Christmas, The Magic Kingdom, December 1983

It's LOU AND SUE time! Sue B. scanned some of her dad's (Lou Perry) slides from a visit to The Magic Kingdom in December, 1983. Let's take a look!

We're looking south along Main Street USA, with what seems to be light attendance - maybe this was typical of those days. Is somebody boarding the Horse Drawn Streetcar? If so... weird. You'd think that everyone would be required to be seated. The Sweepers are out in force, dealing with some horse apples. The tree in the distance must be a good 50 feet tall!

Speaking of trees! I like the way the lower branches have been pruned to leave plenty of room for presents for ME. I want a Thingmaker from Mattel, and a Corgi Yellow Submarine. And a pony. No, two ponies, so they can keep each other company.

A similar view to the first one, only that Streetcar got in the way, so I am going to Sue the Disney Company for ten million dollars. See you on the beaches of Rio!

Cinderella Castle is so big. I know there is a restaurant inside it ("Walt's Slurp and Burp"), but is there anything in the upper levels? A private apartment for when I eventually visit?

Where is the fake snow, the artificial icicles? Where are the LED lights that cycle through all the colors of the rainbow? How am I supposed to know that it is Christmastime? 

Once a day, a young child was given a bow and arrow, and if he could fire a flaming arrow through all of the wreaths, he would be arrested for arson. Luckily, most kids are klutzes.  

As the sun sinks slowly into the west, let's take one final look at the Town Square Christmas Tree. Notice the larger ornaments at the bottom, with others getting smaller and smaller on the way up. This helped protect the tree from predators. Near the watermark we can see several men in shirtsleeves and ties (accompanied by a lady), maybe they are Cast Members?

THANKS SO MUCH, Lou and Sue!

Magic Kingdom Emporium Windows, December 1983

Today I have the third installment of 1983 photos shared with us by Sue B, and taken by her dad, Lou Perry. These are especially great because Lou took pictures of the windows of The Emporium (I believe), which featured wonderful dioramas of scenes from the new animated featurette, "Mickey's Christmas Carol" - a film that I quite like (it's hard to ruin the Dickens classic). This was the first original film starring Mickey Mouse since 1953! I really enjoy the way other characters from the Disney library are used throughout the story.

First up we see Mickey and Morty Mouse (as Tiny Tim). They are poor, but happy! 

Ebenezer is visited by Jacob Marley one fateful night. It was not a fragment of undigested potato, but a real (and goofy) ghost!

Over in Scrooge's counting house, Bob Cratchit (Mickey) and Fred (Donald) plan for their day off and big Christmas bonuses!

Scrooge was in love with Isabelle (Daisy Duck) in his younger days. But Scrooge loved money even more!

Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim walk the snowy streets of London. 

Morty was always a forgotten character, it's nice that he got a plum role as Tiny Tim in the film.

I guess we skipped some of the other windows (I've seen photos of them elsewhere), like the famous Kung Fu fight, but it looks like we're at the happy ending. Tiny Tim will live! A single strand of threaded popcorn adorns the spindly tree.

Scrooge has learned his lesson, and brings gifts and food, along with a raise and promotion for Bob Cratchit.

I love seeing these fantastic Emporium windows! THANK YOU to Lou and Sue for sharing these!

More Stuff From the Box

SAY! Howsabout more STUFF FROM THE BOX? This time the box, after exposure to gamma radiation, has morphed into a small 3X3X2 (inches) box that once held a Westinghouse Automobile Lamp Kit. Being so tiny, it doesn't hold a lot. Maybe I'll get four or five posts out of it.

Let's start with this high-relief sterling silver charm/pendant from Disneyland. Naturally there's no date on it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is from the 1960s, or possibly the 1970s. They've included such features as Sleeping Beauty Castle, the Matterhorn, the Mark Twain, the Monorail, and a Submarine. 

This tiny "play money" cent is a mystery to me; but it has FDR's likeness on it - my guess is that this was before his profile would grace the US dime (in which he is facing to the left). These are not rare, but I can't find any information about the origin.

This next one is pretty neat (and appropriate for mid-December) - it's a "Merry Christmas" badge from the Ford Motor Company, with Santa and his eight tiny reindeer. This badge is about 2.5" across, and stamped from surprisingly sturdy brass. The fact that the tab hasn't been bent is a bonus. Looking for info about these, one person online said that it could be from 1952, and the car outline is a '52 Ford Crestline Victoria (so maybe the badge is from 1951?).

Comparing the outline to this photo, it seems to check out!

Here's another mystery; I bought this at an antiques store, and the seller thought that the W/U stood for "Western Union", but I doubt it. After all, it has those atoms (our friends), and a red bolt of lightning. Willoughby's Uranium? Whitaker's Utilities? If you know, please tell me! Incidentally, this badge thingy has a back on it unlike anything I've seen before, perhaps it was supposed to fit into a lapel button hole.

And finally, here's a nice little employee pin celebrating somebody's 30 years of service. Impressive! This pin is only a bit larger than a dime, and is made of enameled brass. "Can I have a raise instead of this pin, boss?". Boss: HAHAHAHAHA!

Stay tuned for more STUFF FROM THE BOX!

Frontierland Checkers

Here are more scans from the seemingly-bottomless cornucopia of scans from the Mysterious Benefactor! Most of today's scans feature guests on Tom Sawyer Island, where they played checkers on a board near the Old Mill/Fantasmic stage. 

This first pic is the only one that doesn't involve checkers, but you see folks gathered near the shore for family photos. The raucous sound of checkers probably disturbed their good time.

I know people like to play checkers, I just don't know why they'd want to do so at Disneyland! You can play checkers any day. Maybe there's something about the unique setting?

The girl with the stripes is secretly the checkers champion of the world, having recently defeated Svetlana Ivanova in Helsinki six months earlier. It was televised on ABC's "Wide World of Sports", and she was interviewed afterwards by Jim McKay. "How does it feel being called America's Sweetheart?". "I just want that sweet, sweet money, Jim!".

"Don't you boys want to explore the caves, or climb Castle Rock?". "Leave us alone, old man!". "Yeah, this is OUR world now, grandpa!". My, what delightful kids. Right after this picture was taken, each boy lit up a Cigarillo and laughed. LAUGHED! 

OK, OK, these people aren't playing checkers either. But you can tell that they are thinking about checkers, so it counts.

If these two are on a date, there will be sore feelings from whoever loses this game. Not great for the relationship. The guy tried to flip the board when he realized that he didn't have a prayer, but realized that it was stuck down with Krazy Glue (the strongest glue in the Universe). This is more embarrassing than when his pants fell down during recess.

I suppose that if you have a checkerboard available, it is inevitable that somebody will sit down to play. 

THANK YOU, Mysterious Benefactor!

Walt Disney World Snoozles™

I'm not sure if we've had any Snoozles™ from Florida yet, but today's examples (from 1982) are solid examples of photos that should probably be dropped into the "NUKE" bin (you have a "nuke" bin on your computer, don't you?). 

This one is around 50% inky blackness, but you can still see Main Street Station to the right, and the Cup and Saucer, which (oddly) sold cheese graters and yo-yos - both popular theme park souvenirs in '82, thanks in part to that song by Hall & Oates ("Cheese Grater"). 

As the sun continued to sink, the photos became darker and darker, this one is perhaps 60% velvety black. Imagine if the place really looked like this to guests! I'd be afraid to take a step in any direction, there might be a monster right next to me, waiting to eat me. Overhead: the Pigeon of Doom. 

 

Christmas-themed Parks

I have some slide scans featuring Christmas-themed amusement parks for you today, starting with this great shot of two kids in an antique auto (presumably built by Arrow Development?), circaJuly, 1964. Looking at the buildings and giant mushrooms in the background, it's pretty clear that this photo was taken at one of the "Santa's Village" parks. But there were several in the US, so which one is this?

I found this postcard featuring what appears to be the exact same antique auto ride, from the Santa's Village in Skyforest, California (near Lake Arrowhead). It closed in 1998.

Next is this scan from a slide dated November, 1965. It's another Santa's Village! Or maybe the complete name of this place is "Santa Claus Village", as seen on that yellow sign to the left. Either way, I can find no other photos of a park with this entrance and with that statue of Santa holding his book listing the Good Boys and Girls. So for now, this one is a mystery to me!

Christmas Parade, December 1965

Christmas and parades at Disneyland go together like salami and grape jelly on a sandwich (a gourmet delight)! Today I have four photos of a holiday parade; the slides are dated "January, 1966", and thanks to my razor-sharp intellect, I have deduced that the parade was from the previous month. 

An odd little calliope is accompanied by a two pantomime horses. It looks like they took pieces (or castings of pieces) from the various circus wagons that Walt had purchased for "Toby Tyler", and applied them to this float for a bit of that old-world look. It's interesting, but even more interesting is the fact that the buildings of New Orleans Square are under construction beyond that wall! I can't wait to visit the Parfumerie.

A horrible irradiated caterpillar terrorizes guests, eating them in a single slurp (and two burps), while a mutant half-human, half insect taunts people; they will be next! Jeez, Walt, this parade is messed up.

Donald Duck drives by in one of Mr. Toad's antique motorcars, along with his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. I wonder where that drivable version of the Toad car is today?

Same parade, slightly different angle; a group of magnificent knights on horseback trot by the Frontierland Ticket Booth in the brilliant late-afternoon sunshine. What non-religious Christmas song are they playing on their authentic medieval instruments? "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"? "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"?  In the distance, the Matterhorn is crowned with its seasonal star.

More Magic Kingdom Shop Windows, December 1983

After moving "part one" a bit, I am sharing the second installment of photos of shop windows from the Magic Kingdom, as taken by Lou Perry, and scanned and shared with us by his daughter, Sue B. 

I don't believe that this figure was for sale, but... maybe? Mickey's wearing his famous costume from "The Band Concert", in which he bravely conducts a ragtag band during a tornado.

I had one or two glazed ceramic figurines of Mickey that looked almost exactly like the style seen here. Some vintage Disneyana appears to been display too, like those bisque (?) figures of the Dwarfs. Or maybe they're brand new! 

Donald Duck appears to be singing, with his quacky voice, I can almost hear it!

Uh-oh, Minnie's standing beneath the mistletoe!

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is one of my favorite Mickey Mouse films (it's right up there with "The Brave Little Tailor"), so I'm always happy to see Mickey in his robe and pointy hat! 

Music boxes! They're nice, but I'm glad I didn't start collecting those. Same with cookie jars.

Nothing says "Christmas" like a rat in an old-fashioned costume! Perhaps this was a shop that sold ceramic goods, though it's hard to be certain.

Mickey is popping and locking, he got into hip-hop street dancing before most people had even heard of it. He could do that thing where he spun around on his head, which was much harder to do with those ears.

And hey, it's another Christmas rat. But I admit that she's cute. Maybe I need more rats in my life!

THANK YOU SO MUCH to Lou and Sue! Stay tuned for the third and final part of this series.

Magic Kingdom Shop Windows, December 1983

GDB friend Sue B. sent along a folder full of photographs taken by her dad, Lou Perry, way back in 1983 (42 years ago!), featuring images of various shop windows in the Magic Kingdom in Orlando. There will be three installments, and I admit that I am saving the best for the third part! 

Mickey and Minnie are dressed in their traditional holiday outfits. I'm not sure if the style qualifies as "Dickensian". Anyway, they are talking about what they are going to buy for me, which is awfully nice.

I wish there was lots of information about how these windows were created - maybe old issues of "Disney News" had articles about the sculpting of the figures, the sewing of the outfits, choosing the props, etc?

Lou liked this scene!

I have no idea which shop had this window - if I had to guess I'd say that we were in one of the Center Streets, but I really don't know.

Minnie is in her nightgown and nightcap (where she keeps a single donut for later); she's knitting a scarf in very 80s colors.

Meanwhile, Mickey decorates the tree, he likes to do it by himself because he's a little bit OCD. There's nothing wrong with wanting perfection! 

Yet another window, this time Minnie is standing on a ladder, I guess she's arranging the merchandise in the shop?

These scenes remind me a lot of the Disney Stores, but I was surprised to learn that those didn't come along until 1987. Remember when Disney Stores were fun? I'm not sure what happened, if they over-extended themselves or what. Eventually they seemed to carry only clothing and toys for little girls and boys, before they went away. I have no idea if there are any left!

OK, that's it for PART ONE; stay tuned for PART TWO in about a week, and the third and final installment shortly after that. THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!