Sleepy Baby Castle
That darn Sleeping Beauty, she's still snoozing. I have to do all the work around here! And before you ask, NO, those three fairies are no help at all. I don't need a cake or a blue/pink dress. I need somebody to wave their wand and write this blog for me!
You know it, you love it, it's Sleeping Beauty Castle. Does it hold the record for the "most photographed castle"? This pic is nice, the angle is a bit unusual, and you get the added bonus of the Chemical Wagon, aka the Horse Drawn Firetruck. Sirens hadn't been invented yet, so one of the passengers was given the privilege of yelling "RrrrrrrrRRRRRRRrrrrrr! RrrrrrRRRRRrrrrr!" over and over. What a delight. Say, we can see the Jolly Roger waving in the distance.
Keeping with the Castle theme, here's a photo from a different batch altogether, not that you can really tell. It's late in the afternoon, but there's plenty of folks heading over the bridge. I told Walt that the portcullis should suddenly drop every few minutes. FAST! But he pretended he didn't hear me. I still think it's a good idea.
19 comments:
Nice to see the Fire Wagon...
Thank you Major!
Major-
"...NO, those three fairies are no help at all".
Oh, Major - of course not... Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather are under exclusive contract to ME-! I require a great deal of 'maintenance' to maintain my boyish good looks; and it turns out good fairies are just the thing. (Who knew-?) I did.
But if you ask nicely the next time you fall behind on wet mopping the castle floors, I might oblige.
Thanks, Major.
It looks this slide was hit by Chuck's "desaturator" ray; kinda pale and washed out. I guess we can see The Dent, or at least a Dent. From this camera angle, shouldn't The Dent be over to the left more? Not only do we see the Jolly Roger, we can see that the Pirate Ship's sails are unfurled and billowing in the wind. At this rate, we'll be in Neverland in two shakes of a croc's tail.
This is a nice photo of the Castle; nothing particularly noteworthy, but nice. "I told Walt that the portcullis should suddenly drop every few minutes. FAST!" Now I'm picturing yesterday's KBF seals being sliced in half again.
Thanks for the SBC photos, Major.
We don't see any Skyway towers or cables in that first pic, so it must have been taken in '55 or early '56.
I told Walt that the portcullis should suddenly drop every few minutes....
Major, he might have listened to you, if you told him that the points of the portcullis should first be dipped in clostridium tetani bacteria.
Ah, the original castle! I know some people say there are older castles in Europe, but they're lying. This was the first one EVER! I did the walk through and I can tell you that there ain't much room in there, by golly. At least they got the cats and the fleas out. Still, you can't beat the original with a stick!...because they'll kick you out of the park.
I don’t know if it is the most-photographed, but it is my favorite castle, coming before Hearst Castle, Scotty’s Castle (Death Valley), and Wyntoon (Hearst Castle North).
The portcullis is a wicked looking implement and I cross under it warily even now. I worry that Pressler didn’t maintain the ropes and they would rot, causing a random drop, but this might be offset by him never oiling the gears, so maybe it would stick. Having it go up and down randomly would be like a Galaxy Quest episode that was “badly written”.
Seriously, I do love the design, it’s so subtle compared to other Disney Park castles, yet it has one of everything. My spirits lift every time I see it at the end of the street. Photo 1 is quite old, notice the plain green trash can, before late 1956.
Thanks Major!
JG
Seen one castle, you've seen them all. Or was it "seen one redwood you've seen them all"? Anyway, Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland is my favorite Disney castle and the most intimate.
The Chemical Fire Wagon is a nice touch to the first image. Thanks, Major.
In the first image, those 3 folks walking westward, front center, look like they just stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting. I can’t blame them, as Disneyland would be a lot more fun.
Thanks, Major.
Not sure which is my favorite Castle - Sleeping Beauty or William. It's a tossup.
JB, sometimes my desaturator ray hits unintended targets like this slide. It has a grip safety, but, like the Colt M1911 it's patterned after, it can go off when dropped. I need to learn to stop twirling it around by the trigger.
walterworld, others must agree about the Fire Wagon, since good slides of it go for a lot of money!
Nanook, the Three Fairies are not above a bit of bribery. For $20 (each), they will grant all my wishes (and do all my chores). A BARGAIN.
JB, that first one is a little desaturated, but still looks pretty good; of course I could have increased the saturation in Photoshop - something you see on the Internet sometimes, usually WAY overdone. Which is funny to somebody like me (i.e. a genius). I do see a dent, but you’re right, it seems off to the side more. But as we know, that particular spire was very lumpy. Thinking about seals sliced in half makes me hungry for a seal sandwich (with cheese).
TokyoMagic!, good point, the Skyway is a useful indicator for photos that are potentially from the first year of the park’s operation. Same with the Matterhorn, which we all know was there since 1955! I had to look up clostidrium tetani, which I now know causes tetanus. Hard Facts!
Stu29573, I’ve been to Europe (humble brag), and I didn’t see any castles! Though to be honest my tour of Europe was a “Visit one McDonalds in every country” tour, and it was incredible. I think that Disneyland should have kept the castle cats, but given them proper veterinary care so that they did not have fleas.
JG, I like those inflatable castles that you can jump around in, especially when I can tell the young kids to get out because I’m bigger than them. THOSE are my favorite castles. We’ve heard several stories about the drawbridge being raised and lowered more than once, but did they ever lower the portcullis? Could it even be lowered? I need to know! I know that many people goof on SBC because it is not 200 feet tall, but I love it - it is perfect.
K. Martinez, you make a good point, we only need one redwood tree. What’s the point of having a bunch? Thank you for putting things into perspective!
Lou and Sue, I feel like we see a lot of Norman Rockwell types in these 1950s photos - nice, clean-cut people doing nice clean-cut things!
Chuck, William Castle produced “Rosemary’s Baby”, and that is no small accomplishment. And some say that “Emergo” and “Percepto” are two of the greatest inventions of the 20th century.
You’re right Tokyo…no wires ‘contradicting’ that view, makes it particularly nice.
MS
“Emergo” remains one of the crowning achievements of the 20th Century - no bones about it!
Major-
"... but did they ever lower the portcullis?"
[My memory says] yes - on Wednesday, May 25 1983 for the 'unofficial' opening (and Press Preview) of the New Fantasyland. But, I'm not so certain anymore. As the [raised] drawbridge blocked the lower 2/3's of the castle opening [and the bottom of the portcullis], the movement of the portcullis would've been partially obscured from the my seated position, and I certainly haven't a clear memory of its movement, which I suspect took place just following the bridge's lowering.
Nanook, I was there that day! I even did a blog post about it, back in May of 2019. I just bet that you and I passed by one another that day!
@ TM!-
I saw the post. I had a Press Pass for that day so was able to sit in the "expensive" seats for the ceremony, and was then able to venture into the newly-christened land prior to its opening to the public, later in the afternoon.
And I'm certain you well remember the "final scene" in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride with the steam and heat cranked-up [seemingly] to its maximum. (That didn't last long...)
@ TM!-
I must have seen you there as I was wondering who that fella was walking around with a large, white oval in front of his face-!
I found this post incredibly helpful and easy to follow. You’ve got a gift for making topics clear and relatable.
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And I'm certain you well remember the "final scene" in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride with the steam and heat cranked-up [seemingly] to its maximum. (That didn't last long...)
Nanook, I do remember that! I also remember the "smoke" coming out of the various chimneys of the new buildings. That didn't last long either.
I must have seen you there as I was wondering who that fella was walking around with a large, white oval in front of his face-!
Nanook, that was me.....that was me! :-)
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