We're getting down to the last 10 (or so) scans of photos taken by your pal and mine, Mr. X. What a treat they have been!
Can you say "postcard worthy"? Because this first one definitely qualifies. You've got the beautiful "Admiral Joe Fowler" steamboat next to that lovely 2-level load/unload building, the glassy river, a Canoe gliding past, and the stately Haunted Mansion in the background, all beneath a glorious blue sky.
Check out this unusual night shot of the motorized Fire Truck (did the Magic Kingdom ever have a version of the "Chemical Wagon"?). Considering how dark it was, I'm surprised it came out as well as it did. Notice the custodians, possibly cleaning up after a parade - or maybe just keeping the place spotless as usual. Twinkle light alert!
Many thanks to Mr. X
Yes, that first one definitely is postcard worthy! Excellent job, Mr. X!
ReplyDeleteIn that second photo, is that a cast member in the yellow pants? And what is he carrying in his sack? I hope it isn't popcorn, but it kind of looks like it could be. The image is just bringing back horrible memories of working at Knott's Berry Farm. They used to make us scoop up the unsold popcorn at the end of the night, put it in a trash bag and take it inside one of the main buildings. Then the next morning, they would make us take it back out to the popcorn wagon and dump it in the bin to be resold to the guests. It was just gross. And cheap. I can't imagine Disney doing that back in 1971. I could totally see them doing that today, but not back then.
I guess I should have just said, "sold" instead of "resold." "Resold" makes it sound like it was the popcorn from the ground or trashcans.
ReplyDeleteAnd there's the Fantasyland Skyway Chalet peaking behind the Admiral Joe Fowler. Also a pre-canopy Haunted Mansion. It really is a beautiful shot. Thanks, Mr. X and Major.
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, I remember movie theaters having huge bags of pre-popped popcorn which they would put in the bottom of the popcorn popper and mix it up with the freshly popped corn. It's just as bad as those prebagged cotton candy items. Half the fun of buying stuff like that was watching it being made.
In that first photo,what's that boxy thing behind the Skyway chalet? Is that the SE corner of the Haunted Mansion show building?
ReplyDeleteNote the concrete banks of the Rivers of America, with vegetation waiting to fill in the open space over the course of the next couple of years. And look at the size of that crowd waiting in the sun to visit the HM. While the Mansion looks better like this, it's no wonder they added the canopy that Ken mentions above.
I echo TM! & Ken's sentiments - these are really nice photos. I'm sorry to hear that unshared images from Mr X's collection are about to enter the single digits.
Loving the old WDW Magic Kingdom pics. The first, of the Fowler, is especially delicious! This is definitely from the VERY early days, pre Tom Sawyer Island (Aunt Polly's will eventually cover those bare riverbanks) and most importantly, the unobstructed view of the Haunted Mansion. Yes, the current canopy is needed on those very hot Florida days, but it just looks so nice without it.
ReplyDeleteChuck, I believe the corner of that warehouse like building is the southwest corner of 'it's a small world" The HM show building would be directly behind the top deck of the Fowler. There's vehicle access between the two show buildings.
Wonderful pics today. I really like the twilight photo, and I think TM is right, I am pretty sure I can see the kernels in the bag. All yellow pants needs now is a theater and a few boxes of Milk Duds. The Admiral Joe Fowler snap is absolutely postcard worthy. I love the silent film era of Hollywood, and I would duck in for some Chaplin. After hitting up yellow pants for some corn, of course. I always carry an emergency box of Duds, just in case. Thanks Major.
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, Mr. X had a better “eye” than most people, and I can say that after looking at zillions of amateur slides. Ugh, that really does look like popcorn in that bag. Your story of Knott’s reusing the popcorn from the night before makes me never want to buy any from ANYWHERE. A giant box of unpopped kernels has to be the cheapest thing to buy (especially in the quantities that they get), do they really need to scrimp that way?
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, ha ha, it did sound like you meant that they used the popcorn from the ground!
K. Martinez, ah, I didn’t even notice the chalet, I was so focused on the Admiral Joe and the Mansion. My sister used to buy pre-bagged cotton candy at the local carnival, and it was so limp and pathetic in its little bag. Watching cotton candy spin onto the paper cone is half the fun!
Chuck, the boxy thing was going to be “Walt’s Bunker”. I wasn’t sure that the banks of the river were concrete, but I assume they learned some sort of lesson from the Anaheim river. Just think of all the people on the East coast who had never seen the Haunted Mansion, had heard so much about it, and now finally had their chance to see it. It must have been amazing. Yes, 6 photos of WDW (from Mr. X) remain, but never fear, we have lots more good stuff from him!
steve2wdw, I think it’s interesting that at both Disneyland and WDW, Tom Sawyer Island had to wait a year to be built. Somehow an island that can’t be visited is intriguing, though of course it is better as an attraction. Thanks for the info about the “Small World” show building.
Jonathan, yeah, the popcorn has that artificial yellow that is used for some reason. I guess the brain immediately thinks buttery thoughts. Milk Duds were one of the few movie treats I ever bought, though even that was very rare. Maybe yellow pants was a guest who ordered the “extra-super-stadium-sized” bag?
@Tokyo Eurgh.
ReplyDeleteMajor, great pics today. After hearing about the WDW TSI in yesterday's thread, I want to go there more than ever.
JG
Thank you Mr. X and thank you Major for posting. That first photo is beautiful! But I must admit I love the dusk, sunset sky, and twinkle lights of the second photo. Yes, the shop vacs are out so a parade may have just ended as that was the SOP (in the 1980/90s), of when those would be used. Notice the Custodian up front pushing everything to the curb to be sucked up by the vacuum. I also love the fact the Fire Truck is out and taking people back down Main Street. You can see the buildings of Liberty Square off to the left behind the lamp post.
ReplyDeleteFinally, I do believe that is popcorn in the yellow bag. Not sure what the SOP was for Outdoor Vending (was only crossed trained there for my Disney University experience); however, I never recall an Outdoor Vendor walking back to their cart in the morning with a yellow bag. Therefore I am going to say with 100% certainty, they never resold popcorn during the 1980s /early 90s).
Speaking of popcorn... I ran across this fact recently, that MacGlashan Enterprises (owned by Walt Disney Productions), manufacturers of the shooting galleries, also manufactured the custom-crafted popcorn wagons.
Always your pal,
Amazon Belle
All of Disneyland’s original popcorn wagons were replaced in the early 1980’s with newly built versions created for Tokyo Disneyland. In the past 3-4 years even those 1980’s wagons are being replaced with much larger popcorn wagons - almost twice the length! ( larger crowds - larger people) I think one smaller 1980’s wagon still exists in Frontierland across from the Golden Horseshoe. It’s “1800’s” Style scrollwork paint scheme was replaced with a hokey cowboy rope theme...but instead of painting the design onto the actual wagon pre-printed designs on panels were bolted onto the wagon itself....odd - cheap way of doing it.
ReplyDeleteMATTHEW: I knew MacGlashan ( a division of Disney like RETLAW) did the shooting galleries , but didn’t know they did the popcorn wagons. Do they still exist as a manufacturer?
JG, have you ever been to Walt Disney World? I'm sure you've said many times, but I don't remember.
ReplyDeleteMatthew, it’s hard to beat a good photo from dusk, especially since those are so scarce. And I’m sure most Disneyland fans have memories of the park just as it was getting dark, and everything was so pretty. I think I saw similar vacuums being used on Main Street after a parade with lots of confetti. Easier than sweeping. I don’t think I’ve that fact about MacGlashan Enterprises being owned by Walt Disney Productions. Neat!
Mike Cozart, gosh, so much information about something that most people never think about… the popcorn carts. I love it. The old carts that I see in photos from the 60’s and even 70’s are very appealing and old fashioned, but I suppose that they do need to change them if they were no longer getting the job done.
Any Haunted Mansion pic is a good one! Yes, the boxy thing is Its a Small World. The line has no awning, and, more importantly, no stupid interactive gags that take guests out of the story. Talk about a travesty! I personally volunteer to drive the bulldozer that crushes them forever!
ReplyDeleteKen's comment reminded me that Knott's management did want us to pop a fresh batch or two, to mix in with the previous days leftover popcorn. I guess the idea was that the smell of the fresh popcorn would "lure" people over to buy it.
ReplyDeleteMajor, I wrote about the selling of the day-old popcorn a while back in one of my Knott's posts, and I even said something like, "I was only 17 years old and I thought to myself, how cheap can these people be?" Apparently VERY cheap! Yes, even at that age, I knew that the popcorn couldn't have cost them very much at all, especially when buying it in bulk.
Thanks, steve2wdw and stu29573! Chuck1234, OUT.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I've told this story before.
ReplyDeleteI have clear memories of riding the Admiral Joe Fowler even though it had been scuppered a year or two before my first trip. It was only relatively recently that I figured out that my "memory" was because the AJF was still featured in the postcard folder that I bought that day. Brains are funny.