Tuesday, December 25, 2012

More Fantasy On Parade

Merry Christmas, homies! 

What better way to celebrate this day than to look at more mid-1960's photos of the classic "Fantasy on Parade"?

This first image does not fit in with the rest of the FoP pictures, since you can see that Mickey Mouse is dressed differently - wearing his Sorcerer's Apprentice robes rather than the western duds we saw before. Still, it's a great view that I wanted to include.


I am guessing that these photos were taken only a few years after "Mary Poppins" became the biggest box-office hit of 1964. It's nice to see Mary and Bert making an appearance.


Peter Pan and young Michael might not be able to fly, but by golly, they can sure bounce! The concept of making a float that looks like a bed but is actually a trampoline is some sort of genius. 


Pluto struts with style while being chased by his doghouse. If you look carefully, you can just see what appears to be a Snoopy doll (or a pretty close approximation) inside the doghouse!. 


There are the toy soldiers again... I think the last time I saw them in a holiday parade, their ranks were down to maybe a half dozen.


And finally, the big man, the main event, Santa Claus! I like his green sleigh. His snow-covered float is decorated with toys of all kinds -including a rather prominently-displayed Magilla Gorilla doll (just left of center in the lower part of the photo)! How did a Hanna-Barbera character sneak into a Disney parade?


I'd like to extend my warmest holiday wishes to all of the awesome GDB readers out there! 

15 comments:

Nanook said...

Hmmmmm - Mother & son were originally going with matching outfits for their trip to Disneyland, but at the last minute thought that too gauche. So instead they chose 'squares' and 'diamonds'. (I wonder if Mom has a "smart hostess outfit" with the same theme tucked-away in her closet for those 'special occasions'-?)

And never has the Kodak Store - nah - make that the Eastman Kodak store sign looked lovelier.

And let me join Major in wishing holiday greetings to all the GDB readers - who, as I've said before, and will say again - heck, I'll say it right now: Are the best informed, civil, appreciative, well-spoken and funny-! group out there in the vast internet.

Chiana_Chat said...

Thanks for the holiday wishes and for the year long cheer you've provided me through this blog. I'd also like to wish everyone a happy holiday and bright new year! :)

Nancy said...

The toy soldiers have helped make mine a Merrier Christmas! I am with Chiana in my thanks to you, David, for making my days brighter all the year long.

Merry Christmas to everyone and the happiest New Year ever!!

Chuck said...

I was going to make some wisecrack about the giant shrink ray on the roof of the office block south of W. Center St., but all of the other dear readers' comments have changed my heart this Christmas Day. I feel like Ebenezer Scrooge, except I'm real.

Thank you, Major, for the incredible effort you put into acquiring, sorting, scanning, and organizing the imagery. Thank you for the time you spend and the care you take in planning out how you're going to display your collection. And thank you for your playful sense of humor, your wit, and your creativity that comes through in every post.

Thank you, dear readers for your insightful, witty, and sometimes just plain weird commentary. I appreciate your keen senses of historic park geography and chronography, and I learn or confirm something here every day.

This blog truly makes each day more bearable and kills a little bit of homesickness for my wife, my children and my own childhood.

Merry Christmas to you all, and may the New Year be brighter than ever!

Alonzo P Hawk said...

I agree with Nanook and echo his sentiment. Everyone here thinks Major (and the content he provides) is the best.

We all have comments and opinions and always try to keep it fun, lighthearted and respectful of others.

That is worth the most! I tune out of other sites where everyones comments get too nasty and vulgar.

Happy and safe holidays to all of the GDBr's everywhere!

Rich T. said...

Merry Christmas, Major! Thanks for giving us a ton of smiles, laughs and awesome images this past year(s)! :)

Melissa said...

Happy holidays to you, too, Major! You've made the past year a lot brighter.

The man to the left of the lady in blue in the Pluto picture has a sort of Nixon vibe going on.

Nanook said...

Chuck-
The "giant shrink ray" on the roof of Coke Corner is either a Strong Super Trouper or quite possibly, judging from its size - a Strong Gladiator carbon arc follow spot, all covered up. I can't remember if Disneyland used any Gladiators on Main St.; but they do use them for Fantasmic these days.

Major Pepperidge said...

Thanks for all the holiday wishes, everybody!

Nanook, I go for argyle every time. And how can Kodak be gone??

Chiana, you are very welcome.

Nancy, I love those toy soldiers for sure.

Chuck, I definitely appreciate your service for our country, thank you for that. And knowing that this silly blog helps make things a little brighter is the best thing ever.

Alonzo, there are some more contentious Disney sites out there, but I want this one to be fun... no sense in causing grief! Lucky for me, my readers seem to share my values.

Rich T, thanks!

Melissa, Tricky Dick did like to visit Disneyland....!

Nanook.... a "strong gladiator" arc light?! I think they did use spotlights for night parades... not sure though.

Snow White Archive said...

Happy Holidays GDB! Can't go wrong with toy soldiers. :)

Irene said...

Always love your photos and commentary! Thank you for putting up these wonderful photos and your witty humor. Wishing you and every one a great Christmas and a very Happy New year. Hope everyone got what they wanted :)

TokyoMagic! said...

Merry Belated Christmas (unless you are in Hawaii) to you, Major and all of your readers. Thank you for the additional parade pics. As JG stated in your last Fantasy On Parade post, "I Love A Parade".....hey, the Kids of the Kingdom sang that song! It's on their 1967 LP. Honest!

Nanook, that lady in the first pic left her matching diamond print hostess pants at home. She only wears those when she gives smart dinner parties. But I did see a pair this month in Harper's Bazaar....and they certainly are Bizarre! How do they get those to fit into a box of Cracker Jack, anyway? ;-)

JG said...

A day late and a dollar short, but best regards to the GDB gang.

Really, What Everybody Said...

And thank you, TM for the shout-out.

GDB keeps me sane (...er, "saner")

Thank you Major, for your extraordinary effort. We are all richer for it.

JG

Dbenson said...

Watched "Disneyland Through the Seasons" last week. That had some parade footage including Pluto and his doghouse. Little dogs in costumes -- real ones -- came out of the doghouse and ran around on two legs before running back in to a visible trainer.

Major Pepperidge said...

Snow White Archive, what if those toy soldiers run amok?!

Irene, thank you for your nice comment!

TokyoMagic!, I hope YOU are enjoying Christmas in Hawaii!

JG, I don't know if I can honestly call my blogging efforts "extraordinary", but I still appreciate the kind sentiment!

Dbenson, now that you mention it, I think I have seen that footage (is it on one of those DVD sets?).