Carnation Ice Cream Parlor, 1996

My friend ("Mr. X") had heard the news that the Carnation Ice Cream Parlor was going to close in January of 1997. So in November and December of 1996, he made a point of taking some photos of the interior, and I'm glad he did!

Here's a great view of the main counter, all dark wood and genuine marble. From what I understand, it was a genuine antique, salvaged from some old drug store or ice cream palace. The interior had been repainted at least once since the 1950's, and there is something about that pink that reminds me of my grandma's house after a decorator got done with it in the 1980's.  

I would not be able to resist trying to slide a full milk shake down that polished marble surface! The inevitable cleanup would be a breeze, fortunately. The place looks tranquil in these photos (taken in the morning, perhaps?), but you can be sure that on a busy day it would be jam-packed.

The next two pictures are from December '96, which explains the Christmas decor. Here's a very nice closeup of the old soda fountain; I don't think those nozzles were actually used during its time at Disneyland, but back in the day they must have held quite an assortment of sauces and goops! Butterscotch, caramel, chocolate fudge, marshmallow cream, strawberry,  blueberry, snozberry, and 10 more from the look of things.

I'm sure most of these people had no idea that the ice cream parlor would close forever in a matter of weeks. But I am happy to be able to see it in pictures 15 years later!

HoJo's, October 1972

Well homies, today's photos are related to Disneyland, but just barely!

If you happened to be riding the Skyway anytime after the late 1960's and you looked eastward, you couldn't help noticing the distinctive Howard Johnson's Hotel looming just outside of Tomorrowland. Here it is in 1971:

The next two pictures are from '72. Nixon's through in '72! (Only he wasn't. Also, Archie Bunker ran for President, I have the pinback button to prove it). HoJo's thoughtfully provided an adorable and completely edible li'l trolley to shuttle guests to the park and back. Who needs Disneyland when you can ride that bitchin' trolley 150 times a day?

Say, how much for one-a them top rooms? I'll bet you gat a swell view of the fireworks at night! And the kids can drop water balloons on all incoming guests, which is always HI-larious. I'm sure that the top rooms are the most affordable, because of bats and manticores.

Gorillas Go Hawaiian!

On today's "Anything Goes Saturday", we will visit the island paradise of Hawaii! Pass the poi, please.

Here's a beautiful vintage view of Diamond Head, the distinctive volcanic cone in Honolulu (on the island of Oahu). Besides being a nice photo, you can tell that it is pretty old due to the lack of monstrous beachfront hotels.

In fact, the photographer panned to the left just a bit to capture the famous Royal Hawaiian hotel - one of the first hotels established on Waikiki Beach; notice the barbed wire barrier, in place to impede any Japanese soldiers who might try to invade via submarine. So we can date these pictures to WWII!

I am not 100% positive that this is Hawaii (there was at least one photo in the lot that is definitely from Casablanca in the 40's), but it sure looks like it could be. Anyway, it ties in to the WWII theme, showing a military airfield in the distance - not to mention gorgeous mountains and clouds.

Zooming in on the planes, we can see the distinctive tails of some B-24 Liberators - heavy bombers that were used throughout the war. B-24's were introduced in 1941, and the Ford Motor Company manufactured over 18,000 of the aircraft. One of Ford's factories turned out 650 of the planes in a single month! 

WDW Main Street, December 1971

Christmas is over, but you'd never know if from this first picture from Orlando, Florida. Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom is decked out with wreaths and garlands for its first Christmas ever, and by golly it looks swell. In fact those decorations remind me of the kind that you might have seen on various streets (like Hollywood Boulevard) in ye olden days.

This one puzzled me, and still does, really! I looked and looked to figure out what this building was, and found that it is apparently called "Exposition Hall". I think it's where people go to expose themselves. To knowledge - jeez, what did you think I meant? Somehow I hear "Exposition Hall" and I imagine dinosaur skeletons on display (an Apatosaurus here, a Triceratops there....), but I have no idea what goes on inside. Maybe you can learn about quality Amway products, or zinc oxide.

Nearby, the Christmas tree stands near the flagpole. They make a great team, like Mutt and Jeff (who here knows who "Mutt and Jeff" are?!), and everyone is so excited to see them together. It's better than a Space Shuttle launch, I tell ya whut.

Main Street at Disneyland is charming; Main Street at Walt Disney World is dazzling!

Keel Boat & Settler's Cabin, January 1960

Here are two more views from the Mark Twain....

That Keel Boat looks especially small from up here as it follows the Twain's choppy wake; that's a good idea, let some other boat find any snags or sand bars. To our right you can see a small portion of Cascade Peak's construction, including what might be a small coffer dam. I wonder what purpose  those pipes that parallel the river had?

Just before Jebediah had his chest pierced by an arrow, he had thoughtfully cleared away some of the brush surrounding his cabin. That way passers-by can enjoy a good look at his corpse and his burning home. What a guy!

Matterhorn, 1966

I especially love this first photo of the Matterhorn, Skyway, and sub lagoon, circa 1966. Everything is bathed in brilliant sunshine, and the colors just "pop". The multicolored Skyway buckets (which had turned square the previous year) look so awesome - yellow, aqua, red. And look at the waterfalls cascading down the face of the Matterhorn... they are on full blast!

Here's another nice view from the Hub, with Tomorrowland off to our left. Again, the small accents of color - red must have been "in" - really liven up the picture. 

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! 

Aunt Jemima's, July 17 1968

Here are two scans from stereo slides, both from the day that happened to be Disneyland's 13th birthday.

In this first photo, I decided to crop out the large expanse of empty concrete at the bottom third of the image in order to get a better look at the old Aunt Jemima's pancake house. Pink, white and yellow make for a cheerful combination of hues; I'd like to imagine myself sitting at one of those outside tables enjoying a stack of pancakes (with plenty of butter and syrup) while overlooking the activity on the Rivers of America.

Over at the entrance to Frontierland, our photographer pretends to be interested in the log stockade, but I know that the pretty girl in the skirt didn't wind up in the picture by accident!

Knott's Wagons, October 1967

I admit that today's Knott's photos are kind of boring, which is why I am posting them on a Sunday. Blogger stats show that readership goes down on Sundays! 

Someone has parked a conestoga wagon over near the Marshal's office, I hope they don't get a ticket.

Things look pretty sleepy over at the Covered Wagon Camp. Maybe the Wagonmasters didn't perform in the off season?

Another pic of the empty wagon camp. See, I told you these were boring!

I promise that the next Knott's images will be better.

Family Photos, 1940-'s?

Here are two very old color slide scans, possibly dating to the late 1930's or early 1940's!

This first picture has a great Norman Rockwell quality to it, and I love the vintage quality that is so vivid; a boy and his mom pose for this dramatically-lit photo; dad must have been an ardent camera enthusiast; color photos were still rather unusual (and probably expensive) back then. The boy holds a copy of a 1937 "Walt Disney Annual", which is awesome.

If you would like your own copy in excellent condition, you can buy one for a cool $1500 bucks here!

Now it's bedtime, but first we need to say our prayers. The kid looks like Little Nemo in his pajamas (complete with "trap door"). The bedroom is so great, with the hammered-copper lamp (with printed shade), dark wood everywhere, black and oxblood tiles, and nautical-themed wallpaper that is perfect for a boy's room.

Just for fun, here's a classic Little Nemo strip by Winsor McKay, from 1905.

I hope you have enjoyed today's blast to the past!

More Wigglevision!

I've tried my hand at creating a few more Wigglevision pictures from stereo slides; results may vary depending on where you live!

From a friend's personal Viewmaster disk comes this awesome photo of a sultry hula dancer from the Tahitian Terrace. Wowee-wow!

She's reaching out just for me!

Walt's anniversary gift to Lillian was certainly unique; and at least it wasn't a set of frying pans or a vacuum cleaner!

Let it be known that only on GDB do you get to see a wiggling petrified tree trunk.

The adorable Carnation milk truck looks great even when it is just sitting still.

But when you fire up the little Model T engine, it springs to life! Notice that this Wigglevision example shows some of that weird stretchy quality that I am not crazy about. I couldn't figure out how to remedy the effect, so we're all stuck with it.

Hmmm, this truck looks strangely familiar. I think I saw it tailing me on the 405 freeway earlier today.

This 3-D effect is pretty good! It's almost as if it is wagging its tail because it's so happy to see you.

Will there be more Wigglevision in the future? Only my Magic 8-ball knows for sure.

Fantasy On Parade

Christmas is almost here! So I have a good excuse to use these vintage photos of a "sometime-in-the-1960's" performance of Disneyland classic "Fantasy On Parade".

Goofy drives his beat-up roadster with Minnie Mouse along for the ride. Did Bob Gurr have anything to do with this vehicle? Notice the rather prominent "scimitar and crescent" symbol on the side... Goofy was a Shriner!

The classic marching wooden soldiers are an essential part of a Disneyland Christmas parade! Notice the tree in the distance. On a side note, I learned from a GDB reader that the Magic Kingdom in Florida did not have a Christmas tree this year. Is this business as usual? I understand cost-cutting, but when you are the single most popular amusement park in the world, it seems ridiculous.

There's Mickey Mouse, always bangin' on the giant bass drum! He is decked out in what appears to be a sort of western-inspired costume for some reason. 

I'm always happy to see Pinocchio at the park, since he stars in my favorite Disney movie! Just behind him is a colorful gypsy wagon; it looks like Stromboli's wagon, but there is no sign of that scary  puppeteer anywhere. 

And finally (for today), the Seven Dwarfs pass by, with Sneezy (?) contorting his face in a rather horrible way. Notice the golden crown on the Hallmark building.

I'll share the remaining pictures from this parade on Christmas day!

Two From September 1963

I don't have anything too exciting for you today, but hey! Maybe you are a fan of Skull Rock. I know I am. As much as I loved the old "rock", there is a part of me that wishes it had been built 4 or 5 times as large. Just imagine how cool that would have looked!

Geysers. Not to be confused with geezers. Why go to those crummy geysers in Yellowstone that smell like sulphur when you can have nice chlorinated geysers instead.