Thursday, December 18, 2014

More Special Guest Photos!

Today I am sharing part two of some photos shared with GDB by reader Scott Heinz (who fights crime at night under the name "Alonzo P. Hawk"). They show scenes from the Christmas Fantasy parade from the late 1990's.

There are those goofy reindeer… they've been marching in Disneyland parades since the 1960's; I remember seeing them in commercials when I was a kid.


There's that jolly old elf himself, St. Nick! That sleigh is sort of hovering up high, I wonder how he got into it? Probably by magic.


Yay, Pinocchio! The star of my favorite Disney feature. I'm always happy to see Little Wooden Head.


A toymaker is a natural addition to a Christmas parade, and Geppetto is one of the best. His right arm is perilously close to that bladed propeller thingy - it's giving me the yips.


Scary giant dolls rampage down the street, terrorizing those children! I wonder if those kids are in the parade every day, or if they were picked out of the crowd and allowed to participate?


Mrs. Claus seems to be sitting in front of a Burtonesque machine that separates the naughty kids from the nice ones. I used to always worry, would Santa think I was nice?


"A" is for Ariel, the Little Mermaid herself. She's got gadgets and gizmos aplenty!


This float features a music box, complete with a pretty wind-up dancer. I think she's doing the Shmoney Dance! At least she's not twerking.


Hey, she's looking more or less in my general direction! I think she likes me!


The marching wooden soldiers are another classic feature of Disney Christmas parades, and are a perfect way to wrap things up. 


A BIG thanks to Scott Heinz for generously sharing his personal photos with all of us here on GDB!!

7 comments:

K. Martinez said...

These are the cool reindeer which were my favorite characters from the Christmas Fantasy parade. Now they've changed them and I don't care for the newer versions. These are all nice. Thanks for sharing, Scott.

Nanook said...

Alonzo & Major-

Thanks again, for sharing more Xmas images. Now I'm really in the Christmas spirit-!

Alonzo P Hawk said...

I always thought that Disney boosted the live music box girl (idea)from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
The movie that was not a Disney film but a lot of people think it was because of Dick Van Dyke and the Sherman Brothers score.

Anonymous said...

Nice shots Scott - thanks! And your work gave the Major a case of the yips, which is not covered with this year's flu shot so let's hope he recovers quickly.

Bill in Denver

Melissa said...

If his wooden block is to be believed, Gepetto attended the parade in the grips of the DT's. But don't all Disney parades look just a little bit like the DT's to begin with?

All's I know is, by the looks of their Pinnose-ios, those wooden soldiers have been lying to every girl in every port from San Diego to Shanghai. "Oh, no, baby, I don't have Dutch Elm disease - the Army vaccinates against that nowadays!" "Of course that's not a wedding ring; it's just one of the rings that says I was carved from a young tree!"

Major Pepperidge said...

K. Martinez, how have the reindeer been changed??

Nanook, these really make me wish I was at the park during the holiday season.

Alonzo, YES! I thought the same thing! I was disappointed to watch "Chitty" not that long ago, and discovered that it was so flawed. I loved it as a child.

Bill in Denver, ebola got all the press this year, while the Yips were ignored. Typical.

Melissa, aw, I don't like to think of Geppetto with the DT's. He's too nice. Hey, I never thought about how those soldiers resembled Pinocchio! Brilliant!

ZiggySquid said...

I was a reindeer that looked very similar to the one by Scott Heinz for the finale year of Fantasy on Parade in the winter of 1974 to January 1975 at Disneyland. The major difference costume posted in the picture is that they wreath around our neck did not contain bells and was much fuller. It brings back some wonderful memories. I also was a "cast member" in the inaugural year of the Disneyland Very, Merry Christmas Parade.