Motor Boat Cruise, June 1974
I recently scanned a batch of slides that had all turned pink to various degrees. It's a bummer to see them so faded and ugly (frankly), but I decided to give them the old Photoshop treatment, and was extremely pleased with the results - it was worth the extra effort! It seems that folks like to see the "before" and "after" versions, and I was glad that I saved jpegs of each for you (I usually forget to save the unaltered version).
So, here we go... June, 1974, aboard the gentle Motor Boat Cruise. Sure, we've all had some laughs at the expense of this ride, but what I wouldn't give to be able to experience it today! Rest your feet, maybe sit with someone special, and take in the beautiful scenery. There are worse ways to spend 10 minutes! Here's the unfortunate pink version of the scan.
Boy oh boy, even I was surprised at just how good this restored version turned out. The colors came back as rich and bright as could be hoped for. I don't know if there's another Disney park that looked as pretty as this. You can almost imagine the warm sunshine (perhaps a slight breeze), feel the gentle motion of a boat on water, and hear the putt-putt sound of the boats. Peoplemover at 12 o'clock!
Next is this wonderful picture of a herd of motorboats going through some wicked, rocky rapids. Definitely a "6" on the International Scale of River Difficulty! Those rocks could rip a hole in your hull, and all would be lost.
And here's the restored version, looking mighty fine. I love this unusual "you are there" perspective heading through the rapids, definitely a unique view in my collection.
I hope you have enjoyed these photos! I'll have more "before and after" restorations for you coming up.
21 comments:
Major-
Once again, when you unleash your 'magic powers', the results create big smiles. Suddenly, the gentle motion of that attraction comes rushing back. How nice that would be in these times-!
Thanks, Major.
I loved the Motor Boat Cruise. Sometimes the simple pleasures are a nice respite from being constantly bombarded with special effects overload from the bigger attractions. If only the Monorail was passing through in that last pic. Thanks, Major.
Great restoration work, Major! I especially like the rapids picture.
Interesting to note that most of the motorboat passengers appear to be adults.
I know it's not her, but the little blonde girl in the second boat on the left in the second slide reminds me of Kim Richards of Escape to Witch Mountain fame, which would have been in production about this time.
Was the Motor Boat Cruise really 10 minutes long?
Man, those boats look closer together than usual in the rapids pic. If someone just pushed down their gas petal a tiny bit more, calamity could occur! ;-) Great images and awesome restoration work today - thanks!
I loved this ride! I always tried to get the "PT Boat" and would take pot shots at the boats in front of me! The look of surprise when their boat blew up and sank was great! Good clean fun for the whole family! (Ok, maybe it was fun to just imagine you had torpedos.)
I remember the Motor Boats fondly. We would ride and pretend to steer the boats through the rapids. I know Major has talked of opening an extinct attraction park, with all the coolest rides from Disneyland and Knott's. He is, after all, a titan of industry and an entrepreneur of some renown. I would like to formally apply for the position of Mine Train engineer. I am, after all, a crotchety old sour dough with too much time on my hands. I would pay Major and be a grinnin' from ear to ear. Great job restoring these cool snaps, thanks boss.
I agree, you work digital magic Major. I have to use Photoshop occasionally at work. I bow to your superior intellect.
I loved the motorboats too. That is one treacherous waterway! I don't remember being between Scylla and Charybdis on that ride.
Andrew, 10 minutes is a really long ride time. I'll take it. Right now, I could ride the motorboats for hours. By the book. OK, I'm guilty. I watched Wrath of Khan last night.
Thanks and a good job Major...and easy goings for us all.
Off topic. Just received Mary Hartman Mary Hartman on DVD from Netflix.
Think I'll kick back Sunday and see if it was as funny as I remember.
There's a lot to love about the old Motorboats, and Major has captured it in these magnificently repaired photos.
This is right in the era where I rode this attraction the most, and this is what I remember. The couple in the boat ahead, the young lady in the blue hat, could almost be me and my friend on our high school trip. But I don't recall her having a hat like that.
Major, thanks so much for these scans, really makes my day. I will have good memory feelings for some time recalling these times.
All the best to the GDB crew.
JG
As I've said before I, too, loved the motor boat cruise. It was a peaceful respite with great views of the layered attractions. I would be disappointed if a monorail didn't go by.
Putt putt, Major. Everyone stay safe and well.
Dz
Oh my gosh! These are really great, you did an amazing job! I always enjoy seeing photos of lost attractions from new angles, and these two now top my list.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Nanook, just think, they could have just added some plywood cutouts of Ewoks along the riverbank. Bingo! Instant IP smash hit.
K. Martinez, like many things, I didn’t fully appreciate the Motor Boat Cruise until it was gone. Joni Mitchell knew! Kids were probably too cool to ride the boats, unless they were too little to overrule their parents.
Andrew, I am only guestimating, though I would bet that 10 minutes is “in the ballpark”. It could have been longer. Time for me to do some real research to see if there is any data.
stu29573, ha ha, at first, I thought, “PT BOAT?!?!”. You fooled me. I hope you’re happy! ;-) How about this, instead of rocks, they could have had World War II mines to avoid.
Jonathan, I have already secured 200 acres in the Gobi Desert, where I will build my “retro-Disneyland”! If anybody wants to invest in my project, please send cash and gemstones to me directly. You can be a Mine Train engineer; in fact, you can be KING of all Mine Train engineers, and rule with an iron fist.
DrGoat, oh I am very smart and brilliant, don’t you forget it. The other day it only took me 10 minutes to do a 4th grade math problem. I think I’ve read that the new “Rise of the Resistance” ride is at least 10 minutes long, though I could be wrong. I could ride the Motor Boats over and over, but I can’t guarantee that my eyes would be open the whole time.
DrGoat, WOW, what a blast from that past that will be! I loved that show, and “Fernwood 2 Night” even more. Baby Irene! Happy Kyne and the Mirthmakers! Jerry Hubbard!
JG, the funny thing is that there are more faded photos from this batch, but I don’t think any of them restored as spectacularly as these two. Not sure why that is, I sure spent plenty of time on them. But hey, I love these Motor Boat pix, so I’m happy. I hope these helped make everybody’s weird Friday (every day is weird now, of course) a good one!
dzacher, I don’t think we’ll ever see rides like the MBC again, where the whole point was to be slow and relaxing. Nobody wants that, apparently.
Tom, thanks! I was very pleased to find these, and was pretty sure that there would still be enough color information in the pink versions to restore. It was very gratifying to see the results.
I wish I had ridden the motor boats. Perhaps it's location did not advertise itself well. I don't know. Looks like the perfect ride to go on with someone you love on a warm summer's day.
Great restoration as usual Major.
Hans: At Disneyland. Zee sky buckets, they are gone, kaput. And zee ride where zey shrink you down tiny, nicht.
Freakazoid: Oh no, well, at least they still have the little motorboats!"
Hans: [hangs head]
Freakazoid: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOT THE BOATS!!!
I forgot about Fernwood 2 night! Thanks for reminder. Martin Mull is hilarious.
Chuck, Prudence!!! Also Paris Hilton's aunt! Who knew?
I remember "a certain someone" giving a talk about the New Tomorrowland of '98 (at a Convention in Anaheim) before it opened, and pretty much bragging about how they were taking the 16 minute PeopleMover ride and turning it into a 3 minute ride. I remember thinking, how is that a good thing? Looking back now, I'm kind of surprised they didn't reopen the Motor Boat Cruise as the "Rocket Boats - Full Throttle!" Maybe it was because Tomorrowland '98 was so chock-full of bad ideas...they decided that didn't need another one!
I love these pics, Major! Congrats on the excellent restoration job!
^ (Of course, it could have also been because the Motor Boats were in Fantasyland and not in Tomorrowland).
Major, I LOVE seeing the 'befores and afters' - the 'afters' sure look great! Thank you for all your hard work!
The second picture looks more like "salmon swimming upstream" than a "herd of motorboats."
I never rode this ride, either, sadly. Don't know how my family missed it (or I rode it and just don't remember it). :(
DrGoat - I remember watching Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman when it first came out, in 1976. I think it came on late (10:00p?) in our area. It was funny! I recall someone being killed by a Christmas tree. :) My mom's cousin played the part of the delivery guy that shows up in a few episodes . . . not exactly a big exciting role, but I know he had a lot of fun.
TM!, yes, she does look more like she's Prudence's age than Tia's.
I just learned that factoid about her being Paris Hilton's aunt a few weeks ago, after my wife and I watched Escape to Witch Mountain on Disney+. Man, did I have a crush on her during the Return From Witch Mountain / Hello, Larry! era...
Chuck, I apologize for accidentally skipping you! I hate when that happens! I used to love Kim Richards, she’s probably basically the same age as me. Never seen any of the “Witch Mountain” movies though. Too scary. ;-)
Sunday Night, while I did ride the Motor Boats, I admit that there were times we skipped them because there were “more fun” rides to go on…
The Magic Ears Dudebro, I think we can all identify with Freakazoid!
DrGoat, I wonder if they have a “Fernwood” collection on disk??
TokyoMagic!, are you talking about Tony B.? I think that in many ways his heart was in the right place, but man, sometimes the ideas I heard were bad. Like having to access your phone during “It’s a Small World” to activate some dumb content. I need more time on my phone? They want so bad to be hip and interactive, but how about just being GOOD?
TokyoMagic!, I sometimes forget that myself.
Lou and Sue, I figured you would like these! I think we watched “Fernwood 2 Night” more than “Mary Hartman” because Mary Hartman had an affair, and my mom didn’t want us to watch something like that. Of course by then we’d watched 10,000 hours of horror movies, ha ha.
Chuck, I thought TokyoMagic! was joking, Kim Richards is Paris Hilton’s aunt? So weird.
Major, I was able to watch Mary Hartman while babysitting 3 little kids (after I put them to bed) for a mom while she worked evenings in retail (her husband had passed away). She got home around 10:30p if I recall correctly. My mom would NEVER have approved, either. :-/
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