The Deranged Tea Party

Here are two more 120-format transparencies from the 1950s (meaning that each transparency is 120 feet by 120 feet) - both of these feature aerial views of the Mad Tea Party; in this first example, the photo was taken from the Skyway (so it is from at least 1956 and from before the year 6,244).  There's the theater where guests could watch the Mickey Mouse Club 3D Jamboree, the Mouseketeers were IN YOUR FACE! Man, that Cubby, he thinks he's so great. There's the "Fan 1" snack bar with stripes of olive and pimiento, and beyond that the in-park berm that separated The Rainbow Desert from Fantasyland (some of the rocky formations of the desert can just be seen).

Next, another day, another donut (as the saying goes) - we're a bit further east, and no longer in the Skyway, but on the poop deck (heh heh) of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship. Avast there, mateys! Stuff is going on in Fantasyland. For one thing, there are ladders between the Mr. Toad and Peter Pan rides, and another up to the roof of the Castle. Perhaps workmen are touching up the paint? But most notably, the Mad Tea Party is down for maintenance, all of the teacups are in the cupboard, and the turntables are gone. Skilled technicians from MIT wear radiation jumpsuits as they clamber in and out of the holes, trying to figure out why some guests disappear into the sixth dimension.

Why, it's a regular beehive of activity!

Knott's Pitchur Gallery

Gosh, I sure do have a lot of souvenir photos from Knott's Berry Farm's "Pitchur Gallery". I know they might get a bit redundant for some of you, which causes me great emotional pain. OK, not really. I wish I understood hu-man emotions, but they are not a part of my programming. 

Here's a familiar scene, taken in a crude town that still smelled of fresh lumber (and other less pleasant things). Two young girls have decided to try their luck at striking it rich, one rides a donkey, while the other leads the way while carrying a heavy pack - you can tell that she's the one with GOLD FEVER.

I believe that the next example is the only one of its kind in my collection; two women (sisters, presumably) hold hands while sitting on a fence in front of a sparse and spooky landscape. 

Next is another familiar scene, two couples dance the night away while dressed in their finest outfits. There's Roy and Orva (Orva??), an unnamed woman who labeled the photo ("Me"), and her beau ("Gid" - short for "Gideon"? Or perhaps "Gidfrunkel"?). 

Oh yes, I have more Pitchur Gallery photos for you!

Old Snapshots, 1965-ish

A while ago, somebody put a group of old snapshots/photo prints on eBay. They weren't particularly remarkable - except for one. This first one! It's the only shot I've ever seen taken inside the short-lived "Fashion and Fabrics Through the Ages" exhibit in Tomorrowland (1965-66). This exhibit was an odd fit for Tomorrowland, but that's how it went sometimes. The dress on the mannequin to our left was worn by the wife (Lucretia!) of President James A. Garfield (the 20th President of the USA) at his inauguration, while I believe that the dress seen to the right was one worn by the wife (presumably Julia Gardiner Tyler, wife #2) of John Tyler, the 10th President.

Back in 2018, I shared scans of the souvenir flyer/brochure thingy, check it out HERE.

As I said, the rest of the photos are not that inspiring, but I scanned them, so you are stuck with them! I should add that I originally thought that all of them were from 1965, but realized that the lot contained photos from a number of visits, so it's hard to say for sure when any particular image was taken.

Here's a fella posing with the good old Monsanto House of the Future, it almost looks to be hovering above the green shrubbery. Shrubbery! 

Next, a somewhat interesting view taken from the Swiss Family Treehouse, looking down upon the Rivers of the World and a single jungle launch as it passed a ruined temple guarded by chocodiles. Note the red leaves of the tree in the foreground - red from BLOOD.

Stay tuned for more scans from this batch of snapshots.

More Disneyland Hotel, 1980

Let's check out four more 1980 views from the grounds of the Disneyland Hotel, taken by Lou Perry, and scanned by his daughter, Sue B! I don't think too many people would have taken photos of these features, but Lou did! He was ahead of the curve. As I've said before, my knowledge of the Hotel is limited, so if you (yes, YOU) have anything of interest to share, please do!

The California Wine Cellar sounds like a classy place to relax after a day at the park. I would feel very comfortable showing off my expertise. Here's a tip: just say that you detect "subtle undertones of dried cherries, some vegetal notes, and with some hints of Mountain Dew Baja Blast", and the sommelier say, "VERY good, sir". He knows he'll never be as cool as you.

Sea Port of the Pacific, judging by the sign to the left, this was another restaurant, and not a shop full of imported goods, which would have been my first guess. You know, knickknacks made with seashells and coconuts, hats woven from palm leaves, Aloha shirts, that sort of thing. November must have truly been the off season in 1980, somehow Lou managed to avoid any other people. THE DREAM.

Well. Here's a view from the other side of the Seaports of the Pacific, and it doesn't look like much of a restaurant. Maybe it was a place where nerds could play D&D? "I'm an orc with digestion issues!". "I'm a sleepwalking wizard!". "I'm an annoying elf!". Some fun.

As you can see, Lou set the timer on his camera, and tossed it up into the air. He knew how to toss it just so, and look at the picture he got! I threw my camera up into the air once, and a seagull took it. We're looking down upon the California Wine Cellar, which happens to have a British phone booth - a relic of the Wrather's ties to the Queen Mary? 

THANK YOU, Lou and Sue, stay tuned for more from this series!

Snoozles, April 1973

After a few days of frantic scanning (accompanied by the music from the opening credits of "Psycho") I was a bit perturbed to find so many Snoozles™ in the mix. As a rule, many tended to be too dark for some reason. I have enough Snoozles to satisfy the nation's demand for several months (let's try to find that silver lining)!

Here's a perfect example. Who wouldn't want a cute photo of Pooh-bear in the plaza in front of the park? He's everybody's pal! But seeing him lurking in the shadows, shrouded in semi-darkness, he looks a little scary. At first I thought that he had a knife in his right hand. Behind him is a souvenir stand full of wondrous treasures, but we can't really tell what's what.

Mickey Mouse avoids the direct sunshine, indicating that he is probably a "daywalker" - a vampire who can go to the dry cleaners and 7-11, as long as he steers clear of direct sunlight. Right after this photo was taken, his hand slipped out of the shadows, and there was a distinct sizzling sound, and the aroma of fried mouse. But he carried on like a trouper! At first I thought he was in front of the Bank of America, but that round window to the right can only be in front of the Hills Bros. Coffee House.

Salt Lake City, Utah

I happened to have two vintage slides that are from Salt Lake City. So I have a theme!

First up is this great 1940 shot of the Mormon Temple in SLC. Strangely, this single Utah image was mixed in with some previously-shared photos from Allentown, Pennsylvania. It's not like PA and UT are right next to each other, but slides have a way of getting mixed up. Anyway, the temple is fairly easy to identify, so there was not much confusion on my part (for a change). I love this 85 year-old view!

Using Google Maps' Street View, I grabbed this relatively contemporary view as seen from Main Street (at the corner of South Temple Street. Wondering about the construction (other views show the temple completely encased in scaffolding, I discovered that the temple was closed in December 2019 for a general remodeling and seismic renovations, which were initially estimated to take approximately four years. That's a statue of Brigham Young to the right.

Next is this interesting 1969 photo of the Matterhorn after a weight loss regimen. It turns out that this is an image from the International Peace Gardens - something I'd never heard of. The garden was conceived in 1939 and dedicated in 1952. (It) is under the direction of the Salt Lake Council of Women Past Presidents Council. Each participating Utah-based nation group is allotted a plot in which to create a garden with native plantings, garden architecture, and statues of world peace leaders typical of its homeland and culture. The Peace Gardens currently represents the cultural diversity of 28 nations. 

Roy Williams, January 1960

I have a pair of extra-fun scans for you today - both featuring Roy Williams, aka "The Big Mooseketeer", drawing Disney characters and signing autographs for children in Frontierland. Roy was hired by Walt in 1930, and was not only an artist but a prolific "gag man". Director Jack Kinney, a friend of Roy's, described him as a "big fat balding hot-headed unpredictable bastard", but hugely admired his prolific talent, saying that he could "sit down and grunt out a few pounds of gags as if it were nothing". 

Roy gained a certain level of fame once he became a part of the Mickey Mouse Club TV show, which had ended its four-year run in 1958, but I believe the show was still being shown in syndication in 1960. Former Mouseketeer Lonnie Burr called Williams "a warm guy, who liked kids, always had time for kids, and always helped us any way he could."

I've had opportunities to acquire some of Roy's sketches/autographs, but somehow never bit. So I scrounged two examples from the Internet, these are typical of what he produced. I assume he would ask each child who their favorite character was, and probably knocked one of these out in a matter of seconds.

Eeyore & Pooh, August 1981

We all like to dress up like giant fuzzy cartoon characters (for "reasons"), but other people - the smart people - get paid to do it! I don't know if Disneyland was the first amusement park to have walk-around characters to meet and hug - probably not. But the Disney characters are iconic and beloved.

Who doesn't love Eeyore? Autocorrect wants to call him "eyesore", but he's not that bad. The tack holding his tail in has always been a source of unease for me, but maybe it helps me understand Eyesore's mournful demeanor. I think that kids have a natural desire to let Eyesore know that they love him. 

And then there's Pooh! He doesn't have any emotional issues, in fact he's generally pretty cheerful, especially when wearing a jar of hunny on his head (wouldn't you be?). I believe that the 1980s were the beginning of "peak Pooh", when the bear's popularity grew and grew, until some people worried that he had eclipsed Mickey Mouse himself. 

Or was this photo supposed to feature the lady with the mint-green pants?

 

Frontierland at Dusk, June 1962

After a day of stomping around Disneyland beneath the bright sun, one can feel a real change in atmosphere when evening approaches. There's no more squinting, no more feeling the urge to sit on a hot rock (this is for the lizards who read GDB), and generally feeling more relaxed. Both of today's photos were taken during the last hour (or so) of daylight.

A mother and daughter hold hands as they head toward the queue structure for the Columbia sailing ship (or the Mark Twain). "I want to see the shiny boy on the canoe!", the girl laughs. "I like the burning settler's cabin!", says the mother (who might be a budding arsonist). There is truly something for everyone. Editor's note: I just happen to be wearing pink pants today. HARD FACTS.

After a brief wait in line, guests would find themselves standing at the edge of the load dock, and this is the view you might expect to see. It's very pretty! We can see the distinctive oval sign of the French Market across the water, as well as the tops of some of the buildings in New Orleans Square. I like the fact that some of the lamps are lit. Some of the magnolia trees appear to be full of large white blossoms (magnolias were my grandmother's favorite tree). I also like the way shirts that are yellow or red seem to "pop" especially. 

 

Stuff From the Box

As I mentioned in my last "Stuff From the Box" blog post, the only items left in the current box are rings. But today's ring is a beaut! 

First of all, let's take a look at this great cover to The Shadow Magazine, from 1936. The Shadow debuted on July 31, 1930, as the mysterious narrator of the radio program Detective Story Hour, which was developed to boost sales of Street & Smith's monthly pulp Detective Story Magazine, while the first issue of the pulp series The Shadow Magazine went on sale April 1, 1931. 

On September 26, 1937, The Shadow, a new radio drama based on the character as created by Gibson for the pulp magazine, premiered with the story "The Death House Rescue", in which The Shadow was characterized as having "the hypnotic power to cloud men's minds so they cannot see him". In the magazine stories, The Shadow did not become literally invisible. The introductory line from the radio adaptation of The Shadow – "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"

In 1941, Blue Coal Dealers of America offered a neat premium ring, this plastic beauty with a piece of simulated blue coal where one might expect a cursed emerald or ruby.

You need to see it from every angle, right? Notice that The Shadow himself appears in high-relief on the sides of the ring - due to the cream-colored plastic, the details are hard to discern, but the brim of his hat is obvious.

In the print adventures, The Shadow is Kent Allard. The Shadow's best known alter ego is Lamont Cranston, a "wealthy young man-about-town" - there are definite parallels to Batman. 

The Shadow is more than happy to use a pistol, as you saw in that magazine cover. Get those bad guys! 

And oh yeah, the ring glows in the dark. My favorite thing! These rings are not common, but you can probably find one if you are willing to put in a little time. They can run up to (and over) $200, believe it or not.

Here's a neat blotter advertisement for The Shadow's radio adventures, brought to you by Blue Coal Dealers of America.

The next ring is much less fancy, but still fun - a plastic Tastykake ring, featuring the likeness (highlighted in gold!) of the Tastykake Baker. Tastykake was founded in 1914 in Philadelphia - I remember having their snack cakes when I lived in Pennsylvania - though in my memory is that some of them tasted weird to me. I was probably just used to Hostess and Dolly Madison products.