GDB Classics!
It's time for more repeats/classics… favorites of mine that deserve another look.
This photo (first posted in 2008) sure has some intense color - it resembles the saturated hues that one might have seen in a vintage guidebook. This cool aerial view of Fantasyland circa June, 1960 (taken from the Skyway, or maybe - less likely - the Matterhorn bobsleds) shows fun details including the Disneyland Railroad stopped at Fantasyland Station, the Midget Autopia, the Alice in Wonderland ride, Storybook Land, and more. That rather large area of trees and plants, right in the lower middle of the photo, is also something I'm not sure I've really noticed before.
Now we go to a photo from April of 1962 (originally posted in 2007), taken next to the Alice ride. There's mom, looking nice in her aqua sweater, while her three kids ride aboard a pink and purple caterpillar vehicle right just to her left. I love all of the colors and shapes - the Mary Blair leaves, the mushroom, the striped tent of the nearby eatery… so great.
And here's a photo from 1955… sometime within the first month of so of the park's opening. Notice that the Pirate Ship is still being worked on; the paint job is certainly incomplete at this point. That doesn't stop guests from being drawn to it to see what was going on. Who can blame them? I wonder what that giant yellow and blue drum was doing there?
I hope you have enjoyed these GDB classics!
7 comments:
Major-
Repeats or no - these images are just so much fun to view again and again: A pre-Skull Rock Fantasyland, but with a Midget Autopia; A family out for fun surrounded by Mary Blair goodness; and the Pirate Ship kinda in "dry dock".
Thanks, Major.
The Guy in the Red Jacket! I remember him - he stood out because of his clothing, his buzz cut, and the way he was spending time with his obviously much-younger siblings.
Note behind him in the second photo that the door to the Alice ticket booth is open; I wonder if it was air conditioned? Didn't remember that some of the round details on the sides of the mushroom were actually windows.
If I didn't like reruns, I'd never know about awesome shows like "Leave It to Beaver," "I Spy," and "My Mother the Car." Keep 'em coming!
@ Chuck-
I had no idea My Mother the Car was awesome. (I think most of the critics used another term-!)
What can I add about the first image? It's a beauty!
Lots of interesting stuff in the Alice in Wonderland image. The wavy uneven railing and aloe vera plants. The squiggly vine reaching for the sun just behind the mushroom ticket booth and next to it you can see Cinderella's Castle from Storybook Land peaking above the Fan Foods dining area. Even the tip-top of the Pirate Ship Restaurant is visible.
Is that a generator in the lower right corner of the Pirate Ship Restaurant image?
Repeats are nice and always welcome. Thanks, Major.
Nanook, I may have to "ramp up" the repeats! Every time I look at the remaining amount of unscanned slides, I get nervous. Glad you liked these today.
Chuck, yep, that guy showed up over 7 years ago! Hard to believe. I seriously doubt that the mushroom ticket booth was air conditioned, but don't really know for sure.
Nanook, I faintly remember watching "My Mother the Car" on daytime TV. I liked it, but then again, I was a little kid who was easily amused.
K. Martinez, I wonder when they added the lights that looked more like dandelion puffs (outside the Alice ride)? Those were my favorites! Yes, I do think that's a generator… those work crews needed lots of power (and they probably worked into the night).
Thanks Major,
I loves me some Midget Autopia. I have just a couple of memories of riding it, but always remember the basketball hoop above the door of the drive-through garage. Neat.
Major, you're right about that planter area. It is not often seen in pictures, not sure why that is.
Most of the Skyway pics are looking out and away, many are probably taken while right over the planter.
Anyway, I looked through my collection of aerial photos and it seems to be that big through at least 1965. There's a big gap in my aerials and it's gone by 1987.
There are some Daveland Skyway shots of IASW that seem to show a little of the trees below as late as 1975. It's surprising how hard it is to find photos of that spot. It appears to have a lot of umbrella tables for the snack bar close by. Must have been a great spot, nice and shady.
It's almost the exact location of the Mad Tea Party now.
JG
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