It's Sunday, and that means it is time to use up some less-than-wonderful scans. It's a GDB tradition!
Here's a somewhat unusual Frontierland view, looking toward Casa de Fritos, with Rainbow Ridge to our left. It's strange to see that fenced-in grassy area right in front of us! Who wants grass at an amusement park? Not me, it tastes terrible. I think if we looked directly behind us, the load area for the Mark Twain would be there (a little ways off).
Dig the harlequin pants on that girl!
Next is this view from the deck of the Chicken of the Sea tuna boat, looking toward Storybook Land, with a single canal boat going by, and Casey Jr. trying like heck to get up that hill. I think I've read that they eventually reduced the grade of that hill, but perhaps I am mistaken. I'm wondering what that little "Greek temple" is in Storybook Land... any ideas?
Major-
ReplyDeleteDo I spy a pair of "hostess pants", front-and-center - you know... "They're hostess pants. You wear 'em when you give smart dinner parties". I hear tell they're the perfect attire for traipsing-around Frontierland-!
And in the second image - telephone poles on parade.
Thanks, Major.
MAJOR: the “Greek Temple” is a garden folley in London Park ..... part of the Peter Pan section of StorybookLand. Garden folleys were very popular during the 1700’s and 1800’s especially for British estates and parks. They sometimes were built to look like a castle ruin , a Greek temple or a fanciful pavilion. Marie Antoinette had one that looked like a French peasant water mill. They were sort of “themed architectural “ garden elements for the very very rich. For the newly rich they added a imitation tie to royalty.
ReplyDeleteNanook, I saw 'em, but I was going to ignore them, because I didn't want to upset the Major. But since you brought them up, that lady is lacking three more things, before her outfit can be complete. She needs a big black crushy belt, an off-the-shoulder blouse and little ballet slippers...and then she's all set.
ReplyDeleteThat patch of grass was actually harvested for the watercress sandwiches, which were served at the Plaza Pavilion Restaurant. They were a favorite of Elsa Lanchester's, when she visited the park. Personally, I don't care for the taste of buttered grass.
Mike, even as a kid, it always bothered me when the hostesses would say, "And on the right is London Park...the very same park where Peter taught Wendy, John and Michael, how to fly. Who wrote that incorrect factoid, Marty Sklar?
ReplyDeleteGarden folleys, garish pants, what a great post this is. I have a soft spot for original attractions that are still around. Aka Storybook Land and Rainbow Ridge. I confess, I don't remember London Park, though. I cut a striking figure in harlequin pants, I wear em when attending Christmas parties. I think a Skyway gondola would make a perfect folley for my garden. Tea anyone? Thanks Major.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: GARDEN FOLLY ( not folley)
ReplyDeleteTokyo Magic : I’m not sure : it was probably the only way to tie Peter Pan’s 1904 city of London into the smaller village like settings of the rest of StorybookLand .....maybe it was a small part of the Peter Pan story we never saw - in the film : a moment between the Darling’s town home and Big Ben..... like the other two windmills and canal miniatures from THE OLD MILL .... or the Water Wheel house in the Alice in Wonderland section of the attraction .....in the same way many of the facades to the Fantasyland dark rides like Snow White and Peter Pan reflect nothing we actually see in the films..... yet they fit perfectly to what we know of the movies they relate to and they fit perfectly as individual building sections within the castle “village” of Fantasyland.
Another detail is the statue of Peter Pan in StorybookLand’s “London Park” island ...there’s a real park in London with a famous statue dedicated to the Peter Pan Story and it’s author ......and a Peter Pan statue was planned to go in front of the New Fantasyland Peter Pan’s Flight attraction ...... it was sculpted - but for budget reasons was never completed. Other 1983 New Fantasyland area details completely designed and blueprinted but never completed was a Stromboli Puppet Wagon ( a decorative scenic prop - not a merchandise cart) and a completely different Mad Tea Party entry featuring giant heart shaped entry hedge arches and animated figures of The Mad Hatter and the March Hare....
I like how that second picture was taken at the exact moment Casey was at the top of the hill.
ReplyDeleteGrass? I'm more of an Astroturf guy.
The second pic is the clear winner. It's got telephone poles! Thanks, Major.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I agree. It seems like the photographer intended to catch Casey Jr. at that specific moment.
I saw those pants in last month’s Harper’s Bazaar!
ReplyDeleteBut for the backside of hair that would be less of a Snoozer™ photo showing that corner of the early park. My garden folly is surrounded by that short metal fencing so popular in DL of that period.
ReplyDeleteWe can see just enough of the Storybook Land hostess to remind me of my many crushes in the day. No one can crush like a 12 year old boy, I tell you. I agree, good catch with Casey at the top of the hill.
Are those wagon wheel tracks on the ground there?
And I'd like to point my blacklight at those harlequin pants.
Thanks Major
zach
I've seen 100s pictures of Storybook Land. Heck I've been there. This is the 1st time I've noticed the stitching between fields. Major you never disappoint.
ReplyDeleteNanook, at this point even I get the “hostess pants” reference. Maybe it’s because it is out of context, but of all the “I Love Lucy” lines, that one doesn’t seem that hilarious? Perhaps the visuals were the key.
ReplyDeleteMike Cozart, ah yes, now that you have reminded me, I guess I did know about London Park at some point. I like the idea of building something that looks like ancient ruins, to decorate a garden or a park! As you said, they were early versions of themed entertainment. Only with fewer audio animatronics!
TokyoMagic!, I think those pants look like flannel PJs, but that’s just me. Plus, I am now very upset, and maybe even enraged. I know I’ve said it before, but it is kind of weird to be in my position… everybody loves Lucy, but I see her and think, “Ugh!”. Clearly the problem is ME.
TokyoMagic!, everyone knows that Peter Pan taught Wendy and her brothers to fly from the roof of the nearby Zachary All.
Jonathan, between your harlequin pants and my parachute pants, we would make a dynamic duo!
Mike Cozart, it’s OK! I am not a member of the spelling police, though I did try out for them. You are probably right about tying Peter Pan into Storybook Land, since they weren’t going to build a miniature London or an undersized Never Neverland island (like in the Peter Pan ride). I actually PREFER that the Storybook Land scenes are kind of not obvious in many cases. As you said, the mills from The Old Mill and Moley’s Cottage. Wow, bummer that they actually sculpted a Peter Pan statue and then never made it. I hope the sculpture still survives… if so they could always add it someday.
Andrew, good photographers are patient (unlike me) and wait for the right moment!
K. Martinez, boy, that second photo has a LOT of telephone poles. You must be in heaven! ;-)
Melissa, who is Harper and why is she so bizarre?
zach, I sometimes wonder why somebody would snap a photo when there is a big head eclipsing 1/4 of the image, but maybe their brains sort of edit it out? I know what you mean about those Storybook Land hostesses, they were almost always cute. ALTHOUGH… my heart still belongs to one particular lass who worked “Pirates of the Caribbean”, she was the bees knees! Gosh, what are those tracks on the ground? I really have no idea. Might just be tire tracks from a maintenance vehicle.
Photo 1 memorializes the back of that women’s head, but I have similar shots that I have taken. Too focused on the thing you wanted to photograph and then realizing you got more than you wanted of something else.
ReplyDeletePhoto 2 is the winner here. As a kid I never understood the patchwork quilt garden, but as an adult, I love the bonsai flair, even though I still don’t get the reference. Plus, utility poles and a great view of the backstage stables and workshops. Zach, I know what you mean. Sign.
Storybook land is full of inside jokes and pieces of backstory. Thanks Mike Cozart for the background on follies. These were the architectural equivalent of the Disneyland “weenies”. Something to catch your eye and make you walk toward it, like the SBC or the Moonliner.
Andrew, the animatronic goats eat the astroturf.
Thanks Major and everyone.
JG
@ Melissa-
ReplyDelete“Well, they’re certainly bizarre!”
“What I can’t figure out is how they got them to fit in a box of Cracker Jacks.”
Major-
Yes, you 'had to be there' - It's all about context. It really is quite brilliant. I think the real problem you face is the title of the series leaves little 'wiggle room' for argument. If instead, the series was entitled I Like Lucy, I feel confident you'd be right-on-board-!
Okay, because it's expected - "HEED! MOVE!""
ReplyDeleteThe backside of hair? That must be Dr. Alberta Falls!
ReplyDeleteThe vintage Storybookland Hostess costume is one of my all-time favorites.
Nice lazy Sunday photos, Major. Down in front, in the first picture! I spy a blurry Mickey ears hat to the left. The two hostess pants-wearing ladies are also wearing their shower slippers.
ReplyDeleteI like when you're riding Storybook Land and there's a duck sitting by the bench or folly in Peter Pan's park. Ahh, giant duck! I always try to take a photo but I've never been able to get a good one.
Great comments today! The backside of hair, the ladies' attire, and the little white wire fencing, make the first scan a winner, in my book!
ReplyDeleteIn the 60s, a portion of our little backyard was closed-off with the exact white wire fencing - to keep our dachshund and my grandparents' dachshund from going in my "play area." They had a separate portion, near the garage, for doing their business. Seeing this fencing in DL always makes me chuckle as I recall that Toby (my grandparents' dachshund) would occasionally try to get into my play area and get stuck in the fencing - and only my dad could remove her, as she would get mean when she got stuck (but she loved my dad and would never snap at him).
Major, if you ever started liking I Love Lucy, we'd have to find something else to tease you about. You're too much fun not to tease! (Btw, I think the other "Lucy shows" are annoying and never watch them, so I can sort-of understand how you feel. Sort of.)
Thanks, Major and all!
Major, all I have to say is, (in a whiny voice) Nanook started it! ;-)
ReplyDeleteSue & Major, I have said this before, but I think Lucille Ball is horrible in pretty much everything she did AFTER "I Love Lucy." Major, the other day you mentioned listening to an interview with her. I've seen quite a few of her old television interviews, and most of them are very cringe worthy.
And as Nanook said, it is the context. The writing in that one particular scene is especially witty....and memorable, as the two characters fire their lines off at one another. However, now I'm thinking maybe Linda Lavin and Polly Holliday could have delivered them better.
Zachary All.....wow, that's a throw back! That commercial taught me what "portly" meant. He was sort of the Cal Worthington of men's suits!
@ TM!-
ReplyDeleteHeck - I even worked-in a "Golden Girls" reference, with the I Like Lucy line.
As for Zachary All - who can forget "Eddie Are You Kidding?" by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention-! Yes, 'portly' & 'cadet' - I guess unless you're in the "shmatte business" these terms don't exactly roll-off the tongue. (I suppose it's a physical impossibility to make a portly-extra tall...)
Nanook, ooops, I missed the "Golden Girls" reference! You are right, those terms don't exactly roll of the tongue, but they are unique and euphonious!
ReplyDeleteGnometrek, the stitching was there for a long time (might still be!), but it is an easy thing to overlook, with so much else to enjoy!
ReplyDeleteJG, yes, exactly, somehow you don’t even notice the head when you are taking the picture. And then… ooops! I don’t think I understood the patchwork quilt thing either. The legend is that there was going to be a plan to have a giant’s head periodically rise up; in a way I’m glad they didn’t include it, even though it sounds kind of cool.
Nanook, I dunno… since I don’t even like Lucy, I would say that the title would have to be something even more unkind.
Chuck, how many people recognize that reference?!
Melissa, ha ha, love it! I wonder if she used Alberta VO5?
Kathy! it took me a minute (maybe more) to find the mouse ears, but I think I see them. Subtle! And yes, I love the giant ducks, or even the ducks who fearlessly sit on the backs of the crocodiles in the Jungle Cruise.
Lou and Sue, if only you had some of that white wire fencing. We could put fake Disneyland price stickers on it and sell it for a fortune! There’s somebody on eBay who does stuff like that. It’s unbelievable what this guy gets away with. Aw, I love that Toby liked your dad but would tolerate no other. As for “Lucy”, I remember watching it as a kid and thinking, “If she just told Ricky that she burned the roast” (or whatever, I don’t know if that ever happened), he’d be peeved for a few seconds and they’d move on.
TokyoMagic!,she was so nasty to her husband, who was trying to be nice and loving to her. And I figured that she was probably behaving better on TV than she would when she was off camera. You know who I love? Vivian Vance!
Nanook, would you believe that I never watched a single episode of “The Golden Girls”? I didn’t know Zappa did a tribute to Eddie, and my brother is a Zappa fan.
TokyoMagic!, I just remember wondering why Eddie never starred in any major motion pictures. The guy had charisma.
I Have Made My Peace with Lucy
ReplyDeleteLucy, I Guess
I Acknowledge the Existence of Lucy
That Guy Loves Lucy; It’s His Funeral
People Seem to Watch Lucy
ReplyDeleteI Recognize Lucy
Hey, It’s That Lucy Chick
You Watch Lucy
Lucy or Whatever
I... Yeah, Lucy’s On