Today is the first day of the rest of your month. It is also the first day that I am sharing photos that are from one family's trips to Disneyland over various years, from around 1967 through to the early 1970's. There's a lot of them! And as I've said before (too many times), my appreciation for the Disneyland of the 70's has increased a lot.
Today we're over at the "It's a Small World" attraction, which I still love. Yes, even that song! For some reason it doesn't seem to drive me crazy the way it does for so many others. Maybe my IQ is too low? Even waiting in line is OK. The façade has so much going on, and the sight of the boats floating on that tourmaline-blue canal is wonderful.
Hi kids! Wave, damn you; wave like you never waved before.
Good grief, who put that train there? Somebody has some explaining to do. Looks like the Ernest S. Marsh chugging through. I love that the train passes right in front of everything, right in the midst of the action.
Major-
ReplyDeleteAs I've said before - on these very pages - the music from It's a Small World is a round, and as such must repeat and repeat...And as these things go, this music works quite well. But it clearly won't please everyone.
And - hey - just what's up with those folks who are 'checking-out' the foliage-? Didn't they get the message from America the Beautiful: "Please don't pick the flowers as we pass-!"
Thanks, Major.
Nanook, I don't know if those people are trying to check out the foliage, or if they are just trying to make the boat go faster so they can bump into the one in front of them. Those adults sure are teaching that little girl some bad habits. I wonder if she still has all of her fingers today?
ReplyDeleteWe know these photos were probably taken prior to 1975, because the Ernest S. Marsh still bears "Santa Fe & Disneyland RR" lettering on the tender (Santa Fe sponsorship of the attraction ended on October 1, 1974).
ReplyDeleteNanook, yeah, those people are definitely not following the rules. I wonder if the standard safety spiel (“Please keep your hands, arms, feet and legs inside the vehicle at all times…”) was being played for guests at that point?
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, that little girl was fine - until they went to the Los Angeles Zoo the next day. Sticking her hands into the tiger enclosure was her big mistake. Now she’s Stumpy McGee.
Steve DeGaetano, we also know they are pre-1975 because they are dated “July, 1972”! But I do always love seeing the Santa Fe logo (or name) - and miss it when it isn’t there in later images.
Ha! Major, I completely missed that in your headline!
ReplyDeleteNow the beautiful pictures have me remembering the smell of the water and the music from the speakers hidden in the well-manicured hedge.
ReplyDeleteMajor, I agree. The music not only doesn't bother me, I occasionally sing it around the house and drive my wife crazy. "There is just one moon, and one golden sun..." I have a very melodic singing voice.
The queue experience is also very nice, as you point out. Waiting outdoors with the periodic show from the clock is just fine, thanks. Much better than the dark underbelly of Star Tours, eurgh.
The last couple of trips, the line has been directed across to a series of platforms overlooking the water where the motorboats used to run. It's a very pleasant view and experience overall, even on a winter evening. Since the boat rides are "people-eaters", the wait is never very long anyway.
JG
At first I was wondering what "EOS" stood for; then I realized it was just a decorative shape in the landscaping.
ReplyDeleteI am a big old sap, because the it's a small world song never fails to choke me up at least a little.
Steve DeGaetano, it could happen to anybody!
ReplyDeleteJG, perhaps my fondness for the song goes back to my childhood, listening to the album narrated by Winston Hibler. I loved that thing so much! Now that I have an mp3 version I can listen to it whenever I want. I’m sure you have the high, clear voice of an angel! Gosh, I don’t recall the queue being routed over the old Motor Boat Cruise waterways… maybe I wasn’t paying attention?
Melissa, we all know that “EOS” stands for “Exalt Our Satan”. Just like “LOL” means “Lucifer Our Lord” and “ROFL” means “Rise, Our Father Lucifer”. It’s all so obvious!
"Lucifer Our Lord" and "Rise, Our father Lucifer". Ha, ha, ha, ha! I needed a good laugh. Coming here chases the blues away. Thanks, Major.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Count me among those who love the song "it's a small world".
JG, perhaps my fondness for the song goes back to my childhood, listening to the album narrated by Winston Hibler.
ReplyDeleteFor me it goes back to children's choir at church. Lots of music publishers and arrangers have capitalized on the song's copyright-free status over the years.
Major, the queue for IASW tends to only be extended over near the Motor Boat Cruise during the Christmas overlay on the attraction. At that time, the line gets long enough that they have to break it up and have part of it over in the terraced parade viewing area that was constructed for Light Magic years ago. From there, you can look down into the old Motor Boat Cruise waterways. Also, during the holidays, the area in front of IASW is usually "paved over" with thousands and thousands of strollers.
ReplyDeleteSecret messages spelled out in topiary? I just knew that the Disney company was evil.
@TM, that's exactly right. We were sent there during our visit in Dec 2015, and then again in March of this year. I didn't even know that area existed, it seems to be a parade watching area, but with a IASW related decorating scheme. A good use of space IMHO.
ReplyDelete@Melissa, I read that topiary as "E-O-3", if you enter that as a cheat code in Buzz Lightyear, you get unlimited points.
JG
I remember being deployed to Thailand on an exercise during my year as an APH, and there was a night market that operated right across from our hotel. I was strolling through one evening with some other members from my team when I heard an electronic version of that familiar tune being played somewhere. I hunted around the stalls until I found it, being played automatically as the demo song on an inexpensive plastic toy keyboard.
ReplyDeleteIt meant so much to me at the time, being both a symbol of home for a slightly homesick young man who hadn't quite been married two years and a larger symbol of the international friendship that we were trying to foster by being there in the first place. I walked through the market every night after that just to hear the song until I finally broke down and bought the darned thing. We still have it, and although the keyboard's range doesn't quite match that of the programmed song, a cherished memory of another memory.
And I have been known to sing the song from time to time, too, usually after someone discovers an unexpected mutual acquaintance...or when I want to drive my wife nuts.
@Chuck, that is a great story. I've never been in a stressful situation like you describe, but when I'm away from home for long periods, a talisman of home is very welcome. My iPod is filled with familiar, even maudlin, music to keep my mood up over long periods. IASW definitely qualifies.
ReplyDeleteJG