Special Guest Photos
I am happy to present some nice photos from Ken Martinez's personal collection, featuring Disneyland at night. These are from 1995… check 'em out!
This first example is my favorite… what a beautiful image. It is bittersweet to see the now-gone Rocket Jets (which were removed in 1998), looking so awesome here. It was a rare rainy evening, as you can see by the clouds (and rain ponchos and umbrellas). The Coca Cola sign is still there (as Ken pointed out); and Space Mountain, which doesn't show up very often on this blog, looms in the distance.
Here's another beauty! We're on the Fantasyland side of the castle looking back toward the portal to Main Street USA. The lighting and color are great.
And finally, the castle as seen from the front. I am almost expecting fireworks, music, and maybe even a Tinker Bell fly-over!
THANKS to Ken Martinez for sharing these photos! There will be more neat stuff from him very soon.
12 comments:
Once again - Thank you Ken. All swell images; especially the Tomorrowland shot, with the cloud-filled sky all a-glow, as backdrop.
Thank you, Ken!
And another Thank you to the Maj for keeping up the delightful posts with renowned good nature. Never miss one =)
You don't see so many night shots prior to widespread use of the modern digital camera, so all the cooler. The castle still had subtle color too...
Wonderful nighttime shots, Ken! I especially love the photo of Tomorrowland BTRI (Before They Ruined It). It looks like there's a guest wearing a red, white and blue "Uncle Sam" top hat in the lower left corner of that shot. I'm guessing that it was purchased in the park, but I don't remember seeing them for sale. Thank you again, for sharing these with us. I can't wait to see more from your personal collection.
The lighting on the castle is absolutely surreal!
Nanook, I agree, that one is especially great!
Chiana, it's funny, just the other day I was thinking "Whatever happened to Chiana?". And here you are!
TokyoMagic!, it's funny, when I saw "BTRI", my brain started thinking "Big Thunder Railroad… something that starts with an "I"". That's not just somebody wearing and Uncle Sam hat, it actually IS Uncle Sam!
Melissa, all the castle shot needs is some fireflies. Or maybe a pixie.
I absolutely love night time photos. Particularly of Tomorrowland; the colors, the lights... it looks so inviting and interesting. And there's a whole lot to take in here from this angle.
Great photos!
Spectacular. Thank you, Ken. Very kind to share your memories. I sniffled a little at the Rocket Jets. Such a great picture.
JG
Nanook, That cloud filled sky brings back a lot of memories from that day. It was early summer and it rained off and on throughout the day. I remember watching the boats floating in the outdoor portion of the canals of "it's a small world" with all these passenger's umbrellas open. It was like the Small World boats had their own canopies (a sea of floating umbrellas).
Chiana_Chat, It's always great to hear from you. I do miss the more subtle colors of the castle. The Pepto-Bismo pink just doesn't do it for me.
TokyoMagic!, I’m glad you like these. I became less enchanted with Tomorrowland once they filled in the Space Stage with Captain EO and started changing the color scheme of the area shortly after the arrival of George Lucas. The striped PeopleMover vehicles didn't do it for me either. As you can see in this photo they already massacred the Rolly Crump designed Tomorrowland Terrace stage. What can you do!
Melissa, If you’re referring to the back view of the Castle, I agree about the color. It’s my favorite image out of this batch. Even thought it was taken in the mid-90s, it reminds me of the Disneyland I grew up with in the 60s & 70s.
Major, Again, thank you for allowing me to share my images and memories of Disneyland.
Tom, I used to love Tomorrowland in the evening back in the pre-Fantasmic! days. The western side of the Park quieted down and Tomorrowland became THE happening place at night. It had a sense of excitement about it.
JG, The loss of the Rocket Jets up on the elevated platform is definitely sniffle worthy.
Thank you all for the nice comments.
Ken - tried to post something similar to this the other night but it got lost in the ether.
Thanks for sharing these. They bring back some great memories of my APH days, when we were childless newlyweds and in the Park at least once every two weeks. My commander would call a "fire drill" every other Friday at 1500. We'd meet in the parking lot, account for everyone, and he'd say "see you Monday!" We'd be entering the gates no later than 5.
I remember this day clearly. The rain was very unseasonable, and the weather caught the shops off-guard. Without a ready supply of ponchos on-hand to sell as the skies opened, there were an awful lot of wet guests.
We had a pair of yellow Mickey Mouse ponchos that lived in our "Disneyland Backpack," always ready in case we wanted to ride Splash Mountain on a chillier day, and were prepared for the cloudburst. Unfortunately, that meant that almost every wet guest stopped us to ask where we had gotten them. There was universal disappointment - and occasional outright hostility - when we responded truthfully with "at Walt Disney World."
I love that nighttime photo of the Rocket Jets. The current set-up feels really strange on the ground and lacks the same excitement. There's something so great about that ride being up high over Tomorrowland, especially at night.
More great shots -- especially rare night pictures -- thanks for posting! The first pic of Sleeping Beauty Castle reminds me of "The Wonderful World of Color"... I half-expect to see a cartoon Tinkerbell setting off cartoon fireworks!
Unknown, we have Ken Martinez to thank for these great shots.
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