Nice Magic Kingdom, November 1971
Who's in the mood for some frozen custard?! Oh man, so cold and creamy! It's chocolate, for me. Perhaps you like the simple pleasure of vanilla. Man, I can't think of anything much better on this hot summer day. Well, sorry, I can't get that for you, but I can get you some photos of the Magic Kingdom, the way it looked before they had scraped the price tags off of everything in 1971.
Let's start with this very nice shot of a Jitney ("A bus or other vehicle carrying passengers for a low fare") as it motored its way up Main Street. The Gulf Hospitality House is in the distance, while the GAF Camera Center is just across the street. "Get some crummy GAF film for fugitive colors and generally unpleasant results!", grumbled Henry Fonda to some kid walking by. Luckily for us, Mr. X (who took these photos) used Kodak film.
The Jitney has that classic Bob Gurr look, but it is considerably larger than the any comparative vehicle that one might have seen in Disneyland. The driver wears one of those change gizmos on his belt; if you didn't have a ticket, could you just buy admission directly from him?
Here's a beautiful shot of the "Admiral Joe Fowler" steamboat as the last passenger or two boards from the upper level of that load building. So clear and colorful! Henry Fonda was ashamed that he shilled for GAF; he could hardly hold back the tears as he deposited his $100,000 checks.
There's a Keel Boat a-comin' 'round the bend!
I feel guilty about teasing you with the prospect of frozen custard, but now, through the magic of HTML 6000, we can all step into our computer/phone/tablet screens and get some Borden ice cream at the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. I'll even treat Hank Fonda. Oh happy day!
23 comments:
Major-
"Fugitive colors". Now there's a description unlikely to be heard when one describes the array of colors Kodachrome was capable of producing. (Although I do think once I heard Henry Fonda describe GAF film in just such terms-!)
Surprisingly [or not], that "change gizmo" is actually called a 'coin changer' or 'money changer' - and they're still being sold. I'm uncertain who's buying them; but you can still get 'em.
Admiral Joe looks mighty fine sitting there waiting for its last passengers to finish boarding. You can still catch a glimpse of the top of the Haunted Mansion peaking-out from behind 'ol Joe.
Thanks, Major - especially for the frozen custard-! It tasted just swell.
Chicks and ducks had better not hit me,
When I take you out in my jitney,
When I take you out in my jitney with the fringe on top.
Watch that fringe and see how it floats o'er
Me when I drive that high-idlin' motor,
No partic'lar place for to go ter,
So inside come hop,
In my pretty little jitney with the fringe on the top!
Big red babushka on the lower deck of the riverboat!
And just what does Joe Jitney keep in that wooden box on the running board of his vehicle? His lunch, perhaps? "A" coupons from his passengers? Or souvenirs collected from all of the guests that he has run over?
Yes you could actually pay money for the Main Street vehicles in those days if you didn't have an "A" ticket. I believe they were 10 cents.
That's not a coin changer - it's an ammunition bandolier for the large-frame handgun he had strapped to his right thigh to protect that running board box. Bob Gurr was a stickler for authenticity.
As far as what's in the box, well...ask Phil Harris. But please...leave the thing where it is. You won't regret it.
Technically the vehicle in the first picture is a blue HORSELESS CARRIAGE - Walt Disney World still has and uses all three - there’s the Blue one, a red one and a pale yellow horseless carriage.
The JITNEY is a reddish brown bus/paddy wagon looking vehicle that uses the same chassis and engine hood as the FIRE ENGINE.
The JITNEY was originaly designed to be a police paddy wagon but John Hench felt maybe this wasn’t appropriate so it was finished as a JITNEY - a popular term on the Eastern Seaboard.
Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Seas have POLICE PADDY WAGONS attraction vehicles.
Wow, ice cream before breakfast, thanks Major.
JG
The man centered in the last photo looks like he's peering through a GAF Viewmaster Viewer, maybe matching 3D film views with his own 2 eyes.
Nice shot of the Plaza Ice Scream Parlour, presented by the company founded by Andrew and Abby Borden, the family name proudly backed by vivid Kodachrome crimson.
Wow! You can almost smell the fresh paint. I could really use a banana frozen custard right about now. I love the Jitney photo and the Joe Fowler looks fully loaded for the next voyage. A poem from Mellissa, and dessert for breakfast. Its gonna be a great day! Thanks to Major and Kodak for the beautiful shots.
When I have premium Ice Cream/Custard in the morning I feel compelled to don my straw hat, bow tie and coin changer. Just a habit. Thanks to Mr. X and Major.
@Melissa
Few know this but Big Red Babushka was the working title of Prince's
Raspberry Beret till those record company execs nixed it.
Little did the "Admiral" know as it plied the Rivers of America that its life would come to a crashing end (dropped by crane) in 1980. I wonder what Joe Fowler thought of that? Probably nothing.
I read that the riverboat's steam engine machinery was shipped to Tokyo Disneyland for the park's Mark Twain Riverboat. Whether that's true or not I don't know. I just know what I read.
Nice 1970's WDW pics. Nothin' better. Thanks, Major.
Nanook, unfortunately even mighty Kodak fails when it comes to things like Ektachrome. I have plenty of slides on that film that have turned a terrible orange-pink. I usually think of fugitive colors in terms of paints and inks that are prone to fade. I actually knew the term “coin changer”, but I like “gizmo” better! Stay tuned for another shot of the Admiral Joe in almost the same spot, but I think the photo is even better.
Melissa, how can you be worried about being hit by ducks and chicks when you battled the Gorn?? You get 10,000 points for rhyming “motor” with “go ter”! I think I see a white babushka right near the red one.
TokyoMagic!, I was wondering the same thing! Could the box be purely decorative? I mean, the vehicle is right on Main Street, if anything goes wrong, he’s not exactly in the wilderness.
Scott Lane, now I wonder if they accepted cash money for the Main Street vehicles at Disneyland! You see “10 cents” signs on the old Streetcars, though that was probably the value of an “A” ticket.
Chuck, I think you are correct. Originally, Main Street USA was supposed to be grittier and more realistic. Graffiti, trash, and yes, random gunplay. I heard “The Box” on Dr. Demento when I was a kid!
Mike Cozart, the vehicle looked so much larger than the Disneyland Horseless Carriages that I figured it must be something else! Oh well, wrong again. It won’t be the last time! The paddy wagon idea seems odd, since prisoners generally were in a box with a very small window - that doesn’t seem like much fun. “It’s 130 degrees in here!”.
JG, ice cream is appropriate 24 hours a day.
Stefano, I think the guy might just be holding a camera, but I like the idea of somebody looking at WDW Viewmaster reels while in the Magic Kingdom! He just can’t get enough of those Disney parks. You mentioned Andrew and Abby Borden, but what about Lizzie?
Jonathan, you can have the all of the banana frozen custard - one of my dislikes is banana-flavored things. It’s weird I know. I’ll stick to chocolate or vanilla!
Alonzo, until recently we didn’t have a frozen custard place anywhere nearby, but now there’s a place within about 8 minutes. Trouble is, they also serve great burgers, and by the time I have had one of those, I have no room for custard. It’s one of the greatest tragedies known to man.
K. Martinez, how would you like to be the crane operator that dropped the “Joe Fowler”?? I have to admit that the Disney company’s propensity for making up stories about why attractions go away makes me wonder if that whole crane thing even happened.
Mmm, frozen mustard
Ahhhhh.....I love these early MK pictures and alas, you've posted a photo that clearly shows the connecting archway from the Borden Ice Cream Parlor to what is now the Plaza Restaurant. In those early times, the two establishments were connected by an archway (note the second window to the left of the main entry). There is clearly a person (in silhouette) standing in the current dining room of the Plaza. When visiting the Ice Cream Parlor in it's current setup, the archway opening is no longer there, BUT, all the ornate woodwork which surrounded said opening, is still there, intact. In this photo, you can also see guests seated inside, enjoying their frozen treats. Today this area to each side of the main entry, is used for queuing, with two sets of railings fanning out, then doubling back into the middle, where two host/ordering positions are located. Next time you're in the Ice Cream Parlor (now sponsored by Edy's), take a look to your left when you enter, and you'll see that wall which was once an archway in the next room. I'll be enjoying an All American Sundae from the Ice Cream Parlor in just 11 days! Can't wait :)
Major: yes - all of Walt Disney World’s Main Street Vehicles were built larger for the larger scale of Florida’s Main Street USA. Remember the story of EPCOT borrowing Disneyland’s original Omnibuses to help transport guests around WORLD SHOWCASE until Florida could build a new EPCOT fleet? The Disneyland originals rotted quickly in the Florida rain so WDW built two replacements for Disneyland — built along with the new EPCOT Omnibuses - but the wrong scale for Disneyland!! Today the Disneyland Omnibuses are really FLORIDA size Omnibuses.
K. MARTINEZ: I’ve read that too somewhere regarding the Tokyo Mark Twain using the engine from the scuttled Admiral Joe Fowler - but it’s a myth. The Admiral Joe Fowler’s engine and boiler was scarapped with the exception of some parts and fittings that were kept as replacements for the Richard F. Irvine ( now the Liberty Belle). When Tokyo Disneyland was in its final stages of planning the Japanese engineers advised their Riverboat be Diesel engine powered but the founder of the Oriental Land Company (Tokyo Disneyland’s owning company) insisted that if the American Disney parks used real steam for their
Riverboats so will Tokyo Disneyland!
The Tokyo Disneyland MARK TWAIN was built entirely new in Japan. While the boiler is slightly smaller than the U.S. Mark Twain/ Admiral Joe Fowler, the Tokyo riverboat is slightly longer.
In early concepts and documentation for Tokyo Disneyland the first names considered for the Mark Twain was the EUREKA and the RIVER EMPRESS.
MIKE COZART, It figures the TDL story was a bunch of BS. It makes more sense to salvage some parts for the Richard F. Irvine since it's in the same park. I do like the name RIVER EMPRESS for TDL's riverboat though. Thanks for chiming in with the actual story.
Melissa, I have a friend who hates mustard (“It tastes like barf!”), so I am smiling to myself just imagining his reaction to your comment.
steve2wdw, thank you for the details and info on how things have changed at the ice cream parlor. It’s a bummer that they removed the archway openings, but I suppose that the increased crowds must have made it a necessity. Edy’s ice cream, I’ve heard of it, but never had it - is it an east coast brand? Hopefully it is full of air and weird thickeners! Very cool that you will be enjoying yourself at the Florida park so soon! Funnily enough, Mr. X (who took today’s photos) just went to WDW, and he remarked on the reasonable crowds, short lines, etc. Maybe the heat of the middle of Summer keeps people away? He was disappointed that the steamboat wasn’t working, since he was anxious to see a Frontierland not truncated for a Star Wars Land. But he’s already planning his next Florida trip!
Mike Cozart, I wonder where stories like the one about the reuse of the boiler and engine for the Tokyo steamboat originate. Is it just some wishful thinking on the part of a fan? Does some Disney person drop hints out there for some reason? I applaud the founder of the Oriental Land Company for insisting on real steam instead of diesel (though I would imagine they probably use biodiesel as fuel to heat the boilers?). Thanks as always for your great info.
K. Martinez, it is surprising (I guess) that so many of those stories are complete baloney, or at least partial baloney. And we fans want them to be true. As I mentioned a few days ago, I still don’t 100% believe that the Peoplemover track at Disneyland could not be fixed. Just build something on top of what’s already there! I’m not an engineer, but I’ll design it myself using Legos.
Major....I love a trip on the RoA aboard the Liberty Belle and it may just happen on my trip. The MK Rivers are very "wildernessy" with far less scenery than the DL Rivers. On nights when the LB closes after dark, the second half of the voyage feels like a real trip down a remote section of the Mississippi. The refurb is supposed to be completed on Aug 30 with a reopening on the 31st. My trip ends on Sept 1, so fingers are crossed. Apparently the work on the steamboat was finished back a few weeks ago, but unexpected track work (underwater) needed to be completed before the LB could return. When it does return, I hope someone gets photos of the ship as it's towed from the maintenance dock at Bay Lake, across the World Drive water bridge, and through the waters of the Seven Seas Lagoon. I'm staying at both the Contemporary DVC (for 1 night) and the Wilderness Lodge DVC (for 4 nights), so maybe I'll be lucky enough to see it for myself.
Late August/September is traditionally one of the lower crowd times for Walt Disney World. Kids are starting to go back to school, the heat and humidity are unbearable for some people (including me with my arthritis), and it's also a likely time of year for hurricanes.
I’m not sure where the stories and myths start but I’m sure it’s a combination of things - guests and fans hear stories about attractions and how Disney often reuses things in other attractions and then a speculation becomes a mis-told or related detail and then a lie or myth. But Disney itself is guilty of the same thing - the stories of the plane section in the CASABLANCA scene turned out to be a section of the actual plane from the 1940’s movie....was it really?!?? Press releases say so ....but then the SAME story is told by Disney that the troop truck in the excavation entry of Indiana Jones was discovered to be the ACTUAL truck used in the Indiana Jones famous Nazi desert truck chase..... there’s others stories that follow this SAME story line and who knows what’s true about it- seem fishy to me. Often I think it’s Imagineers who make these things up to add the Disney lore and myths that attractions like The Haunted Mansion or Pirates have ( the 20,000 leagues organ in the mansion , real skeletons once used in Pirates etc...)
Disney Company itself gets details from different departments then retells it incorrectly - like how Disneyland’s Big Thunder has Both the racing donkey engines from HOT LEAD AND COLD FEET - brother Ely’s and brother Billy’s - partial true Disneyland has both Donkey engines #8a & 8b ( one had an electric motor the other did not) but Walt Disney World has #11a ( #11b of course blew up in the movie)
For years Dave Smith at the Disney archives insisted that club 33’s name was just a coincidence because of the addressing system along New Orleans Square - even WDI once concurred with the archives -until documents were discovered saying the club was named in honor of the 33 corporate Disneyland sponsors and thus Lounge was for them!
Disney for years told the story that Country Bear Jamboree was originaly designed for Mineral King Resort - which was a myth - it was completely designed for Walt Disney World and all along Mineral Kings was never to have attraction type shows.... and these myths were all spread by Disney!!
Nice views today. My favorite is the Ice Cream Parlor; when it's dusk, the lights are the prettiest.
MIKE COZART, That Country Bear Jamboree myth you just shared is really major. And I believed them! It surely makes a lot of things suspect about Disney's history and how they write and rewrite it.
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