More Instamatics From Mr. X !
Mr. X has done it again! He found another batch of Instamatic negatives dating from the 60's - photos that he took himself as a teenager - and he gave them to me! Can you believe it? There are about 37 new images - I've already shared hundreds of photos from X over the years. Unfortunately I don't have dates on any of them, but I would guess that they are generally from around 1967 or 1968.
Let's begin with this lovely shot from New Orleans Square - it's an unusual angle, I can't think of another photo in my collection that shows the French Market from this perspective. The building itself is very nice, with beautiful colors and tasteful signage. Two tour guides are heading in for a bite to eat!
And of course we have the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship with my favorite mermaid (sorry, Ariel!) pointing her scepter skyward (toward the tuna gods?). I always like it when the ship's sails are unfurled. I also like being able to see the dining area in the back - in this case the pirates have used some spare sailcloth to provide shade.
I almost didn't post this one, but as my family crest says, "What the heck!" (or "Quid heck" if we're using the Latin). We've just been launched from the Skyway chalet in Fantasyland, and Mr. X tried to capture a picture of Casey Jr. passing below, but life moves too fast. If only a one-way trip on the Skyway had taken an hour, that would have been perfect, and there is nothing wrong with that idea at all.
Stay tuned for more photos from Mr. X!
20 comments:
Major-
"Unusual angle", indeed. Actually - all of the images are a bit unusual. And for this bunch of folks, a real treat.
Thanks to Mr. X & you.
In that first pic, someone is having a "portrait in pastel" done of themselves, for only $2.59.
In the New Orleans Square image, the storefront to the left of The French Market entry was originally designated to be a “Praline Candy Shop” but for whatever reason it was never fully opened up and was only used as a false-front display window. The pralines were available via two umbrella covered carts.
New Orleans Square was for so long such a richly developed theme land and very authentic. With its original stone sidewalks , horse hitching posts , courtyards and its historically correct architecture. But in just the last several years so much of it has been degraded with shopping center like facade renovations , removal of details and is now used as Club. 33 members only use and projection and sound “towers” for Fantasmic .
It’s sad when Tokyo Disneyland’s New Orleans Square section in Adventureland looks more like original Disneyland’s New Orleans Square THAN ORIGINAL DISNEYLAND. Same situation with Hong Kong Disneyland’s MAIN STREET USA -it looks more like original Disneyland California’s early MAin Street USA than the California park does today.
I'd forgotten that little detail of the flags of the three nations that have owned New Orleans. As JG noted yesterday, Disneyland had great flag hygiene in those days.
The cost of that caricature works out to something between $18.39 and $19.64 in today's dolars, depending on what month & year that photo was taken. I think our local Six Flags charges around $20 for a caricature today, so there's something whose cost has stayed about the same. I wonder what Disneyland charges today for one of these...or do they even offer these anymore?
Note that the front door of the pirate ship's forecastle is open, but another door inside seems to be open. Anyone know what was up there? All the photos I can find from the other side show the connecting door to the guest-accessible deck area to be closed.
Although that photo of Casey, Jr. is much like many of my own action photos (particularly of fast-moving kids), it does provide a view of the locomotive I've never seen before. It clearly shows that the smokestack isn't hollow and doesn't really exhaust and steam or smoke.
For visual and aural atmosphere, the French Market is my favorite restaurant. All three images today offer some unique views. Very nice! Thanks, Major.
Great snaps today, I too loved it when the Pirate Ship sails were full. New Orleans Square and the street artists kinda went well together. My friend Natalie had hers done there. Does anyone know when the Skyway gondolas changed? That looks like the old bucket style in the Casey Jr photo. Thanks to Major and Mr X for these fine scans.
Is the last photo reversed? My recollection is that the walkway leading to the chalet should be to the right of Casey.
@ JC Shannon-
1965 saw the introduction of the ‘rectangular’ buckets.
My goodness, pics of my two top favorite restaurants in Disneyland, from different and interesting angles.
The French Market shot is definitely an early one. I don't know when the present domed entry vestibule was added, but this photo shows it was a remodeling.
Agreeing with Mike Cozart, so much of the original careful, good detailing has been overrun by ordinary design. It's really a shame, but no one to rein it in.
Clearly, Casey's smokestack is designed for cartoon smoke, which produces no soot.
Major, I'm agreeing with Anonymous 1 here, I think the Casey pic is reverse-read.
Thanks for a great Friday interlude.
JG
Nanook, I was pretty thrilled when Mr. X told me that he had more Intamatic negatives for me!
TokyoMagic!, I give pastel portraits of myself to all of my friends and family, and even strangers. It’s the perfect gift.
Mike Cozart, I assume that the unused store space was used for some other purpose relating to the French Market? Until you mentioned the NOS in Tokyo, I did not know that they had an exact copy of the original Disneyland version. Wouldn’t it be amazing to go see that! It is a bummer that our own NOS has been altered and chopped up without the same rigorous attention to detail that was used.
Chuck, “flag hygiene” makes me think of people using flags for yucky things. Ah, those classic amusement park caricatures… my sister had one ( I forget which park it was from ) that had her carrying a tennis racquet and running in the direction of an arrow-sign that said “BOYS”. I wonder if that door behind the forecastle door is from an open storage closet? Perhaps if it was closed we would have seen right through the opening. You’d think that the Casey Jr. stack would still be made from a piece of metal tubing and would be hollow, even if it didn’t have to vent any exhaust - the photo is too blurry for me to really be certain of what is going on there.
K. Martinez, there’s more to come, I’m happy to say!
Jonathan, I believe that the rectangular Skyway gondolas were introduced in 1965, though I am not 100% certain. I think we might actually be seeing the thick fiberglass edge of a gondola in photo #3, even though it resembles the curved “safety bars” of the earlier buckets.
Anon, I believe you are correct! Mr. X cut all of his Instamatic negatives into separate pieces instead of the usual strips of 4 or 5, so I must have accidentally flipped that one while scanning it.
Nanook, I should have read ahead, but it’s nice to have my guess confirmed!
The French Market was my go-to lunch destination when I was in my 20s. Great location and I remember the food was pretty good. Also you might be entertained with a Dixieland band. Before that in my early youth it was Carnation Plaza Gardens for hamburgers...No time to eat...must get in line for POTC!
Nope, the negative isn't flipped. Casey should be on the right. I verified it by re-watching a video I took in 1992. The scene is almost duplicated, the train is coming from the right and passing under the skyway car. I'd post a screen grab but it doesn't work as an attachement.
Major, I don't think that last photo is flipped. The rockwork for the cave should be to the right of the train (as shown). The train is rounding the last corner and coming into the loading area. And the walkway for the Skyway should be to the left (as shown). Here's a pic of yours from 2015 that shows the Skyway exit path and stairs to the left of the Casey Jr. tracks. You can see the same lamppost in both pics and even the same rock at the base of the lamppost. Skyway Exit Path
Oh...and Major, Mike is right about Tokyo Disneyland's New Orleans section. Here is a shot of theirs: Tokyo New Orleans Area
And another one, showing the front of their Blue Bayou Restaurant: New Orleans Blue Bayou
JG, in all my years of going to Disneyland, I never had a favorite place, really. It was mostly about getting some fuel in my belly before heading out into the fray again. I’ve always wanted to eat at the Blue Bayou just because it is beautiful. The French Market and Cafe Orleans would be great too, no doubt! As for the classic designs being overrun, I honestly do believe that most guests don’t care or don’t pay attention enough to even notice. And yes, I think that Casey pic is flipped. Or is it flopped?
Anon, yes, I have photos of the Straw Hatters performing for diners at the French Market, that would be awesome. Carnation Plaza Gardens, I completely forgot about that!
MRaymond, wow, I totally agreed with the opinion that the photo was flipped, so now I am so very very dizzy. I need to go to YouTube!
TokyoMagic!, that’s two for and two against! Far be it from me to doubt your knowledge of Disneyland. I barely remember anything as far as details such as the ones you mentioned. Thanks for the link to that photo!
TokyoMagic!, wow, what a trip to see that other New Orleans Square! It looks beautiful. I need to go there!
Thanks to ALL for chiming-in on the image flopped, or not. (And special points to Mike Cozart for your incredible in-depth knowledge when it comes to Disneyland minutia. It's the best kind-!)
Major- I had always been taught to refer to it as 'flopped' when speaking of images, still or otherwise.
I am not trying to hurt anyone's feelings by doing this, just having fun not working on Friday, but I present the following photos from Daveland's library as evidence supporting that the photo is reverse-read*.
Photo 1:
https://davelandweb.com/skyway/images/KTPBK_5_58_N26R.jpg
This is a similar vantage to the one posted by Tokyo, but a little higher up the stairs near the entry landing. Viewing from left to right:
Rocks
Casey Tracks
Skyway route over and crossing Casey
Lower part of queue walkway
Now look at this photo 2:
https://davelandweb.com/skyway/images/KTPBK_5_58_N22R.jpg
More of an eye level shot and similar to Tokyo's example. Look at the pole light fixture to the right in my photo 2. It's the same fixture in Tokyo's example, this photo 2 and today's GDB post, but the crook is reversed from the one shown in today's post, so I'm holding out for the reversed pic for this reason
I love this, few things more fun than fussing over Disney minutiae with friends. Thanks everyone and especially the Major for hosting the party..
JG
(*That's the term we used in architecture, since you could easily reverse a drawing by running it backward through the blueprinter and make a "reverse read" print. My friends in printing and publishing had different jargon. Now no one makes blueprints anymore either.)
Tokyo Disneyland also has a Haunted Mansion that's almost exactly like the 1971 Magic Kingdom original, and a Tomorrowland with the sleek blue and white design. I'll never half the money to see it for myself, but it's nice to know it's there.
Nanook, yes, “flopped” does sound more “right”, although there is no reason “flipped” can’t apply as well!
JG, well gosh. I do think I was erroneous in my post, it is possible that the Skyway gondola was heading toward the Skyway chalet instead of away from it. I admit that I’ll look at one photo and believe that the photo is flopped, and then look at another photo and believe that it ISN’T flopped. My brain hurts. Meanwhile, I remember making blueprints in drafting class, and the ammonia smell. At the time it was a cool process, but not really necessary anymore I guess.
Melissa, yeah, somehow I don’t think that a visit to Japan will be happening anytime soon, but there’s always that lottery. I’m sure to win it this time! ;-)
There are two rocks in that GDB pic from 2015, one on either side of the walkway. The one we're seeing in today's post is the one that is furthest away from us in the 2015 post (at the base of the lamppost and on the other side of the second railing). I've flipped today's pic and whether Mr. X was facing towards the Skyway Chalet or away from it, flipping it still makes Casey Jr. and the train tracks curve the wrong way (when taking into consideration, the direction that he should be facing on that curve).
Here's a pic showing more of that angled/slanted rockwork for the Storybook Land cave. This pic was taken from Casey Jr., while sitting in the loading area. The tracks curve around behind that rockwork and the train would have just come around that curve before pulling into the loading area: Storybook Land Cave and Rockwork
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