A Celebration, and More!

If you were hoping to see some Sunday Snoozles™, I regret to inform you that the blog will be Snoozle-less today. Instead, we will celebrate the college graduation of long-time GDB friend ANDREW! I believe Andrew came to us when he was a mere 14 years old (correct me if I'm wrong), but now he's all grown up, and ready to take on anything. He's a very smart and thoughtful young man, and I know he's going to exceed an anything he wants to do.

Sue B. kindly provided some photos that her dad (Lou Perry) took at the Magic Kingdom in Florida back on May 10, 1985 (long before Andrew was born) - Lou just happened to be at the park during the celebration for high school graduates, and a magnificent mirror-ball Mickey wearing a mortarboard was placed right in the middle of the Plaza (where the "Partners" statue now stands, I believe). It's like a piece of art, maybe by Jeff Koons.

Here's a closer look. I'm guessing that the three balls that made up Mickey's head rotated, and that lights played off of the mirrors at night. It probably looked pretty cool! Andrew told Sue: I graduated with a double major in history and economics from the University of Pittsburgh, and I have a job as a seasonal park ranger at the county parks through November, we'll see what comes after that. I guess maybe I should have majored in history and economics rather than my double major of Klingon and Puppetry, but it's too late now. CONGRATULATIONS, Andrew! 

In addition to those first two photos, Sue included more Magic Kingdom images. Let's look at some of those, shall we?

I like this first shot, with the magnificent Main Street Station framed by magnolia leaves.  It would have been swell in 3D.

Lou took a lot of photos of Cinderella Castle, but I think this is one of the nicer of those. Florida often has the best clouds! 

I assume that the next two are from the Plaza area, near the Castle, but you guys will let me know if I'm wrong. Lou must have been impressed with the roses in many colors, and you have to admit that it is very pretty. Just looking at this small sliver of the Magic Kingdom, which is famously huge, you get a sense of the amount of work that must go into keeping the park's foliage neat and tidy.

Here's the last one for today, but there are more from this batch, to be shared in the future. A topiary giraffe with rules over the Plaza with a leafy fist. YES, giraffes have fists, don't worry about it.

Thank you to Lou and Sue! Stay tuned for more from the Magic Kingdom

C-124 Globemaster, San Francisco - September 1960

I just scanned a small batch of slides from September, 1960 - these were taken in San Francisco (at SFO airport, presumably) and feature a bunch of cool military aircraft. Regular folks could see them up close! I'll be sharing more of those over the next few months, but thought I'd select three that showed an enormous aircraft of some kind. BUT WHAT IS IT? I'm sure many of you know it on sight, but I had to do a little bit of research. It's the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II! The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is a retired American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Force (USAF) Military Air Transport Service (MATS) during the 1950s and early 1960s, until the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter entered service. It served in MATS, later Military Airlift Command (MAC), and units of the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard until retired in 1974.

"READING?? If I wanted to read, I'd go to the liberry!".

Any idea what that twin-tail plane is that is closer to us?? I couldn't ID it.

Just look at the size of that thing! It's huge! Douglas Aircraft developed the C-124 from 1947 to 1949, from a prototype they created from a World War II–design Douglas C-74 Globemaster, and based on lessons learned during the Berlin Airlift. The aircraft was powered by four, large Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major piston engines producing 3,800 hp (2,800 kW) each. The C-124's design featured two, large, clamshell doors and a hydraulically actuated ramp in the nose, as well as a cargo elevator under the aft fuselage. The C-124 was capable of carrying 68,500 lb (31,100 kg) of cargo, and the 77 ft (23 m) cargo bay featured two overhead hoists, each capable of lifting 8,000 lb (3,600 kg). As a cargo hauler, it could carry tanks, guns, trucks, and other heavy equipment, while in its passenger-carrying role, it could carry 200 fully equipped troops on its double decks or 127 litter patients and their nurses. It was the only aircraft of its time capable of transporting fully assembled heavy equipment such as tanks and bulldozers.

From what I can gather, the plane in these photos is actually a model C-124 C, featuring more powerful engines, and an APS-42 weather radar fitted in a "thimble"-like structure on the nose. Wingtip-mounted combustion heaters were added to heat the cabin, and enable wing and tail surface deicing.

I have no doubt that some of you will have lots to add (or a bunch of corrections) regarding the Douglas Globemaster II!

Randos

I have a pair of interesting RANDOS for you, both happen to be medium-format ("127" 40mm X 40mm) slides, which is always nice. Both are undated.

First up is this view taken by Dad as the family unloads kids, strollers, and whatever else they need before heading to the nearest tram pickup area (the relative nearness of the Grand Hotel shows that they were quite a ways from the ticket booths). Big brother is plenty old enough to walk, but little sis needs a stroller. I think Mom has a towel over her shoulder, perhaps to drape over the stroller in case sis needs a nap.

From a different photographer comes this photo taken right near the Yacht Bar (out of frame to our left), with all of the usual features in that area, we know them well. A line of guests manages to wait in the shade of the Monorail beamway, and they can pass the time watching the Subs come and go in the beautiful tropical lagoon. A fellow in the distance waves to the photographer; we see you!

More Frontierland Pix

Let's continue our look at six (of many) scans from Disneyland's Frontierland, all related to the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to some degree. These are, of course, from our friend the Mysterious Benefactor!

First up is this very nice look at the Big Thunder attraction as seen from the river; I don't remember ever seeing the ride from this angle, but then again, I'm usually on the Mark Twain looking toward the dock that we are heading toward, and this view would require looking eastward.

Details! We love details. How about a "kerosene" lantern, for that genuine Old West feel?

The next four pictures focus on some of the Cast Members who worked Big Thunder. Thanks to his "30th  Year" name tag, we know that this one was taken in 1985.

Presumably this is still Paul, he might be checking to see if that little boy is tall enough to experience The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness. Maybe.

Here's Suzanne, she's probably encouraging people to keep their hands, arms, feet, and lets inside the vehicle at all times, and to please pull down on the safety bar.

I'd swear that this is Anthony Michael Hall (from "The Breakfast Club"), but I guess it's just his identical twin. In the next Mysterious Benefactor installment, you'll see other Cast Members blowing bubbles, I guess the photographer thought it would be a fun detail. I hope it was Hubba Bubba bubble gum. Normally I would assume that something as uncouth as bubble-blowing would be considered "un-Disney".

MANY THANKS to the Mysterious Benefactor!

Lion Country Safari, 1973

Sue B. sent me some scans of photo prints, pictures that her dad (Lou Perry) took at Lion Country Safari, a drive-through safari park located outside Irvine, California, which opened in 1970. Allowing guests to drive their own vehicles through open enclosures, it was the first cageless safari park of its kind to open in southern California. I visited LCS once or twice when I was a kid, it was always a fun thing to do.

I suppose Southern California made for a pretty good simulation of the African veldt, all the critters seemed very at-home. You could just tell! In the distance, trucks with campers, station wagons, and other vehicles move slowly along the roadway, everyone is hoping that one of the animals will come right up to their car!

Like this ostrich. What a goofy bird! But how often do you get to see one right outside your vehicle window? No more than four or five times a year, typically. 

Lou was aboard a bus, apparently - perhaps certain bus lines offered tours of LCS? Maybe Sue can enlighten us. This kid with the mouse ears is a fun touch. A giraffe is blocking the road! Feeding the animals was forbidden, but why else would he be there? He sure seems to be hoping for a snack. And mouse-ear kid is just the thing for a giraffe, as we all know. Tender and juicy.

"This bus is full of deadbeats!", the giraffe said in his Brooklyn accent (don't ask). He'll go try some other chumps - I mean guests.

Zebras are always fun to see, with their bold pattern of stripes. Fun fact: one in every thousand zebras is born plaid! I swear on a stack of pancakes. The put a feeding station (with genuine African alfalfa) right near the road, which is pretty clever.

"Say, why was it called LION Country Safari, anyway?". Well Timmy, there actually were lions. Commercials always showed a car with a lion on the hood, but when I visited they looked more like the sleepy cats in the next two photos. "Honk your horn mom! Ron, roll down your window and offer them a cookie!". 

Folks who lived in SoCal around then might remember one particular lion - Frasier! He was an elderly lion that was given to the facility in 1970 from a circus in Mexico. Already 18 years old, the lion was toothless, ill, and arthritic. He became a major attraction at the park when, despite his advanced age, he fathered litters totaling 35 lion cubs by the park's pride of six lionesses.

There will be a PART TWO, coming up soon! THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!

Fun In Frontierland, August 1970

I'm mighty fond of today's first image, a very nice picture of an Indian War Canoe (the attraction would be renamed "Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes" the following year) as it rounded the south end of the river, with Tom Sawer Island mostly in shadow. I'm not sure why the fellow in front is standing, since at this point the journey was 3/4 finished. Maybe some punk kid was snapping his gum! Cascade Peak is just visible in the background. 

Speaking of Tom Sawyer Island, ol' Tom had himself a treehouse, and it was a pip (as my grandpa would have said). A woman peeks out of a window, she probably said "Sock it to me!", because what else would anybody say when popping out of a window?? This treehouse is the kind of thing many kids would have loved to have, including me.
 

Swiss Family Treehouse, May 1971

THANK YOU to every man and woman who has served our country and who gave their lives for all of us.

****************************

Here are two nice shots from the Swiss Family Treehouse, plus one mystery photo! These are all date-stamped "May, 1971". 

As a kid, the Rube Goldberg plumbing system was endlessly fascinating, if I'd been able, I would have probably gaped at it for 15 minutes. Did the treehouse in the Disney movie have such a system? It's been decades since I've seen it. Whoever cooked it up hopefully got a $1.00 an hour raise (that's $300 in today's money). I'm very glad some of the waterworks have returned to the new Treehouse, though they were not working the last time I was there.

From up in the branches we catch a view toward Fantsyland, with the spires of the Castle, and of course the Mighty Matterhorn gleaming in the sunshine.

This final jpeg was in the same lot, with the same date, and at first I tried and tried to imagine where it could be. "Judging from the height it must have been taken from the upper deck of the Mark Twain!". But I finally realized that it can't be Disneyland, no matter how hard I tried to make it fit. Unless I'm wrong! Any idea where this actually is?

Jungle Cruise Snoozles™

Today's Jungle Cruise Snoozles are a cut above the usual hippos and elephants - I almost feel guilty relegating them to a Sunday! Almost. This first one is dated "March 1961", and is a charming portrait of some Muppety-looking lions chowing down on a nice juicy zebra (because of my clipped British accent, when I say "zebra", it rhymes with "Debra". Classy, right?). The lion to the left thinks it tastes pretty gross, and would prefer a Double-Double from In-and-Out (with grilled onions). The vultures overhead serenade the lions with their beautiful song. "Gra-a-a-a-a-ak!". 

As a kid, and even now, the original gorillas that could be seen bobbing up and down in a threatening manner were my favorites. "Really? You like gorillas, Major? Prove it!". You'll just have to take my word for it. This photo is from May, 1960; I believe that there were two gorillas seen during the Cruise, but there should have been at least 50. As I've mentioned in the past, these fellows were eventually redressed as the Yetis in the Matterhorn. Just thinking about them makes me remember their fierce roars, which sounded like an old guy growling into an empty mayonnaise jar.

Cool Old Cars

I've often mentioned my love of old cars, even though I can't claim to know much about them. They are beautiful examples of industrial design, and a huge part of American life, especially post-WWII. In my stash of scans, I have 20 (or so) scans to share, but the three I am presenting today are mysteries, in that I have no idea what the cars are. So hopefully you guys can help! All of these are undated, but are likely from the 1950s.

Well start with this portrait of two little girls in front of a blue-gray coupe of some sort. That rear fender is pretty distinctive, and should be a good clue for you experts.

This fellow put on his Sunday best to pose for a photograph with his new (?) automobile, painted in a deep  red/maroon. That garage will just barely hold the vehicle! 

And finally, one that gives us at least a few clues, thanks to the license plate from California, and the frame that says "San Diego", and "Balboa Olds". I can't quite make out the date (stamped on the plate), it might read "1952". 

The Entertainment Committee, late 1960s?

I always love photos of various bands (with their kooky names) performing at the old Tomorrowland Terrace stage - they evoke an era that is long-gone. My understanding is that this wonderful stage can no longer raise and lower, which is a shame... I remember watching "new wave" bands in the 80s rocking out at the stage emerged from the ground, and they continued as the stage descended. It was cool! 

Both of today's photos have additional appeal because they were taken just after the sun set, there's still a hint of rosiness to the light, though the warmth would be replace by violets and blues soon enough. It looks like The Entertainment Committee had a solid crowd enjoying their performance! In the background, the Monorail station is lit up - the yellow Mark II train helps to date this to pre-1969 (I believe), when I initially thought that these photos were from around 1973-ish. Live and learn.

The guitarist is charming the crowd with a little patter, and probably announcing the next song. "Here's a little number you probably know, called 'Daydream Believer'". 

 

More Pins From the Bag

Howsabout another selection of PINS FROM THE BAG?? 

This first example is particularly nice, a souvenir from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, which ran from February 20th through to December 4th. You might find one of the buttons all by itself, and  that would be pretty swell, but this one has the added bonus of a ribbon indicating that this pin commemorated the final day of the Expo. "Good-Bye!". The tiny silhouette of the famous sculpture "The End of the Trail" was also depicted (appropriately); the sculpture dated back to 1894, but for some reason it really caught on and was supposedly one of the most popular features at this event.

Next is this pinback button advertising DeSoto automobiles -: DeSoto was an American automobile brand that was manufactured and marketed by the DeSoto division of Chrysler Corporation from 1928 to the 1961 model year. More than two million passenger cars and trucks bore the DeSoto brand in North American markets during its existence. I'd guess that many folks today have never heard of DeSoto automobiles. The simple graphics on this button evoke streamlined speed, or even jet flight.

Many people forget that Huckleberry Hound ran for the nation's highest office, but here is proof. HH debuted in 1958, and he threw his hat into the ring in 1960. He lost to John F. Kennedy, but that didn't keep his spirits down, no siree!

This large pinback button bears the likeness of Walt Disney's Peter Pan. That film was from 1963, but I suspect that the pin is from the 1960s (if not later) - there were rereleases in 1958, 1969, and 1972. Beneath ©Walt Disney Productions are the words "A Benay-Albee Prod"; Benay-Albee was a company known for producing novelty hats, most notably the Mickey Mouse ear hats worn by the Mouseketeers on the Mickey Mouse Club television show. They were also well-known for their Davy Crockett coonskin caps, which were popular headwear for children in the 1950s. I think they also made dolls, though I am not 100% certain.
  

I couldn't resist a pin with the likeness of The Cat in the Hat, the beloved character created by Theodore Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss). "I Love Reading", was this pin given out to children at bookstores? Or perhaps at libraries? The pin is among the newer examples in THE BAG, being from 1996 - which still makes it 30 years old!

And finally, I'm always happy to see Reddy Kilowatt, a cheerful character created in 1926 to help encourage consumer demand for electrical power - particularly for farms, apparently. It's hard to believe that such a ploy was even necessary, but new ideas are sometimes met with some resistance. That's an Ohm joke, son!  

There are plenty more PINS FROM THE BAG.

Tom Sawyer Island and Mark Twain, 1960s

Frontierland's Rivers of America is such a beautiful and important element in the western side of Disneyland that it is nearly impossible to imagine it not being there. The real estate is considerably more developed than it was back when these photos were taken (my guesstimate is that they are from the late 1960s, though they are undated). There's more for guests to do, but the place feels less like "the frontier".

Tom Sawyer Island is lush and green, perhaps this was a brutal SoCal winter. At first I thought that there were no guests visible, but there is one (or two?) to the extreme left, and I can't quite tell what the red and yellow shape is near the raft landing.  

Views of the Mark Twain from this general vantage point are among the more common images in many lots of slides. But it's so pretty! 

The two photos merged beautifully, which is always a nice bonus.

Adventure Thru Inner Space Booklet

I just happened to scan today's VINTAGE PAPER EPHEMERA item for another purpose, but realized that it would be a fun thing to share with all of you. It's a booklet from Monsanto's Adventure Thru Inner Space - these were in bins in the entry area of the ride; because they were free, there are many thousands out in the wild, I've acquired half a dozen almost by accident. But that doesn't mean that they aren't great!

The cover is a colorful illustration, I assume that this was originally used as concept art for Monsanto's approval. I really enjoy the wild, abstract sky (representing fireworks?). We can also see the entry fountains to the right, and the Rocket Jets beneath the Peoplemover track.

There are two different ATIS booklets, this is the first one, with only artwork to convey some of what guests will see and experience. Notice that the cover could be detached and mailed as a postcard. The Mighty Microscope was thrilling to a small child, I feel like I could have watched this Atomobiles disappear into it for an hour if my parents had let me.

Riders were shrinkified, and entered a snowflake. At first the snowflakes appeared as familiar six-sided crystals, but (as we continued to shrink), they became massive walls of ice looming over us. Then we'd see H2O molecules (looking very much like "hidden Mickeys" before those were a thing) and finally, the pulsing nucleus of an atom. No... I dare not go on. I must return to realm of the molecule before I go on shrinking - forever!

As the snowflake melted and the molecules became more active, we slowly returned to our original size. Seeing the eyeball through our end of the microscope confirmed that we were "back on visual". Whew! The panel on the right shows an artist's concept of the finale of the ride, with some of Monsanto's products on display in an interesting "World's Fair" manner. 

I believe that this artwork shows tableaus that were in illuminated "window boxes", with charming limited movement. I seem to recall the woman on horseback bouncing up and down!

Finally, how about some facts about Monsanto? If I could go back in time, I would have sent them a letter, in the hopes that they might send some rare item in appreciation! As with the front cover, the back could also be sent as a postcard...

... with this illustration showing an updated (new and improved?) Clock of the World. In the lower right, there is a code, I presume that "0567" means that these were printed in May of 1967. The ride debuted on August 5th of '67, but it makes sense that these would have been printed up in advance.

I scanned the newer ATIS booklet too, so stay tuned for that.