Mystery Amusement Parks

I have some random photos of unknown fairs and/or amusement parks for you today, starting with this 1960s photo of what seems to be a parking lot fair; we can just see a sign indicating a mall where you can "shop in COMFORT". Those palm trees look very SoCal to me, but it could be Florida, or even Hawaii. There's a Trabant ride, manufactured by Chance Rides. Often seen at fairs and traveling carnivals, their design consists of a giant wheel which tilts at a steep angle, fluctuates in a wavelike manner, and spins at various speeds. There is a motor underneath the ride that makes both of these rides raise up and down. 

A little bit to the right, we can just see a corner of a classic Shakey's Pizza Parlor sign. 

Like this one! One website said that these original neon signs with the lantern on top are very rare today.

Next is this photo from August, 1971. I'm guessing that this is a county or state fair, it definitely seems to be placed on what appears to be the local Fairgrounds. There's a Paratrooper ride in the lower right, and what I think is an "Astro Wheel" in the distance. I have no idea what that spiral thing is to the left. It's too bad that the focus is a bit soft (the picture was presumably taken from a Ferris Wheel), some details are not discernible, though I am intrigued by the sign for "Dante's Inferno".

And finally, from June, 1961 comes another photo from what must have been a temporary fair - we're in the midst of baseball fields. From our Ferris Wheel vantage point, we're looking down upon a Tilt-a-Whirl, a very small miniature train, and classic Chair-O-Plane swings.

It's day 3 of my trip, I could be anywhere between Utah and California at this point!

Monorail, March 1983

Oh yeah, it's the sleek Mark III Monorail, right after it got a coat of Simonize car polish. You know what they say: "Monorail wise - SIMONIZE". Both of today's scans are from 1983, which is typically a bit later than what I tend to share, but they are great nevertheless.

Let's start with this shot of the Green Monorail, or "Big Greenie" as I like to call it. Bubble dome! I realize that it doesn't look very green, but it was a sort of "olive" tint (I'm sure General Motors would come up with a much more poetic name for the hue, like “Zombie Green”), and the warm afternoon sunlight did funny things. 

Next is this Skyway view looking down on the Sub Load queue, and the Monorail queue. It's a busy day for March - just a regular Saturday, perhaps? Or maybe it was St. Patrick's Day. Just two years after these photos were taken, the Mark III Monorail trains were phased out one by one, stripped to the chassis, and rebuilt as Mark V trains.

I'm still out of town... thanks for checking in!

Disneyland Paper Placemats

When it comes to ephemera (items of collectible memorabilia, typically written or printed ones, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity), paper placemats are about as ephemerotious as you can get! They were, after all, designed to catch drips and spills and other indignities that I don't even want to think about. Today's examples were somehow preserved by heroes whose names are unknown to us.

First up is this placemat from the Disneyland Hotel "restaurants by Gourmet". I believe that this example could be from the 1960s or 1970s, but I can't find any info about how long the "Gourmet" name was used at the Hotel. I have shared two menus from what I assume was more than a single restaurant? Take a look HERE and HERE.  In doing a bit of research, I found people selling framed examples for around $400. I promise you I didn't pay anything even close to that amount.

Next is this attractive placemat from Café Orléans (in New Orleans Square, naturally). I like the unusual die-cut shape on this one, and those graphics that make me think of those Robert Abel 7-Up commercials from the 1970s.

This next one is rather generic, but my understanding is that it is early (almost certainly from the 50s) and pretty scarce. There's a tiny bit of edge wear, but it's remarkable to think that this delicate paper item has somehow survived 60+ years.

And lastly, here's a placemat that was given to me long ago. I don't know anything about it other than the obvious Disneyland Hotel connection. But I do love me a Disneyland map, even a cartoony "fun map". The item has no date, but there's no Toontown, so that puts it before 1993. I generally give it an "early 90s" guesstimate. The placemat has a "Where's Mickey" challenge, and it isn't easy since so many cartoony people are wearing mouse ears, and the printing isn't that great. If you want to cheat and see where Mickey is, click HERE!

I will be out of town for the next four days (I think) in order to help a friend move some stuff from Utah back to LA. The good news is that it is around 100º in Utah, so that will be fun! I doubt I will have much time to chime in, which is a bummer, but there will be new posts for you every day, as usual! I'll talk to you all when I get back.

More Frontierland Scans

I have another selection of Frontierland scans for you, courtesy of the Mysterious Benefactor! Four of these are "rafty", but not "ratty". 

While most of us went to school aboard river rafts, the kids in this picture had probably never been on a raft before. Some fun, and they're not going to school either! It might be my imagination, but the girl to the left is already showing signs of scurvy. 

This young lad has the same haircut as I do! Though his mom has to use a smaller cereal bowl as a guide. He's peering down into the depths, imagining that he sees the shadow of a huge leviathan gliding below.

So much for the photographer keeping a low profile, everybody is on to him. The girl with the red skirt is sick of being followed by the paparazzi, and can you blame her? I love her Farrah Fawcett hair.

This one is "souvenir guide book worthy", it's colorful and well-composed. The raft doesn't appear to be moving, but we're supposed to think that the raft pilot is indicating nearby points of interest ("Yonder is a nest of cottonmouths!"). But they don't fool me! The boy with the yellow hat in the lower left looks like he's stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting.

One of these photos is not like the others! I decided to add this last view just to confuse the FBI. "What is he doing now? Call the Director, pronto!". We've moved to Fort Wilderness on Tom Sawyer Island; these two kids are having way too much fun. It's a good thing they're not on my lawn, because I'd give them an earful!

THANK YOU, Mysterious Benefactor!

Amity Island, Universal Studios

I admit that today's post is kind of an odd one; I decided to scan 15 (or so) old Universal Studios slides, and discovered that a third of them featured the shark-infested New England beach town of Amity Island. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Can it be both? Anyway, I decided to post all of them together to purge them from my system. 

These first three are from February of 1988. We are in our Glamour Tram, and we can see Amity Harbor off to the right, along with a fisherman's dock, where old salts bought Dockers brand shoes and pants. Comfortable, but nice enough for dinner with friends! As often happens at Universal Studios, the surprise is a bit spoiled by the fact that you can see the tram in front of us being terrorized by a giant shark. Luckily, the tram hostess has implanted a post-hypnotic suggestion that will make us forget everything (and sometimes makes us believe that we are chickens).

Gosh, what a pleasant little harbor! I'm sure nothing bad has ever happened here. Many years ago, I met up with friends for dinner at Universal Citywalk, way up the hill above this scene. Getting there a little early, I parked in the massive parking structure, and from the top level I could see the harbor in the distance. Every minute or so, I would watch that boat with the fisherman get pulled underwater in a fountain of magenta "blood", and I could even hear his agonized screams. Then the tram would move on, and the boat would reset for the next performance. It was kind of fun.

We survived the shark attack (for some reason there are no photos of that exciting event), but as we rounded the bend we can look back to see the shark. He's not worried about the cops coming or anything. Which is pretty cool.

It's time for CELEBRITY CONFESSIONS. Well, OK, I'm not a celebrity, but I have to confess that I mis-dated these scans as being from 1969, which is stupid because the Jaws attraction (and even the movie) did not exist in 1969. So perhaps my fat fingers were supposed to type "1989"? Weirdly, I can't find the original slides now. Yes, I agree, it's a conspiracy, if you want to send me money, you can.

ANYWAY, It's interesting to see how this scene had changed in just a few years;  now the fisherman (Quint's brother Skyler) is facing toward us; if I recall correctly he would be pulled backwards into the water, which doesn't make a lot of sense, but at that moment we all believed we were chickens so it's OK. I've always enjoyed the famous billboard with the pretty girl saying, "Eek! Shark!". Didn't Amity double as Cabot Cove from "Murder, She Wrote"?

What in blazes?!? If I'd known there was a giant shark with foam-rubber teeth who can hop on his tail, I would have never gone on this tram tour. Somebody will be hearing from my attorney. Could it be YOU??

And now, as the sun sets into the west (hula music playing for some reason), let's all wave a fond farewell to Bruce "Sharky" Carcharadon (of the Long Island Carcharadons). I'm going to miss that guy!

A Pair From 1957

What could be better than photos of Disneyland in the 50s? NOTHING, that's what. Our photographer seems to have been on the steps of Main Street Station looking out toward Town Square. Say, that building over there is mighty impressive! It must be important - maybe the donut shop? Oh wait, the sign says "City Hall". Do they serve donuts too? I've always wanted to go up into the cupola so that I could look out one of those oculus windows. It must have been a warm day, one woman is partaking of a water fountain, while other guests wait for their ice cream treats.

I like the little "bouquet" of women (OK, one's a girl) in pale pink, daffodil-yellow, and robin's egg blue.

The only other scan that I have from this batch is a look at the Devil's Paint Pots in the Rainbow Desert (this is pre-Nature's Wonderland, remember). Bloop! Man, that bubbling mud looks delicious, and I brought a big spoon. I'm going to hop off the train and hope that nobody notices.

Snoozles™

Hey! Here's a pair of  Snoozles for you. We'll start with this gray and depressing image (from September of 1967) of Main Street Station, taken by the guy who filmed the "Batman" TV series. He loved those Dutch angles! He also loves Edam cheese, wooden shoes, and Dutch processed cocoa. I'm sensing a theme. The theme is LOVE.

Next is this photo from October, 1963. I believe that the photographer wanted to get a picture of the Burning Settler's Cabin, but the timing was off, so we can barely see the thing. Or maybe he liked the Keelboat, parked in that little portage - Mike Fink stopped by every once in a while to deliver a box of home-made Tollhouse cookies.

 

Atlantic City, NJ

I was going through my folders of random non-Disney scans looking for something - but what? I don't even know. But then I noticed that I had two vintage scans from Atlantic City from different eras and different seasons, and suddenly I had a theme. Hooray!

We'll start with this 1953 photo with the magnificent Steel Pier looming over the visitors.  What is the Steel Pier? It is a 1,000-foot-long (300 m) amusement park built on a pier of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Built in 1897 and opened in 1898, it was one of the most popular venues in the United States for the first seven decades of the twentieth century, featuring concerts, exhibits, and an amusement park. It billed itself as the Showplace of the Nation and at its peak measured 2,298 feet (700 m). 

The slide was undated, but the film "Moulin Rouge" (directed by John Huston) is playing at the Virginia cinema to our right, and that opened at the very end of 1952 (meaning that this must have been sometime near the end of April, '53). Notice that Tony Bennett was performing at the Pier, he was only 27 years old at that point and had his first hit song two years earlier.

This next one is from 1970, and shows the boardwalk on an icy winter day. You have to look carefully to find the three people in this photo! The Steel Pier is in the distance to our right. I think I'll set my time machine to April, 1953!

Two From July 1969

Here's a nice pair of photos from July, 1969. Neil Armstrong wished he was at Disneyland, but his mom made him go to the Moon instead. Stupid Moon! I love this afternoon shot from Fantasyland, a mom and her stylish daughter pose, surrounded by all kinds of fun stuff. Dumbi! The Pirate Ship (complete with unfurled sails)! Skyway gondolas! The Casey Jr. station! And even a bit of the Matterhorn. It looks like it was a great day to be at the park (sorry, Neil).

From the same batch comes this image of Tomorrowland - there's mom again, next to the Tomorrowland Terrace stage (in its lowered position). Things would be 28% more fun if the Rocket Jets were up in the air, but it's too late now. In the lower right, a rare sighting of Commander Quinton McHale, on shore leave. Some of his wacky shipmates (such as Ensign Parker) were close behind him, but didn't make it into the photo.
 

Two From August 1970

I've been posting photos from an August 1970 batch mostly in the order in which they were taken, but they often feel very random. You'll hop from Main Street to New Orleans Square today - our photographer was choosy about when he snapped a photo.

This first one is one of those "classic Disneyland scenes" that we might have viewed 1,000 times before. It's nice, for sure... but hard to get too excited over. I do like seeing the signs for Burry's Cookies and C&H Sugar on the Market House, you don't see that very often. In the distance is a young man all in white who I thought at first might be a sweeper, but he's wearing a bucket hat (I think), and isn't carrying a broom or dustpan.

See? Somehow our photographer made it all the way to New Orleans Square before he took another picture. Seeing the Royal Street Bachelors on the curved staircase in the Court of Angels (or whatever it's really called) finally made his heart grow three sizes that day, and he took this photo. What in the world is that gizmo to the right of the girl with the light brown hair?