submitted for your approval…”. Yum, vodka and cheerios, you’re the only other person (besides me) who enjoys this taste treat! “Gateway Tusks” is my rap name.
MS, have a happy day at the beach! Avoid sharks. Use sunscreen.
JG, I don’t think we ever had a cake stand, just a dumb old plate. So embarrassing. Imagine my shame when kids came over! I like those mushroom lights, but I’d want them to be translucent plastic like the ones at the miniature golf course near my home. So colorful! I’ll bet mom has a few nightcrawlers and salmon eggs in that purse, you never know when you’re going to want to fish for some lunkers!
Mike Cozart, you just HAD to bring up “that show”, didn’t you?
Mike Cozart, in the 1970s, the park security guards dressed just like the “cop” in The Village People. Well, OK, not really, but it would be funny if it was true. A brocade vest? I don’t understand the need for that, but I’m sure there was a logical reason. I wonder why Tokyo Disneyland still has costumed security? My understanding is that folks over there are generally not as ill-behaved as some bad apples over here.
Nanook, I’m not going to LOOK THERE! But I appreciate the research, for other people’s sake.
Major-
IF you should choose to look - there is an antidote, should you require one-!
Happy birthday, MS. Hope you're not blinded when someone substitutes a fusion reactor for a flashbulb like those kids.
Major; a brocade vest for NEW ORLEANS SQUARE is a bit fancier and was probably used to stand out from a plainer vest or vertical stripe vest or waistcoat for a Frontierland “sheriff”. Horizontal stripes are out for lawmen as very stripes in the late 1700’s into the 1900’s were used for waiters and or servants …. Club 33, (original Blue Bayou) Haunted Mansion , ( original Plaza Pavilion) in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s restaurant waiters/clerks could be seen in solid vests …. Golden Horseshoe … Diamond Horseshoe , Town Square Cafe, refreshment corner , plaza Inn , Crystal palace … the original Disneyland costume designers were aware of this historical fact …. I wonder if todays Disney park costume designer is.??
No one mentioned either the little kid pushing "PUSH," or the CM to the left of "PUSH." A restaurant worker on break?? We see the back of an apron tied around her waist, and a little head-covering. Mike, do you have any idea where she may've worked?
Happy Birthday, MS! I hope you followed Major's advice and "Avoided sharks, used sunscreen, and didn't get sand in your Speedo." At least I think that's what he recommended.
Thanks, Major.
Sue: I don’t think that’s a castmember … the skirt length doesn’t match anything I can find and the fact the lady is carrying a purse signals she’s a guest - a purse would have had to be kept in a locker - back then those kinds of things were not allowed on stage while in costume. Today employees can carry backpacks!
Oh, ok, thanks Mike!
Maybe that’s TM’s great grandmother??
Post a Comment