Today's photos are a study in contrasts! A young couple seems to have visited the park for two consecutive days. In this first picture, the pretty girl is radiating displeasure about something. Arms crossed defiantly, frown on her face... she can't even bring herself to look at the photographer. Whatever the problem was, I hope it blew over quickly!
Meanwhile we get a nice look at a vintage window; since we can see City Hall reflected in the glass, I am assuming that this tableau was in a window outside the Bank of America. According to Wikipedia, Lady and the Tramp was reissued to theaters in 1971, but in November of 1972 it is still featured at the park.
Ah, that's more like it! Another day (not as sunny), and she seems much happier. She's seated near the planter where the Partners statue would be added 19 years later.
Who knows maybe they had a fight or she might have been depressed. Not even smiling much in the second. It is the happiest place on earth but sometimes people can enter at some of the worst times of their lives. Lets just say it's a given more people leave happier (and poorer) than when they arrived. Good clear shot too, thanks.
ReplyDeleteOur lovely model’s got a sort of young Ali McGraw/Kate Jackson thing going on. She’s from back East, I think, and she didn’t believe her West-Coast-raised husband when he said she’d need a jacket for a day outside in November on their Southern California honeymoon. We’ll call them Jim and Linda. Jim, of course, is tall and tanned, with sun-kissed blond curls.
ReplyDeletePictures from a Honeymoon, A Disneyland Romance™
Picture 1
Linda was really more annoyed with herself than with Jim. If she couldn’t manage a simple thing like a weather forecast, how was she going to manage being the wife of a promising young brain surgeon and surfing instructor? Oh, Mother was right after all! She WAS too young to get married! It WAS impulsive to move all the way across the country. And why couldn’t Jim have just stayed back East? Sure, there wasn’t much surfing in Cheektowaga, but there was plenty of brain damage! Why was he taking so long with the coffee, anyway? She wrapped her arms closer around herself, pulled her brows down further to keep her eyeballs warm, and tried to ignore the leering accordion player.
Suddenly, she was brought out of her reverie by the click of a camera. His camera. Jim’s camera. She’d know that shutter anywhere. “You’re beautiful when you’re angry,” he softly said.
“I'm not angry, honest! I'm just - If you ever show anyone that picture, I’ll… I’ll… oh, Jim!” She threw her arms around him, crushing the paper coffee cup he was holding out to her and soaking the front of her thin, striped shirt. “Oh, what a silly goose I am! If your Chief of Surgery or your surfing students could see me know you’d be sorry we ever met!”
“Well, it’s a good thing I brought these, then.” Jim smiled broadly, revealing a set of even, white teeth, and held up a plastic bag emblazoned with the colorful Disneyland Hotel™ logo. Linda peeked inside, careful not to drip rapidly-cooling coffee on the contents.
“My yellow sweater! And my corduroy jacket! But however did you…”
Jim tapped the side of his classic Roman nose. “Well, let’s just say that some clever young doctor had a nice long chat with somebody’s mother before some lovely young couple left a charming little wedding reception in Cheektowaga about how a certain little somebody can be young and impulsive and maybe not so great with weather forecasts and we’ll just leave it at that, shall we? Now why don’t you go change, and I’ll get some fresh coffee, and then I can explain to you how boats work.”
Picture 2
“Jim, honey, I think the picture will be better if you back up a little. A little more. No, I’m sure they cleaned up that horse poop right after the parade. Just a little more… Juuuuuuust a little…”
THE END
She has a Mona Lisa air in the first photo; and like ML she may have just needed to relax her facial muscles after a full day of smiling.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I suspect they're most common at WDW where more people walk more steps per day to cover more ground and get worn out, the humidity and rain makes more people more uncomfortable, and cost-conscious folks are in a hurry to rush around and "see it all" to get their dollar's worth, I think all the Disney parks have been witness to countless emotional upsets over the years.
ReplyDeleteThere's always been one moment during every family Christmas when the squabbles set in, and one person sarcastically snipes, "WELL, MER-RY CHRISTMAS!" As my sister and I have grown up, certain other adjectives have crept in. The same thing always happens when Sis and I go to WDW, except we'll say, "WELL, ZIP-A-DEE-&*#$@*-DOO-DAH!" or, "WELL, CELEBRATE THE &*#@ MAGIC!"
Linda's ennui is so pretty, and in such contrast to the reflections in the window, that I can't help but wonder if it's for artistic effect. Maybe it's for a teen modeling contest, or for a boyfriend away at school, so he'll see how much she misses him.
Or, maybe this trip was meant to cheer her up. My mother remembers being so heartbroken when JFK was killed that her big brother and his girlfriend put her in the car and took her to Canada for the weekend. (Of course, the wax museum they visited had installed a brand-new figure of the President the week before, and they ended up coming home early in tears...)
Alonzo, we'll never know what happened to her, but this is the only photo where she appears genuinely unhappy.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I have contacted George Clooney and Reese Witherspoon, and they have agreed to star in a major motion picture based on your comment! The only problem is that the studio insists that it has to take place on Mars.
Raimundo, isn't Mona Lisa smiling? This woman just looks pissed!
Melissa again, I wish I could remember which podcast it was, but
during the "in the park" recording you could hear a man and woman arguing while they were waiting in line. I'm sure everyone around them was wishing they would keep it down!
One of the best activities to do at Disneyland and Walt Disney World is people watch. I've seen all the facial expressions, from the "excited to be here" look to the end-of-the-day zombie mode. Once in a while a pissed off person comes into view. One time I saw an upset person turn violent against another guest. It really turned ugly and they were escorted from the scene by security.
ReplyDeleteOn the other end of the spectrum, I once saw this little boy who was so happy to be at Disneyland that he was literally dancing and singing whole songs while he and his family were walking around the park.
Haha I can attest to the awkward situation of having a fight with your boyfriend while in Disneyland! We were younger then but it's funny to look back on now. But seeing as we are returning in a month for our one year wedding anniversary I think not all was lost :)
ReplyDeletePS I want that Lady and the Tramp tableau!!
Great shots! That look will go down in DL infamy.
ReplyDelete