Delicious Leftuggies
Happy Friday! I have two Leftuggies™ for you today. This first one is date-stamped "May, 1967", and seems to be taking place during a parade featuring members of the Horseless Carriage Club. I thought that the HCC stopped participating in Disneyland events long before 1967, but here we are. It would be fun to have old flivvers putt-putting up Main Street again, but I suppose the logistics (or crowds) might make it impossible. The boy to the right is holding a pinwheel with Mickey's likeness, I wonder if it was a Disneyland-specific piece of merchandise? If so, I've never seen one on eBay.
Next is a photo of the Motorized Firetruck, also from 1967 (only this time it's October). I was happy to see this vehicle out and about during my last visit, Cruella de Vil was on board, enjoying the adulation. It's nice to see the Plaza Gardens looking so busy, it was of course the place where many great big bands performed for years, especially on warm Summer nights.
10 comments:
The weather must have been kind of chilly on that May day in '67. Everyone is dressed like it's still winter. And speaking of dressed, what are those girls (one pink, one blue) in the back wearing on their heads? I guess it's supposed to be some sort of 'motoring hat'? It looks like someone just tossed a piece of fabric on their heads. Interesting 'worm's eye view' camera angle this picture has.
I hope those old vehicles can make it up that steep incline! Disney must have leveled out that section of roadway in later years. The Firetruck looks fully loaded, and then some!
I suppose these Leftuggies are delicious, but they have an aftertaste of motor oil! Thanks, Major.
"Disneyland USA" had the vintage car clubbers as well as a pancake-flipping event. The holidays brought local choirs to Main Street and the Living Christmas Tree. The opening day and Disneyland '59 parades were full of non-Disney dance and equestrian groups. The Indian dancers in Frontierland and the gas-powered plane pilots in Tomorrowland -- employees or not?
Was there a moment when amateurs vanished from the parks' entertainments, excepting school bands in a parade and perhaps the Indians?
I really like that first photo. As for civilians parading up and down Main St., do they still have high school bands do that at the park, or are those days over? My high school's band did it every year.
Thanks, Major!
Happy 71 Disneyland, and these two photos show the essence of what made the place unique. "Home Spun Parades" or events...I'm sure people don't know what they are missing today: as they want a bit more "glitz" to justify the 1K+ they will be spending at the park to entertain their families. I was there during the "lean years" when we had to produce these low cost alternatives: with the comp tickets, free parking, and an experience to be in a Disneyland parade be the only payment needed. I wasn't there during the "pancake races"...but I saw my fair share of, and was actually IN a parade (i've talked about that before)...kind of like "put latin names on the weeds" or "lemonade out of lemons" parades and entertainments. The guests loved that stuff. Do some zooming-in on the parade crowd: there is a lot there...wow...and two kids hanging from a tree...and interestingly enough the license plate "1313" also the address of the Happiest Place on Earth. Pinwheel Mickey with suited boy...employees in a gaggle...doing something (?) What are those "bonnets" on the kids? Mom is in her Sunday best, and dad has taken off the day from NASA to smoke his corn cob pipe and put on his best ...overalls? I enjoyed the shade of that tree behind the fire wagon by the Castle many times: we had a ice cream wagon under it, and also balloon vendors there....we weren't allowed to talk to each other, and of course that was strictly monitored...if you are talking to each other, you aren't available to guests....today I see lot's of employees talking to each other...or on their company phones...I lament today's world because, well: it kind of deserves it. The Disneyland in these photos was a "day at the Park"...and probably "have some fun, build memories, and learn something too". Talking in a "Chatterbox" was just as fun as Peter Pan or "the buckets"...or holding onto the railing in America the Beautiful during a couple of scenes and giggling about it. I don't need so much dopamine these days: or in those days. I'm not scrolling, and Disneyland is not Tic-Toc. I'm glad that the park is still around and going strong for a new generation, who will have similar memories about churros or bubble makers or Chewbacca...Chubasco? Well...the big furry thing. Happy Birthday Disneyland and 80's TG's Janet and Bill...who are celebrating today as well. Thanks Major!
Looks like maybe a cold day, people are wearing plainer clothes and coats etc. At least one coat and tie guy. In the 60’s, I thought we would see more colorful styles. I had no idea that old car clubs had parades in the Park, or all those other events as well. All good info, thank you!
Major, the fire truck must be fun to drive, you could drive like you’re going to a fire! Get those strollers and scooters outta my way! VROOOM. Plaza Gardens looks like a big crowd. I wonder who is playing?
Thanks for more Main Street, Major!
JG
@ Anonymous (Bu-?)
Thanks for stating some of the things I was thinking. Although [I am] not so glad about today's Disneyland, as regrettably, in far too many ways, it is merely in name only.
Thanks, Major.
Cruella deVil on the firetruck... Well, that explains why there's no dalmatian on board..
^ Dean, you just hit on something fun....I'd love to see Cruella riding in the firetruck with a bunch of Dalmatians riding along side of her. :o)
Happy 71st Disneyland! You've given me and my family a lot of happiness over these 71 years.
Thank you, Major, for a fun ride down Main Street. Always enjoyable with you and the Jr. Gorillas.
Everyone, I’m sorry I couldn’t respond to comment until so late! Family was in town and I spent all day being charming and hilarious. You know how it is.
JB, it’s possible that May was chilly (though it does seem unlikely) - I probably should have checked Jason’s Disneyland Almanac to see when the Horseless Carriage Club met that year! But I was too busy TP-ing the neighbor’s houses. In the early days, the Plaza had a 20 percent gradient, which Walt finally fixed in 1958. You don’t read about that very often, but it is 100 percent true and you can bet your sweet bippy.
DBenson, it’s been a while since I’ve watched that excellent film (Disneyland USA), I don’t remember seeing the pancake flippers. I have a friend who has one of the pangs used for flipping though (it is painted with lettering so that we can be sure). Pretty cool. I sort of love the events with the non-Disney performers, it somehow felt more egalitarian. I am actually not sure if they stopped using amateurs altogether, maybe somebody else here knows.
TokyoMagic!, it’s been a few years now, but both my niece and nephew were in their high school bands (in San Luis Obispo), and they came all the way to perform in the park, after which they got to have fun for the rest of the day. And then… a five hour bus ride home!
Bu, well as usual I forgot to celebrate Disneyland’s birthday - I forget every year, so it’s not like this was an exception. Why do I forget it? I’m dumb. I do remember the years when Disneyland tried all sorts of ploys to lure the locals to the park in the off-season, which seems incredible now. Half price for SoCal residents! Nice. i guess putting Latin names on weeds is a good idea, plant people really do love that sort of thing. And I know some plant people! I’ve always loved that Disneyland’s address was 1313, just like the Munster’s address on Mockingbird Lane. I truly don’t get those awful bonnets on the girls, they look like they have sweaters draped over a regular bonnet. But that makes no sense. I feel like it was the 90s when the park changed from a “once or twice a year” place to visit into “let’s go there every weekend with our friends”. Which isn’t terrible, people should do what they want, but I’m sure the executives at Disney could not foresee the change. To the point that other guests were intimidated by all the teens. Happy Birthday to Disneyland!
JG, I am still holding out hope that we will all be wearing silver lamé and headgear with little orbiting planets. The way our founding fathers wanted it to be. I wonder how hard the firetruck would be to drive? I assume that it would be easy, but perhaps it is trickier than I think.
Nanook, you can still have lots of fun at the park, but it is wildly different from those carefree, simpler days that we see on GDB.
Dean Finder, NICE! I never made the connection! I assume it was intentional?
Lou and Sue, I would love to see that too, in fact have they ever brought real Dalmatians into the park for an event? I’ve heard they are high-strung. Maybe it’s a bad idea. Thanks to you, Sue!
......have they ever brought real Dalmatians into the park for an event?
Major and Sue, the year that I was in the Christmas parade, they had a "dogcatcher's truck" filled with dogs. Pluto would walk behind it and when it stopped, Pluto would open the doors and let the dogs out so they could run around in the street! "Pete" (without the peg-leg) was driving the truck, but there was a "dogcatcher" who rode along with him and would get the dogs to go back into the truck. Within a year or two, they had gotten rid of the dogcatcher character and replaced him with Cruella de Vil! Still, I don't think they ever had dalmatians in the truck, probably for the reasons that Major mentioned.
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