New Year's Eve

Before we get to my New Year’s Eve stuff, I have two fun scans from Sue B! First up is this crazy trio, they're out of control! Just look at those hats. By midnight these folks will just be getting started.

Next is this odd photo - certainly a party, though it's hard to be sure if it is New Year's Eve. These people seem to be in a tiki-themed restaurant, which is always a good idea. Looking more closely, I realized that I recognized two of the people!

I'm reasonably sure that the woman is actress Natasha Lyonne ("Orange Is the New Black", "Poker Face"), while the man to the right is Andrew McCarthy ("St. Elmo's Fire", "Pretty In Pink"). Weird! Does anybody recognize the guy with the curly hair?

Thanks, Sue!

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Can it be New Year's Eve already? I can't believe it! We're saying goodbye to 2025, and are ready to greet 2026. Many of you will celebrate with family and friends, watching robot Dick Clark on TV. "And now - beep - here's Paula Abdul - beep". I will be celebrating in my own fashion, in a darkened room with a  bowl of cold gruel. 

I wasn't sure what to share for the occasion, but realized that I have scans from two different New Year's Eve Disneyland events. Perfect! Let's start with a look at this rare flyer encouraging fans to "ring in 1961 at the biggest happiest party ever". I love the simple, charming graphics. The park was open until 2:00 AM, which was way past my bedtime, but you could ride "all Disneyland attractions as many times as you desire", dance to five great bands, and you even got free hats and noisemakers. Sounds like fun! $4.50 is about $48 in today's money - still a bargain, though people might not have thought so back then.

Let's step into the nearest time portal and set it to 16 years later, for a NYE party at the park at the end of 1977. The graphics are typical of the era, though I'm a little surprised at the group of characters at the top. Mickey, of course. Goofy, naturally. And then two Dwarfs and Br'er Bear? No Donald Duck, no Pluto, no Minnie? Outrageous! 

I love the very 70s headliners, Minnie Riperton ("Loving You") and Meco, famous for his (yes, Meco was a person) disco version of the Star Wars theme song, which was a big hit. Minnie is Maya Rudolph's mom, BTW; I wonder if Maya was there that night (she was only five at the time)? Louis Belson and his Orchestra was a Disneyland mainstay, as was Teddy Buckner and his All Stars. "Roy Ayers Ubiquity", that's a new one - not so ubiquitous! Let's not ignore Sunshine Balloon, one of rock's most important and influential bands (sorry, Beatles). I would imagine that the Midnight Spectacular in front of the Castle would have been especially dazzling on New Year's Eve!

Have a safe and fun evening! 

1970s Jungle Cruise

You know how it is... one day you're happy-go-lucky, humming a jaunty tune, and the next day, you're scanning a bunch of Jungle Cruise photos. THE TWO EXTREMES. Life, she can be fonny. 

Seinfeld was a "show about nothing", and one could almost say that this image is about nothing. If you use your Heuristically Programmed Algorithmic Computer to determine the exact center point of the photo, it's a bunch of dumb leaves. And I hate leaves! True story: a single leaf prevented me from winning the Indy 500. There's a boat to the right - no passengers, but a Skipper. And another boat to the left - they are at that little spur dock that guests can't access. What's the deal? Meanwhile, I've always liked the little hut floating on the water; the occupant is away, so we can go through his medicine cabinet - my favorite kind of snooping! 

I can't even say that I dislike  this photo - it's not terribly different from actual, official postcards that might cost you ten cents. Indian elephants are famous for loving water, swimming in it, drinking it, but most of all, squirting it at passing boats. It's a survival behavior learned by watching TV.

 

Two From June, 1972

Here are some pretty good "general interest" photos (also known as "randos") from around Disneyland.

In all of my many thousands of slides, I have surprisingly few taken in Adventureland (other than Jungle Cruise pix). Perhaps it lacked the obvious "wow" features that would inspire photographers to take out their cameras? Or maybe the fact that there is often a bottleneck where crowds can be pretty thick made people want to keep walking? Whatever the reason, I like this photo of a family near the entrance to the Jungle Cruise, with the Bazaar to our left. The lady with the yellow pants is holding a flyer, I am almost positive that I have one just like it, but can't seem to find it. Boo.

This shot taken along the shore of the river is very pretty, with the sun disappearing behind the Hungry Bear restaurant (back when it was right on the water - I loved eating there just for the view!). The water is glassy smooth. A Cast Member is preparing the Canoes for their bedtime, singing a lullaby. I love the lit torches, and the lights at the restaurant, soon it will be nighttime. The best time to be at the park? 
 

More Magic Kingdom Snoozles™, November 1982

Why must there be Snoozles? Was it something I said? Today's terrible pix are from Florida's Magic Kingdom, and this first one is almost 100% pure Snoozle, with no fillers or meat by-products added. 

Sure, they still have a Peoplemover in Florida, but nobody can see anything, because it's so dark. Nobody can explain the phenomenon, although DARK MATTER may have something to do with it (it's possible I don't know what dark matter is). It's too bad our photographer didn't notice that the "make everything a silhouette" switch had been flipped.

In spite of the very dark landscape, I guess this view of Space Mountain (as seen from the Skyway) is still kind of OK. The Peoplemover is still super-dark, and the landscape has gone absolutely black, which is weird. 

More Miscellaneous Amusements

It's time for more MISCELLANEOUS AMUSEMENTS! Random scans from my collection of slides. 

This first one (dated "March 1959") shows a charming lass posing in front of a saloon that served sarsaparilla (in a dirty glass), as well as Gluek Beer (?!?). Gimme a Gluek! "Sir, this is a family establishment!". There were so many western-themed amusement parks around the US at one time, that I was not very certain that I'd be able to ID this one. To the extreme left, we can see a part of a sign that mentions a rocker (used in separating gold from placer dust), and I wondered, "Could this be Rockerville, South Dakota?" (without much confidence). 

And then I found this scan of a vintage postcard from that very place. Bingo! See another photo of Rockerville at the end of THIS POST.

Here's the back of the card, for those who know how to read.

From June, 1961 comes this photo of a little roller coaster that has clearly been set up at some fair or carnival, with no clue as to where it was. Looking at the track, it looks like there is some sort of chain-driven wheel that helped push the coaster along, since they could not rely on the big drops of conventional coasters. Gravity - maybe you've heard of it! It reminds me of a stripped-down "Gadget's Go-Coaster".

And finally, here's a scan dated "June 13, 1959", from another anonymous fair. I hope it doesn't rain! There was no location indicated, other than the words "Festival center". That's no help at all! There's an airplane ride of some sort, as well as a Paratrooper ride. I think I see one or two other rides, but I can't quite tell what they are.

I hope you have enjoyed today's MISCELLANEOUS AMUSEMENTS.

A Pair From August, 1981

I'm a bit disgruntled, because I have well over 100 scans ready to share with you folks. Usually there is a mix of the "usual stuff", with some nicer-than-average images sprinkled in. But there really aren't many extra-special views in the bunch! It's bound to happen sometimes, but still, it's aggravating. And so... here are some perfectly-nice photos from 1981 - 44 years ago. Somehow.

In spite of this one being taken in 1981, it really doesn't look that different from others taken 15 years earlier. With the exception of the people wearing shorts! All is well in Town Square, the Popcorn Vendor is waiting for business to pick up, and the Global Van Lines building has its original (and better) façade. 

This one's a bit more interesting (to me, anyway), I'm assuming that it was taken from the Disneyland Railroad, as it sat at Main Street Station. Or maybe as it just got underway (to see the Grand Canyon Diorama)? I don't remember those trees partially blocking our view in any other photos. I like the details of the rectangular Skyway gondolas so relatively low to the ground (to the left),  providing bright spots of color along with the Peoplemover and Autopia cars. The shrubs covered in pink blossoms add a lot of warmth and beauty to the scene.

Vintage Christmas

Merry Christmas! It's time to take a break from eating Christmas cookies and drinking eggnog. Now that I am more health-conscious, I drink non-dairy organic soy nog. It's terrible! But I do feel healthier. 

As per GDB tradition, I have some vintage Christmas photos to share with you, starting with three that are from Sue B's collection (since these are not "Lou and Sue" photos, she asked me to use the GDB watermark, in case you were wondering). 

Here are four brothers, posing with a globe of the Urf for some reason. One is pointing to Florida, the other to... Illinois? "Here are the latest sightings of the ivory-billed woodpecker!". It looks like the youngest boy is around 7, while the oldest might be 18. And when you are 7, an 18 year-old might as well be 30. The boys should have worn their ugly sweaters, there's not much  of that holiday spirit in the pic.

Next is a cute picture of a girl gazing lovingly at her new doll, which even came with a fancy stroller so that she can practice parking it at Disneyland. I was always jealous of my friends who had tinsel on their Christmas trees, but my mom had a fear that somehow the tinsel might cause a fire (shorting out the electric lights or something). I also think she didn't want to deal with putting it on the tree and dealing with more mess. 

This next one is from the same household, but with a different cute kid - this girl is playing with some unidentifiable game of skill. I can't quite tell what the other items are under the tree, but there is a creepy doll glaring at us from the background. Did it just blink??

Next I have three scans from my own stash of vintage slides. This first one is from 1963 - at first I thought that the boy looked like he is about to burst into tears, but then figured that he is probably squinting from Dad's bright lights set up just for the photo. No, I really do think he's about to cry. Well, Christmas can be an overwhelming experience for a kid. He got a Monkey Gun and that sweet red toy convertible, so he's done alright for himself. I hope that castle was for a younger sibling.

From the 50s comes this scan that was a bit too dark, but it's still worth a gander. There's a nice stack of boxes beneath the tree, but nothing's been opened yet. Some of those boxes look suspiciously like clothing. Which I realize is actually a lovely and practical thing to give, but... not much fun for a kid. It's dark outside, maybe this family opened one gift on Christmas Eve like mine does (or used to do)? 

And finally, from 1960 we see this fun photo of a happy boy trying out his desktop chalkboard, complete with an abacus (?). He is not only wearing a feathered headdress (genuine turkey feathers, I believe), but has a cowboy hat on the chair nearby. I love the old TV with the crèche on top, and the homey mid-century furniture.

I hope that all of you enjoy a warm, wonderful Christmas day!

(I'm still out of town, but will be back real soon)

Christmas At Disneyland

Well, I didn't manage to post all of my scanned Disneyland/Christmas photos this season, but that just means that I can use them next year. Meanwhile, here are three more fun images to get you in the mood.

First is this picture from December, 1965 looking down a very crowded Main Street - possibly just before  a Christmas parade, since there seems to be a lot of folks sitting or standing on the curb. Tarped spotlights can be seen on top of some of the nearby buildings for the night version of the parade. 

Right in the middle of this closeup, there is a woman holding her 1965 souvenir guidebook (of which you can view every page (courtesy of JG!). Check out PART ONE, PART TWO, PART THREE, and PART FOUR by clicking on the links.

Or just look at the cover!

Next, from December 1960 we see a Christmas parade in progress. The Plaza is full of happy guests who love the silly reindeer, I particularly love the smile on the little girl in the white sweater. To the left, a girl in a red coat reaches out in the hopes of touching one of the reindeer.

And finally, here's a pretty view of the Matterhorn (from November of 1968) topped with the giant star, as seen from the Disneyland RR and Tomorrowland Station. Spots of bright color are provided by the Skyway gondolas, the Autopia cars, the Monorail, and the Peoplemover.

I'll be out of town for the next few days. Have a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Sub Lagoon, September, 1964

I just scanned a small group of 126-format slides, and most were not that interesting, but today's examples are pretty good, even though the color is a little wonky (these are date-stamped "September 1964"). 

This first one appears to have been taken from the top of the Speed Ramp that led up to the Monorail platform. It's actually kind of an unusual angle, looking back with the Yacht Bar to our left. The round Skyway gondolas were not long for this world, they'd be replaced with the dodecahedron-shaped gondolas in 1965. (I just wanted to say "dodecahedron"). You can see a "Picture Spot" sign near the Yacht Bar. At first I thought there was a CM wheeling something heavy to the right of that Monorail pylon, but it's just a man behind a lady. Sorry, ma'am! The Sub Lagoon waters are bubbling and churning, evidence of deep-sea volcanic activity.

Next is a fairly standard (but still nice) view from the Skyway, looking down on the Lagoon, while the new-kew-lar sub the Sea Snert begins its journey through liquid space. There's not a single bobsled in either photo, and now I must weep.

Hey! I just noticed that there IS a bobsled, the nose of one is visible in photo #2, on the right edge of the Matterhorn, near the top edge of the picture. Hooray!

Holiday Time, 1950s

I Have two 1950s Christmas-ish scans from Disneyland for you today, starting with this first shot looking along West Center Street, and at the Carnation Milk Truck. The garland and wreath overhead is the only real indicator that it was Christmastime. It's strange to see West Center Street before the Flower Market was added... it looks like a dead-end - which of course it was. I'm assuming that this was taken as the park was closing, since there is a notable absence of people.

To the left, in front of that one façade, we see a map of Main Street, illuminated by an overhead lamp (which is why I think this is evening rather than early morning). To the left of that is a sign with Mickey's likeness; it's hard to read, but says something about "XMAS FUN" at the Mickey Mouse Theater in Fantasyland.

This next one shows the Emporium, along with Town Square and Main Street adorned in fairly minimal Christmas decor... some garlands, some red bells, a small tree in the middle of the square (was there a larger tree out of frame??), and if you look closely, some plywood cutouts above the entry to the Emporium, used only in 1956, I believe (please correct me if I am mistaken). 

Snoozles™July, 1962

It's a Snoozle Extravaganza today. Buy one, get three free! The first two scans are from July, 1962, and went way too dark. So dark that I am scared. This wouldn't be a bad photo of the Monorail, if the aperture had been open a lot more. 

I always love a good photo with the old Skyway buckets and the classic Fantasyland. But not this one!

These next two are from a Christmas parade in December, 1976. They were so "meh" that I almost just dragged the scans to the trash. BUT WAIT! Sometimes trash can be fun! Shakespeare said it, so it must be true. Here's Grumpy sitting at his pipe organ (well, OK, he's standing); was there another character pumping the bellows? Grumpy seems to be bathed in a pink spotlight.

And here is another from the same parade; the wonderful toy soldiers are marching past; judging from the low angle, I wonder if this was taken by a child? Those lights in the background look like they could be someplace in Tomorrowland, possibly.

Miscellaneous Amusements

Hooray for MISCELLANEOUS AMUSEMENTS! This first one is dated "August, 1964", and is from Dinosaur Park, in Rapid City, South Dakota. Dinosaur Park (was) dedicated on May 22, 1936, it contains seven dinosaur sculptures on a hill overlooking the city, created to capitalize on the tourists coming to the Black Hills to see Mount Rushmore. Constructed by the City of Rapid City and the Works Progress Administration, WPA Project #960's dinosaurs were designed by Emmet Sullivan. Sullivan also designed the Apatosaurus at Wall Drug nearby in Wall, South Dakota.

The park is located at 940 Skyline Drive and is maintained by the City of Rapid City. Admission is free. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 21, 1990.  I'm so glad that Dinosaur Park is still with us!

From August, 1961 comes this photo of two sisters (?) at the wheels of a pretty nice little car ride - much fancier than the ones on steel track set on boards in a worn grass field. I have no idea where this was located, however, if you do, please chime in!

And finally, from August, 1965 we see this view of a fair from a very faded, filthy, and damaged slide. It doesn't look that great now, and I spent quite a while trying to restore it before I lost patience and stopped. Anyway, the fair looks like the kind of thing you'd find in 1965 in a nicer town. Signs helpfully identify rides such as "Tip Top" and the "Twister", can you ID any others?

 

December, 1976 - Hudson Brothers In Fantasyland

I found these first two photos to be interesting; they show the Hudson Brothers playing on the Small World Stage in Fantasyland. As a kid, I remember the The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show on Saturday mornings (1974 - 1975). Looking on Wikipedia, I see that they'd previously had a prime-time TV series that was a popular summer replacement for The Sonny and Cher Show. Today's photos are from 1976 when they had a number of singles on the Billboard Top 100 charts.

The Hudson name lives on thanks to the fame of band member Bill Hudson's daughter, actress Kate Hudson ("Almost Famous"), from his marriage to Goldie Hawn. While viewing these scans, I had the feeling that I'd seen something about the Hudson Brothers at Disneyland in a brochure.

This brochure!

As you can see, the Brothers performed on the Small World Stage on December 18th and 19th - 49 years ago today (or yesterday)! You could also see Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. ("You Don't Have To Be A Star [To Be In My Show]), or Elvin Bishop ("Fooled Around And Fell In Love"); or go see Disneyland regulars like Sunshine Balloon, Teddy Buckner and His All Stars, or even the Dickens Carolers.

Oh man, Space Mountain was going to debut the following year - it actually opened on May 27, 1977!

Christmas, The Magic Kingdom, December 1983

It's LOU AND SUE time! Sue B. scanned some of her dad's (Lou Perry) slides from a visit to The Magic Kingdom in December, 1983. Let's take a look!

We're looking south along Main Street USA, with what seems to be light attendance - maybe this was typical of those days. Is somebody boarding the Horse Drawn Streetcar? If so... weird. You'd think that everyone would be required to be seated. The Sweepers are out in force, dealing with some horse apples. The tree in the distance must be a good 50 feet tall!

Speaking of trees! I like the way the lower branches have been pruned to leave plenty of room for presents for ME. I want a Thingmaker from Mattel, and a Corgi Yellow Submarine. And a pony. No, two ponies, so they can keep each other company.

A similar view to the first one, only that Streetcar got in the way, so I am going to Sue the Disney Company for ten million dollars. See you on the beaches of Rio!

Cinderella Castle is so big. I know there is a restaurant inside it ("Walt's Slurp and Burp"), but is there anything in the upper levels? A private apartment for when I eventually visit?

Where is the fake snow, the artificial icicles? Where are the LED lights that cycle through all the colors of the rainbow? How am I supposed to know that it is Christmastime? 

Once a day, a young child was given a bow and arrow, and if he could fire a flaming arrow through all of the wreaths, he would be arrested for arson. Luckily, most kids are klutzes.  

As the sun sinks slowly into the west, let's take one final look at the Town Square Christmas Tree. Notice the larger ornaments at the bottom, with others getting smaller and smaller on the way up. This helped protect the tree from predators. Near the watermark we can see several men in shirtsleeves and ties (accompanied by a lady), maybe they are Cast Members?

THANKS SO MUCH, Lou and Sue!