Sub Lagoon, September 1961
"Lagoon" is Italian for "the goon". Every bambino knows that. And today's photos involve Disneyland's submarine goon, circa 1961.
All the girls love bad boys. Or bad wolves, in this case, as the Big Bad Wolf draws a crowd of admirers. Jack Nicholson learned everything he knows from the BBW.
A second view, taken from the Skyway; the "Patrick Henry" moves slowly below us, and we can see fairly big crowds beyond the lagoon. Looks like the Fantasyland Autopia was popular that day - or maybe it was the Motor Boat Cruise?
7 comments:
Always good to see the 'grays' and the exciting world on the move. There is a tremendous amount of action in both photos.
In the second picture at the top, outside the berm, just slightly off center to the right; that large building....is that the roundhouse or perhaps the monorail garage?
Okay...REALLY not awake until I hit the shower.
I was riffing earlier on the "wolf" thing and wrote the first thing that popped into my head. Unfortunately, in my sleepy state it didn't dawn on me that a connection between Nazi submarines and a Jewish news commentator - however random and unintentional -would naturally be offensive. And since I'm not a Blogspot member, I can't erase my post. Major, if you can do it, I'd appreciate it.
Please excuse any unintentional offense - that was definitely NOT my intent. I will refrain from posting until I'm actually awake.
And now I'm REALLY late for work. Serves me right...
Really nice pictures, Major.
I love anything from the old Skyway, since that vantage will never be repeated again.
Another "old guy" comment...In this day and age, can anyone imagine naming a submarine "Patrick Henry"?
Boggles the mind...
Also, I read the comments, but got in too late on the discussion about the screens under the monorail tracks. I agree, these elements seem designed to protect the pedestrian areas from debris and hydraulic leaks from the passing vehicles. Would be great to hear from some Park experts to be sure.
Reminds me of the Air Force adage, something about a plane is not working properly unless it's leaking hydraulics somewhere...I know that quote's not quite right, but near enough...
JG
Thufer, it sure looks like the roundhouse to me (both the Disneyland RR and the Monorail use the same building).
Chuck, I have removed your first comment at your request (I think you can remove your own comments, by the way). It was pretty clear that you were just kidding around with a bit of word association, and had no intention of offending anyone. But it's gone now, so no worries!
JG, I think the Disneyland subs were named after actual US subs. It added that bit of authenticity that Walt seemed to insist on. And I'm sure you're right about those screens under the Monorail tracks.
JG - Leaks are good. If the aircraft stops leaking, that means you're out of hydraulic fluid.
Major - you're correct - the subs were named after then-current US nuclear subs - three of them ballistic missile subs. One of my favorite thematic touches as a kid was the gatehouse and signage for the "Disneyland Naval Base," visible on the right side of the tracks immediately after passing it's a small world. I can't imagine something like that today.
Three of the original names - Nautilus, Seawolf, and Triton - survived the gray-to-yellow conversion, although - oddly - the only hull that kept its original name was 301, the Nautilus. The original Seawolf, 302, became the Neptune and its name transferred to 308, the former Ethan Allen, while the original Triton, 305, became the Seeker and 307, the former Patrick Henry, became the new Triton.
And thanks for killing my earlier post. Still can't figure out how to do that; I guess I'll have to become a member as a precaution.
NICE pics. Wasn't there a Junior Autopia back then? And could that be what we are seeing with the big crowd?? Just curious...
Connie, I think the Junior Autopia basically became the Fantasyland Autopia in 1958.
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