A Frontierland Pair, 1960s
Here's a couple of nice Frontierland pix taken on a gray day in the 1960s.
It looks like the Mark Twain was moored over at Tom Sawyer Island for some reason - I can only guess why. If it was being fixed up, you'd think it would be in Fowler's Harbor - perhaps the Columbia was already there. BUT then you'd think that they'd be running the steamboat. to have at least one of the big boats on the river. If this was the "off season", I suppose guests had to take a chance that many attractions might be down for maintenance.
Nearby, the world's loneliest popcorn vendor thinks about adventures he could be having. "I could be riding a camel in Egypt, or frolicking in Trevi Fountain!". Well you're not! What's wrong with selling delicious salty snacks to people? I'm kind of surprised at the subdued colors of his costume, where are the red and white stripes that stimulate the appetite?
23 comments:
I see Cascade Peak in the background, but to the right of that, it looks like Nature's Wonderland Mine Train is under construction. At least, there is a lot of dirt piled up over there. Perhaps this was the year of the conversion of the Rainbow Mountain Mine Train to the Nature's Wonderland Mine Train?
Thanks for these unusual Frontierland pics, Major!
Major-
"It looks like the Mark Twain was moored over at Tom Sawyer Island for some reason..."
How is that possible-? Are you saying there's a 'spur track' as a part of the circular, below-water main track in the Rivers of America-? Hmmmm....
"I'm kind of surprised at the subdued colors of his costume, where are the red and white stripes that stimulate the appetite?"
Another oddity. It must be ODV wished to bestow the honor of 'snappy outfits' exclusively to the Toasty Roasty Man-!
Thanks, Major.
Nanook, I thought that someone in the past (Mike?) had described to us a way that the Mark Twain could be taken off of it's track.
Major, didn't you post a pic or two some years back, of the Columbia moored over at Tom Sawyer Island? Or did I dream that?
Would Lillian Disney's precious fossilized tree stump, which she absolutely adored, be somewhere near the photographer? The berm, to the right of Cascade Peak, looks awfully bare for the '60s. There's also someone walking around all that bareness. Something must be goung on. I'm not sure, but I think I see one of the big horn sheep circling around near the top of the Peak. (It looks whiter than the sky.) I wonder if this guy is someone we should know, or if he's just a normie.
Ooh! A water fountain disguised as a tree stump! That's a different clown than we usually see turning the crank on the popcorn cylinder. Sort of a "Pagliacci" clown. Major, maybe they had the popcorn vendors wear subdued costumes on days with subdued lighting. We know Disney can be very anal (family blog!) about such things.
It sounds like Tokyo! may have solved the bare dirt conundrum in the first pic.
"Toasty-Roasty Man". Thanks, Nanook. I couldn't remember his name!
Interesting Frontierland pics, Major. Thanks.
@JB-
He's also been referred to as: Roasty Toasty Man; Tosty Rosty Man; and Rosty Tosty Man. (Evidently he needed several aliases-!)
Lillian Disney's precious fossilized tree stump, which she absolutely adored
JB, I'm pretty sure you are being funny/sarcastic. But as we all know, Lillian absolutely detested that tree stump. Her most famous quote.....maybe even more famous than any of Walt's quotes, was when he first gave it to her. She replied by saying, "Thanks, I know just where to STICK it!"
Nanook, with all those aliases, I wonder what the little guy has been up to!
Tokyo!, yes... sarcastic (and hopefully funny).
What a very curious photo....the Mark Twain that is....I do like the cast iron fencing.which is a bit frilly, but totally works here...along with that lighting standard. "Big Thunder Mountain" seems to be in full swing there....like the Matterhorn, a pile of pushed around dirt before it became a mountain. Well....that's a metaphor for science....but lets talk about a popcorn wagon...I think I've mentioned the red color in Frontierland, as "in my time" it was painted to look like "wood"....and I'm pretty sure the little clown was Daniel Boone....and of course, it was all encased in glass. Some technical notes: that is the "perfect" height for the popcorn to be. That is the standard: you can see how it pushed it up against the glass...which serves it visually, AND also: it's easier to "scoop" (with a box, NOT a metal thing that they use now)....the wagon is pretty tidy too....I don't see grease spots on the drip pan...and btw....those drip pans did not change one iota: same color, everything. Here's the ergonomic dilemma of the popcorn wagon....I always thought the the "test tube clown" was in the wrong place...you can't serve guests...they have to come up behind you (a big no no...because that is where the money is) or the side of you...which works...but here: the storage bin is on the wrong side: probably because of that water fountain...in any case, where you "transact" is actually very small...so if you had 10 boxes to fill up....it's hard to get them all there....and 10 boxes wasn't uncommon for one guest...usually dads buying it for their "packs"...anyway....we figured it out, as often the employees do: to find the efficiencies....then documentation would come to amend SOP's: a job I had much later. I made some "Disneyland Popcorn" a few days ago....I still have the touch...seasoned coconut oil, popcorn salt (not regular)...lots of oil...the seeds need to be "boiling" in it as soon as they hit the VERY hot pan....giant bowl in less than 45 seconds....never be tame with the heat....I STILL have scars on my arms from that popcorn kettle!!! SOOOOO hot....but...it kind of makes me smile now. I won't dink the "hands in pocket" employee....he could be me: that was kind of my jam back then... You could get a hat...however...super impractical with the popcorn scooping....must have been a cold day...Thanks Major!
Everybody knows that the Twain's warp drive can only be serviced next to TSI, due to the limited space at the harbor. Heck, even the cloaking device for the engines and pylons is too big to really tackle there! Fortunately, the photon torpedos can be delt with in smaller quarters, or reloads (after Exploding Aminitronic Duck season) would last weeks!
I....think...
The first picture doesn't quite have the ring of "Guest snapshot in front of attraction" to me. Could yonder fellow be some sort of VIP, despite the combination of plaid shirt and striped tie that my mother never would have approved of? (Not to mention Mrs. Mylar.) And could that be a clue to Mark Twain's unusual position? The world may never know.
Hey, maybe the guy in the first picture was a popcorn wagon distributor! That's my story, and I'm sticking to it! That's why the model in the second picture hasn't been fitted with its proper, regulation Roasty-Toasty Man yet, and they just cobbled together a costume out of spare bits and pieces so they could have someone standing behind it for the picture.
Or maybe these are production stills for the never-aired TV special Rod Serling Goes to Disneyland: Hey, This Is Messed Up in Some Subtle, Freaky Way. Sleep Tight, Kids!
Well Nanook, if you believe Cretors (the inventor of this particular steam-powered clown--still in business, BTW), then the clown is the "Tosty Rosty Man."
TokyoMagic!, yes, Cascade Peak is there, but I do wonder about all that dirt. Maybe the Peak was brand-new and they hadn’t finished the nearby landscaping. Notice the man standing on the hillside!
Nanook, I can only assume that the Twain was removed from the main track and made its way to the berth at the island without any guides. I’m sure it could be done! I was surprised to see the Toasty Roasty Man out in the open, no glass case to protect him.
TokyoMagic!, they removed the steamboat from the track using Vice Grips and 3-in-1 Oil.
TokyoMagic!, yes, we’ve seen the Columbia moored at the island as well, possibly more than one time.
JB, I forget when the petrified tree trunk was added to Frontierland - I think it was pretty early on. But yes, it would have been pretty close to this area. I assume the hillside was in the early process of being planted/landscaped, since it doesn’t normally look that bare. If there’s a bighorn sheep up there, I sure can’t see it, but I always love spotting them! Maybe I’m just not looking in the right place. I’m sure the little Pagliacci clown actually sang a tragic aria, this is why nobody is buying popcorn. If you want to use the word “anal”, please see my *other* blog.
Nanook, the Roasty Toasty an eventually wanted to be known as Mitch.
TokyoMagic!, I have never seen that quote from Lillian. Jeez, did she serve several tours in the Navy?
JB, I would never trust anybody with an alias.
Bu, if these photos are from the early 1960s, it’s possible that major work on Frontierland was being done, including early work on New Orleans Square and even the Haunted Mansion exterior. I always wish people took pictures of that! But I’m sure they avoided it because it was “ugly”. I suppose a “wooden” popcorn cart in Frontierland makes a kind of sense. Do they even have popcorn carts in Tomorrowland? Somehow I can’t picture it. Those would have shiny steel, probably! Now that you mention it, the popcorn cart does look very clean. My friend Mr. X was a popcorn vendor, and he has commented to me about the shameful condition of today’s popcorn wagons. I don’t really buy popcorn, so I haven’t noticed, but he said they were filthy. Ugh. I had no idea that popcorn vendors could have burn scars on their arms, jeez. I assume that, in spite of the clumsy access to guests, that it was dealt with. I have seen photos of people on the same side as the vendor, probably helping themselves to the till.
Stu29573, I guess those “smokestacks” are actually rudimentary Jefferies Tubes??
Melissa, anything is possible! I just assumed that the guy’s wife took his portrait, or maybe his buddy (sometimes you see grown men walking around the park). We’ll never know. I guess I would incur Mrs. Mylar’s wrath, because I like the man’s shirt and tie combo. Did the Cretors company supply replacement costumes for the Toasty Roasty Men? They would inevitably wear out or get covered in artificial butter. “All we have is this jumpsuit that is for Barbie’s boyfriend Ken”. Powder blue of course.
Steve DeGaetano, it sounds like the Tosty Rosty Man changed his name as often as he changed his underwear.
Our hero is nicely dressed and everything has a pattern, even the trousers. Maybe it’s his first day on the job?
The MT is moored at the island to take on more blinker fluid, required for the turn signals and the Aldis lamp. I don’t think that is Cascade Peak, it’s just the hill that hides Bear Country. Nanook, I had the same thought about the track spur. I’ll bet getting the boat back on the rail is more difficult than we think.
Thank you Bu for the informative post on the popcorn wagon. I always enjoy hearing those details. They don’t make me want more popcorn, but still fascinating to hear the level of detail behind such a mundane activity. I love the log drinking fountain, just like the one Abe Lincoln installed at the White House.
Thanks Major!
JG
Tie Guy looks like a used steam boat salesman.
I rarely buy popcorn at DL but when I do I don't like paying more than 15 cents.
Thanks Major for the popcorn,
Zach
@ Bu-
Thanks for the thorough description of the 'popcorn wagon set-up'. However... no love for the hand truck, carefully stowed beneath the wagon, atop the drip pan-?
@ Steve DeGataeno-
Large corporations often have a way to muddy-the-waters - whether it be "change for changes sake", or miscommunication, or simply dumb errors. (Take for example the incorrect possessives [often] appended to Tom Sawyer Island, King Arthur Carousel and the Sleeping Beaty Castle, to name but three).
The Cretors brochure [from 1986] touting their 100 years in business, highlights a lovely image of 'the little man' "... perpetually turning his glass tumbler filled with popcorn", and described simply as Roasty-Toasty Man.
Clearly, Cretors was [is] jealous of the continuum of errors the Walt Disney Company pumps out on an ongoing basis and merely hated the idea of being left out.
I'll leave it up to you in deciding which name, which spelling, what order, and with or without hyphen works best - although if I had to indicate a preference, I do tip my chapeau in the direction of your example - in spite of the fact I rarely cite it-! (I know - go figure.)
Major-
The petrified tree stump appeared in Frontierland in September, 1957.
I'm surprised more amusement parks don't have those Chinese popcorn cannons. Get a little bit of a show with your snack. They should at least have one at the China pavilion at EPCOT.
Was the petrified tree stump ever temporarily moved into DCA? I have a vague memory of having it pointed out on the agricultural education tour I took there in 2003, and the picture I have of it is in with those pictures, but I did visit Frontierland on the same day, so it's possible it's just all mixed up in the soup and goop of my mind. (Not as picturesque as windmills, but what are ya gonna do? Sorry, Great-Grandma van Gorder.)
The Tosty Rosty Man is not to be confused with the Tostum Rostum Postum Man, who is a supernatural creature lurking under your bed and making you dream of grain-based coffee substitutes if you're not a good little child.
@ Melissa-
"... making you dream of grain-based coffee substitutes if you're not a good little child>".
Ahhhh... can chicory be far behind-??
A continuation....and some speculations....and ....some opinions....first the hand truck/dolly thing: yes: unsightly...bad show....but I speculate what it's about...the oil came in giant industrial buckets...like a Home Depot orange bucket...but bigger...it was heavy...young bucks (such as myself) could handle them :) But, generally if you were working a relief shift for one of the petite ladies....they could barely get INTO that bin, much less pull a 50# bucket out of it.....Sooooo....this is where the bin location doesn't make sense...but the hand truck does...they would need to use the hand truck to get those big barrels of oil (which hardens in fall winter....and is totally liquid in summer...(very messy) over to the oil hopper which is just that little "stick out" thing you can see on the wagon on the right side. You lift the top on a hinge and fill the oil. The oil is pumped up to the kettle in a measured amount...there's buttons for all of this where the hat boy is...another reason not to have little hands back there. They needed to cart that thing to the hopper....then cart it back....when the bin moved to that side "voila" you could scoop right out of the bucket in the bin: "magic". Regarding .15 for popcorn. Well...it would still be profitable. From a cost of goods perspective. Disneyland does not use high grade seed....I've had that popcorn over the last few years, and it's pretty much a cheap hybrid. Sorry ODV. When Hunt Wesson (Orville) was sponsoring the wagons, the seed was basically free. When you add in all costs, etc etc etc....popcorn is a cash cow. Labor is probably the biggest expense. For the "cleaning"....I'm pretty sure those ODV people do nothing but sell...and don't clean in between customers....maybe some cursory cleaning.....but nothing that is deep. There was no "custodial" to clean your wagon in 1980. YOU did it. When you got there, when you were working there, and after. Everything including the drip pan was expected to be spotless. Some did better than others. My reviews always indicated "SPOTLESS WORK SPACE". I was absolutely manic....see those spokes? I cleaned EACH ONE...3rd shift got everything gross...mix that with popcorn oil (that hopper leaked...they all did) and botanical debris: no bueno....all that chrome stuff...the GLASS especially! You heated up cotton clean cotton towels in the kettle to get really hot...then wiped the windows....gets it all shiny because it's soaking up oil that the towel melted on the glass. "Sparkle Neely, Sparkle". Today: I don't see any of that happening...and the ODV people....are working a wagon...that is 25 feet long...with more crap than you ever wanted in a lifetime. I won't call it progress, I'll call it....well...not greed...but "capital optimization"....they could design it better....everything looks dirty, and old....I only buy Disneyland/WDW popcorn out of nostalgia...not because it's good. or quick for that matter....and whats with the bottles in the fake ice? Oh jeez...I could go on.....Regarding Tomorrowland wagon? Didn't need it....it was that little stand underneath the Peoplemover....and we would work that sometimes...it had the ice cream offerings, popcorn, and space mist....thinking back...I always thought it was kind of a drag to work that location as you weren't "in the park"...and it felt like "Coke" (Coke Terrace) which, I was very sad when I worked there....but now..hmm....I think I would actually prefer it. And Coke Terrace: well at the time it was highest volume fast food location in the WORLD....8 hours would fly by...And well...who doesn't like Sunshine Balloon? PS...later on PB (Post Bu) Tomorrowland did get a wagon...and yes it seemed to be rather shiny and silver.
Bu, your description of the poor cleaning habits of some of the popcorn vendors took me back to one of my favorite childhood books, Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield. It was about a little girl in the early 1900s who went to live with her aunt and uncle on a farm. I had to go look it up on The Internet Archive to make sure I got the wording right about the advice Betsy got when she and her friend went to the county fair.
"Cousin Ann had put no restrictions whatever on them, saying they could buy any sort of truck or rubbish they could find, except the pink lemonade. She said she had been told the venders washed their glasses in that, and their hands, and for all she knew their faces."
I actually laughed out loud Melissa....yes...and I thought it horrifying enough we were touching money at the same time in the era of "cash only"...my OCD kept me very "sanitized" ....I'm a bit looser now...I probably eat bugs daily and don't even know it....
Tie Guy looks like a used steam boat salesman.
@zach, I forgot to ask, will he paint any steamboat any color for $99.95?
"And could that be a clue to Mark Twain's unusual position? The world may never know."
Melissa, but The Shadow Knows! ;-)
"I forgot to ask, will he paint any steamboat any color for $99.95?"
Melissa (again), I guess I didn't realize that Earl Sheib was nationwide. Those commercials were so low budget-looking, that I guess I assumed he was just a "local" advertiser, like Jack Stephan and "ADEE DO!"
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