Let's continue to enjoy a series of November 1980 photos taken around the grounds of the Disneyland Hotel by Lou Perry. His daughter Sue B. scanned them for us! The last post featuring images from this batch was in October, so it's been a while.
It looks like this is another view of the Sea Port of the Pacific (at least I think it is), where you could order a deep-fried whale. Don't worry, just a little whale! Ask for extra dipping sauce. Lou has gotten artistic on us, with the cool bluish pine branches contrasting with the warm sunlit wood of the SPotP.
Here's a nice view of the Marina Tower. Like Town Square at Disneyland, they had armaments "just in case". A pair of guests are enjoying the view from their third-floor room, and they're thinking of throwing a paper airplane or two.
Hey! It's the SPotP again! It's nice that they made an effort with the landscaping, it appears that there might have been a babbling brook, for its pleasant sound and sparkling water. Or was it just a pond full of Vampire Koi? They'll leap out of the water and latch themselves to your neck! Why did they put them there in the first place??
I wonder if this was the view from Lou's room? He's also got paper airplanes on his mind, it's only natural. "I'll put a small paper clip near the front to add some weight, for stability!", he thought to himself. We can see some of the actual marina, though it is in shadowy darkness. There's what looks like some sort of cable car or trolley, I'm not sure if it's a genuine antique or a simulacrum. There's a mysterious colorful yurt to the left of the trolley.
I think it's safe to say that Lou liked the look of that Seaport of the Pacific. Maybe he appreciated the way the setting sun changed the colors and overall atmosphere? No Vampire Koi would dare to mess with him.
There are more Disneyland Hotel photos to come, with thanks to Lou and Sue!
Major-
ReplyDeleteThat hotel was awfully-swell during the Wrather years. I really do miss it.
Thanks to Lou and Sue.
1) I like these 'peek-a-boo' shots; it adds mystery. I didn't know they served deep-fried whale here. Now we know what happened to 'Bubbles' the pilot whale from Marineland! [JB gets all teary-eyed.... but continues to enjoy his deep-fried whale.]
ReplyDelete2) I wonder what the caution barricade is for in the second photo? (Maybe they put that barricade up whenever they're deep-frying a whale. Lots of sputtering!)
3) Vampire Koi gotta do what Vampire Koi gotta do.
4) Major, I see you're well-versed in paper airplane aerodynamicallness. If this was taken from Lou's room, he got a wonderful view of the power line towers marching across Anaheim!
5) Hmm. No matter how a landscaper places boulders in an area, it never looks natural.
Lou's legacy lives on in these nice photos. Thanks to Lou, Sue, and you (Major).
Back in the days of 24 exposure film rolls (not to mention the added costs of developing them), you really had to give serious consideration to the subjects of your photos. That Lou had the foresight to take images of seemingly random locations for posterity really tells you something. Thanks Lou, Sue and Major!
ReplyDeleteLou and Sue come through, says Stu! (I won a UIL headline writing contest in high school- for reals!)
ReplyDeleteThese are fantastic and really show how playful the Hotel used to be! My daughter and I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel a couple of years ago, and while it was extremely nice, sleek, and upscale, I wouldn't call it "playful" Of course, having Downtown Disney and the parks within easy walking distance of our room really helped make up for that! We did ride the monorail into the park one day just to say we did. All in all a great experience! But yeah, the old hotel was more playful...
Shoot! I had to retype my comment when Blogger hickuped and I forgot to sign it!
DeleteLou gets in there to show us every nook and cranny, bless him.
ReplyDeleteMS
Major : you jest about “fried whale” but at the DL Hotel’s SEAPORTS OF THE PACIFIC (plural) you could get sushi. In fact it was there I had for the first time heard of sushi. Thus had to be 1979/1980. Big Thunder was new and had opening operational burps. We went to the hotel via monorail and my friend’s mother who grew up in Hawaii had us try sushi from a cart … it wasn’t exactly what people eat today. I remember having these rice balls with a surprise inside ( luckily mine was a shrimp - whew!!) the whole SEAPORTS OF THE PACIFIC was a very nice themed area that evolved from the previous “WONDERFUL WORLD OF WATER “ … I fact elements of both existed until about 10-15 years ago. Earlier attractions like the Sandy cove “beach”, the boat show marina, peddle boats , Queen Mary propeller , MUZAK’s Dancing Waters, mixed with the newer ( 1979?) SEAPORTS OF THE PACIFIC … I especially remember the attraction poster like signs like “MEET THE AUSTRALIANS” … “ SEE HONG KONG”, “MEET THE SAN FRANCISCANS”, “EXPLORE JAPAN”….these were designed by imagineer Jim Michaelson who created the 1976 Jungle Cruise and 1977 Disneyland Railroad attraction posters.
ReplyDeleteLou’s work proves the DL Hotel has always been beautifully landscaped and full of amazing things all on its own.
ReplyDeleteNothing here looks the least bit familiar to me since I never saw this era, but I’m still enjoying it.
Vampire koi are a subspecies of piranha, and yurts were where y(og)urt was first made, just for the record.
Thanks Major, Lou and Sue!
JG
Nanook, I really wish I’d been able to stay at the Disneyland Hotel back in those glory days. Alas, while there were plans, they never happened.
ReplyDeleteJB, listen, Bubbles understood that deep-frying was part of the Circle of Life, and he had made his peace with it. I wondered about that barricade as well, maybe that table and those chairs were dangerous. It used to be pretty funny to see guests laying on the ground with a Vampire Koi attached to their necks. I am still unclear as to whether the guest would then turn into a Koi. I’m sure that Lou saw beauty in those power lines - it’s in the eye of the beholder after all. I’ll have you know that those bolders were there since the ice age, and the entire hotel was built around them!
Steve DeGaetano, Lou was clearly a serious enthusiast, from what Sue has hinted at, conserving film was not a concern. She still has boxes and boxes of images that she has not had time to look at! Just imagine.
Anonymous, A headline-writing contest?! That sounds fun. “Dog Plays Piano, Wins Tchaikovsky Prize”. That’s mine, and I hope I get a million dollars for it. I have no doubt that the current DH is very good (though perhaps not “great”?), as you said, it lacks some of those playful touches that were there in the old days.
MS, if you have any interest at all, I recommend Don Ballard’s new book about the Disneyland Hotel, (1960-1962). I just got my copy, it’s very nice, and has LOTS of photos from Lou Perry!
Mike Cozart, I remember when I was much younger first hearing about sushi (and sashimi), and the idea was gross to me! Now I love it. “I remember having these rice balls with a surprise inside”, ha ha! I’m glad you got shrimp and not an octopus eyeball. I’ve shown photos of the Queen Mary propeller, and we’ve definitely seen sandy beaches at the Hotel, which seems very ahead-of-its time (as far as I am aware). Must have been a nightmare to maintain.
JG, see my comment to MS, you need to check out the new Disneyland Hotel book! There’s tons of color photos, paper ephemera, and lots of history.
Hey, gang! I just spoke with Melissa and she asked me to tell you, "I think about you and miss you, and I hope I'll be able to chat with you in the future." I told her we miss her and care about her, and sent her our love. GDB hasn't been the same without her.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like today's pictures. They seem to be a bit dark, which I fear is what Father Time is doing to my dad's collection....I need to keep scanning before any more images either get too light, too dark, or too pink. I even have glass slides that are turning "slimy".....ugh.
BTW, thanks Major for plugging Don's new DLH book. It has a section that's dedicated to my dad. My dad was alive to see it almost completed, and he was thrilled to know others would be enjoying some of his pictures. I think there's about 70 in that book.
Thanks, all, for the nice comments.
Lou and Sue, I’m so glad that you spoke to Melissa, and let her know that she is still in our thoughts. Which is the truth, not even “just something people say”! I would love it if she could somehow chime in someday, and hope she is OK.
ReplyDeleteGreat news about Melissa, Sue! I often think, "I wonder what Melissa would have said about these photos?" when I am looking at GDB.
ReplyDelete