Two Beauties For Friday
I have two very nice photos for your Friday enjoyment! Let's start with this beautiful twilight image from the Plaza looking into Tomorrowland. The sun has set, the sky is getting dark, and the air is cooling off. To the left we can see one of the maps that was placed at the entrance, those were only there in '55 and '56, so we know this is an early view. I wonder why so many people are gathered to the left? Maybe there was a tour guide.
Next is this (undated) colorful and busy view of Fantasyland. There's that ticket and information booth that we saw last October. The old round Skyway gondolas are still in operation, so this is pre-1965 at least.
Is it just me, or does that kid in the striped shirt appear to be crying? Perhaps he just has to go potty. And hey, there's a young Ed McMahon, to the right!
21 comments:
Maybe those people huddled together in the first photo, are all politely waiting their turn to look at the map.
That kid in the Fantasyland pic is crying, because he has his nose stuck in Aunt Matilda's right armpit.
Also in the Fantasyland pic, that kid on the far left looks as if he is trying to get that cup to stick to his face, by sucking all of the air out of it.
I'm going to say the last photo is from 1963. I really think it's from 1964 or early '65, but why break a perfect misidentifcation streak?
TM!, I was going to make the same wisecrack about the map mob. Great minds think alike, and apparently we do, too. ;-0
Chuck, ha, ha! And if those people really are waiting their turn in that pic, that would NEVER happen today! Guests would be pushing each other out of the way with their SUV strollers. Or they would pull up the map on their cell phones, while not paying attention to where they are going, and then end up running head-on into other guests. Or an Omnibus.
That is one of the most beautiful pictures of Tomorrowland I have seen on GDB. Just enough light to show detail before the sun totally sets. Thanks Major.
Ah, the Moonliner. What can I say that hasn't been said before? How about that if you laid 263 Moonliners end to end, somebody would still have to pick them up?
Also, my brain always puts CirCARrama to the right rather than the left, but as a kid I always pictured CA on the right side of the map (with Pilgrims landing on the left), so what do I know? Maybe I'm actually from a mirror universe? Nah, I'm just weird.
Great pics!
Major-
That line of folks in the first image is just getting an early start for the opening of the HoF, in one or two years-! (That’ll show those folks who take their seats for a parade a ‘mere’ four or five hours early).
Great pictures, Major!
That first picture captures the best time of the day - when lights are starting to turn on and give everything a totally different and beautiful atmosphere! My favorites in that first one are the Moonliner, the little boy in the street with his hands in his pockets, and the glowing saddle shoes.
Happy Friday, everyone!
I could be wrong, but, I believe the first picture would be from 1956. This was when the flag poles were moved from the Court of Flags to the entrance to Tomorrowland when the Astro-Jets were first opened at the site of the original Court of Flags. Unfortunately the relocation of the poles included placing the U.S. flag pole right in the middle of the sight line for the World Clock, distracting its view.
The first pic is great. The world clock/moonshine still is bubbling up some fresh corn liquor and the Moonliner/oversized Tylenol is ready for launch (or maybe lunch).
The kid is crying because the boy in front of him is so hungry he nibbling on his fingers and he's afraid his digits will be next on the menu. Looks like he's gonna park them in his own pits for safe keeping.
Thanks for posting Major.
Good one Stu! I'm with Lou and Sue, great magic hour shot of Tomorroland. I still remember seeing the Moonliner (even the name was cool), TWA logo gleaming in the sun. Now the Liner is gone, TWA is gone, how have the mighty fallen. Major, I think Ed looks more like a young D B Cooper. Check out the sour puss in the foreground. I think she looks a little like Queen Elizabeth I. If Sir Francis Drake couldn't make her happy, Disneyland doesn't stand a chance. Thanks to Major and all.
Striped boy just got finished making 'noises' in his arm pit.
Dusk was a magical time in DL. Lines got shorter, strollers diminished, lights came on and cooler temps. Let's run over to Main Street and see if we can find a burnt out light bulb.
That is DB Cooper! He's the one who gave a hundred dollar bill to the balloon vendor the other day!
Crowd shots are fun, Major. Thanks
Heavenly shades of night are falling(
It's twilight time.
Out of the mist your voice is calling,
'Tis twilight time.
When purple colored curtains
Mark the end of the day,
I hear you my dear at twilight time.
When a deep purple falls over Disneyland berm walls
And the lights begin to twinkle in the trees
In the mist of a memory you wander back to me
Breathing my name with a sigh
Great photos and poetry too!
Perfect for a Friday.
Photo 1 is, I agree, possibly the best version of that view I have seen. Perfect timing, also noting that the US colors have been taken down before dusk.
Photo 2, great views of vintage people and a reminder that there have always been crowds in the Park. That youngster is definitely crying, the body language is unmistakable, "Nobody loves me". Check out mom's woven purse with the trapdoor lid. Aunt Mary is looking around for some gin to pour into her soda cup.
And the light over the ticket booth is "not" turned on, a good omen for a safe day to come.
Thank you Major and all the Junior Gorillas.
JG
TokyoMagic!, I do think some of those people are looking at the map, but others (further to the left) are just loitering. Probably smoking cigarettes and talking about rock and roll! Getting a cup to stick to one’s face via suction is one of the rites of passage; that boy is about to become a man.
Chuck, that second photo might very well be from 1963, unless I am missing a clue or two! “Say, that guy is holding a 1964 dime!”. Map mobs, the scourge of any amusement park.
TokyoMagic!, why push and shove when you can just shoot at people with your gun? That’s what I would do, anyway. A fried of mine had her iPhone stolen as she was texting and walking (a guy grabbed the phone, knocked her down, and ran like hell), and ever since then I am extra careful when I use my phone around people!
Sunday Night, it is a pretty picture, no doubt about it. Definitely one of those scenes that makes me wish I could magically step into the photo.
Stu29573, you did it, you said something about the Moonliner that’s never been said before. They said it couldn’t be done. Even Einstein doubted it was possible. But you DID IT. I certainly can’t laugh at your mixing up of directions, since I frequently write “left” when I mean “right”, and vice-versa. I have no idea what that is about.
Nanook, man, those people REALLY want to see some nice mid-century furniture! I can’t think of any parade or show that would make me want to show up five hours early. I went to the Rose Parade once, and even then we got there 90 minutes beforehand. That was bad enough.
Lou and Sue, I agree, there’s just something about darkness falling, and the lights flicking on all over the park. Is there a master switch (or switchboard) somewhere? I want to be the guy who pulls the giant cartoon lever. Glowing saddle shoes, that’s a great idea! Runs on four “AAA” batteries.
macpiper, you make a good point about the flagpoles. I also think that the vertical glowing white sign to the left of the Clock of the World is for the Skyway, which would also make this 1956. Maybe the designers who placed the flagpole right in the middle figured that guests could move past the pole if they wanted an unobstructed view?
Alonzo, there is nothing quite as potent as moon liquor. Except maybe Mars liquor! We’ll know soon enough when we all move there. I guess I would be crying too if somebody was trying to eat my fingers.
Jonathan, there was something romantic about those old airline companies, particularly TWA and Pan Am. Every time I watch “2001: A Space Odyssey” and see the Pan Am “Orion” space clipper I get bummed out that Pan Am doesn’t exist anymore. I thought D.B. Cooper was skinnier!
Melissa, that was one of my dad’s favorite songs.
Anon, that was ALSO one of my dad’s favorite songs (the Nino Tempo & April Stevens version)!
JG, when I scanned that first slide, I expected it to be blurry, but was thrilled to see that it was actually surprisingly crisp. Very unusual in those slow film, low-light situations. And yes, they must have had a Tomorrowland flag ceremony an hour or so earlier. I’d love to know what made that kid cry, I mean, he’s in Disneyland! Maybe he wanted mom and dad to buy him something and they said “no”. Maybe the ticket booth is being robbed by somebody who knew about the secret lightbulb!
I certainly can’t laugh at your mixing up of directions, since I frequently write “left” when I mean “right”, and vice-versa.
Flashes me back to Kindergarten. One day they wrote L and R on our hands with a magic marker, the idea being that we would know left from right by the time the marker wore off. Most of the class did, but I had to have my hands re-lettered *twice* before it stuck. And I’m not even the slightest bit ambidextrous.
Sue, I focused on the little guy with his hands in his pockets in the first picture too, all nonchalant. “Hmm, looks like I’m lost. Could be worse.” Before I scrolled down, I decided that the boy in the second picture was crying too, Major. It’s that chin position. Hey Buzzcut, get that cup off your face, don’t you know you can sell it for hundreds of dollars in 60 years? Aw, Melissa, that’s cute. I didn’t pass the shoe tying test ( yes there was one) in kindergarten. Neat crowd shots today, thanks!
I didn’t pass the shoe tying test ( yes there was one) in kindergarten.
I was the last in my class. We had this thing called the “shoe train.” Each kid who learned how to tie their shoes got their name put on a little paper train car shaped like a sneaker, which was added to the “train” going around the classroom walls. Once everybody else had gotten their name on the wall, I went home one weekend and worked and worked with my mother, and finally figured out how to do it. I came in on Monday and demonstrated my newfound skills to the teacher. Instead of adding my name, she said, “Now that everybody can tie their shoes there’s no mare need for the shoe train,” and she took the whole thing down then and there. As you can tell, I am totally not still bitter about it, oh, no. ;)
Melissa, you had a lousy teacher!
I, too, remember struggling with tying laces for gym class in kindergarten. I wonder if that's one of those things that you never forget (the pressure of tying them right), like having dreams (nightmares), occasionally for the rest of your life, that you arrive at school and don't know your class schedule; you miss the bus; you didn't study for a test; you forget your locker combination; you forget your pants (or some article of clothing), etc.
Stu, if I'm remembering correctly, you've only been to Disneyland once but WDW many times. At WDW, the Circle-Vision theater was on the right, so it's a natural-enough mix-up. Can't help you with the Pilgrims on the West Coast thing, though. Maybe they used the Panama Canal...
Melissa, I have a faint memory of wearing my shoes on the wrong feet! This was about two years ago.
Kathy!, I can only hope to be as cool and nonchalant as that kid with his hands in his pockets! He’s probably saying, “Ring-a-ding-ding!”. Isn’t it crazy that a vintage paper cut can fetch such prices? But it’s true. I’ve seen unused popcorn boxes go for well over $100 in good shape.
Melissa, aw, I love the story about the shoe train! You’d think that the teacher would understand how much importance it had for all of the kids. But… adults forget that sort of thing. Even if she’d left it up for another week or so it would have been less harsh!
Lou and Sue, yeah, I hope she wasn’t a mean teacher otherwise. I had wonderful teachers who I loved when I was little, and then I got a mean one, and I was shocked. I thought all teachers would be nice, like surrogate mothers! I remember my dad teaching me to tie my shoes, we did the first part of the knot over and over - that was easy. Then we did the loopy part, and that was much harder. You had gym class in kindergarten??
Chuck, boy, you have a much better memory than I do! Not that that’s saying much, ha ha. Your theory makes a lot of sense, I’d forgotten that Stu had only been to Disneyland a single time. As for those Pilgrims, I never trust anything that people with buckles on their hats have to say, maybe they DID land in California.
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