To our extreme left we can see Jiminy Cricket, followed by a huge, mangey looking French poodle. Ooo la la! Behind that is one of Main Street's horseless carriages hauling a bunch of toys.
There go the seven dwarfs....
...with Snow White bringing up the rear. Dopey, as usual, marches to his own drummer.
Pandemonium ensues as these anthropomorphic trees from "Babes in Toyland" (which was released the very month of this parade) make their way down Main Street. Just look at all of the dads running recklessly into the street to get a good photo. Or maybe they really wanted a picture of...
....these guys! The classic Toy Soldiers from B.I.T. It is hard to imagine a Disneyland Christmas parade without them, and yet this must have been the first year they appeared. Pretty cool!
And last, but certainly not least, it's Mickey Mouse himself, banging on "The Big Bass Drum". He's wearing a top hat for the occasion! I guess that Santa did not need to excuse himself from his toy-making duties, Mickey had more than enough star power.
I hope you have enjoyed this trip back to Christmas, 1961!
Wow, this is just the BEST. Really! Thanks for posting these!
ReplyDelete-Kevin
Great series! I remember watching that very parade with the new toy soldiers. Those trees from B.I.T. were the same ones that were in the exhibit in the Opera House, and would jump out at you as you walked by. I think the theme for those parades was "Parade of Toys", and thus all the non-movie related characters. It made perfect sense back then.
ReplyDeleteThe trees were later reconfigured for the honey trees in the Hundred Acre Woods for the Winnie The Pooh section in the mid to late 1960s Christmas parades.
ReplyDeleteWOW!!! Sooo cool! I'm sure I was there for some early Christmases but we've got no photos. I'm so glad I got to see these.
ReplyDelete