Celebrating Four Gorillariffic Years!

Today marks the fourth anniversary of Gorillas Don't Blog - the blog with the dumbest name on the internet! Little did I know when I published the first post that I would still be at it in the year 2010; the only real difference is that I now blog from my flying car. I've written nearly 1400 posts and shared well over 3000 images, which is some sort of accomplishment. I guess. And with roughly 15 readers worldwide, it's nice to know that I'm making a difference.

I have five nice photos for you today to celebrate the occasion, starting with this awesome, moody shot of Tomorrowland as the last warm rays of sunlight make the Rocket to the Moon gleam on this winter day (January 5, 1957). The signs to our left point to a number of Tomorrowland's sponsored attractions... I wish I could visit each one with a good camera and plenty of Kodachrome slide film.


Ooo-eee, Skull Rock at night - in focus! From April, 1966. There are the eerie glowing green eyes that made such an impression on me when I was a tadpole. I can still hear the sound of the waterfalls. And I could swear I saw the silhouette of a person inside the skull once! This is a prime example of a Disneyland feature that didn't really "do anything", and yet it is such a big part of what made the park great for me.


Now we'll jump back to 1959 and this photo of the Matterhorn (taken from the Disneyland Railroad?) in the final stages of construction. There's still plenty of scaffolding on the lower portion of the mountain. See the tiny pipples?


This is a pretty fantastic shot of Tomorrowland as seen from a 1957 Skyway photo. I've done my best to restore it from a magenta slide, which explains why the color looks a bit odd. Still, you've got the fabulous Viewliner down below (practically no line, let's ride that one!), and the Skyway buckets adding an almost 3-D quality to the picture. To see a similar (but much better) photo, check out Daveland's example here.


I can't ignore Frontierland, so here's a nice image of a Stagecoach, also from 1957 (my unofficial favorite year at Disneyland!). It's possible that this was shot from a Keelboat, considering the low vantage point. That little girl inside the coach is giving us the eyeball. Photos of the Stagecoach always appeal to me; the ride only lasted four years, and it is a great representation of the western craze that swept the 1950's.


There you go! I still have some good stuff to share; a box and a half of Disneyland images anyway, and maybe only 60% of those are worth scanning. But by padding those out with other amusement parks and World's Fairs, we should be good for a little while. If I want to continue beyond that, it would be necessary to widen the scope of the blog to include more general vintage Americana. Las Vegas, folks hanging out in their kitchens, old cars, small towns... you get the idea. Do you have any thoughts about a change like that?

Thanks to everybody who continues to follow GDB in spite of the endless Mark Twain, Matterhorn, Castle, Columbia and Skyway photos. Special thanks goes to those of you who regularly leave comments, I really do appreciate it. And finally, a tip o' the hat to my fellow bloggers who inspire me daily!