I have two more nice photos from The Magic Kingdom, back when it was brand new!
I find this view of Adventureland to be fascinating; it is so different from the familiar Anaheim version. The building to our left seems to have a kind of "Casablanca" vibe - does anyone know what was housed in this structure? Perhaps an animatronic Humphrey Bogart in a white dinner jacket? I also get a kick out of the girl "walking like an Egyptian", and the kid wearing his mouse ears, behind her.
Harper Goff really hit one out of the park when he designed Captain Nemo's "Nautilus" - it's about as cool as it gets. As much as I loved Disneyland's Submarine Voyage, there was a part of me that wished we had the 20K subs.
Of course what I really wish is that I could have been able to swim through the ride with a snorkel and mask!
Major-
ReplyDeleteThe "Casablanca" building is now operating as the Zanzibar Trading Company, which just happens to have "Arabian themed clothes, hats and gifts". Although I was there on several occasions in its early days, I'm afraid I can't remember what it must have been known as, back in the day. (I'm confident your WDW followers will know its early iteration).
As far as "walking like an Egyptian" is concerned - it's de rigueur for ALL guests to do just that while passing-through Adventureland. All those we see pictured here not walking as per orders, will be asked to leave.
You ain't kidding about the incredible work Harper Goff did with the Nautilus in WDW. The first time I laid my eyes on those stunning ships, surrounded in their own little world, I was completely taken-aback at all its beauty. Although it's hard to forget what was overheard on one of my journeys through the east coast version of "liquid space"... Seated next to me were a brother and sister - somewhere around the ages of 5 -7. After we had been underway for a couple of minutes the brother turned to her sister and stated: "Even the bubbles look fake-!" Well, you can't fool 'em all. Golly - I always thought they were real.
Thanks, Major.
Maybe the girl in the first pic is one of those school kids that's "so sick of books" and now that she's in the marketplace, she says "whey oh, whey oh!". Or something like that.
ReplyDeleteThe "Casablanca" building you mentioned in the photo housed "The Magic Carpet" shop back in the day.
ReplyDeleteAdventureland was my favorite theme area in WDW's Magic Kingdom. It far exceeded Disneyland's Adventureland on so many levels.
Love the 20K Nautilus subs but having experienced and seen both in person, I preferred the military gray subs of Disneyland's Submarine Voyage. But hey, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" is my second favorite Walt Disney live-action film after "Mary Poppins". I just thought the gray subs looked better in person than the 20K subs.
One of my sons just spent the weekend at WDW with relatives, and I think he'd be hard-pressed to recognize ANYTHING in these two photos other than the top of the castle peeking over the roof of the Adventureland Veranda. I'll have to ask him when he gets home.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, I recognize things in these photos, and that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks, Major.
These are some real beauties today, Major. Thanks as always! The early WDW Adventureland was always my favourite of the park's lands and, as I've no doubt written here on many occasions, the 20,000 Leagues lagoon made WDW's Fantasyland a far more interesting place thematically (in a similar manner to the pirate ship at Disneyland's) than it is today.
ReplyDeleteNice stuff from the Right Coast Park, Major. I know it's not on the coast but "bottom right hand portion of the country" is a little long. The bubbles are just perfect surrounding the sub in that first shot. They look like they're coming from the sub itself. And I never noticed that the guide channel for the Florida Park's version of the attraction has been hidden in an embankment )or something). Interesting.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Disneyland! (Grumble, grumble...)
Things change quickly these days, so who knows about today, but in 2010 they had some nice silver jewelry in that shop on the left. Also, one of the better hand-crank pressed penny machines. The decko inside was tied in with the Spanish colonial style of the Castillo Del Morro.
ReplyDeleteI agree that back in the day (early 1980's for me), WDW's Adventureland was one of the best parts of the park. I remember walking in and immediately being whisked away to another world that was impossible to believe was actually a part of our own. I probably could have spent a whole day just in that section.
Maybe Wilbur Robinson left the garage unlocked again and that little girl swiped the time machine. Her goal was to lay down some 80's dance moves on a 70's crowd.
ReplyDeleteSome further investigation is in order. All the cops in the doughnut shops sing whey oh, whey oh!
Love that pristine lagoon water!! Nice pics.
Welcome back @ Melissa ;-)
I think Egyptian-Walking-Girl is being mind-controlled by the long-haired sorceress in black directly to the right.
ReplyDeleteMELISSA! She is risen, HALLELUJAH! How are you? I didn’t tune in yesterday, so I missed your second coming, sorry! So did you decide to chime in after our mushy dialog the other day? We have indeed missed you, but its SO GOOD knowing you are still with us. Welcome home!
ReplyDeleteSo major, you mean I’m not the only kid who fantasized about snorkeling the Sub lagoon? I was also very covetous of the WDW rendition of this ride as a kid. My local library has the film with a bunch of bonus material; a good portion of it is devoted to Harper Goff. All the work he did designing the interiors and all, AMAZING! It terms of “retro design” he was way ahead of his time (if that makes sense). I can’t afford one, but I am always just so darn jealous of those guys who build those be model kit of the Nautilus, LOVE those things!
Nice stuff. Thanks Major!
TYPOS! TYPOS! TYPOS! I hate rereading my own posts!
ReplyDeleteMonkey Cage Kurt, I do typos all the time. In addition, I leave stupid comments. Your posts are fine. Who doesn't do typos? As for the Subs Lagoon, I just wanted to jump into it and swim.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a model kit, but I bought this Nautilus replica from Master Replicas about ten years ago. It's a nice one. It think it's about 31 inches so the photos are probably actual size. It's become one of my favorite Disney pieces I've purchased through the years. Lots of detail.
http://disneysub.com/mr/
Nanook, I figured that the building must house a shop of some kind, thank you for the exact info! I once tried walking like an Egyptian, but people thought I was walking like I was from the Lost City of Ur. The WDW Submarine attraction is stunning for lots of reasons, but seeing MULTIPLE Nautilus subs is one of the top reasons! Your story about the skeptical little kids is funny - when I took my then 8 year-old niece to Disneyland, she’d say, “That’s fake….. that’s fake… that’s real… (and so on)”. And sometimes the “real” things were animatronics.
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, “Walk Like an Egyptian” has a very catchy beat and melody, but yeesh, those lyrics!!
K. Martinez, I am not very familiar with Florida’s Adventureland… “Mr. X” says that he loves their Jungle Cruise. Just based on this photo, it is interesting how completely different it is from the Anaheim version.
Chuck, I’m sure things have changed a ton over the past 40+ years at the Magic Kingdom; I’ll have to do some Googling to see what Adventureland looks like now.
Pegleg Pete, you’re welcome! The 20K lagoon seems to be based on Peter Ellenshaw’s amazing renderings of “Vulcania” - very beautiful.
Patrick Devlin, now that you mention it, why IS the guide channel inside that raised “mini-berm”?? Did it enable them to make the lagoon deeper, since the subs themselves stuck to the shallower path?
Melissa, I have heard that some of the hand-cranked pressed penny machines have been removed, and now you are supposed to just buy pre-pressed pennies. Outrageous! I’m writing my Congressperson today. Right after I submit my “Laughter: The Best Medicine” submission to Reader’s Digest. So nice to hear from you again!
Alonzo, imagine how the amazing dance moves of today would be received 40 years ago. I’ve heard that the lagoon was kept clean and blue by using copious amounts of Ty-D-Bol toilet bowl cleaner.
Melissa, the long-haired sorceress can control me anytime.
Monkey Cage Kurt, we’re all glad Melissa is back! Yes, Harper Goff perfectly captured the cast iron-plated “sea monster” appearance of the submarine, looking both plausible and COOL. I have a small model of the Nautilus that I bought years ago, unfortunately it’s in a box somewhere.
Monkey Cage Kurt, welcome to my Hell!
K. Martinez, wow, a 31 inch Nautilus! Now THAT would be impressive. It sure looks amazing in the photos. Do you have it on display? The one I bought lights up - move the little dory on the top of the sub, and the “oculus” glows a mysterious blue. The one I have is 22 inches in length.
I've always admired the Nautilus-style subs, kind of disappointed they are gone.
ReplyDeleteAlways wondered about the load / unload sequence, surely those little round hatches are just for looks. Does some part of the Nautilus deck lift up to make a larger entry-exit opening?
Beautiful pictures today. Makes me wish I'd seen WDW.
JG
JG, there are (were) large hatches fore and aft. The forward hatch seam can be seen just above the waterline on the hull, below the "raker." The rear hatch is where the dinghy would be, behind the round hatch just aft of the dorsal fin.
ReplyDelete@ Ken, JEALOUS!!! JEALOUS!!! JEALOUS!!! JEALOUS!!! JEALOUS!!! JEALOUS!!! JEALOUS!!! JEALOUS!!! JEALOUS!!! JEALOUS!!! JEALOUS!!! JEALOUS!!! JUST JEALOUS!!!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that Master Replicas rendition! SO GORGEOUS!!! A friend of mine has that one. He has it in storage, what a waist! I been trying to barter artwork for it for years now, he almost gave in once.
I so regret never having had the opportunity to ride 20-K before they bulldozed it. Such a disconcerting notion that they would do such a thing. On the bright side, at least the Florida folk didn’t have to endure a “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Finding Dory ” conversion.
ReplyDeleteSteve, I'm drawing a blank - were the hinges on the amidship side of the hatches, opening away from the bow/stern? I'm trying to mentally open the bow hatch, and that seems to be the only way it would work.
ReplyDeleteYour insight serves you well. Bury your feelings deep down, Chuck. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the Emper ... Oops. Wrong post. Chuck, your insight serves you well as seen here.
ReplyDeletePatrick - Thanks. Wish you'd told me that before I kissed my sister and Dad cut off my hand (don't get me started on the messed-up interpersonal dynamics of my family, although my niece - or maybe it's my daughter - is kinda cute...).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to the photo. I know I saw the 20K subs in operation and even remember riding them, but that's not a detail my brain recorded (at least not consciously). Also - never noticed that little rear-view window on the back of the, um, whatever you call the equivalent of a conning tower on a Harper Goff-designed Victorian submarine.
@Steve Gaetano and the others, thanks. Makes sense now. Engineering conquers all.
ReplyDelete@Chuck, the little rear view window has a prominent role in the film, where (the Real) Nemo watches our heroes tied to the aft dorsal as the craft submerged.
JG
JG - Now that you mention it, I do remember that detail in the film. I wonder if the window was there on the Florida subs to more closely resemble its movie namesake, or because of an operational need to see to the rear while backing? Or maybe both? Even though there's no dinghy on the MK subs, the rear hatch was still shaped like a dinghy, presumably to echo the design of the Nautilus from the film (at least above the waterline).
ReplyDelete@Chuck, I'm sure the window was to match the movie model, could the subs even back up?
ReplyDeleteTrying to imagine that, hearing the OSHA "beep beep beep" with water in my ears.
JG
I think that at least the DL versions have to be able to back up to get out of drydock at the Navy Yard, er, Oceanographic Research Station. I don't know enough about the 20K layout to know if their drydock was on a spur line, too. Interestingly, the DL subs don't have a rear-view window, so I'm guessing they need a spotter and a radio, or at least two cans and a string.
ReplyDelete