Sunday, October 07, 2018

Random Snapshots

Sorting through some old scans of snapshots, I found a few that had been skipped for being too boring. Perfect for Sunday! If you are looking at the blog today, well... I apologize in advance.

How about a dark and murky photo of Skull Rock? In 1960 it magically appeared in Fantasyland one morning, no one quite knows how it got there. If you look closely you can see two boys dutifully waving at the photographer.


Hey, it's those meddling kids again! I tried to scare everyone away from Disneyland so that I could buy it for a pittance, but those kids foiled my plans when my glowing rubber mask (purchased at Merlin's Magic Shop) fell off. Don't think I won't try again!


I have plenty of pictures of the Burning Settler's Cabin, but this one is not among the best. Somebody needs to trim those trees, you can hardly see anything. Still, I miss this non-PC feature, even though I have finally come to terms with the realization that it will never return (I sort of hoped that a version of it might appear on Tom Sawyer Island when the Rivers of America reopened in July of 2017, but... no such luck).


10 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

Clearly, neither of these boys show any ambition to become a future Rose Parade Queen. I mean, just take a look at that unprofessional waving-! But then again, they just happen to be standing in Skull Rock! - so why would one care-? On the other hand, they seem much more at-home strapped to a wrought iron fence.

I guess there's a dead settler disguised in the overgrown flora, as I spy an arrow.

Thanks, Major.

JC Shannon said...

Any picture of Skull Rock is a winner in my book. Ditto the Burning Settlers Cabin, PC or otherwise. So many memories. Is it just me, or is that one big arrow? Is that a Gandy Dancer next to the train in the station? Cool. Great stuff on a Sunday morn. Thanks to Major P., and welcome back.

Melissa said...

Even with the waving kids, that's the most Sinister looking picture of Skull Rock Lagoon I've ever seen.

I guess kids really have been climbing on the walls and fences at Disneyland since the early days. Love the stone wall t-shirt on the taller kid. We had brick wall t-shirts at about that age.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, Jimmy Stewart told Johnny Carson that Rose Parade Grand Marshals are taught two waves - the “screwing in a lightbulb”, and the “wiping a window”. Or something like that! Why has my brain remembered that for 40+ years?!

Jonathan, for some reason, that arrow does look especially big. I wonder if it was positioned so that it would be white against the dark cabin on purpose, or if it was just one of those happy accidents? Also, you get 37 points for knowing what a Gandy Dancer is (1200 more points and you will get a free turkey for Thanksgiving).

Melissa, it’s that high-contrast, weird color that makes the skull look so scary. Normally he’s pretty cheerful, for a giant skull. During my last visit to the park (longer ago than I care to admit), kids were climbing on things that they should not be climbing on, and cast members were trying to get them to come down.

Melissa said...

I know I've mentioned the Dairy Princess wave here before: spreading butter in the air with your hand.

Yeah, last time I was at WDW I had a series of elaborate near-heart-attacks watching little kids put themselves in mortal danger.

Nancy said...

Skull Rock looks so very different in this view, looks smaller to me. I guess it must be the angle. Still pretty nice in my book, not boring at all.

Dean Finder said...

The color saturation in the first pic makes it look like a hand-tinted b&w postcard from decades earlier.

PC or not, I think the California Air Resources Board would give Disneyland a hard time if they wanted to burn all that gas for the settler's cabin. Maybe if they actually set a moonshine still on fire...

Nanook said...

@ Dean Finder-

I like your thinking-!

Melissa said...

Now that none of the US parks are going to be dry anymore, Frontierland can be moonshine still all the way down.

Anonymous said...

Any picture of Skull Rock is a good picture.

Major and Melissa, I had similar experiences watching kids tempt fate at Disneyland. I confess to rooting for Darwin. Their parents ignored the whole affair, and somehow, (unfortunately?) no one was injured.

JG