River Belle Terrace
I have three slides featuring the interior of the River Belle Terrace, courtesy of my friend Mr. X. Interiors like these are very unusual, even from the 1990s! Most of you know that this used to be Aunt Jemima's Pancake House/Kitchen, and then (briefly) the Magnolia Terrace. In 1971, the River Belle Terrace was born.
Boy, do I dislike the font used on that sign! Was it supposed to look folksy and hand-lettered? Why not opt for elegant and classy? Just my opinion of course.
My guess is that Mr. X took photos like this first thing in the morning before there were any customers, allowing a wonderful crowd-free view. It's interesting to compare this to some of the Mysterious Benefactor's photos of the River Belle Terrace from two decades earlier.
Here's a dining area; pretty elegant for an amusement park! I have never stepped foot inside this establishment, I'm sorry to say. Mr. X says that this has been completely altered in recent years, and not for the better. Still, we can enjoy this lovely photo.
Thank you to Mr. X for sharing his personal photos!
19 comments:
Major-
I have to agree with you about the font 'on that sign'. Frankly, it would be more at-home on a homemade set of a middle school's annual musical production of Li'l Abner-! Thankfully, the rest of the interior is, as you say, "pretty elegant".
Thanks to Mr. X.
The blue & white & gold color scheme is very pretty.
I miss the "buffeteria" style of service from this restaurant. One of the alterations they made to this facility, was to make it entirely a "table service-only" restaurant. Oh, and of course, they raised the prices.
Is that a human head inside of a jar, in the second photo?
P.S. Thank you, Major and Mr. "X"!
One of the concrete memories of my 1971 visit at age two-and-a-half is of waiting in line to get lunch at the River Belle Terrace after riding the Mark Twain, a memory that came flooding back on a 1994 return visit. Always enjoyed eating here - particularly breakfast - and made sure my kids had an opportunity to do so, too. Always sad to hear one more corner of Walt's Park has been remuddled out of existence.
Great. Now I want pancakes.
Actually, that font reminds me of the font they use in Liberty Square. It might not be exactly it, but it seems close.
Speaking of WDW, it's a rough day for street performers there. They all just got laid off. Of course at least WDW is open. Maybe if they claimed Disneyland was a sports stadium, the gov'nor would let it open? I have a theory that Newsom's parents always refused to take him to Disneyland, so he developed a deep seated resentment of Mickey and the crew.
If my memory serves, we ate there once in '72 I think. That was one of our last trips as a family. I have fond memories of those last trips. Think I ate there again later that decade on one of my trips sans family.
Tokyo, you might be right. I took a look at that second pic in Photoshop and it looks like the head of the older Luke Skywalker, but how can that be? Disney buys Star Wars and sends Luke's head back into the past for some unknown reason? I'll leave it at that.
Chuck, those memories of times when we were very young are rare and fleeting. Cool to have a solid impression of that time.
Yes, the font sucks. Going for the folk art look I guess.
Thanks Major and thanks to you Mysterious B.
TokyoMagic and DrGoat, that’s Luke Skywalker Decapitated Decaffeinated Coffee in that jar!
I remember it as Aunt Jemima's, pancakes anyone? I agree, the font is awful, but it still needs to hang on the wall of my guest bedroom. Maybe it's the head of Alfredo Garcia. Or, a Yippie they dispatched and preserved for future generations. Or, a ghost from the Haunted Mansion who didn't pay his Morgueidge. Well, I'm out of ideas and I need something with syrup. Thanks Major.
Nanook, you can almost imagine the graphics person finding that font on fonts.com (after trying a few other equally bad examples) and installing it on their Mac. It’s really pretty horrible! But yes, thankfully the interior was much more classy.
Melissa, those were Mary Blair’s favorite colors!
TokyoMagic!, funny, Mr. X loves that it is now a table-service only restaurant. I guess he doesn’t like buffeteria-style places! And that really is a head in a jar. “Pickled head” is a Cajun classic.
Chuck, when you took your kids there, did you make sure they got Mickey pancakes? I think that’s one of the places where you can get those. Definitely a memorable experience!
Stu29573, jeez, I hope they don’t use that font in Liberty Square as well! There are other, more appropriate fonts that look and read better. It really makes me wonder about a company built on the talents of amazing artists, and now it has come to this. Nobody along the way, especially the art director, thought that there was anything wrong with that font! Ugh.
DrGoat, gosh, it seems hard for me to believe, but probably 1971 or 1972 was the last time I went. to the park with my family (including my dad - I did go much later after he’d passed with my mom and siblings). How can that be! I think at a certain age my dad preferred to stay home and watch sports. As for memories that are “rare and fleeting”, I feel like everyone who comments has much more vivid memories than I do!
Lou and Sue, I thought it might be head tea!
Jonathan, that is one sign I think I can live without. I often covet old props and signs, but not that one! I think that’s the head of Alfredo’s brother Pablo. You can tell by the mustache. “Morgueidge”, I love it! I had waffles for dinner a few nights ago, by the second one I was already regretting it.
This was a favorite spot as a kid. I remember several trips here for breakfast, always a Mickey pancake. Made from batter, not "pre-formed"; blueberry eyes, cherry nose, pineapple smile, and powdered sugar on the ears.
I think by the time I got back here with my kids, the only ones available were the "toaster pastry" Eggo type. I was occasionally the cook for the Scout Troop pancake breakfasts and I would make Mickeys on special request. They were easy with a batter dispenser and a flat-top griddle, somewhat harder in a frying pan on a camp stove, but I made sure the memory was passed on to my kids and many many more.
I don't recall the serving line looking like this photo, but the dining room looks similar to my memory. On one of my solo trips, I sat at the table to the extreme left by the window. I've always liked the exterior of this building, and it's a shame if they wrecked the interior, but I'm not surprised.
Thanks Major and Mr. X, very much indeed.
JG
The patina of time...it went to River Belle Terrace in '71? Wow, we CMs continued to call it AJs for a number of years after that date....especially for a breakfast after Canoe Race practices (before park opening). KS
It’s a jar of Decapitated Decaffeinated Noggin Nog. I always liked their slogan: “A Flavor A Head of its Time.”
JC, we ate at Aunt Jemima's Pancake House a couple of times in the 60s. I have a few memories of the pancakes, people milling around, and that unmistakable sound that breakfast places have when they are busy.
Did eat at the Silver Banjo once, according to my sister. She is 4 years older than me and remembers it but I don't.
Major, the early '70s sounds like it was a time for things to happen in our lives. I think the very last time we went as a family was in '73. We kids were getting older and, well you know. My wife and I took my Mom and Dad to the park in 1997 'cause I knew it would never happen again. Dad was in failing health so we walked very slow and we actually all had some laughs and shared some stories of old days. By 2001 they were both gone so that trip is large in my memory bank.
Enjoy your loved ones while you have the chance. It doesn't last forever.
I remember getting "something" at River Belle and waiting in that line for it. I don't think there were any shrunken heads in jars but the decor sure looks familiar - almost like a ladies' social club. Tea sandwiches would seem more appropriate than pancakes.
The font on the sign doesn't bother me as much as the way it's used. There may just be some precedent for it that someone saw in an old handbill or newspaper and decided to "apply" it to this case.
1001 Fonts!! LOL!! I used to love that place and the goofy names for the fonts like "Scrambled Eggs". One could actually find some cool Disney fan fonts there.
The most miraculous pancakes I ever had were at a small B&B in Minnesota and had "Jesus loves you" written into the pancake with the batter.
JG, soon you will see some photos of the authentic Mickey pancakes, as they are being made. The most exciting blog post ever!! They look very much as you described. I would be pretty disappointed if they served an “Eggo” type waffle or pancake, you can literally buy those at your local supermarket. I am amused that they used “subway tiles” in a restaurant meant to evoke the “old south”. But hey, they’re easy to clean!
KS, I’m sure many people still thought of the River Belle Terrace as Aunt Jemimas for a few years afterwards; change is hard!
Melissa, I prefer mine dandruff-free.
DrGoat, yes I definitely know about how things like going to Disneyland started to take a back seat to other stuff as I grew up. Of the four kids in our family, I was always enthusiastic about going to the park, but the rest of them were not that into it. They liked it, but could sort of take it or leave it. Another issue is that my Navy dad was transferred to the east coast (Pennsylvania), so that definitely made it nearly impossible to go for quite a while. I’m sorry both of your folks are gone; my dad passed five years ago, and my mom is 85. She just had her gallbladder removed yesterday, and today I took her for a mile-long walk!
Omnispace, now I want a cool voodoo-themed New Orleans Square restaurant! Maybe heads in jars would put people off of their food, however. The actual dining area does look pretty elegant, with the molded plaster decorations. I admit to going to those free font sites plenty of times, but mostly when I was doing a piece for a client who specifically requested a “western font” or a “1920s font”, or whatever. Ed Benguiat just passed away, he was the designer of many famous and tasteful fonts and logos, it’s interesting to read his thoughts on design. HE would have made something beautiful for the River Belle Terrace!
Major, good for her! Many more walks to come I'm sure. Just keep moving....or keep swimming which I suppose would be more Disney.
Major, good news about your Mom. Best wishes to her!
JG
Major and all,
Aunt Jemima's-River Belle Terrace is deep in my memory banks too. Went there just about every trip we made to the park. It was practically a ritual for us. My folks ingrained it into me and my brother, and I introduced Kai to the place the first time we visited the park as a couple, and we made sure that our boys were introduced to it too. Mickey pancakes for them, no matter how old they were. Our youngest met some of his college buddies there after graduation, and they had a meal at the Terrace. And yeah, Beej told me that they had Mickey pancakes. Seems a crime to change the whole format of the place. It is, or was, a part of what I think we all consider "Classic Disneyland."
And Major, sounds like good news about your Mom. Excellent!
W
W
Post a Comment