Thursday, January 23, 2020

Three More from "1937Fan"

It's time for another installment of slide scans, generously shared with us by "1937Fan"; the photos belonged to her aunt, who visited the park in November of 1964. 

First up is this look at Cascade Peak; 100 points to the photographer, who waited for the Mine Train to emerge from behind the trees; speed was of the essence, because a slow reaction would mean that the little locomotive would vanish behind the waterfall. I love this picture.


The next two feature the Mark Twain; I wish there was some magical way to determine just how many photographs have been taken of this Disneyland icon over the past 60+ years. Many millions, without a doubt. Hundreds of millions? You'll sometimes see steamboats at other amusement parks, and they usually lack the detail and beauty of the Twain (although some, like the "Cordelia K." at Knott's Berry Farm, are all about charm rather than grandeur).


And finally, a more typical view of the steamboat; even after all these years, this scene is just beautiful. 


Many thanks to 1937Fan!

20 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

Cascade Peak... How do I love thee-? Almost as much as there are images of the Mark Twain-!

Thanks to 1937Fan.

K. Martinez said...

This is about when I thought the trees were at perfect height, not yet dwarfing the man-made nature and majestic Mark Twain. Trees have no scale? Hogwash!

Every image today is photo perfection. Great composition on every photo. Thanks 1937 Fan and Major.

Andrew said...

Looking at the first picture, I can really see how someone could get the idea to create a miniature of this scene.

There isn't much to comment on today, just to say that these are all five star pictures. Thanks 1937Fan!

Chuck said...

You're right, Major - steamboats at other amusement parks usually lack the detail and beauty of the Twain. Take the Magic Kingdom, for example - their steamboat doesn't even have two smokestacks. A prime example of cheap imitation by inferior parks.

Thanks, 1937Fan!

Alonzo P Hawk said...

Ditto to what Major and everyone said. The first shot is postcard worthy. I'm tempted to download it and get a jigsaw puzzle made of the image but I most assuredly would lose my mind on the sky pieces.
I would venture a guess more photos have been taken of the MT than Dole Whips have been sold.

Thanks to Major and 1937Fan for sharing!

DrGoat said...

All three images are postcard worthy. The second pic does it for me.
Thanks Major, and 1937Fan. Obviously Auntie had a great day in the Park. It shows.

zach said...

Agreed! These are great! Nicely framed photos from the best 'middle years' of the park. Thank you 1937Fan for sharing.

dz

Oh, and thanks to the Major for this labor of love you simply call a 'blog'. With all due respect it is more than that.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, every time I see a beautiful photo of Cascade Peak it amazes me that they tore it down.

K. Martinez, It is so true, the trees near Cascade Peak got so big that they dwarfed it and the forced perspective was completely lost. Unless the trees were supposed to be 300 feet tall!

Andrew, as a kid I always dreamed of building a model of Disneyland, or at least a small part of it, but didn’t have the skills. Plus I’m lazy! But the model of the Mine Train at Griffith Park is about as good as anyone could want.

Chuck, the Magic Kingdom had us beat with two steamboats (as you know), but through some sort of Three Stooges BS, they only have one now, and the single stack makes it look like it’s missing a tusk or something.

Alonzo, the hard jigsaw puzzles are the most rewarding to complete! You can do it! Meanwhile… you can get custom jigsaw puzzles made?? And I’ll bet you are right about the number of photos of the Mark Twain vs. Dole Whips sold. It’s not even close.

DrGoat, there are more pix from 1937Fan coming up!

dzacher, I’ve been feeling grieved since Photobucket (my original photo host) seems to have died. Maybe it’s just in a coma. But my first 10 years (or so) of blogging are gone (or the pictures are anyway), for all intents and purposes, and I can’t help think of all the effort that’s gone. Poof! So your comment helped me feel better, thanks

DrGoat said...

To Lou and Sue from the previous post:
Went back and just read Lou & Sue's comment about eating food in Disneyland. I pondered that and realized I don't remember eating in the Park back in the 50s-60s either. Wonder what's up with that. Don't even remember the Sunkist orange juice, but I do remember vaguely a milk shake from the Carnation Ice Cream Parlor. But the thing that really got was the memory of the giant lollipops from the candy shop. Must have been around '59 or '60, I brought home one of those giant pops, with Goofy's picture on the clear wrapper. I kept that thing for years, propped up on the top shelf in my room, never licked once...till it took a dive and shattered in a dozen dry lollipop pieces on the hard, cold unforgiving floor. It was well past it's prime, but I ate most of it anyway. Thanks for the memory.

"Lou and Sue" said...

dzacher, I echo your sentiments about GDB. Every day we get to go on mini-vacations to Disneyland or WDW, and field trips to new places - with lots of fun friends, thanks to our Major!

Sue

"Lou and Sue" said...

DrGoat. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh dear, it's hard to beat these photos. Thanks Major, and 1937Fan. Disneyland is old enough for the landscaping to mature, but new enough that all the cool things still are in good shape.

The Disney family museum in SF has the best model of Disneyland anywhere. I want one just like it in my secret underground lair.

As you say, Lou and Sue, it's a little trip everyday.

I love hearing the stories, like Dr. Goat.

Major, what a shame about Photobucket. I read in the Disney Nomenclature blog that Jason had downloaded web format files of much of your blog, Daveland, and Matterhorn against this eventuality. It's too bad that those pages are not in a place online somewhere.

In my opinon, GDB and the other blogs should be hosted on a armored server in the depths of Cheyenne Mountain so we can continue to visit Disneyland after the apocalypse.

JG

Melissa said...

Postcardworthy(TM)!

Andrew said...

I don't know why I haven't looked into this earlier, but you can still look at most all of your old posts and pictures if you use the Internet Wayback Machine, Major!

Andrew said...

Here's the link I was trying to include in my previous comment: Wayback Machine Just make sure you're not using Internet Explorer!

Chuck said...

Bless you, Andrew! You've just restored my faith in tomorrow's youth.

In a word, sir, you rock!

Major Pepperidge said...

DrGoat, I only really remember hamburgers from the old visits, and those seem to have always been in Tomorrowland. Of course I have more vivid memories of meals from the last 20 years (or more), but those aren’t so interesting. I wish I got juice at the Sunkist place, or had ice cream at Carnation. Those giant lollipops, I wonder how many of them get more than a few licks? They look neat, but it would take weeks to finish one, and by then… well, I personally am not interested!

Lou and Sue, you’ll be so glad to hear about my new Patreon! Everyone can start sending me lots of money. (This is a joke, I would never do that).

JG, that model of Disneyland at the WDFM is the #1 thing I want to see. I will offer them $250 CASH MONEY to take it off their hands, too. As a trade I will give them all of my beanie babies, and a few lightly soiled Cabbage Patch Kids (I really thought those would go up in value). I still hold out a tiny bit of hope that Photobucket will somehow come back, but after more than a month, it is easy to think that they are just dead. And I am all for your Cheyenne Mountain idea!

Melissa, amen!

Andrew, huh, I never thought of that! The Wayback Machine, the few times I’ve tried to find something with that, I’ve had no luck. Still, pretty neat! Makes me feel good about my contributions to archive.org. Thank you for the info, that’s awesome!

Anonymous said...

Major, you should start a GDB Patreon.

This blog means a lot to me, as I have noted before.

I would contribute, and I am sure many others would also.

Even a buck a month per reader would help with hosting fees.

JG

"Lou and Sue" said...

JG, I’d definitely contribute, too! I LOVE this blog!

Sue

1937 Fan said...

Love these pictures too. It was so exciting to find these in my Aunt's closet!