Twain and River, 1959
Here's a bright sunny photo of the Mark Twain, decorated with patriotic bunting - either for fourth of July, or maybe as part of the opening of the new attractions in Tomorrowland (you know which ones I mean). My favorite detail is the pair of cast members in the foreground, with their groovy straw hats. Tom and Huck!
And I like this picture of a busy Frontierland. Do I see three canoes (one is partly hidden by another, and a third is waaay in the distance)? There also appears to be another raft to Tom Sawyer Island just to the left of the mill - I have never confirmed that there was more than one raft landing, but am pretty sure that there was. A few guests can be seen on the island, and one of Huck Finn's rafts is unloading one bunch of passengers while more are boarding.
10 comments:
Ahhhh, The Rivers of America when it looked like, well - The Rivers of America. Just as things should be.
Thanks, Major.
At the time the photo was taken, there were actually three raft landings: Tom's on the east side of the island near the fishing pier, Huck's on the west side near the mill and an overflow landing on the west side further north toward Fort Wilderness.
I love the Mark Twain photo.
The other day I noticed in photos that the Liberty Belle Riverboat at WDW's Magic Kingdom had a guard rail installed on the bow.
Does anyone think Disneyland's Mark Twain is headed in that direction with all the guard rails recently installed at several Disneyland attractions?
I hope not!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tfduesing/4563296515/
Nanook, it has lost a lot of its "untamed wilderness" quality, at least as seen from the shore of Frontierland. But once you get on the Twain, I still love the river.
Anon, thanks for the info! I might even have a photo or two showing various rafts crossing the river at different points. I need to do a search!
K. Martinez, ARG! That rail on the Liberty Belle looks awful. Couldn't they do something more subtle if they HAVE to add one? Black wrought iron maybe?
K. Martinez, I just watched this nice video:
http://www.hicksonmedia.com/interludes/2013/05/17/mark-twain-steamboat/
There is a guardrail at the bow. It is black and less "in your face" than the one on the Liberty Belle.
There was also an ad hoc landing for the 1962 movie "40 Pounds of Trouble"; Tony Curtis jumped from that to a moving raft, with the Haunted Mansion construction visible in the background.
Major - Thanks for posting the video link. I love the video.
When did they add the rail to the Mark Twain? I don't remember seeing it in Summer 2012 and I sat at the bow. Not as bad, but what can you do! You can't find Disneyland City Hall.
I meant "you can't fight Disneyland City Hall". Oh boy! I really need to proofread my comments before posting.
Besides the three I've already mentioned, there was a fourth landing further north on the east side of the island that was only used (and infrequently, at that) back when the rafts launched from their original location. By the time the '60s rolled around that landing was pretty much utilized only by Monday-Tuesday and landscaping crews bringing supplies to the island from the Twain/Columbia dock via aluminum utility boats.
I was going to repeat part of the first anonymous post.
In my time, there were two raft landings, one where it is now, and another up near the Indian Village and the War Canoe landing, this one rafted over to the "Huck's Landing" location on the Island which was near the fort on the west side.
Judging from the photos, there was a location near Aunt Jemima's, or thereabouts. Don't know when that was taken out or moved. Maybe when the Jungle River was covered over.
Great pictures, Major, I love them.
JG
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