I have a few nice slides from August, 1962, starting with this fun look at Pack Mules as they returned from their trip through Nature's Wonderland to the safety of Rainbow Ridge. A few lesser-seen buildings are visible here. This attraction looks SO appealing to me now - sure, the Mine Train was incredible, but you could see Nature's Wonderland from different angles, such as from a "natural arch" bridge.
Next, the Gullywhumper loads up with a new load of passengers. Sitting up top would be great, but how about the two crates at the bow? There's a gun for warding off rabid elk (don't worry, the gun didn't hurt them, it was filled with puffed rice).
Major-
ReplyDeleteFor the countless number of times I rode on the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train and the Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland, I can't recall ever riding a Pack Mule. Oh well.
Thanks, Major.
I can't tell for sure, but it looks like all the Mule riders, young and old, are wearing 'seat belts'. I thought it was only the young'uns that were strapped in. I wonder if a Mule ever 'went crazy' (maybe from a bee sting) and ran off the trail, through the cacti, and down the hillside of Rainbow Ridge?
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to think of a reason why anybody would rather sit inside the Keel Boat instead of on top. I know I would rather be on top! Maybe you can see some things better, at different angles, from the inside? I doubt it. Maybe only the "scaredy-cats" (and the occasional feral cat) who didn't want to ride waaaay up there, rode inside? Also, if there wasn't any more room on top, then the only option would be to ride inside, or wait for the next Keel Boat.
Thanks for the pics of the GullyMules... or MuleWhumpers, Major.
Hmmm, spellcheck didn't like GullyMules or MuleWhumpers. Can't imagine why.
I’m pretty sure I’ve told this story before but one time a friend of mine and I were riding the Keel Boats at Disneyland and we were loaded up on top … it was a very hot California summer and it was miserable. There was some issue going on and the castmembers were holding the fully loaded boat at the dock …..in fact all river traffic was held. We sat there on the top as the boat kinda rocked a bit in the blazing hot sun listening to the minstrel banjo music playing over and over…. This was about 1988 and I had a flattop … I used pomade to keep it spikey and in the “up” position… and in that sun the waxy pomade poured down my face! It was so hot … Chris and I looked at how miserable all the passengers on top were … the. Looked at each other and hearing that fast banjo music we started laughing uncontrollably…. We probably looked insane … the other pssengers baking in the hot sun were not laughing with us.
ReplyDeleteA few days ago on the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW …. A person had a mini ship canon … and I forget how they got it … but the historical appraiser said it was likely a KEEL BOAT deck canon. It looked exactly like the one in this photo . Now that makes me wonder if it was a real Keel Boat canon or a DISNEYLAND one!!!!
I don’t remember the cannons on the Keel Boats … but it’s likely something I didn’t notice.
I was on the Keel Boats ( inside this time ) when an imagineer told me that Eisner was changing Walt Disney Productions to “The Disney Company” and WED Enterprises to “Walt Disney Imagineering “ …. I kinda didn’t believe it … the. He handed me a little folding card that showed the old WED logo then opened to the new logo saying “ NEW NAME , BUT THE SAME MAGIC!”
I just scanned a 1966 slide of my uncle on TSI, with the Bertha Mae in the background. There were two kids sitting on the crates at the bow, and I wasn't sure I had ever noticed passengers sitting up there before. And it doesn't look like there were seat belts, so now I'm wondering if anyone ever fell overboard?
ReplyDeleteMike, there wasn't a cannon on the bow of the Bertha Mae in that 1966 slide I just scanned, so maybe they were removed before that date? Or maybe only the Gullywhumper had a cannon?
If the Pack Mules were still operating today, they could have an upcharge for those guests who wanted to get off of their mules in the Painted Desert, and pose for selfies with the cacti and the animals. And then they could have an additional upcharge, for those who wanted to use the "paint pots" to do some finger painting. I bet management is sorry they got rid of the Pack Mules now!
As Nanook notes, I recall many many rides on the mine train, but never on the mules. I know I rode mules at KBF, maybe I was muled out and didn’t care to repeat the Disney version. I sure would like to ride them now, imagine how different the views would be, and slower too, more time in the back country.
ReplyDeleteNotice the man in blue riding to the left. He has something like a name tag on his shirt. Is that a guided tour thing? Were tour groups other than Disney permitted in the Park?
I rode the keel boats too, most often on top, but inside too. I think it was luck of the load roulette. And no one needed seat belts then anyhow. Top was better views, but any keelboat ride is better than none, which I what I got last time. I bet that cannon is useful fending off crazed moose.
Thanks for these early pics, Major!
JG
Nanook, yeah, never rode a Pack Mule. If only I’d known.
ReplyDeleteJB, I suppose that thin strip of leather must do something. If the Mule decided to buck (or whatever), I don’t know if it would stop a person from falling off! Perhaps older people would be perfectly happy to sit inside the Keelboat, or if it was a hot sunny day, why not enjoy the shade?
Mike Cozart, gosh, I wonder what in the world was going on that they needed to hold your Keelboat for so long? It does sound miserable, in fact I’m a little surprised that they didn’t give you the option to exit the ride. Maybe they assumed that it would “only be a minute or two”. Still, if you’re in the direct hot sun… ugh. Jeez, I would think that a solid brass (or bronze) Keelboat cannon would be heavy, even though they look smallish. Kind of a cool artifact though. Do people collect such things? I guess so. I remember when the company made those name changes. I didn’t like it, but ultimately it didn’t make much difference.
TokyoMagic!, not only have we seen kids sitting on those crates, but (on rare occasions), we’ve seen guests standing on the outside, hanging on to the Keelboat on the side. That must have been in those wild and wooly early years! I’m sure the removal of the cannons was part of the attempt to make the park even more “kid friendly”. No mention of guns or killing, even if Dopey was fishing for his dinner. I’m sure the Disney Company read about your upcharge ideas and they are kicking themselves. Should a Dolly Madison Zinger be involved somehow?
JG, I’m sure I was not even aware of the mules; for some reason, Frontierland was not a place my mom and dad spent much time, there are MANY attractions from that land that I never did. As I’ve said before, the Golden Horseshoe Revue would have been right up my dad’s alley, and yet… we walked right past it. Good point about the luck of the draw as far as sitting inside the Keelboats… I suppose you could ask to wait for the next ride if you really wanted to sit up top.
I rode the Pack Mules many times. Even riding them right after going on the Mine Train. Nature's Wonderland was my favorite area in Frontierland when it existed. I really miss the Mike Fink Keelboats. The spiel on that attraction was fun. Can't say I ever rode on top though. After Mike C's description of the experience, I'm kind of glad I didn't.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics! Thanks, Major.
@ MIKE-
ReplyDelete"“ NEW NAME , BUT THE SAME MAGIC!”"
I think Imagineering has 'run out' of "magic'-!!
Man, I wish I had a keelboat cannon. Of course, if I did, then I’d want a keelboat to mount it on, and I’m not quite sure where I’d put a keelboat. Perhaps at my estate in the Poconos. I’ll have to think about it.
ReplyDeleteJG, I think that “name tag” is actually some sort of paper ephemera (maybe a ticket book) stuffed in Mr. Blueshirt’s shirt pocket.
TM!, Mrs Chuck and I did a trip with her brother in May down Route 66 as far as Flagstaff, then turned right and headed home via the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, southern Colorado, and Kansas. We had been to the GC 30 years ago, but the biggest change this time around was all of the people snapping selfies with their phones. Losing all sense of spatial awareness, nearly stepping off the canyon rim, and completely oblivious to everyone around them and the impact they were having on other guests.
We were at the rim the evening we arrived to see the sun set, and while crowded, it was also hushed and quiet, almost like being in church as people marveled at what they were seeing. Then a 20-ish young woman wandered in with her family, Face Timing the event for her brother or boyfriend, talking loudly and with the volume cranked all the way up. You could tell her mother was mortified and stepped away to avoid being associated with her.
There were issues at Forrest Gump Hill in Monument Valley, too. Everybody wanted to stop and take their photo IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. And it wasn’t like a normal smiling pose - they had little skits to go with them. Laying down, pretending to be dead. Or fighting. Or whatever. Super annoying - blocking traffic…and getting in the way of ME taking MY selfie. :-)
Chuck, that's awful! I always like seeing footage of people like that, who are so wrapped up in their phone, that they fall into a fountain or something similar. "That oughta learn 'em!" But I bet that it doesn't.
ReplyDeleteI would say that kind of behavior is generational, but I saw something similar back in 1985, when I was at Akaka Falls, in Hawaii. A guy with a video camera climbed over the metal railing, to get a closer shot of the falls. The ground was wet and muddy because.....well, it's Hawaii. The guy ended up slipping on the muddy slope and proceeded to slide down the slope towards the edge of the cliff. Just when he would wriggle his mud-smeared body up the slope a few feet, he would slide back down again. Everyone just stood there watching in horror, but not his wife. She was screaming at him the whole time to "stop it," and to "get back up here" because he was embarrassing her! I wish cell phones had been around back then, because I would have taken a selfie of myself, with the wriggling, mud-covered man in the background! :-)
TokyoMagic!, not only have we seen kids sitting on those crates, but (on rare occasions), we’ve seen guests standing on the outside, hanging on to the Keelboat on the side.
ReplyDeleteMajor, I guess I just never noticed before! Now I will probably always notice that!
I’m sure the Disney Company read about your upcharge ideas and they are kicking themselves. Should a Dolly Madison Zinger be involved somehow?
Yes, Zingers should ALWAYS be involved, whenever and wherever there is an upcharge! But I'm sure Disney would laugh at that and say, "These idiots pay the upcharge, whether we give them a Zinger, or not! We could literally spit on these people, and they would pay us to do it!" And then of course, they would laugh a very evil laugh.