Let's go back in time, a mere 17 years or so, to August 1996.
I like this nice photo of the entrance to Frontierland, looking very green and lush. Teepees are near the gates - something that I haven't seen except for in some very early photos of the same area.
Well, I lied when I said that these were all from Frontierland, since the French Market is clearly a part of New Orleans Square. Oh well! Life will somehow go on. Let's go get some gumbo, or maybe a Monte Cristo sandwich!
The good old Golden Horseshoe. Was there any kind of a show going on inside in 1996? The classic Revue had ended in 1986; I think that Billy Hill and the Hillbillies might have moved in by this time. Come to think of it, they've had a long run!
Here's a second view, with a little pergola covered in bright pink bougainvillea flowers; they seem to be shading a small cactus garden rather than benches for weary guests. Maybe bougainvilleas were too prickly to let people get close to them.
Billy Hill & the Hillbillies began performing at the Golden Horseshoe on December 22, 1994, and continue to this day.
ReplyDeleteMajor - beautiful images, all. Thanks.
Nice set today. I like the teepees in front of the stockade entrance. Lots of people seem to prefer the Blue Bayou, but French Market really does it for me.
ReplyDeletePergola! I learn a few words now and then visiting your blog. I've built a couple of pergolas in my day, but I always referred to them as arbors.
Nanook, I've heard recording of Billy Hill and his Hillbillies, and they sound like fun. I'm always in such a hurry to do "everything" when I am at the park that I haven't watched one of their shows.
ReplyDeleteK. Martinez, I learned the word "pergola" when I used to watch Norm on "The New Yankee Workshop"! "Arbor" would have been just as good a word, for sure. As for the Blue Bayou vs. the French Market, it has to be the atmosphere that makes the difference. Who wouldn't want to eat in a moonlit bayou, even at noon?
Major - While I can appreciate the atmosphere of Blue Bayou, I still prefer the ambience of the French Market. I love dining on the outdoor patio under the shade of the ficus trees while listening to the jazz band, hearing the Mark Twain steam whistle in the distance and watching the throngs of guests walking back and forth along the Rivers of America. That’s more my kind of atmosphere. Disneyland has always been I place I prefer to dine outdoors, especially on a beautiful day.
ReplyDeleteAtmospheric dining definitely is a unique experience: Blue Bayou - DL; San Angel Inn Restaurante - EPCOT, but probably have to side with K. Martinez when given the opportunity to dine at the French Market, for all the reasons he mentioned.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for 'pergola', I was introduced to that word way back in grammar school. We had two, flat-roofed structures, each one supported by six, large-diameter, square wooden posts, sitting atop a concrete footing. Each pergola covered a sea of wooden tables with attached benches where "us young-ins" could experience covered, 'alfresco' dining, elementary school-style.
One of them gained great fame when one of its posts unceremoniously decided to slowly sink into the surrounding blacktop, necessitating a flurry of activity involving jacking-up the offending post and back-filling it with a new concrete foundation. That caused quite the excitement at school for several days, as you can imagine. From then on, I was kinda soured on the idea of pergolas in general, and the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.
Some beautiful pictures today, Major. I agree with K Martinez about the French Market. Our family usually had dinner here, to the sounds of the jazz band. It is a favorite spot.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to have a dinner here with my children, who are now in their late 20's. For some reason, our trips take us to different parts of the park in the evening. I think the Fantasmic show has something to do with it, but we often have dinner now in DCA at the "Napa Valley" restaurant.
We do have morning coffee and beignets, but the music isn't always playing then. Still, the memories are beautiful and almost tangible. There is something very special about sharing a memorable experience or place with one's children, and I think Disneyland is built on that principal and literally made of that idea.
My kids didn't overlap with their grandparents very long, and so I tiresomely reinforce their memories with my reminiscences, and here I am doing the same to you.
I learned the word "pergola" looking at drawings by Frank Lloyd Wright. He used structures like this, only far more complex, in many designs.
On our farm, we called ours an "arbor", and it sank into the ground under the weight of the grapvines, much like Nanook's, only over a period of many years. I eventually had to pull it all down. Sad how things wear out over the years.
Thanks for letting me drivel on...
JG
JG -
ReplyDeleteDrivel on, I say. You are, after all, among friends here. And I would not classify it as drivel anyway. Next to the Major's commentary, my favorite thing is being able to share in the memories and experiences of the GDB readership.
K. Martinez and Nanook, there is definitely nothing wrong with the French Market! Especially when live music is playing nearby. During the evenings particularly, when Fantasmic! isn't playing, the riverfront is one of my favorite places. I've always wondered if the sounds of frogs in the distance is real, or piped in!
ReplyDeleteJG, maybe I'll have to make a point of eating at the French Market the next time I go to DL. Gumbo or clam chowder in a bread bowl is always a favorite when it is chilly. As for grandparents, I was very lucky to have 3 grandparents survive until I was in my 40's. They are all gone now, how I miss them. And somehow a geometric pergola, softened by living plants, sounds very Frank Lloyd Wright!
ReainSeatedPlease, you are right, the commentary adds so much to the "completeness" of each post. If there were no comments, I probably would have stopped blogging long ago!
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If the French Market is the place where you get the mint juleps ...yes please. The train whistle and the flower beds at the station. My friend and I...a Dixieland band...sunny day. 2009.
ReplyDelete