Disneyland With Cindy, July 1971
Here are two very nice, colorful slide scans dated "July 1971", featuring a groovy young lady named Cindy.
That's her, in the violet top with red sleeves, her white purse, black belt, and purple pants. She's walking Pop Art! She and her dad are checking out their newly-purchased ticket books. I hope they got the "15 Adventure" books!
Meanwhile, check out grandma in her flaming red outfit, and even the family in front of the Mickey flower portrait; bold hues and patterns were the thing in '71. There are two little girls to the right, not twins, but dressed very similarly, and wearing identical souvenir hats.
Next we see Cindy posing in front of Merlin's Magic Shop. It was busy, but not too busy! The nun is a good omen. It's hard to miss the balloon vendor in his getup inspired (presumably) by Pinocchio, the Little Wooden Head himself. He's clutching some cash, ready to make change for the next customer. And I love the bouquet of balloons!
I hope you have enjoyed meeting Cindy in Disneyland.
25 comments:
Major-
Gro-ovy-! Dads' pants... what da'ya make of those-? I also like the hat being worn by the gal right in front of floral Mickey.
I thought nuns always travelled in packs - or at least in pairs. 'Someone' appears to be missing. The balloon vendor is using his powers of x-ray vision to discern the validity of that $100.00 bill he's holding.
Thanks, Major.
I doubt that's her dad. Or maybe he's her "daddy", but not her father. They look to close to the same age. Especially in the second pic.
As for those pants? I had a pair exactly like that in the same color.
My favorite today is the Fantasyland pic with the "Pinocchio" balloon vendor. Very colorful. Thanks, Major.
A couple bright and vibrant photos for this Friday, Major!
In my mind, I always think of the flower Mickey at the entrance to the park as being brighter, and maybe it was, but the vibrant outfits of grandma and Cindy easily draw ones attention around the frame and not just our cheerful mouse.
It's hard to miss the vendor as that bunch of balloons works to draw ones attention to them and then down to him. Almost like it's saying "look at me!!!"
Really great posts today, Major! A bit of bright color on a winter's day.
Thanks, as always!!
AlbinoDragon
Oh, yeah, there are some great textiles art going on in these picture. Plaid pants! Striped pants! Textured doubleknits! Pinocchio looks soberly dressed in comparison.
I love the composition of the group to the left in #1, with the two people facing the four against the fence. Grandma's contrapposto softens the monochrome colums of her pantsuit, and I want the patchwork purse peeping out from behind her. The shirts of the woman and boy facing us are balancing the horizontal and vertical hold. And those turquoise coolie hats are far out!
Dig the combination beehive/ponytail on the handholding girl with the black-and-white checked purse in #2! And those clasic mouse ear balloons just make me happy.
I'm going to just go ahead on and assume the nice Sister is wearing long, candy-striped socks under her habit.
I too had those variant width vertical stripes pants as a kid in the early 1970’s ....by 1974/75 they had given way to plaid pants patterns and of course tough-skin canvas solids with heavy hardware snaps.
It’s interesting that the odd Fantasyland male balloon seller costume in use since 1955 is still being used in 1971. But that will change soon as eventually all the new type costumes developed for Walt Disney World will soon be replacing Disneyland costume designs that predated 1968/69. For a short time a red pants with red striped apron , and striped hat balloon Seller costume would be used - a variant on a outdoor vending costume - then by the mid 70’s the famous yellow with red/white trim and striped apron balloon and vending costume would be used into the mid 1990’s! Main Street balloon seller costumes were variants on the standard merchandise costume issue of the day.
Today’s images are a Disneyland I started growing up with.
Nanook, I thought the same thing about that maybe being a "large" bill that the balloon vendor is holding. At Knott's, we were supposed to look for certain little details in the 50 and 100 dollar bills, to determine whether or not the bill was real. Today, the Knott's employees have to use a special marking pen on anything over $10, to determine if it's counterfeit.
I wonder how much balloons cost in 1971? I remember them being .50 cents, in the late seventies. And I don't think I remember seeing white balloons before. Maybe they were as rare as that white Skyway gondola, which we have seen here a couple times.
That's Sister Mary Ignatius, and she is getting ready to "Explain It All For You"....or at least for those people milling around in the Castle courtyard.
That hat on the girl underneath the handcar! Or rather, in line with the handcar (we can't see the girl underneath the handcar, poor thing).
Which makes me wonder - is there anything inside the berm here under than dirt? I know at WDW there's guest-accessible spaces underneath Main Street Station, but is there anything that's cast-member-only at DL?
I rode in a stroller exactly like the one behind Cindy in the first photo for much of my first visit in 1971.
I wonder if the family that lives upstairs from Merlin's buys their flowers on West Center Street?
Mike, based on your previous comments, I think we're within a year age-wise (I was born in '68). I wore a lot of the same kinds of striped and plaid dress trousers which also gave way to Toughskins by '74/'75. For some reason, I was obsessed with the rubber "Toughskins" patch along the beltline where the "Levis" or "Lee" patches go on those brands' jeans. After one pair had transitioned from jeans to cut-offs to the rag pile, I had my mother cut off one of the patches for me. Not sure what happened to it, but I know it lived in the top drawer of my dresser for many years.
Chuck: I had forgotten about the Tough-Skins rubber patch!! Lol.
Yes- I was born on March 18, 1968 ( on the 1 year anniversary of Pirates of the Caribbean !! ) but the same spring as the “new” Bob Gurr 1968 yellow and blue parking lot trams debut...
Nanook & TM!, I think the balloon vendor is holding a $5 or $10 bill (and I'm leaning towards a $10) based on the shape of the border, particularly the white "scallop" that cuts into the bottom border towards the lower left of the bill.
Mike, mapping your birthday to the debut of Disneyland attractions indicates some kind of problem that may require professional help (says the guy who was born the year Monorail Green began testing at Disneyland). ;-)
I want to be with the nun riding through hell on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
On the train station sign, Disneyland's population is at 95,000,000. According to that 25th anniversary souvenir hardcover book, the 100 millionth visitor was greeted in June 1971, a Miss Valerie.
Thanks Major and commentators, the day just got off to a bright (and holy) start.
Holy cow! These are great scans! I would like to tag along with the group under floral Mickey 'cause I'm digging their outfits and bet they were a fun group.
I have a new appreciation now of early seventies style and color. I was too old and 'mature' in those days (and poor) to enjoy the cloths at the time.
Very enjoyable scans today. Our nun is a day late for Ash Wednesday, though. She's giving up Corndogs, probably.
The 'comb-over' balloons add a perfect balance of color above an already colorful scene.
Thanks Major
Nanook, the funny thing is that I remember having pants sort of like those, with very fine, multicolored stripes. I really liked them at the time! As for nuns traveling in packs, it does seem like one usually saw them at least in pairs. Maybe her friend is in the “little nun’s room”?
K. Martinez, I dunno, that man looks like he could easily be in his mid-to-late 40s (or even older) to me, while Cindy looks like she’s in her early 20s. I just assumed that Mom was taking the photos, and asked her husband and daughter to pose. I love both of these photos, but it’s hard to disagree that the balloon vendor pic is more fun.
AlbinoDragon, glad you enjoyed these! I’ve noticed that, starting around 1966 or so, you can definitely see clothing suddenly becoming more colorful, and with different colors than what used to be common. You’d never see Cindy’s colors in the 1950s, or even the early ‘60s.
Melissa, not just doubleknits, but tripleknits! (I admit I don’t know what “doubleknit” really means). Imagine the balloon vendor being considered soberly dressed! He can’t be happy with that costume. It’s not nice to talk about Grandma’s contropposto, she’s been trying to diet, after all. (I admit I don’t know what “contropposto” means). If you carry a patchwork purse, you also have to wear a big patchwork bonnet, it’s the law. If that nun is wearing candy-striped socks, she must have eventually been in a Tim Burton movie.
Mike Cozart, oh man, plaid pants. I owned some, and even had a very loud and ugly red, white and blue plaid suit that I wore to church believe it or not (I was a little kid, it’s not like I chose the suit). White shoes, too. I also was surprised that the Tyrolean costume for the balloon seller was still being used in 1971, it looks like something that would have been used a decade earlier (or more).
TokyoMagic!, I always want to be the guy who asks the person behind the counter if they can change a $1,000 bill (nobody is impressed by a $100 anymore). Did you ever seen any phony 50s or 100s when you were at Knott’s? I’m always fascinated by counterfeits! At many stores, if I pay with a $20, you’ll see the cashier hold it up to the light (and yes, they’ll use those special pens too). I have no idea how much balloons were back then, but I can guarantee that people complained about the price.
Chuck, yes, I love the outfit on that girl. She’s got style to burn. As far as I know there is nothing beneath that berm, but I’m ready to be surprised. I seem to remember a stroller like the one you pointed out in the background of some of your Universal Studios photos, though I might just be inventing that in my brain. And now I’m wondering if there was a useful “upstairs” above Merlin’s Magic Shop!
Mike Cozart, I’m not sure I ever had any Toughskins, sadly.
Chuck, the ballon vendor is holding a rare two dollar bill! (Not really, but I can dream).
Chuck, hooray, I must be “normal”, I honestly don’t think I have ever thought about my birthday in terms of what Disneyland attraction opened around then! (*ahem* Swiss Family Treehouse…).
Stefano, I’d like to imagine that the nun loved laughing and having a good time. “Keep it down, sister, you’re causing a scene!”. Interesting fact about the 100 millionth visitor; of course these photos could have been taken month before July (I usually use the date stamp as reference). Or, they just haven’t gotten around to changing the sign yet?
zach, yes, these were a particularly fun find. And like you, I have an appreciation for clothing from the mid-to-late 1960s, and into the early '70s. But at some point, the clothes really get ugly! I was going to make a joke about the nun heading to a churro cart, but this was from those dark years before churros were a thing at Disneyland. How did anybody survive?
Major, perhaps it's her glasses that create an illusion that she looks older than she is to me. I was aging her at 40 in the second pic. You know me. Always making a fool of myself here on GDB. ;-)
That second image really brings me back to the Disneyland of my youth.
The time, the place...the ticket books which they are looking at. How that all felt special as you planned your day around them. I might have been working JC that day. Major, did you acquire these through a purchase. And is it marked 'Cindy"? Just curious. KS
I think Cindy is visiting from out of town and the folks thought it would be nice to spend the day at Disneyland OR the folks are visiting and Cindy is treating them to a Disneyland day! Anyway I hope they had fun even though 3 guests together sometimes limits who you ride with on certain rides.
Chuck, haha! I map birthdays to birthdays....Mike is exactly one year younger than Zach. Amiright, Zach? I recall you saying you and POTC were born on the same day (am paraphrasing).
Wonderful, colorful, people pictures - thanks, Major!
Simply beautiful shots and comments, thanks Major and everyone. Perfect Friday fare.
JG
K. Martinez, I mean, I could be wrong, but she looks young to me - certainly not 40. I think her outfit is “young” too, though I guess I’ve seen some older ladies wearing some pretty wild things (see: granny in red). You didn’t make a fool of yourself!
KS, yes, I purchased these slides and they are actually labeled with Cindy’s name. I agree, planning your strategy with your ticket book was part of the fun, though it might not seem like it to people today, since they can go on anything as often as they want.
Anon, anything is possible! Dad (or I think he’s the dad anyway) doesn’t necessarily look like a Disneyland type, but one never knows. But the fact that the slides are labeled with Cindy’s name means that they were probably taken by the mother, so maybe you’re right, she was visiting from out of town.
Chuck, it’s funny, birthdays were always a big deal in my family, but I have a friend who’s family does *nothing* for birthdays. It seems so weird to me!
JG, hopefully these photos will be a good start to your weekend.
I’m Sue, not Chuck. (Chuck, do you have long blond hair, too?!)
;o)
Sue, same day, different year, 20 exactly. I got my first covid shot yesterday because of my old age.
Zach, we’ll get to celebrate twice as much on March 18, on GDB! Yay!
Most of us are in the same boat with you, Zach...stay healthy!
Why, yes, Sue. How did you know?
Lou and Sue, oops! Sorry about that. But you should know that I call all my friends “Chuck”!
zach, congrats on getting your shot. I’m waiting for my turn…
Lou and Sue, there will be clowns, and a pony, and a bouncy house. And cake and ice cream of course.
Chuck, yours is more of a platinum blonde, if I recall correctly.
Chuck, you are probably right about that being a "small bill," but I bet that did happen at least once, where someone tried giving a vendor a $100 dollar bill for a .50 cent balloon. Sometimes that would happen at Knott's, when someone was only buying a .60 cent Pepsi, and you had just started your shift. At Knott's, the starting amount for the cash register drawers was $99 dollars.
Major, I never did see any counterfeit money during the time I worked at Knott's. At least, the "bank" never came and told me that I had accepted counterfeit bills.
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