GDB pal Huck Caton has done it again, providing more fun scans of photos featuring Walt Disney at Disneyland. As far as I know, I haven't seen any of these before.
First up is this taken from atop the tender of the E.P. Ripley, as Walt points out some interesting features to two ladies. Imagine getting a personal tour on the train, with Walt! If anybody out there knows who the women are, please chime in. Are they wives of politicians? Residents of Marceline, Missouri?
Next is this wonderful photo featuring Walt (with Lilly right behind him), along with two of his grandchildren as they enjoyed a ride on the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland. I've seen other photos from this day, but I don't believe I've ever seen this one before. The delight on Walt's face is very evident!
Hey kid, keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times. Rules is rules.
This next one isn't from Huck, but I thought I'd include it (from the interwebs), since it shows Walt in the cab of a Mine Train, again with the grandkids.
The castle walk-thru, with wonderful scenes from "Sleeping Beauty", debuted on April 29, 1957. Here's a great photo of Walt (looking as pleased as punch) as he escorts some honored guests inside. Yes, those kids are honored guests...
... comparing the previous photo to this one, we can see Shirley Temple's son (Charles Jr.) wearing the same striped shorts, while older daughter Linda is wearing the same dress and pinafore.
Thanks to Huck for sharing more great photos!
Major-
ReplyDeleteIt's always great to see images of Walt in The park. Forget the women in the first image - are those some sort of vanity 'curtains' up there in the engine compartment-?? Hmmmm....
The waterfall at Cascade Peak looks awfully refreshing.
Thanks Huck for sharing these images.
Nanook, those are indeed curtains--the Holiday and the Marsh have them as well--very useful in keeping out the winter chill (Yes, even in SoCal it can get chilly at times!)
ReplyDeleteWow these are some great photos! Thanks to Huck and Major for sharing with us. Trains and Walt go together like peanut butter and jelly.
ReplyDeleteBut alas in today's world the peanut butter would be banned due to food alergies and the man with the lit cigar 10 feet from Walt's grand kids would be hung from the highest mast Columbia had to offer.
Orson Welles said having a major film studio at his disposal was like owning the "world's biggest electric train set", but clearly Walt Disney went him one better. Walt's proprietary pride is justified; many thanks for these photos Major, I've been smiling just looking at them.
ReplyDeleteYou really have to appreciate how Walt managed to make time out of his busy schedule to visit the park and mingle with guests like this. That's a personal touch that you rarely, if ever, see from a major CEO these days.
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome! I love seeing Walt enjoy his creation.
ReplyDeleteBut please, Mr. Disney! Hands, arms, feet and legs inside the ride at all times!
Nanook, never discount how “homey” some adorable curtains can be, even on a locomotive.
ReplyDeleteSteve DeGaetano, you’d think that the heat from the boiler would be hot enough to mitigate any chill, but clearly that isn’t the case.
Alonzo, luckily for us, we now all eat Soylent Green every day, and nobody is allergic to it. Just thinking about it is making me hungry.
Stefano, you really can sense Walt’s pride in his park - it’s kind of wonderful that it is so personal to him. Clearly this is why he wanted it to be clean and tidy, with no examples of “bad show” if it could be helped.
The Disney Dudebro, those two ladies in the first photo must have been special guests of some kind, but wow, can you imagine having Walt Disney as your personal tour guide??
Tom, I suppose if anybody can break the rules, it would be Walt!
Funny. The other day I was in the car with my 14 year old and a band called "Soilent Green" came on the sirius/xm radio. I then tried to explain the 73' movie. I can still see her make the gag reflex motion as soon as I told her Soylent Green is people! Good times.
ReplyDeleteI do love that first photo.
ReplyDeleteI always found it fascinating that in those early years, there was nothing covering those curved steam pipes seen in the cab--they're bare metal. At 125 pounds of boiler pressure, the temperature of the steam in those pipes--and the pipe metal itself--is about 345 degrees F! In the close confines of those cabs, I imagine burns were pretty common.
Nowadays, the pipes are wrapped with a plaster gauze material that is applied wet, and hardens into a pretty good insulator.
Who is the engineer waving at??
In that second to last pic, you can see part of a large ribbon on either side of the doorway. I bet Shirley Temple had just cut it. (The ribbon!) Now the important question is, was the ribbon pink or blue?
ReplyDeleteHey, he's pointing with one finger instead of two! Any tenderfoot Cast Member knows that's a "don't!"
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, it's practically impossible to not feel happy seeing the expression on Walt's face.
Alonzo P Hawk, well, according to the advertisements, Soylent Green is made from plankton from the sea. What could be more healthful?
ReplyDeleteSteve DeGaetano, do you know if those original DLRR operators were often actual old-timers from real railroads? If so, maybe they had no problems after years of dealing with the real deal. I’m sure that’s also why you see them with those long-sleeved denim shirts, and also gloves. At first I thought that the engineer was reaching up to ring the bell or blow the whistle, but there doesn’t appear to be anything for him to pull on!
TokyoMagic!, I wonder if there are any color photos from this event?! If so, I can’t find any.
Melissa, I’m sure that two-fingered point was thought up by someone like Van Arsdale France or Cecily Rigdon. Walt didn’t need to adhere to that policy!
Major,
ReplyDeleteYes, many of the original DRR engineers and firemen had previous steam experience on real railroads.
What a great collection of images! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete