Random Stuff, October 1961
If you love bad photos of Disneyland, then today's your lucky day!
In this first one, Tomorrowland is behind us (because who wants to take a picture of that place?), Frontierland is in front of us, but mostly there's a whole lotta flowers. At first I thought they might be poinsettias, but that would kind of odd for October. Who am I, Mr. Flower-knowing Guy? All I do know is that they are very red. This is where the "Partners" statue would eventually go. I'm not crazy about it, but nobody asked me, for some reason.
Look out! Those sparrows look rabid!
There they are: swans. "Chickens of the Moat". Roasted, baked, broiled or fried, they are delicious. If only I could somehow have music by Swans (the band) play automatically, I would. Unfortunately most of my audience would leave GDB forever.
8 comments:
Major-
You wouldn't think the bed of vermillion-colored flowers would be poinsettias in October, but in the Disneyland World of Flowers book, by Morgan Evans, he does indicate thru the wonders of chemistry, they were able to 'stunt' the growth of some specimens that normally grow to 10-15 feet in height, creating a red carpet of the red flower, which they can easily display in the southern California climate for six or seven months out of the year. Maybe they began earlier that year-??
And what's not to like about an unusual view of the SBC moat, complete with both color swans-? Works for me.
Thanks, Major.
Those plants in the first pic might be begonias. If Disney isn't careful, that vine in the second pic might take over the Castle wall. Oh wait, it did. And that Castle bridge is just begging for a railing on top of it to keep those people from falling in. Oh wait, it has one.
I'm no fan of the "Partners" statue either, but I did like the vines growing on the Castle wall. It was certainly better than Barbie's Dream Castle. Thanks, Major.
Nanook, I know so little about flowers, for all I know, poinsettias can bloom any time of the year. Or are they really more of a cold-weather plant? If only there was a tool that enabled me to look up such things! The problem is, my interest in poinsettias kind of stops right at the end of this sentence.
TokyoMagic!, begonias? I think they are petunias! I thank goodness that I no longer have to worry about falling into the moat - I would break out into a cold sweat every time I crossed that bridge.
K. Martinez, listen, now that Barbie has been in the Toy Story movies, she is part of the Disney family, so there is nothing wrong with a “Barbie pink” castle.
Major, your audience, including me, is interested in any pictures of Disneyland, good or not, we don't care!
Poinsettias are tropicals that happen to bloom in our Christmas season. They require a warm climate to grow outdoors unprotected and bloom (warmer than Orange County). Poinsettia hedges are common in Hawaii, Mexico and similar tropical climates. A mass planting like the one in the picture would have to be all greenhouse forced and eventually temporary, even if Disney wouldn't change it all out after the holiday. The plants might survive, but would be very unlikely to develop the characteristic red bracts (modified leaves, not petals, the actual blossoms are the tiny yellow things in the centers) in the OC climate. I got poinsettias to bloom in a greenhouse one year, but it was too much work. They get leggy and odd-looking when it isn't hot and humid enough for them.
Did the swans have platforms in the water once upon a time, or am I hallucinating? I thought this was because their food was being stolen by squirrels or some other vermin? Maybe i'm crazy. Most real castle moats would be too filthy for even swans to live in.
Also I think I remember hearing at some point that swans were delicacies to Henry VIII or someone like that, so I will always call them "Chickens of the Moat" and only eat them as salad in little triangular sandwiches with tiny sword toothpicks in them.
Also, on my visit a couple of weeks ago, the castle colors were toned down somewhat, but there were shingles with rhinestones added to the blue roof areas. I am coining the term "blingles" for shingles with rhinestones and all of you may use it.
Thank you Major for these terrible wonderful photos.
JG
Bingles and swan salad!
JG, I have learned more about poinsettias in one paragraph than I have in my lifetime! A Poinsettia hedge sounds pretty spectacular. There were boxy things in the moat, but I guess I never put it together that they were platforms for the swans, though that makes sense. Squirrels… basically rats with fluffy tails! Disneyland’s moat is actually part of a moving water system so that it doesn’t get too nasty, as I’m sure you’re aware. I read in some book about “swan roasted in its own plumage” - not sure how that was accomplished without winding up with a disgusting mass of burnt feathers, but Rachel Ray probably knows the secret. And yes, the castle colors do seem to be less intense - a slight improvement. I’ll take it! “Blingles”, perfect.
Patrick Devlin, with a side of coleslaw!
Major, re "swan roasted in its own plumage", I remember having had a similar dish, roasted pheasant in plumage. Rachel Ray wasn't born yet at that time.
The process involves skinning the bird, roasting it and then re-dressing in the feathered skin to replicate the bird for presentation. Maybe this is what your book is referring to?
Pheasant is similar to turkey, only more gamy. We saw the feathered bird on the presentation table, but the plates the waiters passed around had only sliced meat on it. Did not see a carving operation, so it might be that they use the same stuffed pheasant for every banquet and keep it in the closet between dinners, next to the coleslaw and blingles.
JG
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