Not Disneyland, October 1968
I have a few Disneyland slides featuring this pretty lady in her colorful 1968 dress. We've seen her on the Matterhorn bobsleds, for instance. So, for a moment, I stared at this first photo trying to figure out just where in Disneyland she was standing. "HEY, wait a minute! She's in Knott's Berry Farm!". She's gazing down into the "Gold Mine", where people were panning for REAL GOLD. What the heck?
Here she is with her friend, flirting with Handsome Brady and Whiskey Bill. They are both wearing the same outfits that we saw in the Disneyland photos, which can only mean that they did both parks in one day. Which seems insane to me, but maybe they were in town for a single day, and they had to cram as much fun into it as they could.
11 comments:
Major-
"They are both wearing the same outfits that we saw in the Disneyland photos, which can only mean that they did both parks in one day".
And what makes you think both gals don't have multiple copies of those outfits to fool folks 'just like you'... not you, exactly - but like you-? Ah-ha-!
Thanks, Major.
Nice close-up of the lady's colorful 1968 dress. I like it! An iconic pattern for the era! It smacks of Yellow Submarine. She probably bought it in a little shop in Pepperland (before the Blue Meanies and Apple Bonkers arrived).
The 'friend' really does seem to be flirting with Handsome Brady. And he seems to be interested. I think our 'mod' lady on the right is looking at her flirty friend, and ignoring Whisky Bill. But Bill is still giving her the eye and trying to impress her. Maybe he'll offer her a swig from his jug. (No double meaning there. No sirree. This is a family blog!)
Thanks for the "Not Disneyland" photos, Major.
In that first pic, the building behind the lady was the Farm Market. It was torn down along with the Volcano, when the wooden roller coaster "Ghost Rider" was built. That's also when they filled in the hole where the pan for gold was originally located. The Farm Market basically sold the same items that were/are available in the Berry Market, out on Grand Ave., so I guess they figured they could get by with only one store like that outside of the park. A lot of the food products are also sold in Virginia's Gift Shop now, and they had moved away from carrying unique gift items in that shop. The last time I was in Virginia's, you could buy merchandise branded to "I Love Lucy," "Elvis Presley," and Batman and Wonder Woman." And at one time, they sold Disney's "Frozen" merchandise inside the park. I'm waiting for the day that Disney sells Snoopy merchandise in the Main Street Emporium.
Thanks for the "Knott Disneyland" photos, Major!
They may have been light packers and re-worn the same outfits. A big selling point of those "miracle" lightweight synthetic fabrics in the 60s was that you could hand wash a dress in the hotel bathtub and let it drip-dry overnight. No ironing needed, and you were good to go. I love the bright pattern; I had a dress with a similar print when the 70s revival came around in the 90s.
That dress the woman is wearing is nice. Definitely from the era. Always loved the statues/figures of Knott's and posed with them for pictures.
Thanks, Major.
Nanook, you’re right, maybe those gals are like Einstein, just closets full of the same clothes so they don’t have to waste time deciding what to wear!
JB, I like that psychedelic pattern too, it reminds me of stuff my mom wore at about that time. That was a time of very cheerful patterns! “Peter Max” sorta (RIP). I think it’s funny that KBF had a photo setup for women and another for men, I wonder whose idea that was? And yes, we don’t need any of those naughty thoughts on this family blog!
TokyoMagic!, didn’t they also remove the Haunted Shack when they put in “Ghost Rider”? That dumb coaster meant the destruction of so much stuff, and I don’t even like it as a ride that much. Too jarring. Ugh, I hate that they sell the same sort of junk that you can find in any Hollywood Blvd. souvenir shop. Branded merchandise takes thought and care, which they have none of. Incredible that they sold Disney “Frozen” merch at KBF!!
Melissa, I suppose it’s possible that both women wore the same outfits on two separate days, but I’m still going for the “two parks in one day” theory.
K. Martinez, it’s funny, after my mom died we found a stash of kitchen aprons that must be from the 1970s, they are all wild, colorful patterns like the one the lady is wearing. My sister wanted them, and of course she was welcome to them!
I can’t imagine going to Knott’s & Disneyland on the same day as a kid….i would feel
Like we were losing precious park time driving and parking etc. I’ve mentioned this before but as a kid whenever we went to Knotts…while I had a Great time , I always felt guilty we were not at Disneyland …. lol. But when I was at Disneyland I never felt guilty that we were not at Knott’s…
There were a few times we’d go to Mrs Knott’s for dinner /supper and walk around the shops with my grandparents …. But it wasn’t an actual Knotts Berry farm trip just for the chicken dinner restaurant at the shops. I had anxiety that we were so close but not going into the actuall park … but I survived . I also think it was these afternoon Sunday Knott’s dinners that were the only times we went to Independence Hall and Henry’s Livery auto ride. And only once did I ever go to the Knott’s lake … I didn’t like it because I wanted to be in the regular Knott’s park .. not a junk lake with boats and a cheap zoo train!! I have standards!!
The current pan for gold in pretty much in the original area .. but rather than the deep gold mine pit it’s In a dry river “gultch” or “slough”(??)
Meant to add this story my Grandma told me to the comment about drip-dry synthetic dresses, but I was running late. In the 60s she worked for a well-off retired couple, doing light housekeeping and practical nursing for the wife, who was chronically ill. (I think she might have had a stroke or a heart attack? It was always left vague.) One winter they went to Florida, and when they got there the wife got sick and didn't want anyone but Grandma to take care of her. The husband was on the board of Mohawk Airlines, so he called her and said he'd fly her down first-class if she'd come. (She would have come anyway, but hey.) When she got to the airport in Florida and called him, she soon realized she'd have to be there longer than she planned and hadn't brought enough clothes, so she went to a shop either in or near the airport. They were selling these two-piece dresses in small plastic containers like L'eggs eggs, advertised as being crush-proof, lightweight, drip-dry, and wrinkle-free, perfect for travel. She bought two and said they lasted for years.
(The husband stayed a family friend for the rest of his life, even after the death of his wife. He was godfather to me and both my siblings.)
Mike Cozart, I think that in the days when we lived in Huntington Beach, we always thought of Disneyland as the extra-special park that we would maybe visit twice a year - if we were lucky. I think that the “whole day” aspect of Disneyland was as much a factor as the price to get in. Meanwhile, Knott’s was the place to go more often for fun with our friends, I really loved it. I have a friend who always compared Knott’s to Disneyland, unfavorably. I think I just loved them both for what they were. I took a school field trip to Independence Hall when I was in grade school, but didn’t go there on my own until perhaps 2010. And it was nice! Quiet, and almost like a trip through time. Chickens wandering around, without a worry in the world!
Melissa, wow, your Grandma must have been a really wonderful nurse! I love that the family wanted her for the woman who needed care, and I love that the husband stayed a family friend (and godfather to you and your sister), he sounds like he was a good guy.
"And it was nice! Quiet, and almost like a trip through time. Chickens wandering around, without a worry in the world!"
Major, I'm now trying to figure out if YOU were "wandering around without a worry in the world," or if the CHICKENS were "wandering around without a worry in the world." By me, the chickens are pretty stress-free.
I LOVE that first image....with that cute, colorful gal - caught in a pensive gaze.
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