Huck Returns!
Long-time readers of GDB are familiar with Huck Caton, who has contributed many wonderful images for everyone to enjoy. Well, Huck is back, and this time he is sharing some beautiful photos that he took back on April 18th, 1995. That was a Tuesday, just two days after Easter, and from the look of things, it was a beautiful day.
I'll be posting these in a random manner; let's start out with this nice shot of a sign outside Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room - sponsored by Dole, which has sponsored the attraction since 1976. As you can see, Uti (the Goddess of fishing) was still there on her outrigger canoe, which is very cool. By January 2000 she was removed after a collapse due to poor maintenance (and she eventually vanished mysteriously). She was designed by Rolly Crump, and the sign also has a very Crumpish face painted on it.
Here's a very unusual angle looking at the load area for the Canoes - clearly not in service in the off-season of April. It is swell to see a Keel Boat still on the river! Across the water is a pre-"Pirate's Lair" Tom Sawyer Island.
And lastly (for today), here's a shot of Sleeping Beauty Castle as seen from Fantasyland's courtyard. That castle needs to be much more pink! To the right we can just see a guest entering the doorway that led to the inner passageways where the dioramas featuring scenes from Sleeping Beauty could be seen. The castle walk-thru was closed in 2001, but was restored and reopened in November of 2008, better than ever. It's one of my favorite things at Disneyland.
Many thanks to Huck! Stay tuned for more from him in future installments.
14 comments:
Major-
The shot from the load area for the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes is most unusual. And unless my bearings are sorely off, that doorway in the Sleeping Beauty Castle should lead guests to the Enchanted Chamber Store.
Thanks to Huck for sharing these great images.
Nanook, in 1995, the Castle Christmas Shoppe was located in that space. I think we can even see a Christmas tree just inside the doorway (unless that's a concrete pylon for the Monorail!) and some kind of garland hanging above both doorways.
I miss Uti! And her outrigger!
Also....there are more small strollers visible in that third pic. The SUV strollers hadn't taken over the park. Maybe they hadn't even been invented yet? And that lady in the faded jean shorts looks like she might be waiting for her frozen banana to thaw.
Looks like the old color scheme for the SBC brick work was still there in 1995. I take it that SBC had it's major revamp shortly after 1995. Maybe 1996? I remember around that time they redid the castle by changing the brick coloring as well as adding stone squirrel water spouts to the front of the castle plus other little touches which made the castle look different from its old self.
A big thank you, Huck! And you too, Major!
Great shot of the castle. K., we were there in May, '96 and if I remember right, the castle still had the old color scheme. Must have changed right after that. And it looks like hiking boots were popular with the frozen banana quartet.
I agree with TM about the small strollers. Nowadays they fold down to nothing for ergonomic storage perfection. Plus they have the "dead beat seat" behind the rider for lazy older children. Back in my day if you got tired from walking all day you'd get a poke from behind to keep moving. It was like the Midget Bataan Death March with all the kids stumbling around.
Love the tiki sign! Nothing like an ice cold Dole Whip to get the nasty Easter Ham taste out of your mouth!
Huck, thanks for sharing. Major, thanks for posting.
Alonzo, you just brought up something (else) that I have been wondering for a while. When were Dole Whips introduced at the park? I remember the days when that Dole Juice Bar sold only pineapple juice and fresh pineapple spears on a stick. I just can't remember when they first started selling the Dole Whips.
Nanook, even as I was typing that sentence about the walk-thru entrance, I thought, “I should really look at the larger image and not just the thumbnail”. But did I listen? NO!
Tokyomagic!, you know it’s good when they spell it “shoppe”. It is the mark of class and quality.
TokyoMagic!, those look like the kind of strollers that guests can rent from the park. I’m sure that those giant examples were around by ’99!
K. Martinez, yes, those multicolored bricks are odd. I get that variation is supposed to feel more natural, but they took it to the extreme.
DrGoat, don’t people still wear those? “Street hikers” or whatever they were called?
Alonzo, instead of strollers the park should provide electric cattle prods. Nasty Easter ham? You should have Easter lasagna like I do.
TokyoMagic!, it seems like Dole Whips have been around forever - I like them because they are cold, but they have an artificial taste. In a way I’d rather just have a real pineapple slushie if such a thing existed.
TokyoMagic!, looks like 1986 was the year.
http://laist.com/2016/04/26/the_history_of_dole_whip.php
I miss this Disneyland. In fact, I was there the Friday before this was taken.
I've only encountered Dole Whip at four locations on the planet - at Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room, the Aloha Aisle in WDW's Adventureland, the Dole Pineapple Plantation on Oahu, and Jacky's Depot in Maumee, Ohio. From personal experience, I can confirm that I find them delicious regardless of the setting (although eating one in a former Midwestern interurban depot does result in a cognitive dissonance that can only be resolved by a second Dole Whip).
K. Martinez, in a way, that makes 1986 as significant as 1959 in Disneyland History.
Chuck, that’s kind of cool that you had just been there a few days earlier! I know I’ve heard about other places that folks can get a Dole Whip - and supposedly you can even buy the mix, if you happen to have a soft-serve ice cream machine. Which I do.
Chuck, We've had a Dole Whip stand up here at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for quite a while now, but it never seems crowded as there are so many other food outlets at the Boardwalk to compete with. I still want to try the deep fried peanut butter & jelly sandwich here.
Ken, you had me at "deep fried."
Thanks for the info and that link, Ken!
I remember seeing "Dole Whip" for sale in an ice cream shop in Hollywood about 4 or 5 years ago.
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