It's a Small World, April 1969
Today's photos aren't too bad, though the gray sky seems to drain much of the fun and color from these scenes.
Still, ya gotta love a shot of the #3 locomotive, the "Fred Gurley" (they should rename it the "Fred Grandy") as it passes by (and even through) parts of the massive façade of "It's a Small World". When I build my mansion it is going to have plenty of spinny, whirly bits, just like IASW.
Yeesh, the lack of sun makes those white panels look like they could use a squirt of 409, even though the ride was only about 3 years old at this point. Even the gold-plated pieces (yes, real gold!) look brassy and cheap. Don't worry, Small World, the sun is never gone for very long in Anaheim - you'll be back to your glory in no time.
9 comments:
I like the angle of the first shot with the Fred Gurley passing through. IASW has one of the best attraction facades every created for a Disney Park. Thanks, Major.
I also like that first angle. That shot must have been taken from an IASW boat as it was exiting the show building. I noticed the arch that the train is passing under isn't "blackened" yet. I wonder if it takes more than three years to get it stained, or if over the years, they just got lazy about cleaning off the exhaust(?).
TokyoMagic: I have a feeling over time they became less diligent at keeping it cleaned of train soot. Florida had s similar problem the the WEDWAY overpass crossing the Walt Disney World Railroad - the solution was to paint a color pattern of various blues starting with a dark blue so dark it appears black - the colors lighten as they move away from the center where the locomotive stacks pass under.
You know, that problem would go away if they would just convert the locomotives to clean-burning nuclear power.
1969, the year man first walked on the moon, and Woodstock changed concerts forever. And yet Disneyland remained the beautiful constant that it is. IASW is one of the most iconic attractions in the Park. @Ken, I love the the Fred Gurley scan as well, too cool. Don't worry, the sun will come out tomorrow! They should write a song about that. The Fred Grandy huh? They could then call it The Love Loco!
Thanks to Major P.
Gray skies are gonna clear up;
It's a small world after all.
Brush off the clouds and cheer up;
It's a small world after all.
Take of the gloomy mask of tragedy;
There's much we share.
You'll look so good that you'll be glad
That it's time we're aware!
Pick out a pleasant outlook,
It's a small world after all.
Wipe off that full-of-doubt look,
It's a small world after all.
And spread sunshine all over the place-
It's a small world after all!
I had no idea that the steam train passed so close to the It's a Small World facade! Both of these shots are absolutely wonderful for me, because I've only gotten to see the real thing once and these both have tons of really clear detail you can zoom in on.
K. Martinez, I agree, that is the most interesting of the two. Who doesn’t love the trains? I just wish that it hadn’t been such a gray day.
TokyoMagic!, funny, I also noticed the lack of soot on that archway. My guess is that it wouldn’t take too long for the exhaust to start to darken the paint, so perhaps they really were better at keeping it nice and white.
Mike Cozart, I suppose that using a darker paint color is one solution. Can’t all of those smart (highly paid) people figure out some way to keep it white and clean??
Chuck, finally, an idea that just makes sense!
Jonathan, I was going to make a joke about the moon landing being a hoax, but the fact that people actually believe that made me change my mind. Ha ha, at first I wondered if I accidentally wrote “Fred Grandy” instead of “Fred Gurley”. Did you know that Fred Grandy played Adrienne Barbeau’s boyfriend on “Maude”?
Melissa, I have managed to sync your song up to “The Wizard of Oz”! It was very groovy. Today’s photos were taken by Fun Dad, he loved the façade - I have at least three or more pictures from him - you’ll know every inch of it when we’re done.
Although we have seen hundreds of IASM photos you have to admit Fun Dad did get an interesting angle!
I'm glad that Fun Dad loved IASW so much, it's a great facade for details. Even after years of admiration, most of it is still just a blur to me. I can pick out some global landmarks, but mostly it's just a fine symphony of delicate 60's design that could never be repeated in the same way.
The trains running through it are just another great example of the distinctively 3D approach of the best Disney design, where seemingly every attraction becomes the backdrop and enhancement of every other. Nature's Wonderland was a great example, where the desert and backwoods became a part of the mules, wagons, two train rides, and the River.
There's much less of this these days, I put some of it down to lack of creativity on the designer's part, and the rest is probably that it is harder to change, re-theme or remove attractions that are closely integrated with one another (People Mover). Example in point; Bug's Land will be quickly erased for some Marvel CU thing that will be gone in it's turn in a few years after the Next Big Thing is decreed.
That spot is still soiled with smoke, at least as of 2016. I don't think there is any substitute for periodic cleaning and re-painting, although the coatings have improved dramatically since the '60's.
Thanks Major.
JG
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