Today's post features the fourth and final installment of photos (taken by Lou Perry and shared by his daughter Sue B.) from Disneyland's 30th birthday parade in 1985. It wasn't the most expensive, elaborate parade, but it had a "cast of hundreds", and enough nods to the park's history to make it pretty fun for Disnerds.
Of course we are picking up right where we left off the last time, with some Fantasyland characters marching by. Captain Hook, the Queen of Hearts, Alice and the White Rabbit. Alice is wearing a cloak that made me think she was "Briar Rose" for a moment - it was March, so it could have been chilly.
I feel like the Queen of Hearts needs much bigger head. The character was big in the movie, and she shouted a lot. She also burped a lot, though that wasn't in the movie. Why did they make this so relatively subdued? The flamingo croquet mallet is a nice touch though. I need that in my collection.
Oh jeez, there he is! Mickey Mouse himself! Look at the people on the curb, they are so excited. The Disneyland Band accompanies him, as they have done so many times throughout the decades.
Pinocchio somehow managed to get a seat on Mickey's float; I'm not suggesting bribery. Or am I?
We can also see Cinderella, and one of her seamstress mouse friends are also there. And a few Dwarfs!
Mickey is looking tanned and well-rested. He eats right (having given up sugar) and exercises, and meditates while listening to ocean sounds.
More fun with the Dwarfs. Who is that lady holding hands with Bashful? She's only with him for his gems!
Poor Grumpy got tangled up in balloons and streamers, but you know what? He's OK with it. He has mellowed with age. Or else he has just given up.
I love the look of delight on that little boy's face. Grumpy is looking right at him! Notice the woman in her Haunted Mansion costume, carrying a bouquet of (non-eared) balloons. Behind her is a CM carrying a rope that indicates the end of the parade.
Lou took a few last photos as the procession continued around Town Square. I've noticed several people wearing "Indian" headbands with feathers, not sure if they were souvenir hats, or if they were handed out to certain guests. (I wrote this post long before we discussed these hats on the blog, but left it in because I like to look dumb).
Let's watch as the parade continued north on Main Street, with the crowd following close behind.
Thanks so much to Lou Perry, and to Sue B. for all of her time and effort scanning so many photos to share with all of us! There's TONS MORE from Lou and Sue coming up.
Major-
ReplyDeleteThis certainly looks like a fun parade, and frankly a nice change of pace from the usual Disney fare. Curious as to what the construction is we can see peering-over the roof of Town Square Café-?
Thanks to Lou & Sue, again, for sharing these fun images from an unusual, but delightful parade.
I see a fuzzy JFK, hanging on a lamppost in that last pic. And is that old Ben Franklin, "hanging around" in front of the Firehouse?
ReplyDeleteIn the fifth photo, we can see a sign hanging over one of the exit doorways for Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln. The sign reads, "Prize Winners Redemption Center." I meant to point that out in earlier posts of this parade (I don't think anyone else had pointed it out yet). That is where guests went to claim the prizes, which were awarded to them by the "Gift Giver Extraordinaire."
It must have been cold. Not only does Alice have her cape (as you pointed out, Major), but Cinderella has her special "Winter" long-sleeved dress on, with short gloves, instead of her usual short-sleeved dress, with long gloves.
Pinocchio must have pulled some strings, in order to get that prime spot on Mickey's float.
I’m a giant teapot; can you dig it?
ReplyDeleteHere is my lid and here is my spigot.
I hold lots of tea ‘cause I’m so big, it
Takes a hundred guys to swig it.
(When the tea’s all steamed up, you can dump it
In a cup and dunk your crumpet.)
He can’t be too awful Bashful, holding hands in public like that! Better change his name to Brazen.
Pinocchio is thinking, “Mickey and I both started out in red shorts, and now he’s got a whole darn pair of long pants! Just for that I’m gonna poach his float!”
The little dwarf-gazing kid is adorable indeed. Combined with the cute power of the mouse-eared moppet in the stroller, Grumpy and Spooky don’t stand a chance.
I spy some legwarmers in #10! And a couple of those “New Mouseketeer” style ear hats.
”Mickey is looking tanned and well-rested. He eats right (having given up sugar) and exercises, and meditates while listening to ocean sounds.”
Down at the health club they call him Steambath Willie.
So much treasure today! Thanks, Lou and Sue and the Major, too!
I forgot to thank Lou, Sue and the Major, too!
ReplyDeleteSue....DrGoat asked in Part 3 of these parade posts (August 31st), about your dad's location, when shooting these pics. You replied that he was probably at the top of the steps of the Main St. train station. I wasn't able to comment on the post that day, but I'm assuming that we saw your dad's camera set-up for all of these parade pics, in this post from April 13th of this year?
https://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/2020/04/more-from-lou-and-sue.html
Thanks to Lou and Sue for these most excellent pics. I love to watch the crowds in parades. What kind of fashion they are sporting, and their expressions and such. Thanks to Major P. for sharing.
ReplyDeleteCan't get enough of these parade shots Lou & Sue. Darn, wish I could have been there. As Nanook said, it looks like a fun parade.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like JFK's photo on the banner in the last pic.
The gals from the haunted mansion look kind of like the night shift cleaning staff from Hogwarts.
You're right Major, the queen's head is much too small compared to Hook and Smee's gigantic noggins.
Melissa, I think Pinocchio is wearing shorts to show off his girl gams.
Thank you Lou & Sue for these really fun pics, and thanks Major for letting us in on them.
This looks like it was a fun event, I am so happy there are so many pictures of it in such close succession, it really it like watching it. The lack of glitz makes it more palatable.
ReplyDelete@Tokyo, thanks so much for the link to the earlier post. It even discusses the parade photos to come. Major, you should put a link back to the early post.
I want to drive that pirate ship go-cart.
Fun comments everyone, thank you!
JG
”I want to drive that pirate ship go-cart.”
ReplyDeleteMe, too! (Although I wouldn’t mind sharing the cockpit with that cute CM in the stripey socks and hat.)
Nanook, I was wondering the same thing about the construction… what could have been going on in that spot in 1985? No idea!
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic! I’m not sure about Ben Franklin, but that is definitely JFK. He was a “Disney Legend”! ;-) Funny thing about that “Prize Winners Redemption Center”… lots of people walked in, but nobody ever walked out. I’m sure it was nothing. Even the Haunted Mansion ladies appear to be wearing a winter version of their costumes; I need to dig through “Jason’s Disneyland Almanac to see how chilly it was on March 8, 1985 (only I think the book is at my mom’s house).
Melissa, you are the Sondheim of this blog! Good old Fred Sondheim, what a guy. It really is fun to see the happy faces on the guests as various characters walk by. Leg Warmers… “Flashdance” had come out in 1983, so they were definitely a thing in ’85.
TokyoMagic!, I remembered those photos, but I also remembered that it was her cousin Stu up there. I forgot the text part where Sue said that he was holding Lou’s spot for him!
Jonathan, it amazes me to see grown adults who seem just as thrilled to see (and interact with) their favorite characters as the kids do.
DrGoat, we’ll see more of those various portraits along Main Street in an upcoming post - they’ve already been the topic of some discussion here in the past. I’ve seen that “small head” Queen of Hearts before, it’s strange because most costumed characters have the oversized heads that we are so used to (and are somehow more appealing). I remember when I was a kid and somebody told me that it was probably a girl playing Pinocchio - it blew my mind!
JG, we are done with this particular parade, but Lou took photos of other parades as well, including one for Donald Duck’s 50th birthday. Stay tuned for those! I’m sure so many of those parade props were destroyed when the event had run its course - such a shame.
Our sweeper friend is in more pictures, again. Like I said before, he wins for "Most Photographed" this year!
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I LOVE your poem - you sure are creative at wee hours of the morning!
I noticed, in this parade, that lots of people are smiling and laughing. I have photos of other parades where the "crowd" is looking at everything BUT the parade, looking very bored.
In Pics #8 & 9, that HM CM truly has a 1980s hairstyle - complete with perm.
In Pic #9, what is in front of the little boy in the stroller, on the ground?? Was he originally tied-up in ribbon, too, like Grumpy?
In the 2nd to the last pic, I love that little girl - all in purple.
In those April photos you posted on GDB, Major, that young man is actually another one of my cousins - Mark. My dad also started him in photography when he was a young teen. They enjoyed taking pictures, together.
Major, regarding those Donald Duck 50th birthday parade pictures I scanned for you...I noticed that my dad took pictures of that parade on two different days - with the parade going in one direction one day, then the other direction the other day. I toyed with the idea of tossing in one picture from the other day, to let you try to figure out what happened. ;)
Thanks, Major, for all your work, with these pictures! My dad will be happy to know that so many Jr. Gorilla Disnerds (Major, you need to copyright that) enjoyed this parade!
Sue
“Flashdance” had come out in 1983, so they were definitely a thing in ’85.
ReplyDeleteIn the missing pictures from my family’s 1983 trip to WDW, I’m wearing one of those Flashdance-style sweatshirts with the wide, ripped neckline. They were everywhere!
Melissa, I did that to one of my Mickey Mouse sweatshirts, back then. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteMajor-
ReplyDeleteAccording to Jason... the high temperature that day was 68°, with a low of 44°. Undoubtedly, it was the previous night's low of a "bone-chilling" 43° that had all the guests running to their cold storage lockers so they could grab all their heavy furs to maintain a safe internal body temperature while traipsing-around the Happiest Place On Earth. Sorry, but such wimps.
Nanook, hahaha! In our area, when the winter temps go from freezing to a balmy 40 degrees or so, the teenage guys start wearing their summer shorts everywhere. It's always funny to see furs on people when it's above 40 or so, imo.
ReplyDeleteIn Pic #9, what is in front of the little boy in the stroller, on the ground?? Was he originally tied-up in ribbon, too, like Grumpy?
ReplyDeleteCorrection to my comment, above: The kid I'm referring to IS NOT the one in the stroller. I'm referring to the kid sitting on the curb, looking at Grumpy.
Lou and Sue, I’m sure that all parades have a mix of bored folks and enthusiasts, and everything in-between, but overall I see a lot more smiles on these people. Those ‘80s perms make me think of high school, although I still remember a girl coming in with a crimped perm that looked like Roseanne Rosanadana. Sorry about mixing up Mark and Stu! My mistake. While I have turned the Donald Duck 50th photos into jpegs, I haven’t really gone through them in a thorough way yet - I’d like to think that I would have figured out that it was two different parades! Say “hi” to Lou for me!
ReplyDeleteMelissa, oh yes, I remember girls getting in trouble in school for having one bared shoulder. Somehow that wasn’t OK! Flavored lip gloss was a big deal too, I remember girls constantly reapplying.
Lou and Sue, luckily that was before that sort of behavior became punishable by law.
Nanook, hm, 68° doesn’t seem that cold, but of course that was the high - if this was in the morning, it could have been five or ten degrees colder. Are you telling me you wouldn’t wear a jacket if the temps were in the low ‘40s? I would!
Lou and Sue, when I lived in Pennsylvania, I remember going outside in t-shirts in low temps. Not for too long of course! It’s as if people develop an insulating layer or something so that they don’t feel the cold so much.
Lou and Sue, I knew which kid you meant!
I think it’s a wad of those curly paper streamers that you usually see people throwing off cruise ships as they pull out.
ReplyDeleteI once went to a production of Anything Goes where the cast threw those out into the audience after the opening number. It was pretty neat!
Major-
ReplyDeleteOf course I'd wear a jacket if the temps were in the 40's. Again, it's all a matter of just how insulating the garment. Hence my snarky remark about 'unearthing the fur coats from cold storage'.
The whole situation reminds me of the scene from All About Eve in Margo's bedroom...
KAREN: Now who'd show up at this hour? It's time people went home - hold that coat up... whose is it?
EVE: Some Hollywood movie star, her plane got in late.
KAREN: Discouraging, isn't it? Women with furs like that where it never even gets cold.