Looking in my "Lou and Sue" folder, I found that I still had some scans from Sue's cousin Stu, who loved Disneyland almost as much as Lou did. These photos are from March, 1992. Thirty three years ago counts as "vintage", right?
First up is this nice Skyway (?) view looking down on the Mad Tea Party in a surprisingly-lush Fantasyland. The MTP's turntable is painted in very 1980s hues of lilac and pink (never mind that it was no longer the 80s). I realize that I always thought of the teacups as being "giant", when clearly the intent was that we'd been shrinkified by sipping from the "drink me" bottle, just like on the nearby Alice in Wonderland ride. D'oh.
Continuing on our Skyway journey, we are approaching Storybook Land, with the charming little train station below us, and some of the "crazy quilt" landscape beyond that. Cinderella's castle resembles (somewhat) Mary Blair's concept paintings from that film. Incredibly, even at this distance we can see the pumpkin coach on the roadway!
Here's a very nice photo of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, with a runaway mine train careening around the bend in our direction. The T-rex skelton jutting from the sandstone was supposedly repurposed from the skeleton that was seen from the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland, though I am skeptical. I'm guessing it's entirely new, but am prepared to be corrected!
BTMRR was not new in 1992 (in fact, it was now 13 years old), but it's easy to see why Stu took multiple pictures of it. The rock work is really impressive, and he caught that runaway train at just the right moment.
And finally, there's Stu, the man himself, about to float over Duckburg in a hot air balloon (?). I guess Launchpad McQuack's "Seaduck" was getting an oil change? I'm trying to figure out where this photo tableau would have been - I don't really recognize the building partly visible to the right. Maybe this was at the Disney Studios? Huey, Dewey, and Louie aren't telling.
MANY THANKS to Lou, Sue, and STU!
Major-
ReplyDelete"Incredibly, even at this distance we can see the pumpkin coach on the roadway!"
That pumpkin coach is such a scene-stealer - and a big ham, if you know what I mean-!
Thanks to Lou, Sue and Stu.
There are a lot of people (mostly ladies) wearing red coats. Do they think this is 1957? Call me crazy, but now that I see it, I like the Teacups turntable in these colors. It ties in better with the Alice foliage, and looks rather elegant and fantasy-like.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how big the Pumpkin Coach is? I always pictured it as orange-sized, but it must be bigger than that, maybe grapefruit-sized. It looks like they've removed the 'stitching' from the floral crazy quilt?
I like how the Imagineers made the ends of the dino's rib bones jagged and hollow, like bones really would be. I guess they are still capable of doing things right. Although, this was done back when they were still doing everything right.
The last pic of Big Thunder is really nice. Love the interesting clouds in the blue sky, and how that contrasts with the orange-y hoodoos; and the train, front and center. Yep, a nice photo.
I'm guessing that Huey, Dewey, and Louie are added into the photo after-the-fact? BTW, why do we say Donald's nephews' names in that particular order? Is it because Uncle Walt said their names in that order on Wonderful World of Color?
What a nice way to honor the memory of Sue's cousin Stu, by showing some of his photos. Thanks to Stu, Sue, and Major.
That last pic was taken just outside of the Videopolis bathrooms....that's the glass block that we can see in the background. Those characters were all painted plywood cutouts that you could pose with, and were leftover from the "Disney Afternoon Avenue" event in 1991. After the event was over, some of the props remained behind. We can see a few of the buildings in the "Small World Mall" area, in that very first pic of Stu's. I think the mostly red building was the schoolhouse. Guest could pull on a rope and ring the bell on top of the building. I'm not sure what the yellow building was. There was a jail, but we can't see it here. It might have been removed at this point. This area was what eventually led to Toontown being built. Although, they might have already been planning it at the time they did this....maybe the "Afternoon Avenue" was a test to see if little interactive buildings would be popular?
ReplyDeleteThank you for these photos, Sue and Stu, and Major, too!
I concur with TOKYOMAGIC regarding the location of Huey, Dewy,Louie and Stu! There had been some plans in the 80’s of a Toon-Like town when there was a possibility of the Tokyo Disneyland Mickey Mouse Revue being brought back to the USA. The founder of the OLC adored the show and that never happened … but imagineers continued to toy with the idea … one of the attractions was Scrooge McDuck’s Bank with a slide into a pile of plastic coins . This evolved in to Chip & Dales Acorn Crawl when Michael Eisner really pushed WDI to get Disney afternoon tv characters. That’s how the cheap, quick Disney Afternoon Avenue came about with Rescue Rangers Fantasyland Autopia and The Motorboat Cruise Thru Gumi Glen.
ReplyDeleteMajor: I too am dubious of the Big Thunder “Splash Down” dinosaur skeleton being the same one from Nature’s Wonderland…… I’m sure the it’s what inspired the bones in the Big Thunder mining area , but I doubt it’s the exact same one. I even recall a company newsletter or maybe it was a Disneyland line that featured construction progress of Big Thunder and it showed a sculptor at WED sculpting dinosaur bones to make a mold ….
That story I think is similar to the myth that the Disneyland haunted mansion ballroom organ is the prop from the film 20,000 leagues under the sea …. To my understanding is that the film prop fabrication drawings were used as reference in creating the haunted mansion prop - which of course was double fabricated : one for Anaheim … one for Florida. ….. but saying it’s the actual organ from the film makes a great publicity tag!
These photos by Stu are very nice, well composed and well timed to catch the trains etc. much better than my snapshots of the era. Everything looks nice here, especially Alice and Story Book Land.
ReplyDeleteWe visited the Park with our tiny kids around this time, I remember the plywood photo ops, and thinking how run down some places looked. We returned a few years later in the depth of the Pressler era and I almost swore never to return.
Thanks Lou, Stu and Sue, and Major.
JG
Fantasyland is OPEN! And it looks swell. I remember thinking at the time, when these vines around the Teacups were small little things a decade earlier...that the lanterns looked really awful and were out of scale. I even said at the time (as it was before it was open) "these must be the test lanterns". Well: they weren't, and are still there...and these vines now completely cover the area...and it looks kind of good! Those vines are not spindly or seasonally delicate: they are super strong with super thick stems and very sturdy leaves. Not sure what they are, but if someone knows: please share. Storybook land is lovely as usual...and isn't there a story about taking out the stitches? Didn't have context anymore? something like that. Big Thunder before the splash. Has the splash been retired? I know it wasn't real splash...but I also don't remember seeing it lately. Disney Afternoon cheap cartoons and cheap rides....wow...but Michael kind of knew what he was doing $$ wise: do things cheap, get the people in there....and maybe like JG: at least once....I love Gummi Bears, but cartoon cutouts don't make me want to take a motor boat cruise...how silly... I would like a motor boat cruise through Storybook land....or punts! even better! Punting through Storybook land....self propelled 'ala canoes....sounds very peaceful....but the peoples today, who grew up in chaos and noise and movies of cars bashing into each other: well: they like noise and chaos....makes sense. Thanks to Huey, Duey, Louie, Stuie, Suey, and Majorooee!
ReplyDeleteJust curious if anyone recognizes Stu from his years at Bob’s Big Boy restaurants—from early 1960s to early 2000s. He was a manager for most of his years with Bob’s, at a few locations…including near Disneyland, and I think also in Glendale (if memory serves me right)…
ReplyDeleteI’ll check back later.
Nanook, are you saying that the pumpkin coach was crossed with ham to make an abomination??
ReplyDeleteJB, I always think it’s 1957. That’s why you’ll often hear me singing The Banana Boat Song. Also, you are crazy for liking those Teacup turntable colors (you gave me permission)! Maybe the Pumpkin Coach was replaced with a larger version at some point so that it was more noticeable? Are T Rex bones hollow like a bird’s? As Sue has told us, Stu was a dedicated amateur photographer, so it’s not surprising that he took such a nice photo of Big Thunder. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were around long before Walt’s TV show - I think sometimes names are said in a certain order just because it sounds better (like “Peter, Paul, and Mary”).
TokyoMagic!, aha, thank you, I am not familiar with the Videopolis area at all, so I would have never guessed that one. I feel like I might have had a photo or two from the Disney Afternoon Event before, maybe from Irene and Co.? Not sure. Kind of fun that they made some of those buildings in the Small World Mall area interactive. I would have had a toilet that flushed, but most people don’t appreciate my genius. Interesting to think that this might have been a test area for Toontown.
Anonymous, why are you so shy? I know that you are actually Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins, and I must say that it’s quite a thrill. I can’t say I’m sorry that the Mickey Mouse Revue never came to Disneyland - I’ve seen brief videos of the attraction, and I think my love of watching AA figures sing ended at the Carousel of Progress. I know that I am a big grump and need counseling. Reading all of this stuff about that Disney Afternoon area makes me realize that I honestly don’t ever remember reading about it before. That might have been from a period when I was too busy with other stuff to closely follow what was going on in the park (hard to believe). Interesting to know that there was a publication that actually showed the dinosaur bones being sculpted for Big Thunder, I knew it! Like you said, Disney loves a good story, no matter how unlikely. I always thought that it was possible that the organ from 20K Leagues was the same one in the Mansion, and that they just managed to get (or make) another just like it. Maybe I’m a fool!
JG, I’m hoping that Sue finds more photos from Stu, these were fun to look at, and are from an era that I don’t feature on GDB very often. And if he was a true shutterbug, he would have photographed many more scenes than just the ones in today’s post! I vividly remember reading many Disneyland fan sites (“Laughing Place”, for one) that regularly showed photos of peeling paint, rotting wood, broken concrete, and other crimes that became Paul Pressler’s legacy.
Bu, I’ve always loved those lanterns over the Mad Tea Party ride; I never thought they looked too big, but I also don’t recall seeing them when the vines were small. Having seen some of the lanterns at auction, they are quite large! It would be kind of neat to have one wired up to light up a corner of my immense library (all that dark wood can get a little oppressive, to be honest). I don’t know any story about the removal of the stitches in Storybook Land, part of me feels that it was just cheaper to remove them and never have to deal with them again. I recall being outraged that the cartoons from The Disney Afternoon looked so much like other TV animation - a real insult to the quality of Disney animation. And yet… I’d get home from school, and turn on the TV, and I’d find myself watching “Duck Tales”! That was the only one, I never watched “Rescue Rangers” or even “Darkwing Duck” (which looked fun). I think there is still a splash on Big Thunder, but it doesn’t feel like a natural splash, rather there must be some mechanism that shoots a few jets of water as the train passes. The Gummi Bears really bothered me - a Disney cartoon about a candy?? What the hell. I guess people found it charming, but I never need to watch it.
Lou and Sue, I just assumed that people remembered Stu, but you make a good point, maybe they don't!
ReplyDeleteMajor, I’m just curious if anyone knows Stu—from seeing him in person, at one of the restaurants, since he worked for Bob’s for 40 years. iasw :o)
ReplyDeleteThose stories of attraction reuse are way more plentiful than actual examples. I've read that the buffalo and prairie dog AAs in the boat ride in The Land pavilion were originally built for the unbuilt Western River expedition. Though I doubt they built AAs so early in the process, it's likely the plans were drawn for WRE and then pulled out of a filing cabinet years later for Epcot.
ReplyDeleteMajor-
ReplyDelete"... are you saying that the pumpkin coach was crossed with ham to make an abomination??
Heavens, no-! That would be reserved for a turducken-.
I’m Anonymous … I don’t know why it posted like that (??)
ReplyDeleteActually DEAN FINDER .. if you read the Amazing book by Chris Merritt “Marc Davis : in his own words” you’ll see the WED/MAPO of the AA animal sculpts that were complete and began fabrication ( while they waited on which human figures were going to get final inclusion ) Buffalo , Coyotes , and Prairie Dogs were some of the complete figures … but it appears the actual mechanics were not added till EPCOT CENTER . Incidentally the Prairie and Prairie Fire scene in The Land Pavilion has been restored.
ReplyDeleteAnd…. Currently new AA enhancements are being added to The Rivers of The Far West at Disneyland Paris … … AND the Western River prairie Buffalo and other animals are being fabricated for inclusion!
I missed yesterday and saw the title and about had a heart attack? What the heck had I done???
ReplyDeleteAs it turns out, nothing.
Wrong Stu.
Oh well.
Mike Cozart - Well, I'll be. That one really sounded like a "Country Bear Jamboree at Mineral King" story. I'll be sure to trust internet stories more in the future :-)
ReplyDeleteI'll have to find a copy of that book.