Two Instamatics
I'm happy to continue sharing more Instamatics from Mr. X. I call him THE KING OF THE INSTAMATICS! You can bow to him, but you don't have to, he's a nice fellow. As I have explained before, X found a small stash of negatives, and generously gave them to me so that I can share them with you.
I'm sure there was a time when I wouldn't have been very excited to find a nice photo of one of the Tom Sawyer Island rafts, but nowadays I love 'em. I'm trying to figure out where this one would have launched from - I think there was a landing near where the Keelboats loaded, but I'm not completely sure. There was at least one other raft landing closer to the old Plantation House. All of those guests are going to explore a TSI that is long-gone, the lucky ducks.
This negative was very beat up, but I took a lot of time to clean it. Even so, you can still see some dust specks and other flaws, but I think it looks fairly presentable now. The mostly-unfurled sails with their red and white stripes are always so graphically striking, and I like that the shade cloths match over in the dining area. Pirates knew how to coordinate. "Aaar, yer polka dot bandanna goes great with yer blue breeches! AAAR!". And of course I always love the Chicken of the Sea mermaid, blessing us with her scepter.
12 comments:
Major-
I believe the TSI raft in question actually launched from Vandenberg AFB-! Yes - it was a very exciting journey-! Chicken of the Sea - yes, indeed.
Thanks to Mr. X (and I don't mean X Atencio - although that would okay, too).
Ugh, Major, you've made me confuse the Columbia and Chicken of the Sea once again! (This is a joke.) :) Thanks Mr. X.
I can't decide if those are boxes or a screen right inside the open door on the pirate ship. It really doesn't matter, I suppose...And you can't ask the pirates, they lie about everything.
Stu, I think that is a leg lamp crate. Peg Leg must have won it in a contest. It's , It's a major award. I love the Rafts, riding to TSI in anticipation of tearing around and doing a little exploring. I am pretty sure the CM is thinking "This sure beats working at Burger Chef." Thanks to Mr X and Major.
Ah, the rafts. You can't beat being a kid, riding the rafts to an Island to explore. Didn't we all read Tom Sawyer and/or Huckleberry Finn? Pure genius to use a raft instead of a land bridge or bridge to get the guests there.
I remember having a 4th grade teacher read Tom Sawyer to us for a few minutes a day.
Instamatics King
Past DL revealed to us,
Thank you- sincerely.
dz
Two of the best things about Yesterland.
Major, I believe the raft is launched from the location near where they are launched today. The Old Mill can be seen to the extreme right of the photo, so the photo vantage is slightly 'upstream' of the landing.
I never noticed the mermaid's scepter before, she must be related to both Tinker Bell and Ariel. It would be funny if there was a "bar portrait" of the mermaid somewhere inside the ship, on the lines of the one in Pirates, looking kind of sozzled and waving the wand around in the air.
I think the Pirate Code requires use of paisley bandannas on holidays.
Many thanks for these.
JG
Nanook, I remember being able to feel the rumble of rocket engines from raft launches, it was exhilarating.
Andrew, just call them “big boat” like I do. Problem solved!
Stu29573, it sure looks like an inner door is open on the Pirate Ship (or “big boat”), it’s where they stored thousands of cans of tuna.
Jonathan, I don’t know, I don’t see the word “FRAGILE” stamped on it, but maybe that’s on the other side. I wonder what the hours would be for a typical raft pilot? Did they get lots of breaks? It does look like a fun way to spend a day, though perhaps it would get tedious.
dzacher, I loved those books! Thanks to my grandmother owning a set of Mark Twain books, I read many others, like “Life on the Mississippi” and “Roughing It” and “The Innocents Abroad”. Great stuff. Is that a Haiku?!?!
JG, back in the old days there were two, and possibly three raft landings. I assume that they only used all three on the busiest of days, but even the souvenir maps show two landings. We’ve seen rafts launched from in front of the Plantation House and that doesn’t tend to show up on maps. I’d still love to know if anybody rescued that mermaid figurehead from the old Pirate Ship, I hope she wasn’t bulldozed.
Yes...all 3 could be in use on very busy days. Pretty rare though because of advance scheduling. However, sometimes CMs were in mid shift transferred between attractions as need be..either ramaining in original costume but usually given 30 mins to head back to wardrobe and change in the locker room. KS
dz, our fourth-grade teachers must have gone to the same college, because mine did the same thing!
JG, the pirate shipwreck they built a few years ago outside the Little Mermaid ride in the Magic Kingdom has an Ariel figurehead in the same pose as the Chicken of the Sea mermaid figurehead. Can't be a coincidence, says I.
KS, yes, I can imagine that the three landings were only used on rare occasions. Still, it would have been neat to see the river so busy! So are you saying that sometimes CMs would be wearing a costume that was not correct for a raft pilot?
Melissa, we had a teacher read Huckleberry Finn to us. Even then I squirmed every time she said “that word”, even though I understand the reason it was used. It was just so weird. Now I have to look for a picture of the Little Mermaid ride at the Magic Kingdom, I love the thought of Ariel in the same pose at the Chicken of the Sea mermaid!
Yes Major. It was rare but if needed in a pinch CMs were sent directly to the location another location. KS
Speaking of 'that word', our teacher always read 'Negro' and explained why.
dz
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