Here's a couple of randos - I wasn't sure what to do with them, so why not post them together? This first scan is dated "December, 1980", and shows some sort of stage show, performed by a number of different Disney characters. I honestly don't know where this took place - at first I thought it could be the Videopolis stage, but that didn't exist in 1980. So I am relying on you, dear reader, to help me ID the location (my guess is that this won't take long)! The guy in the foreground did the old "pretends to yawn so he can put his arm around his date" move. A classic!
Next, it's more than a decade earlier (February, 1970), and Mickey is leading the Disneyland Band through the park. Would the "Alice" attraction be just out of frame to our right? Ralphie from "A Christmas Story" hopes that he can lead a marching band someday. Meanwhile, the tuba player knows that all eyes on are him.
Major-
ReplyDeleteThat would be the Space Stage, replacing the Tomorrowland Stage when Space Mountain opened in 1977.
Gee, "Ralphie" is already beginning to look like his dad-!
Thanks, Major.
Randos twice in one week! I like it!
ReplyDeleteI can't help you with the location... but I'm sure Chuck would say "Disneyland". :-D Is the proscenium made up of mirrors, reflecting the performers? I can't tell. Somebody's white Mickey balloon is upstaging the characters and the regular CMs.
Hmm, I can't decide if this is the Fantasyland side of the Matterhorn, or the Tomorrowland side. This is a good look for Mickey, better than the weird version of Mickey they had when the Park opened in '55. And not so glitzy as the more recent Mickey. Upon further examination, the sunlight is coming from the right, so this must be Fantasyland, right?
A stage show and a marching band. They both fall into the category of 'performances', so I guess that's the theme today. Thanks, Major.
^ That was me. I forgot to sign in after changing things on my browser.
ReplyDeleteAs Nanook pointed out, that is the Space Stage, "underneath" Space Mountain. And the group performing with the characters is, "Up With Everything." I bet they were singing, "Take a Walk on the Wild Side"! ;-)
ReplyDeleteYes Major, the Alice attraction would be just out of frame and to the right, on that second pic. We can even see a yellow and green bobsled coming out of that final tunnel, on it's way back to the loading area.
Thanks, Major!
I meant to point out that the bobsled is behind Mr. Tuba Man!
ReplyDeleteThe Tweedle and his co-performer are positioned in front of the storybook in an unfortunate location. I get that mice have digestive systems just like the rest of us, but I don’t want to think of Mickey that way. The stool samples at stage right don’t help at all.
ReplyDeleteChuck, ha ha! I was going to make a comment about the letters that were showing in that book, but decided not to "go there"! Now that you have, is that last letter in the third line a "u" or a "w"? I'm just trying to guess what the third line was. Maybe it was, "on you", or maybe "just now"?
ReplyDeleteThe tuba player is saying, "Geez, lady where do you want this thing?"
ReplyDeleteThat's all I got.
Disney should've named it SPACE stAGE.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget The Space Place restaurant to the left of the Space Stage and Starcade to the right. I used to get my food at The Space Place service counter, walk to the upper-level dining area and watch the Spage Stage show from above while eating my meal. Pre-1985 Disney was best.
Right with you. I used to do the same thing on Sunday evenings one summer when I worked at Disneyland. After my day shift, I'd go back into the park, get some fish & chips at the Space Place and watch Show Biz Is from the upper level. Life never got better than that. I think of it often
DeleteI see Bogdan Tweedle up there rocking out… I never thought of the Tweedles as Eastern European until Major called him that, now I can’t imagine them being from anywhere else.
ReplyDelete…used to be that a mouse f**t didn’t amount to much, now, it’s the whole show. I have no idea where this stage is/was. I didn’t stop for stage shows until we had kids, then the shows were a welcome rest that high school me didn’t need.
Plaid shirt guy is being sly, I hope his girl appreciates the effort.
Yes, photo 2 is just across from Alice. The family is standing in what used to be the exit for the bobsled Fantasyland side. And we get bonus good luck from the bobsled. Tuba guy is plotting to be band leader one day.
Thanks Major!
Nanook, gee, I don’t really remember the Space Stage! I would have never guessed that one. So thanks! Ralphie really is standing just like his dad.
ReplyDeleteJB, I have a lot of Randos! The mirrored proscenium is why I thought it might be Videopolis, but as I said, that didn’t exist in 1980. That white balloon… rude! Since I think that the Alice ride is out of frame to our right, that is the Fantasyland side of the Matterhorn. I feel like the Mickey seen here is really the classic one that most people imagine when they think of him.
JB, gotcha!
TokyoMagic!, ha ha, I love that Simpsons gag. Somehow a Velvets song is the perfect thing for the joke. Hey, good eye on the bobsled, I saw it but couldn’t tell what it was!
TokyoMagic!, is there a Mrs. Tuba Man?
Chuck, ha ha, trust me, I noticed that word formed by the Tweedle blocking the other letters! But I thought, “I’ll take the high road. My readers won’t appreciate a joke like that”. I’m happy to know that I was wrong!
TokyoMagic!, you can’t hold Chuck back. He’ll tell you what he thinks, and if you don’t like it, you can lump it (whatever that means)!
Stu29573, it does look like the tuba player is sort of struggling! He needs to hire Laurel and Hardy to help him.
K. Martinez, “Space Stage” is good, but I miss the days when “Astro” was put in front of things. “Astro Stage”, now that’s exciting! I truly don’t remember that stage AT ALL, it’s like a new thing for me.
JB, Bogdan and his brother Goran barely speak English, but they are still star performers. (I actually didn’t remember that I said they were Eastern European). I’m just glad that Mousef•••ts isn’t a ride. “We can’t understand why nobody is going on it!”. Plaid shirt guy got slapped just moments later, and trust me, he deserved it. I feel so dumb, I really did look for a bobsled in the second photo, and it was right there. It took TokyoMagic! to see it.
I’m just glad that Mousef•••ts isn’t a ride.
ReplyDeleteMajor, nothing they would do at this point would surprise me. They already had a dog that sneezes snot/saliva on the audience. They also had two camels in a parade, that would spit on the people below. And, they had Stitch belching a "chili dog" odor into guests faces. Oh, and the spitting camels from the parade are now a permanent part of WDW's Adventureland. I'm sure Walt always wanted to have the characters in his attractions sneezing, spitting and belching on people, but it just wasn't in the budget back then. Now with the company's wonderful creative team of today, they've made Walt's original vision come true! For me and you!
TokyoMagic!, I used to get really tired of f**t jokes in Disney animated features - it was the lowest of humor. I suppose it made small children laugh? I remember the dog sneeze in "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience", and have heard about the chili dog burp in the Stitch thing. I'd never heard of the spitting camels! I do have to wonder what Walt would have thought, not that any of the folks at the company really care.
ReplyDeleteMajor, I should have said “since you called him Bogdan” I inferred he was Eastern European… you didn’t call him that outright… sorry for the confusion.
ReplyDeleteBogdan and Goran… lol
JG
JG, sorry for calling you "JB" for the umpteenth time! I blame my fingers, and will give them a stern talking-to later.
ReplyDelete