May, 1972 would have been a swell time to visit Disneyland! You still had the Carousel of Progress, the Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland, and Donald Duck's Pantsless Coaster. I could be in these! But I'm not. It wouldn't be long before my family rode their bicycles from SoCal to Pennsylvania, where we would live for the next few years.
Our first scan of the day features two kids proudly showing off their new souvenir hats, possibly bought at the newsstand/souvenir stand near the entrance to the tunnel beneath the train tracks. I have a Donald Duck hat (with the squeaky bill) much like the one the boy is wearing, though mine is a few years older. The girl has a hat with newfangled white mouse ears, which look a bit odd to my eye. It's nice to get the Balloon Vendor as a bonus, as well as the Horseless Carriage.
Next is a view looking south from about where the Kodak shop was on Main Street (which was next door to the Hallmark store). An Omnibus putt-putts toward us as the afternoon shadows grow longer across Main Street. The Cinema is showing a Fatty Arbuckle movie - I miss the days when it showed more than just Mickey Mouse short films.
Major-
ReplyDeleteLOOK... it's the backside of balloons-! Now we can see how each string is splayed outward for tangle-free handling.
That tree in front of the Story Book Shop & Candle Shop is certainly flexing its branches towards the heavens - the kink in the trunk notwithstanding.
Thanks, Major.
The boy clearly went to modeling school... or maybe he's just copying the poses he saw in the Sears catalog. If he wants to be true to the Donald Duck 'look', he should remove his pants. Little Sis hasn't quite mastered the art of smiling yet. I agree, the white ears are kinda strange; they look more like real mouse ears somehow. Looks like there are a few black Mickey balloons here, unlike the pic we saw the other day. I wonder if they sold well? They look more like Mickey, but maybe folks would prefer the colorful ones more?
ReplyDeleteThe bottom level of the Omnibus looks pretty full, but there's hardly anyone on top! How can that be? There's a nice yellow Mickey balloon up there though. Does that guy (up top) have his shoe resting on the railing?!? "Get thee to the Churro Mines!"
I guess I missed "Donald Duck's Pantsless Coaster" when we were there in '75. Maybe it was a ToonTown attraction that came later. Thanks, Major.
In that first image - if you look at the building in the back you’ll notice the “Disney : A Legacy For The Future” attraction is missing its marquee and its windows are covered inside with block-out paper ! It’s being converted to “Disneyland Showcase - A Preview of Future Attractions” … this happens as much of the original exhibit was now going to be featured in the Walt Disney Story attraction. Scheduled to open in 1973 for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney Productions. Ironically when “Disneyland Showcase - A Preview of Future Attractions “ opened it was 75% about Walt Disney World Phase Two … and about 25% Disneyland … and showed plans to bring many of the new Walt Disney World attractions to California…. space mountain , Liberty Square, Hall of Presidents , Thunder Mesa Runnaway railroad , Western River Expedition , Pinocchio’s Village, a Fantasia attraction. , and a Island at the Top of the World, and the hit of Florida : Country Bear Jamboree was already underway in the new BEAR COUNTRY .
ReplyDeleteThat kid (and his parents) didn't remove the price tag from the underside of his Donald Duck hat. Maybe they knew that leaving it there would only increase the hat's value in 50 years.
ReplyDeleteThe Cinema is showing a Fatty Arbuckle movie - I miss the days when it showed more than just Mickey Mouse short films.
Major, me too! But I'm so glad I happened to be at the park the one and only day that the Main St. Cinema was showing "A Clockwork Orange."
Thanks for the nice 1970s pics, Major!
Hey, it's the graceful dancing boy from last Friday! And his matching kid sister! Today he's showing off his elegant contrapposto. I wonder if they were aspiring child performers/models (no shortage of those in SoCal) or just cute, photogenic kids who enjoyed dressing nice and posing for the camera? Whatever their story was, I hope they had happy lives and that they're still around somewhere. I had an outfit almost exactly like the sister's at about that age (minus the hat). And I'd wear the braided lady's brown, leafy blouse today.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the large, white ears aren't my favorite variation, I've always liked that style of mouse ear hat, culminating in the 1977 Mickey Mouse Club chapeau. It sat more securely on the head than the traditional little skullcap, without the need for a chin strap.
The Cinema is showing a Fatty Arbuckle movie - I miss the days when it showed more than just Mickey Mouse short films.
Yeah, it seems like every time one of the Disney parks opens a new land, people act like "immersion" is some brand-new thing the current Imagineers just thought up. When, in fact, it used to be the standard on opening day in Disneyland's existing lands, and it's just been allowed to slide over the years.
I'm not in these since our big Disneyland trip was 13 months later.
ReplyDeleteThe Pantless Coaster was gone by then. The fact that all guests had to remove their pants before boarding just made the line move too slow. The idea of a "Donald Duck Pantless Land" was soon scrapped due to unrelated legal issues.
Oh look! There's Main Street!
Looking at the balloon vendor, I’m wondering if this photo 1 was from the same batch as we saw earlier with the train view? Even here, a trash can sneaks into view with those olive green Mickeys.
ReplyDeleteI was in the Park twice in 1972, once in March with the High School Honor Society and again in September with my family. I remember that display Mike describes. I was anxious for the Island at the Top of the World then, and I’m still waiting.
Photo 2 - Whoop Whoop Unbuttoned Vest Alert! And the usual complement of trash cans. There’s a sign in the distance near the flower bed, is it advertising that Showcase?
Thanks Major!
JG
Nanook, I would imagine that a breezy day would cause havoc, making that bunch of balloons turn and twist. I wonder if that tree in front of the Story Book Shop (etc) was ever in danger of being rejected for not being perfect enough?
ReplyDeleteJB, I’ll have you know that I stand just like that boy in all of my photos. I also have my sweater tied *just so*. I’m sure some people like those white mouse ears, but they just feel wrong to me. I guess the park just wanted something different after nearly 20 years of the same old thing? Yes that guy has his feet on the railing of the Omnibus, but you have to admit that they are largely inside the vehicle. “Donald Duck’s Pantsless Coaster” was removed in ’75, you might have been there right afterwards. Some say it was “too much fun”.
Mike Cozart, jeez, even after you pointed it out, it’s hard to tell what’s going on in the distance in that picture! Good eyes. I wish I’d seen the “Disney: A Legacy For The Future” displays, and wish they had something like that today. Why the heck not? Maybe they want to preserve at least some of the “surprise”. I suppose WDW was new enough that even Disneyland guests were interested in what was to come over in Florida. I’m trying to imagine a Fantasia attraction, would you just go through scenes of each segment of that movie?
TokyoMagic!, well, the price tags do seem to be desirable to collectors, to the point where one notorious seller of fake items from Disneyland will take a generic toy flintlock, say it’s a “Pirates of the Caribbean”-branded toy, and put a fake, distressed Disneyland price tag on it. Once somebody pointed his stuff out to me, it became really obvious without even seeing who the seller was. Gosh, I wish I’d been there to see “A Clockwork Orange” on Main Street!
Melissa, oh funny, I didn’t even notice that those kids were the same ones from a week ago! I was just at a museum last weekend, commenting on the contrapposto of one of Degas’ dancers. I haven’t met many “show biz kids” around here (not that I meet a lot of kids), but I did meet one young girl whose mother wanted her to be a star, she was precocious in a weird, artificial way. Just be a normal kid! I don’t know how different the 1977 MMC hats were, other than that they came in a variety of colors. I think they should have ear flaps like cold-weather hats in Minnesota. I guess the Imagineers do go for “immersion”, Galaxy’s Edge is pretty immersive (even though many of the walk-around characters no longer appear), I hope they still go for it in other new lands though.
Stu29573, smart guests just showed up “sans pants” for the whole day. Convenient, but it caused its own problems. I would wear tear-away pants like they wore at “Chippendales”.
JG, see Melissa’s comment! I don’t know if my family went to Disneyland in ’72, we were preparing for our big move back east, so probably not. If “Island At The Top Of The World” had been a better movie, I’d be more interested in an attraction based on it. In my recollection, it’s not great. Based on the zillions of times we’ve seen unbuttoned vests, I am reasonably sure that this was not a strict rule at the park.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that all guests had to remove their pants before boarding just made the line move too slow.
ReplyDeleteOh, that makes more sense than my assumption! I was thinking riders had to take their pants off by the end, because the intensity of the coaster made them wet themselves.
Well....I didn't see a Clockwork Orange at Disneyland...but how about "Something Wicked This Way Comes" or "Never Cry Wolf" or how about "Night Crossing"....I saw all of those at the Lincoln Theatre...They probably stopped doing movie nights...since the park is open so late....but it was fun and free...and it was a nice community of all peoples: management/regular employees/execs....etc. No one had "saved seats" and: no food or drink allowed. And nice to see Main St. totally empty at night.....back to Balloons: yes: you can see the strings there: pretty neat....and one wind: it's a tangle...it's constant maintenance, but not out of control if you know what you are doing. I do agree it's the same guy: same oxfords, and same large bunch of balloons that I've commented on. The Sears catalog shot is perfect. Alligator shirt for a young lad: to be so fancy! Not in my world....I did have a few Hang Ten "Feet" shirts.....and would like them again. OP too... An optical illusion puts a beard on Balloon Guy....but: yes: an illusion. We would have been absolutely shocked at the time. Onto Main Street with Elm's with no scale.....OK...when they are really bushy they have SOME scale...but these are "Walt" trees, so leave them alone: but they didn't. Thinking deeper, I think the issue was not scale: it was the roots pushing up the sidewalk....hmmm....gotta dig deep for that memory...but I do remember being very vocal about tearing them out. Fatty Arbuckle and an unbuttoned vest....makes sense to me. Fatty (Roscoe) Arbuckle has a wild story and scandal. It's for GBD After Dark...and a long rabbit hole. Interesting that Disneyland would choose to show an Arbuckle film: as most of his films were destroyed due to "the incident" and it's trials. I do miss seeing other authentic silent films in the Cinema....but glad that it hasn't turned into a T-shirt shop. The actual interior of the Cinema has some amazing sets....that are worth a visit in you are walking by and need a hit of "private and cool"....I think I've always been the only one in there despite the crowds. A 1972 Main Street might as well be a 1980 Main Street as it's exactly the way my brain remembers it. Shopping that was real shopping....what happened to that Belleek T-Pot I had....? Not sure why I needed that, but it was lovely...and expensive if I remember...Thanks Major! And correct: uninformed rule....where it just became the norm to not button your vest....I get it...it's hot in Anaheim....and in near by Santa Ana where Roscoe Arbuckle spent his childhood....fun fact....
ReplyDeleteMelissa, you are thinking of that Six Flags coaster, “Wet ’n Wild”!
ReplyDeleteBu, I remember that particular period of Disney films, in which they tried to produce movies that would hopefully be taken a bit more seriously. I love “Never Cry Wolf”; “Something Wicked” is a disappointment, since I was a big fan of Ray Bradbury as a kid. I noticed the alligator on the kid’s shirt, and it reminded me that my mom wanted to buy an Izod shirt for my nephew, but they don’t seem to use the alligator anymore, shockingly. It’s so iconic. My love for Hang Ten shirts has been documented here, they were all I wanted in the early 70s. Trees have definitely grown much too large on Main Street several times, no matter what Walt said. Sure, you can have them be big, but not if you want guests to appreciate all that architectural detail on Main Street, and even be able to see the castle from the train station. I’m aware of the Arbuckle scandal, that poor guy’s life was ruined by bad people. He never recovered, even after being exonerated. I’ve never had much success shopping on Main Street, I guess I’m too much in love with vintage Disneyana. They did have that Disneyana Shop on Main Street, but yikes, the prices. Way beyond what I could afford at the time. Though I’ve heard that others found attraction posters there for a song, they certainly weren’t there by the time I went in!
My sister reminded me that in addition to the denim jumpers, Mom made us purple corduroy ones from the same pattern (purple and white were our school colors at the time), with little Alice-in-Wonderland-esque appliqués to tell them apart. Except now we can't remember who had the colorful butterfly and who had the polka-dotted mushroom. (Well, I would have had them both in turn, I guess, after she outgrew hers and before they were both passed on to a younger cousin. It's the ciiircle of hand-me-dooowns...)
ReplyDeleteThe first Top of the World attraction. Thst was featured in the opening DISNEYLAND SHOWCASE - A PREVIEW OF FUTURE ATTEACTIONS was NOT the Discovery Bay version shown starting around 1976. The “island” attraction was located to the left of Its a small World…then to the left of “island at the top of the world” was “Fantasia” …. Tony Baxter did not develop the “island “ attraction concept …. But he did develop Discovery Bay … where he re-located the attraction into an appropriate 19th Century-Fantasy transition between FANTASYLAND and FRONTIERLSND . Tony Baxter also did not create the idea of separating Western River Expedition & Big Thunder as that separation exists on the Disneyland 7 year master plan … long before Tony was even on the project . He may have shown that Florida should also
ReplyDeleteSeparate Western River Expedition and big thunder as well. The preview center at Disneyland shows a few variations of the Disneyland master expansion plan from 1972-1976 all version included WESTERN RIVER EXPEDITION , BIG THUNDER RUNNAWAY RAILROAD / RAILWAY, a MINING EXPLOSIVE RIDE-Thru SHOOTING GALLERY ( Tony reworked this into the “Fireworks Factory” for Discovery Bay) a outdoor BBQ restaurant complex - between Western River & Thunder ( this obviously evolved into Big Thunder BBQ) Space Mountain remains in the master until its opening. western River expedition is gone on the 1976 master plan but reappears on the 1978 plan. Again this was all Disneyland. By 1976 Discovery Bay & Dumbo Circusland are the big focus and some Fantasyland reconfigurations …. And Fantasia and a Disneyland Mickey Mouse Revue quietly disappear from the layouts shown to guests .
The money and time spent as well as the technology developed for EPCOT CENTER drastically affected the 1970’s Disneyland master plan - incidentally was headed by Rolly Crump .