Random Photos, November 1965
I found a few random Disneyland slides in a box of other photos (weddings, graduations, pictures of the Grand Canyon... the usual stuff). None of them are super great, but I figured they were worth a post if I put them all together.
Here's a gray and grungy photo (not GAF film!) of M. Mouse as he greets guests in front of his own floral portrait. (Note to self: have floral portrait of me installed on the south garden). Four kids stand nearby, though I am not clear if they want to shake hands with Mickey, or if they are freaked out by him.
This next one shows the family seeking shade - I think (but am not sure) that they are sort of between the Davy Crockett Arcade and the Pendleton store. It looks like everyone got a souvenir hat; I like the boys' selection of Tyrolean hats - they are stylish enough to wear at the country club on a week night.
Next is a shot taken from the Jungle Cruise - I've always liked the scene of this bathing elephant. Who wouldn't enjoy a refreshing shower under a genuine waterfall?
This next one is a mystery - it was labeled "Disneyland", but it sure doesn't look like anyplace in Disneyland to me. At first I thought it might be over at Fowler's Harbor, but nope. Notice that everyone is wearing different clothing compared to photo #2. Could this be Knott's Berry Farm? That fishing net is throwing me. Maybe it could be "Last Frontier Village" in Las Vegas? Universal Studios? Corriganville? If anybody knows, please chime in!
18 comments:
Major-
In that first shot, the kids aren't freaked-out at Mickey, they're merely practicing the good manners taught to them by their parents, by giving Mickey 'a little space'. I like how so many pictures taken on The jungle Cruise are often "framed" by the canopy of the boat. And this one is as nice as they come.
For a moment there, I was thinking that last image was taken at Knott's, but on careful consideration it's clear that fella on the right is a young mafia Don, and he and the 'family' are heading out of a 'saloon' on the Jersey shore.
Thanks, Major.
In the second pic, the ears on that Mickey Mouse balloon are lopsided. The right one is bigger than the left one.
I don't recognize the location in that last pic. The sign to the left appears to say "Saloon," and with the swinging doors, it appears to be a western setting. But why is there a large fisherman's net stretched across the front of a western saloon?
In the last mystery image the family has obviously time traveled into an alternate 1980 future and are enjoying “The Whale of a Tale Tavern” along DISCOVERY BAY’s seadier waterfront side....
The family probably has a picturesque view of the Hyperion Airship hanger across the bay .... the old lighthouse ....the Nautalis submarine ...and the docked sailingships along the warf . The family is probably saying “ how could anything other than DISCOVERY BAY ever be built in this location of Disneyland!
If it's 1965, the last image could be at Pacific Ocean Park, which had a harbor-themed area. Another candidate is Fisherman's Wharf in Marina del Rey, though I couldn't find the opening date for that. There were other movie-studio tours at the time, less organized and publicized than Universal's, but which allowed visitors to walk among the sets; MGM had tours of that sort.
I agree with Nanook about the Jungle Cruise pic framed by the canopy. It's a really nice shot. Thanks, Major.
TokyoMagic!, That Mickey Mouse balloon was a fiddler crab in its former life.
The people and the scenes make the shots here.
The kids are a riot.
The Jungle Cruise pic is a classic. I love that so many people on the internet think that is a real, live elephant (or hippo).
My two cents on the unidentified scene is Port's of Call village in San Pedro (which is apparently now demolished) which Wikipedia says opened in 1907 (??), or maybe the village area around the Queen Mary, but if the date is 1965, it might be too early for the latter.
JG
I think that last photo may have been taken in front of the Silver Dollar Saloon at Corriganville. A 1958 photo on this GDB page show the saloon in that same shade of green, and the window next to the open door looks like the word "Dollar" may be partly obscured behind the post.
What's throwing me off is that the posts in today's photo don't match those in the 1958 shot. There also seems to be an extra door not visible in the 1958 shot, although those are modifications that may have been made in the intervening years. And then there's that weird nautical decor.
Of course, that obscured word could very well be "Dog" rather than "Dollar." Maybe this is the "Sea Dog Saloon" or the "Salty Dog Saloon." Heck, the sign could read "Walrus Dome Pantaloon" for all I know.
Little Brother is grumpy because Mickey has long pants and he doesn't. Mickey is trying to hitch a ride out of there.
In scan #1, I am admiring the Mickster's shoes. I have searched in vain for a pair for years, but all I could find was a pair of Beatle Boots and some shiney penny loafers. I agree with Nanook that in scan #3, the young Don is about to make the photographer an offer he can't refuse. I love the elephant taking a bath, the whimsy of some scenes on the Jungle Cruise was pure Walt genius. Thanks Major P.
Nanook, I would like to believe that the kids are being polite… who knows, maybe it’s true! My guess is that you don’t see “walk around” characters much anymore because people were very pushy. Maybe fights broke out! To me the kid in photo #4 looks like he’s wearing those big dark glasses that people wear when they leave the eye doctor.
TokyoMagic!, I notice the lopsided balloon as well. Usually my balloons would start to look like that when the helium leaked out, but this one was wonky to begin with. Poor little balloon. And yes, the combination of western theme and fishing net is so odd that it really baffles me.
Mike Cozart, hmmm, I find it hard to believe your theory, and yet you are so convincing!
Stefano, oh, POP is a good guess, as is the theory that it could be on a studio backlot (other than Universal). Good thinking!
K. Martinez, your fiddler crab theory is so weird that I love it!
JG, oh man, Port’s of Call village! Another great suggestion. SoCal just had too many themed areas to pin it down! Somewhere I have one decent photo of Port’s o’ Call, I’ll have to dig it up and see if anything resembles this saloon.
Chuck, since Corriganville was used as an actual movie ranch for decades, it is very possible that some buildings were modified over the years. The fact that they are that same unusual shade of green is very intriguing. Ha ha, if there was a saloon called the “Walrus Dome Pantaloon”, I would have to patronize it just because of their moxie!
Melissa, that kid looks very perplexed. “What in Sam Hill is going on in this place?!”. Or it’s just his jealousy over Mickey’s long red pants. It’s understandable.
Jonathan, Mickey’s shoes almost look like the boots that Boris Karloff wore in “Frankenstein”. Beatle Boots, I forget what those are. Small and pointy? I asked for a Beatle haircut, but I got a “Moe Howard” instead. I’ve always loved that bathing elephant - it once showed up on a website as an example of “animals at play” - whoever put the photos together did not realize that it was a mechanical pachyderm!
Major, at least it was better than a Larry Fine!
Major-
Okay - I'll give you that one. The kid is actually a Borscht Belt comic who just realized there are no more hotels in the Catskills, and is now looking for a gig in Atlantic City - or is it Miami Beach or Vegas-?
The Mouse's shoes make me miss my Army surplus "Mickey boots." Nothing better for a wet New York winter.
Speaking of wet, the saloon door/fishnet combo makes me think of all those episodes of The Wild, Wild West that took place around the San Francisco docks. (Maybe the kid in the sunglasses is just Artemus Gordon in one of his clever disguises.)
Jonathan, ANYTHING but Curly Joe DeRita!
Nanook, ha ha, after reading Kliph Nesteroff’s book about comedians (which you need to read), I have a whole new appreciation for those old Borscht Belt comics! I think Miami Beach sounds like it was the strangest combination of “wonderful” and “awful”. At least Vegas had some glamor. And you might bump into Dean Martin or Joey Heatherton!
Melissa, your comment reminded me that all of the Army/Navy surplus stores around here have closed. It’s a bummer! I used to love to go and buy some cheap boots, or camping equipment, or maybe a nice duffel bag. I wonder why they have gone away? Gosh, I didn’t remember that The Wild Wild West did lots of episodes in San Francisco. There must have been a good backlot set for them to use. I once saw Ross Martin at the Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles!
Major, the surplus stores are disappearing from a combination of competition with online surplus retailers and the fact that, with a smaller military than in years gone by, there just isn't as much surplus as there used to be. The WWII stuff that filled the stores of our childhood has long been cleared out of musty old warehouses, and the Vietnam through late Cold War stuff has pretty much all been disposed of, too.
The focus on lightweight, purpose-built camping gear over the past few decades has also put a damper on the resalability of a lot of military surplus. If I'm trying to stay light and keep my pack's base weight at 20 lbs or less, why would I want to buy a 45L external-frame ALICE pack from the 1970s that weighs 11 lbs empty and has a crummy seat-belt-type waist belt when I can buy a 50 or 65L adujstable-frame external frame civilian pack that weighs 4 lbs empty? And...do I really need a six-pouch ammo vest at home? (Full disclosure - I have two...for playing airsoft.)
It's a shame. I used to love going to surplus stores and rummaging around through what they had; it was as much fun for me as grazing the stacks at the library or wandering around a museum where you were allowed to touch and even buy artifacts.
Chuck, I kind of thought that most of the “surplus” wasn’t really military surplus anymore. The boots that I usually bought were real cheapos, but that’s what I wanted. When they wore out, they got thrown away. I couldn’t imagine any military person being stuck with anything that lame. You make a good point about the quality of the equipment found at surplus stores being heavy and clunky… I never really purchased camping equipment or heavy backpacks. I do have a heavy wool pea coat that I really like, must have bought it 25 years ago. It looks good! We used to have 3 or 4 good military surplus stores nearby, and they are all gone. Now I’m stuck with Big 5 Sporting Goods, and they stink.
I think we do have one Army/Navy surplus store left in in my area, but I got my boots from The Sportsman's Guide. They also sell general hunting, camping, and outdoorsy things. They used to have more Surplus and more Random Cheap Stuff.
There is a military surplus store in our town, but most of the stuff in it is foreign military.
The Italian army has really nice blankets, very stylish.
There are some camping items there that don't seem to exist in the private sector. My troop adults bought some strange "props" for supporting camo netting. These had plastic "petals" that spun out to support the fabric tarp or net. We used them to support a big tarp for the kitchen. Packed smaller and lighter than the typical "pop-up" and covered more area.
JG
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