Monday, September 16, 2013

Parking Lot, early 70's

The Happiest Cars on Earth could once be found in the old parking lot (pre-California Adventure). "Darn it, Joan, I could swear that the front bumper of our car is curved upward at the outer edges". Their car is a Volkswagen named Herbie, for what it's worth. Hey, where do we catch one of those trams? This is going to be a helluva walk to the front gate from here. Maybe a good half mile. But even way out in the boonies we can see the futuristic Mark III Monorail zipping toward the Disneyland Hotel. We can also see the thrilling high-tension power line attraction. What a view you get from the top of those towers!


Ah, there's a tram. Good, my feet are already sore and I've only been walking for two minutes. One of the members of The Buffalo Springfield is putting on his hat so that people will recognize him - he loves the attention. 


14 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-
'For What It's Worth', I always had a special fondness for the Buffalo Springfield. (I'm guessing they never performed at the Park).

Thankfully, I have very happy feet at the moment.

Thanks, Major.

Nancy said...

"I am too tired to make it thru the gate..I'll wait here!"

What a trek that was.... :(

Alonzo P Hawk said...

Might these have been dated near Halloween? Reasons: Persons dressed in orange and black and or same color purse. Buffalo boy's goofy hat and boots. And the most telling. Paisley Paul (to bob's right) has a zombie head. I thought it was a cap a first but a closer look and it appears someone has dined on the top of his mellon. If he really is a zombie that would explain the fancy footwork. It is well known that until the Americans with disabilities act zombies were strictly banned from the parking lot trams.

Melissa said...

Follow the red pants woman,
Come on, baby, take my hand.
Follow the red pants woman,
Come on, baby, take my hand.
Follow the red pants woman
All the way to Disneyland.

Oh, it’s a cold and chilly morning,
And the tram’s nowhere in sight.
Got a bad sense of direction -
Can’t tell my left foot from my right,
So just follow the red pants woman
Like Rudolph’s nose on Christmas night.

Follow the red pants woman,
Underneath the power lines.
Follow the red pants woman,
Past the Ford Econoline.
Follow the red pants woman
Just don’t stare at her behind.

Anonymous said...

When that baby starts to strut
Everybody loves her, but
She looks like Helen Brown
She's the hottest gal in town
She knocks 'em dead when she's dressed red
But she looks like Helen Brown.

Bill in Denver

David said...

Major, you're captions make me laugh every single day. Thank you so much!

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I can't imagine an anti-Vietnam hippie group performing on the Tomorrowland stage!

Nancy, I hope you managed to catch a tram, though I know some people would just walk the whole way to show how tough they were.

Alonzo, I kind of doubt that these have any kind of Halloween connection. Orange was a big color in the early 70's (burnt-orange shag carpet!). Paisley Paul has already been seen in at least one photo, he's a relatively conservative older guy!

Melissa, we have to get Jimmy Fallon to sing this (his Jim Morrison impression is pretty amazing).

Bill in Denver, who is Helen Brown?

David, thanks for the compliment!

Tom said...

That first shot reminds me of an image I have from a distant memory I have of walking into the park after having driven down from Sacramento to Anaheim with my family in late 1969. The power lines, the Monorail, and especially the Disneyland Hotel in the distance - exactly as I remember seeing it.

K. Martinez said...

I was never a fan of walking through that parking lot at night to get back to my hotel/motel. I remember that being kind of creepy.

Major - The only Helen Brown I can think of who was relevant at that time was a Helen Gurley Brown who was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine and author of Sex and the Single Girl.

Melissa said...

Maybe the foursome in the second picture is an early prototype of the Cadaver Dans. They've worked in the frontier elements with the big guy's hat and boots, but left the stripes in on the redhead.

JG said...

"Oh, the Parking Lot, the everlasting Zone of Anticipation. The Gray Plain of Projected Pleasure. How can we praise you enough?"

I imagine Thufer and I pronouncing this in unison.

Silly to say you miss a parking lot, when it has since been filled with so many fun things. I think when we say we miss the parking lot, we are really saying we miss being young kids visiting Disneyland with our parents.

Because DCA really is better than a parking lot, and the new garages and trams are far better than the old ones. But I sure do still miss visiting Disneyland with my Mom and Dad and I regret that it all slid away so silently that I never noticed it happened until it was gone and I was old.

And I miss Thufer.

Thanks Major.

JG

Anonymous said...

Nothing remotely resembling Halloween costuming was allowed in the park back then.

I remember heated in-house arguments regarding the first Mickey's Trick or Treat in the late '70s. One needs to remember the evangelical Christian movement was hitting its (second? third?) stride of the '70s at that time, and park management was (rightfully) concerned that ANY kind of Halloween celebration would be seen as a salute to the supernatural (bad!).

Nunis tried a half-hearted "fun" Halloween event one year before handing the holiday back to Knott's. Disneyland's event was a bomb, so I doubt Knott's even noticed they were in competition that year.

Major Pepperidge said...

Tom, I have similar memories of the parking lot. The sounds wafting through the air (train whistles, monorail horns) were so amazing!

K. Martinez, I'm sure the lot was not a fun place at night - it really wasn't even that fun during the day, except that you were probably on your way IN to Disneyland. And oh yeah, Helen Gurley Brown, now I remember. I guess I needed that middle name.

Melissa, please tell me that the Dapper Dans become the Cadaver Dans in October.

JG, you are absolutely right about the parking lot… it was just a big place to park cars, but it took on a whole additional meaning when you are seven years old and this is your one trip to see Disneyland that year.

Anonymous, I seem to remember reading something that echoed your comment, and really, until very recently, Disneyland didn't do much for Halloween. It's a shame, but I suppose Disney would never do "SCARY" the way Knott's and Universal can.

Melissa said...

Melissa, please tell me that the Dapper Dans become the Cadaver Dans in October.

Only during the Halloween Party when they perform in Frontierland.

The Cadaver Dans sing "Ghost Riders in the Sky"
The Cadaver Dans sing "The Ballad of the Headless Horseman"