Here's a pair of "OK" images from Fantasyland, circa 1973 - starting with a familiar view of It's a Small World's busy façade. There are more strollers than we typically see in old photos! Of course, IASW is a very "toddler-friendly" attraction, so it makes sense. Still, you can sense that the stroller takeover was beginning!
Next, a photo taken from the Disneyland Railroad, which was at rest at Tomorrowland Station, presumably. I'm guessing that this is the "Holiday Green" set of cars, though they could be the "Holiday Blue" cars I assume. Both went into service in 1966.
Major-
ReplyDeleteThe 'attack of the strollers'-! Wasn't that a Roger Corman film-?
"... which was at rest at Tomorrowland Station, presumably".
Presumably... no. The train is actually exiting IaSW on its way to the Tomorrowland Station.
Thanks, Major.
In an episode of "The Golden Girls" tonight, Sophia was dressed in what we were to assume was traditional attire for her home village in Sicily. Her daughter (Bea Arthur) walked into the scene and said, "Ma, why are dressed like you just came out of It's A Small World?!?!"
ReplyDeleteThat's all I've got. What? You want me to bring a curtain down?
Oh, and in the second pic, we can see the Small World souvenir stand!
Thanks, Major!
In the first pic…the little kid in the all-red outfit. Hee hee :o)
ReplyDeleteThe stroller apocalypse is nigh! Although, I don't see any SUV-sized ones yet (a couple come close). Too early for that, I guess. I heard they're gonna bulldoze the Small World facade to make more room for strollers. (I'm joking... I think.) The toddler-in-red in the lower right looks like he/she might have a loaded diaper. It's a pretty good picture of the Small World facade. The light is just right to bring out all the details. Looks like the Clock is starting to do its thing.
ReplyDeleteWe get a good view of the Mexican "Voladores" flying down from the top of that pole. ;-) They were briefly featured at Disneyland in the early seventies. Those trees-with-no-scale make the Matterhorn look like it's about 30 feet tall. Of course, if this was a 3D image, we could see that the trees are quite close to us, while the Mountain isn't. I like that single, bright red, Skyway bucket; it adds a needed splash of color. (There's an aqua-colored one to the left, but that one doesn't count because it blends in with the trees.) I know I should know this, but what is that blue structure with the golden orbs?
Ah, I think Nanook and Tokyo! answered my question. Although, as we all know, Major never makes a mistake! I was pretty sure the Matterhorn was leaning the wrong way for this photo to have been taken from the Tomorrowland Station.
I see Sue noticed the toddler-in-red too. :-p
Thanks, Major. He who is all knowing and never makes a mistake. :-D
I never tire of the gold and white IASW facade, pure genius. The queue looks light, but where are all those stroller pilots and passengers. I am occasionally surprised that we managed to raise our family with a simple basic stroller, no cup holders or luggage racks.
ReplyDeleteMajor, I can see why you thought photo 2 was Tomorrowland station, it’s got the Matterhorn, skyway, queue rails and flowers. There’s a nice sliver of the IASW souvenir stand, before the advent of the gargantuan Exit Through the Gift Shop of later years. I guess all those trees are part of the Motorboat Lagoon.
Thanks for these nice IASW pics, Major. Much appreciated.
JG
The train is actually exiting IaSW on its way to the Tomorrowland Station. You’re just saying that because we can see pieces of “It’s a Small World”!!
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, wasn’t “Golden Girls” a Disney-produced show? I’ve still never seen a single episode.
Lou and Sue, funny, I was having lunch with my best friend, and we were talking about a guy we used to know who liked to wear all-red. Maybe that kid is him as a toddler.
JB, I remember when the stroller thing was really getting out of hand, and folks would post photos of the SUV strollers. Those things were five feet tall and could hold a full-sized adult. Why anyone would want to be burdened with such a thing is beyond me. A stroller when you have a kid or two? Sure. I don’t know if those big ones eventually just fell out of favor, or if the park made any sort of ruling about what they would allow inside. I had to look up “Voladores” because I didn’t know what the word meant. And now I know! Maybe the Matterhorn really is only 30 feet tall, and forced perspective works so well that it has fooled us all. I can only assume that the blue structure is a souvenir stand, but someone will tell us for sure. And I’m glad that you realized that I never make a mistake! Just like somebody else.
JG, I think I remember a quote from Mary Blair saying something along the lines of “White is the most joyful color”, which seems nuts at first, but the proof is in the pudding (whatever that means). I think that white *can* seem joyful, but it does need to have something to give it contrast. Looking at photo #2 now, I know that I must have barely given it a real glance, but I have a good excuse, there was a “Friends” marathon and I couldn’t look away.
Major-
ReplyDelete"... but the proof is in the pudding (whatever that means)".
It's an idiom dating back to [at least] the early 17th century. The original expression is: "the proof of the pudding is in the eating"; naturally it's been shortened over time.
Now, go eat some pudding while watching that Friends marathon-!
I can smell the Motor Boat Cruise through these photos: it's kind of "Soft Autopia stench + Aroma of Skull Grotto". Motor Boat cruise was a hoot: as a teenager we would be screaming to "not hit the rocks" and "watch out for the rapids!"...we thought we were so funny laughing hysterically, but probably we were loud and obnoxious ! The Small World Facade continues to amaze. So very grand, how ambitious they were back then. Stroller world: kind of odd to see this from this time period...now they actually have to have "attendants" to control all of them. Kids should walk more. If they did, they would thank us later. Just me being a grumpy boomer. The walk and destination to Small World was so "last scene"....and now...when you keep going to the abomination known as Toon Town...you pass by Small World like it's just another ride. I don't know what is so off putting to me about going through that tunnel into the plastic world of plastic...but it is so incredibly off putting. The Runaway thing is no Haunted Mansion, but the guests eat it for breakfast. In the next "NEW" Fantasyland, I would like to see more fairy princess stories and what-nots: before they get thrust into some other inappropriate land: take out Toon Town. Again: my boomer grump rears his head. Switching gears, I read something about the now "gone" "old" Carousel of Progress in WDW: There of course was a lot of chatter about the new scenes approaching, and someone said "it's not that you are updating, it's that you are taking away the "visitation to a memory" away from us." "The next iteration we'll go on once and that will be it." "The original we went to because it took us back, which is what the attraction was all about". It was a thoughtful response to all the vitriol going on. And I suppose, same with Pirates and the Rivers of America in WDW....we now have only memories, where we once could actually experience it: like other landmarks in history: The Eiffel Tower, The Tower of London, The Empire State Building, and, well: Disneyland itself. That's all I got. Thanks Major.
ReplyDeleteNanook, thanks for the explanation. I could have looked it up, but I’m watching Joey and Chandler do something hilarious!
ReplyDeleteBu, “Soft Autopia stench”, by Ralph Lauren. Don’t let the lady at the department store spray any on you! I refuse to believe that teenage boys are (or were) obnoxious. Lies! Now that people store all of their worldly belongings in their strollers, I’ve always wondered if theft is an issue. It probably happens, though hopefully rarely. “Yes, I left my bag of gold coins in the stroller, but I didn’t think anybody would take them”. I don’t think ToonTown is an abomination, but it also feels like there should be more to do there. The Mickey’s Runaway Railway is a fun big ride, maybe a solid “D” ticket, and the queue is a clever idea (a “museum” of props from Mickey’s films throughout history). I feel that if they got one more good ride back there, it would really help to make ToonTown feel like a mature land. Maybe they don’t have the space? The Carousel of Progress has changed several times throughout the decades, so it’s not like the attraction that is there now is “Walt’s Carousel”. I like Jean Shepard, but I guess I miss the comforting voice of Rex Allen. I’ll probably never see the attraction after the changes have been made, though I’ll watch YouTube vids. It’s crazy to think that it’s been over 50 years since I saw the original show at Disneyland!!
TokyoMagic!, wasn’t “Golden Girls” a Disney-produced show? I’ve still never seen a single episode.
ReplyDeleteMajor, yes....it was a Touchstone production, which was one of the other "banners" that the Disney Studios used. The cast was even featured on the cover of "Disney News Magazine." I was such a big fan of it back in the day, that I went to see it filmed live about four or five times. I have just started watching it again on MeTV, and I still find myself laughing out loud at some of the lines. The writing is excellent and the delivery from those four actresses is impeccable. My brother never watched it either, and he just recently started watching the reruns for the very first time. He is hooked now! It is surprising how they got away with saying some of the really risque stuff, back in the 1980s. They were really "pushing the envelope," and I guess that is why Disney put it under one of their other studio banners/labels.