Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Piggies and Teacups, August 1961

You never know who you might see at Disneyland; celebrities of all stripes like to have fun, just like us mere mortals. Sure, it's nice to see somebody like Sammy Davis Jr., or Debbie Reynolds; but I like the real stars, like the two little piggies seen here. Apparently the BBW has eaten one of the pigs, and he looks mighty satisfied. Mmmm-mmmm! Smokey.

To our right is the Carrousel, I wonder if they were about  to board for a spin? In the background is a cute little ticket booth, and behind that is the neat, medieval-looking clock - a detail that I think a lot of people didn't notice.


Our photographer tried to capture a little bit of everything in this shot; the Skyway, Monstro, Skull Rock, the Pirate Ship, and the Teacups. That's a lot of stuff crammed into a relatively small space!


14 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

These little piggies went to Fantasyland. The other little piggy stayed home. These little piggies had Welch's grape juice bars. The other little piggy had none. :-(

Nancy said...

I am among those who never noticed the clock before...its beautiful! it is the first thing I noticed on this view, however.

I love the view of Fantasyland; Skull Rock is really in perspective here. I always thought it was REALLY big, (not like Spaceship Earth big lol, but you get the idea) and you can see here that it is not.

huh, that two things I learned today, and now school's out for summer! :-)

Melissa said...

I love the shadow of the Carrousel on the pavement in the first picture. (And the third Little Pig is obviously hiding in the trash can.)

K. Martinez said...

So much original Fantasyland goodness here. I love the simplicity of the stone grey brick wall contrasting with the intricate beauty of the clock above the Tinkerbell Toy Shoppe. The Central Ticket Booth looks very similar to the ones used in WDW's Fantasyland. And when it comes to the costumed characters outside the Fab Five, nothing beats the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf in my book. I love the candy-striped lampposts that are part of the Mad Tea Party. Thanks, Major.

Melissa, the third Little Pig in the trash can might be looking for his discarded pants after management informed him that going bottomless in the Park was not allowed.

Chuck said...

Nancy - You aren't alone in never noticing the clock before. In fact, I was completely disoriented as to where that photo was taken until Ken's comment above.

The great irony for me here is that I just looked at photos from my 2009 visit, and I apparently deliberately took a picture of it. And yet it made no lasting impression. I wonder what else I'm missing? After this, I wouldn't be surprised if you showed me there's a medieval castle smack dab in the middle of the Park.

Alonzo P Hawk said...

Wow the photographer did get everything in the second picture. Looks like he even caught Pollyanna having a whirl on the teacups.

Major Pepperidge said...

TokyoMagic!, a ice cold grape juice bar sounds pretty good on this muggy Wednesday!

Nancy, I think a lot of people imagined that Skull Rock was huge; in my memory, it was certainly larger than in reality. Maybe because I was a little kid?

Melissa, those pigs, always hiding in trash cans!

K. Martinez, wouldn’t that wall look better if it was pink? I am surprised that the ticket booth resembles anything at WDW, they look very charming and “1950s” to me. I would expect something a little more modern for the Florida park.

Chuck, to be honest, I didn’t really notice the clock until I saw a piece of early artwork by Sam McKim showing that very corner (in The E-Ticket Magazine, I think). His drawing looks very much like the finished product, including the clock! The medieval castle you are thinking of was at Nara Dreamland.

Alonzo, he got a bit of everything, but it’s not the greatest photo! Pollyanna seems like the kind of gal who would enjoy the teacups.

Melissa said...

I found the third pig

Anonymous said...

LOL, the missing pig appears to be "Fifer", or as I call him, the "Stick Pig" due to his building material choices. He would be an ideal choice for a BBQ since the fuel is all right at hand. I'll bring the sauce, you bring the beer.

The clock is above the Welch's Juice Bar location, and I think it's still in place there today.

This clock, and the one over the Fantasyland Skyway bucket entrances had some very elaborate astrological symbols, almost Masonic or Illuminati in style. Reminds me of the Proctor and Gamble logo when everyone thought they worshiped Satan. Did I just imagine that last part?

Cool pics, Major.

JG

Anonymous said...

Whoops, I guess the Skyway element wasn't a clock, more like a round wall painting.

As usual, Daveland has a great picture >> http://davelandweb.com/skyway/images/2000/DSC_0056.jpg

Anyway, clearly from the same school of thought, even the same hand...

Thank you, Major.

JG

K. Martinez said...

JG, Welch's Grape Juice Bar was located in between Snow White's Adventures and Fantasyland Theater as seen in link below(look for the grape shield). The Juice Bar was a casualty of the New Fantasyland in 1983.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/bananaphone5000/GoGoGorilla5/10-72-Carrousel_zps3421dd22.jpg

In the same photo the clock appears above the Tinker Bell Toy Shop in between Sleeping Beauty Castle and Snow White's Adventures.

zach said...

I'm glad Melissa found the third pig. I was afraid he was on the ground behind the BBW being kicked right in the bacon by the boy in the white shirt.

Major Pepperidge said...

Melissa, awesome!

JG, I can never tell which pig is the Fifer, and which is the Fiddler. When you look at the original Silly Symphony, they look quite different from the costumed characters! Yes, as far as I know, the clock is still there, unless it was removed fairly recently (which I doubt). I remember that whole Proctor and Gamble with the “moon and stars” logo. So ridiculous.

JG again, ah, I see what you mean, It does look like a clock, only with astrological signs. Not sure what that has to do with a Swiss chalet, but it still looks cool.

K. Martinez, thanks for the link to the photo; I wonder if Welch’s was “pushed out”, or were they ready to stop their sponsorship anyway? There’s just something about cold grape juice on a hot day…

David Zacher, Melissa has sharp eyes. And Photoshop skills!

Anonymous said...

Ah, it's been so long, I've forgotten. Sigh.

JG