More Big Thunder

The Mysterious Benefactor's many folders of scans contain a LOT of photos relating to the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Here's a bunch more, all featuring the little mine trains careening out of control along the rickety tracks.

This is a nice one, with the landscape appearing particularly lush and green. So lush and green that I believe that the guests on that train are going to get slapped in the face by some leafy branches. GOOD! You know they did something bad, even if we don't know exactly what. Maybe they'll learn a little lesson about... er... "being yourself", or "friendship is important", or some darn thing. In the upper left, the famous dynamite-chewing goat.

Some of you have "enjoyed" the experience of riding Big Thunder with me, and are familiar with my high-pitched screams and occasional tears. I gotta be me!

Here's a fun "publicity-worthy" shot of some Big Thunder riders. Did the photographer hold a camera in his hands, or did he use some sort of special mount? Two very 80s young ladies are enjoying themselves, though the one in the pink shirt is enjoying herself a bit too much, and she's freaking me out.

Here's a nice, dynamic shot taken as our runaway train passes that crazy goat; I remember reading about "the goat trick", in which you keep your eyes glued to the critter, inducing a slightly dizzying sensation, followed by a "Technicolor yawn". 

And here's another interesting view; our photographer jumped out of his train (always encouraged by park management), and he's found a convenient hidey-hole inside one of the many caves, in order to get this dramatic shot. 

Nope, we're not done with Big Thunder yet! THANK YOU, Mysterious Benefactor!

I'll be back with you SOON.

Sir RuDimar Motel, Anaheim

Well well well, look who's having a birthday. It's GDB friend MS! Sue B. provided this fun scan of a 1956 birthday party. Note to self: buy polka-dotted curtains. You have to take a photo when a kid is blowing out candles on a cake, it's a law that actually goes back to President James Madison. Are the two girls singing "Happy Birthday"? They have glasses of milk, paper bowls with scoops of vanilla ice cream, and tea (or coffee) coups for... something. Bourbon? It goes surprisingly well with sweets. I hope MS has as much fun as these kids are having!

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I decided to scan a few brochures from vintage Anaheim motels; some of the names are familiar, others not so much. For instance, today's brochure is from the Sir RuDimar Motel, located at 615 W. Katella. "1/2 block from south entrance to Disneyland!". I love the sign, with portraying the brave Sir RuDimar in front of a Disney-ish castle. I wondered about the name of the place and truly could find no references that weren't motel related, does anybody know the origins of "Sir RuDimar"? I thought it could be a mash-up of two names. "Rudolph" and... something?? Or perhaps it is a literary reference that escapes me, since I only read romance novels.

Say, this place looks pretty nice! If they have an ice machine, I am definitely staying here. You've got to love that mid-century decor, not exactly beautiful, but somehow appealing in a way. You can walk to Disneyland, but you're also not too far from Movieland Wax Museum, Knott's Berry Farm, and Marineland of the Pacific. 

I wish this brochure had some sort of date indicator, but no such luck. I'm assuming it's from the mid-to-late 1960s, or perhaps a bit later. Among the amenities: a heated swimming pool. Thermostatically controlled heat! Baby cribs. 21 inch TVs in every room (why would you even need a TV that large?). "All rooms on ground floor"... no stairs to climb.

Here's a vintage postcard. I found a 1991 LA Times article about this motel: Owners of the tiny, 26-room Sir Rudimar Motel, situated within Disney’s proposed Westcot Center expansion area, are considering selling the property to an outside group for what could amount to a whopping $142,307 per room.

Sailor Kennedy, administrative partner for the Coachman Patel partnership, said Friday that a group of Los Angeles-based attorneys--reportedly with no ties to the Walt Disney Co.--have offered about $3.7 million for the .75-acre property, which sits on the southwest border of the Disneyland parking lot.

Kennedy declined to identify who made the offer. The nearly 30-year-old Sir Rudimar is one of several properties not under Disney’s control within an area the entertainment company has reserved for a proposed $3-billion, 470-acre expansion.

I'm not sure if the sale went through or not (though it would be hard to resist an offer of $142,307 per room in 1991 bucks); however, the Sir RuDimar Motel was still around in 2002, when an online message board listed it as one of the motels near the park to avoid (along with The Alamo, The Riviera, the Frontier Motel, etc). My guess is that it started out charming and clean, and declined as the years passed, which is kind of sad.

And finally, here's another postcard view, which uses the same photo that we see on the inside of the brochure.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to the Sir RuDimar Motel!

If it's not raining on my trip, I should be out hiking!

Randos

Let's use up some RANDOS! Oddball slides that might be orphans or leftuggies. Beginning with this July, 1962 photo of Skull Rock. It's a nice 3/4 profile, really showing off the series of waterfalls that looked so great and made such a pleasant sound. I often think that a pool feature like this would be fun at one of my many mansions!

Next is this scan from June, 1962 featuring the Motorized Firetruck as it rounded the Plaza, where I assume that it dropped off some passengers, and took on a new batch to head back down to Town Square. The warm late-afternoon light and blue sky give this one a cheerful, colorful appearance.

I sure hope I'm having fun, wherever I am!

Jungle Cruise Snoozles™

There have been scores of Sunday blog posts featuring Jungle Cruise Snoozles; I've explained why before, and I always feel a little bit guilty taking it out of this beloved ride. But not-great photos are NOT GREAT. Or barely even "good". 

The only thing going for these is that they were likely taken within the first month of the park's opening - possibly even within the first two weeks. They were put into cardboard mounts by somebody who didn't care if they were flopped or not. And with these, it's hard to tell (for me anyway, probably not to TokyoMagic!). Anyway, as you can see, a rhinoceros looks up from eating a gorilla to watch us pass. The grass would eventually make it pretty hard to see the rhino, so this is about the best picture I have of him.

This is either a bull elephant, or his mother-in-law. I always assume that mother-in-law jokes came from Wally Boag, though I have no proof at all. You can't tell the bull from the MIL, they should have put a rolling pin in the trunk of the old battle axe to make it clearer. 

I'm on day 2 of my trip, and I'm probably eating lots of cheese.

Knott's Berry Farm, September 1970

Who's ready for a trip to sunny Knott's Berry Farm? Let's go! These are from September, 1970, which is right around the time when I was lucky enough to go to KBF relatively often. It was close to Huntington Beach, it was affordable (compared to Disneyland, which was a once-a-year or MAYBE twice park), and we loved it.

Let's start with this picture of the Calico Log Ride (later the "Timber Mountain Log Ride"), which had debuted just over a year earlier, on July 11th, 1969. Famously, John Wayne and his son Ethan were the first official guests to plummet down that flume. The arches of El Camino Real are to the right, as is the train depot (which I assume was moved when the Log Ride was added?).  

The Calico Mine Ride; it's not much of a hot take to say that this is one of my favorite rides at Knott's. During one visit, when my mom dropped me, my siblings, and assorted  friends off to fend for ourselves (!), we decided to do the Mine Ride three or four times in a row. NO REGRETS. The ride operators thought we were crazy. I loved the squeaky sound of the trains on those tight turns, and the slightly-grotesque figures inside. I also loved the "underground" waterfall and the glowing caverns!

In spite of the unfortunate colors, I'm happy to see old #41, the Red Cliff, as it passed right through Calico Square (stopping for passengers of course), without so much as an electrified fence to prevent guests from being flattened. And yet, somehow it worked without incident (as far as I am aware)! A log is about to take the plunge in the background, is anybody famous aboard??

I'm away from home, and away from the blog!

Two Beauties, October 19th, 1972

I recently scanned some batches of slides that had some real beauties in them, and I look forward to sharing them with you over the next few months! We'll begin with this pretty 1972 view taken from the Parking Lot, looking along the Monorail beam with the Disneyland Hotel in the distance. We are in lot J, that's J for... uh... "Jiminy Cricket"? "J. Worthington Foulfellow"? Sorry, there is no "Jafar" or "Jasmine" yet. I love those gorgeous October clouds. 

Next, a very nice picture of the ticket booths - not the tiny original booths, but the later examples, some of which still survive here and there (note: NOPE! They were torn down). Since these slides were hand-dated "October 19th, 1972", I can refer to Jason's Disneyland Almanac for some data: it was a Thursday, the park was open from 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM (only eight hours??), and the high temperature was a mild 71º.

FYI, I will be heading out of town tomorrow morning, and will be gone for five days. That's longer than my usual trips abroad! I won't have much time to futz around on my iPad (or I might leave it at home), so just assume that you won't hear from me until I return. As usual there will be new posts for you every day. I look forward to talking to you all soon!

 

More Disneyland Hotel, 1980

We've been enjoying a series of Disneyland Hotel photos from Lou Perry, scanned by his daughter Sue B. Today will be the last four! It's been fun. 

The Marina was added to the Hotel in 1970, adding a general nautical/island theme; this dock had a number of different types of boats moored, along with the paddle boats. I wonder if those odd flat-bottomed boats with the decorative arches were available for weddings? You, your bride, a priest, and two guests! 

This corner of the Hotel property is not exactly beautiful - it resembles an industrial park. There's a banner pointing in the direction of "Seaports of the Pacific", which we've seen in previous photos. Other than that, this looks like an area to be avoided.

This nice old (?) streetcar (the "Orient Express") was used as a hotdog stand when things were busier. I don't think this was a former San Francisco cable car, but I'm sure one of you will have info about it. 

I don't see a kitchen area inside the streetcar, so maybe they boiled hotdogs in a saucepan full of funky water. Or better yet: microwave!  "Sir, my hotdog tastes weird". "That means it's gourmet!". The brass handles on either side of that door will allow me to hang on and sing "The Trolley Song" really loudly. All the other guests will love it.

THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!

Tomorrowland, June 1962

Here are more "perfectly OK" photos, nothing amazing, but good enough that they could theoretically be used in a brochure or booklet. 

There's the Moonliner, no longer sponsored by TWA. In just a year or so, Douglas will begin their three-year sponsorship... one of those subtle changes that really showed the evolution of Tomorrowland as it shed its 1950s past. Of course, by the end of 1966, the entire land was drastically altered, in the best possible way, with the New Tomorrowland opening in the summer of 1967.

I love the old gray submarines, and the sight of them gliding through the beautiful blue lagoon.

Pins From the Bag

I know that you all love Pins From the Bag, and anxiously await the next installment. Your anxiety and waiting have come to an end!

Did you know that 1961 was the year of Kansas' centennial? I sure didn't. I wasn't born yet, so I didn't get the memo. I also didn't know that Olney, England and Liberal, Kansas were rivals in Pancake Day Races (this would be the 12th International event), a sport that would soon eclipse the World Cup. 

I'm not a big fan of store-bought orange juice (though the frozen concentrate has its advantages). That's what I get for years of being spoiled by grandparents who had 40 citrus trees in their yard. Fresh-squeezed juice every morning, as much as you wanted! However, I like this button, with the charming character of "Tropic-Ana", girl from some sun-drenched island, carrying a banana leaf full of oranges on her head. The addition of that tiny dot representing a belly-button ("navel", get it?) was apparently a milestone.

I also love Reddy Kilowatt, the lightbulb-nosed mascot who was introduced in 1926 - 100 years ago! - he served as a corporate spokesman for electricity generation in the United States and other countries. This button was intended to have the name ("Hello My Name is Sherman") of a participant at some unknown event. There are some great RK advertising items that I covet, but they are very pricey. 

I thought that stale bread was great, until I tried Freihofer's fresh loaves! As you can see, there was a Code Cop to ensure that there was no funny-business going on. He'd hit each loaf with his billy club, and if it didn't spring right back, it went into the bin. Just grab a slice of Feirhofer's from the sanitary paper wrapper, and spread some soft butter on it. Delicious!

This one is not from THE BAG, but I included it because the Freihofer's name was familiar to me due to this Mickey Mouse Globe Trotters button (I do have one, but it was easier to just find a photo online). Various bakeries and dairies participated in the Mickey Mouse Globe Trotters promotion, I saw one collection of over 40 different varieties fetch over $1,800. The Freihofer's button seems to be among the most common.

Another pancake-related button! This time for Aunt Jemima's Pancake Club. Do people really need more encouragement to make pancakes? Try some with chocolate chips, you won't be sorry. Some like them with sliced bananas, but that's not my thing. My mom likes to put butter and raspberry jam on her pancakes, and I admit it's amazing. Pancake days are here again! 

And finally, another centennial celebration, this time for North English, Iowa. The town was named after the English river; Franklin Pierce was President at the time. As you can see, North English is in the southeastern corner of the state (about 20 miles southwest of Cedar Rapids), and in 2020 had a population of 1,065.  

I hope you have enjoyed today's Pins From the Bag!

Pooh For President Parade, October 1972

Parade photos. Yeesh. You know what I mean! It's like a twice-removed version of actually watching a parade that is mostly just an obstacle to be avoided. But I don't want to complain! Well, maybe a little. Today's images are from a "Pooh For President" parade from October, 1972. This was the Silly Old Bear's first run at the White House; GDB friend Chuck sent us some Pooh For President photos from 1976... see those HERE and HERE. 

Luckily, today's photographer managed some level of self-control, only taking four photos of this parade, instead of the dozen or so that might have happened. So let's take a look!

There's Goofy, he's gone rogue, leaving the parade path, shocking the nearby guests. "He's gone crazy!". "Somebody stop him!". I think we see the fuzzy feet of Pluto behind him, just think of the trouble they will cause together.

It's kind of fun to see King Leonidas from "Bedknobs and Broomsticks", which had debuted one year earlier. Do characters from that movie ever show up in the parks anymore? He's with Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear, two other characters who may be permanently retired. Say, who's that in the distance?

Why, it's Pooh himself! No fancy limo for him, he's a bear of the people, and will walk on his own two feet. His friends Eeyore and Tigger have come with him from the Hundred Acre Wood, hoping for plum appointments. Tigger wants to be ambassador to France. 

Pooh was over-marketed decades later, but how can you not love him? I like his Uncle Sam hat, though it should have a bee on it just like his old hunny pot. What if he'd won, instead of Nixon?? Makes ya think.