A Nice Pair From February 1963
When I first put these photos together for today's post, I was feeling a bit "meh" about them, but reconsidering, I think they're pretty good. Now you know the rest of the story.
SO... howsabout this unusual view, looking out the back window of the Monorail? Pretty grody, and also gnarly, but not very tubular. It's not like I haven't seen big parking lots before, but... LOOKIT ALL THEM CARS! WHEE DOGGIES! Nanook, please identify each one. Notice the tram in the distance, pulling away as leaving some people in tears because now they have to either wait or just make the trek to the ticket booths on foot. Or do what I would do, lay down and have a tantrum. Also notice the lines of buses, school and otherwise. I wish I'd gone to Disneyland as part of a school field trip!
This next one is just a sort of pretty "you are there" look at the Plaza on this beautiful clear February day. It's a little cool (sweaters and long sleeves for some), but not so cold that a macho man can't wear short sleeves. I like observing the people, and enjoying the color and general vibe of this picture. I see at least one man in uniform near the entrance to Frontierland, I hope he was there with a friend! Is the very tip of Cascade Peak visible above the stockade?
23 comments:
Major-
I'm getting right on those car ID's. (As if-!)
And if not Cascade Peak, just which peak is it-? Pikes-??
Thanks, Major.
I think today I'll just stay in and help Nanook identify all those cars. What a great day for a trip to Disneyland. Up there in my seat in the Monorail, I am above it all. I think I will get off in Tomorrowland and ride the Subs first. Who's with me? Thanks Major.
Major, that first pic is like, totally radical....to the max!
In the second pic (just to stay with the eighties theme), I think the lady in the red top is looking at that military man and thinking, ♫♪"I Love A Man In A Uniform!"♪♫
These are beautiful photos, but there just isn't enough information here to tie them down to a specific year. I'm not even going to hazard a guess.
There are not one but two men in uniform in front of the entrance to Frontierland. The second is behind the woman with the red sweater, his head facing to the right. They are both Naval officers, midshipmen, or chief petty officers (hard to tell from behind at this distance and resolution), or possibly serving in similar roles in the Coast Guard if these undated photos are from before 1974. Either that, or they are both wearing identical black suits with white plates stapled to the tops of their heads, which is the traditional ethnic costume of Equatorial Ruritania.
That looks like a dirty pile of melting snow on top of the stockade blockhouse, like you might see along the edge of a parking lot long after the rest of the snow melts. You may want to check your copy of Jason's Disneyland Almanac for dates with heavy snowfall to try and pin down when it was taken. When you clear snow, you have to put it somewhere, and on top of the stockade would have been out of the way of high-traffic areas. That's my working theory anyway.
1963 is a special Disney year for me. It was the year of my first trip to Disneyland and I was never the same since. Despite the blob on the right, the first pic of the rear window view from the monorail is pretty nice!
I've always loved those two humongous pine trees just behind the Frontierland stockade entrance. I wonder if they're still standing there? I hope so! Thanks, Major.
Literally a sea of cars. Really brings up the memories. Summertime, trudging up the aisle to get to the shuttle. I know our Nomad is out there somewhere. There is also a very distinctive white car near the front center. Almost had one but my Dad said no. He was probably right.
Chuck, fine soldier spotting. That Rurutanian must be AWOL.
Wow. A school field trip to Disneyland. What a treat that must have been back in the day.
Congratulations K. on your first trip. It does quite change things doesn't it. We're all here to attest to that.
Thanks Major.
Nanook, I especially need to know that white one way over by those trees. You know the one I mean! That tip of Cascade Peak looks “pointier” (for lack of a better descriptor) than I imagine it to be, but of course it has to be CP.
Jonathan, that would be mighty neighborly of you! I regret not riding the Monorail when I was a kid… I don’t know why we didn’t, but… there you go. It makes sense to ride the Subs first, since you’ll be right there.
TokyoMagic!, you’re right, it IS radical! If you are making a “Gang of Four” reference, I am impressed by that deep cut!
Chuck, the slides are date-stamped “February, 1963”. And I should have looked closer, of course you can see the other officer. I realize that you don’t have much to go on, with no details like ribbons or insignia. We all remember the fad where men would wear identical suits and staple (or glue) paper plates to their heads. It was only second in popularity to goldfish swallowing. I know that the thing above the blockhouse must be Cascade Peak, but as I said to Nanook, it looks more prominent that I would have thought. I guess we don’t usually see it from this angle.
K. Martinez, I wish I remembered my first trip to the park! I honestly have NO idea when I first went there. I have a photo of myself at about age 3 wearing Mouse Ears (along with my brother) at home, so we must have just gone… that would have made it a few years after today’s photos were taken. Good question about the two trees; if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say they were long gone. When I have more time I might try Google’s “street view”.
DrGoat, I’m not sure when Disneyland went from just “a fun place to go” into sort of an obsession, but I would guess it was probably around 1970. I remember walking to the place where we would wait for the tram to come and whisk us to the front gate. I know you are looking at a distinctive white car (is it the one with the gray roof?), but I am struck by the pink car with the black roof. What a color combo!
Wow, it's the original Carsland. I'm not up on all the classic rides in this picture, the only one I know, for sure, is the Corvair a few rows back from the camera. I would have been two when this was taken and that is around the first time I went to Disneyland. I don't remember a thing except for a big dog with a hat on.
Major, the one I spotted right away was the Corvair that MRay mentioned. My Dad and I test drove one back in '67 or '68 I think, and he was not impressed. I ended up with a 1965 green Dodge dart. Wish I still had it. It was a fun car to drive. Push button automatic transmission with a lever you pulled down to put it into Park.
1970 was a good year to gain an obsession. I think I racked up a few too.
Row 1: Chevy, Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Rambler, Dodge, Ford,
Ok, not only am I making this up, but this joke is going to take WAY too long...
Oh, the parking lot, as it should be! Thufer would have loved this picture. I love this picture. I'm still amazed that the parking lot, which I remember as going on forever and ever, was still partly farm land at the time of this picture, over to the right where we can't see.
In my high school years, the honor society had a spring trip to Disneyland. It must have been in May, since school was out the first week of June. The trip, without parents, and with my school friends, was always a great time. We stayed at the Magic Lamp motel and went in the Katella Gate. We would stay till the fireworks ended and the bus would drive home 4 hours.
Thanks for these today, Major. Much appreciated.
JG
MRaymond, is the Corvair the one next to the man walking away from us? There’s a sporty looking car to the left of the pink and black car too, wonder what that is. A big dog with a hat on? Goofy, I guess?
DrGoat, I’m terrible with car IDs, but my brother is like Nanook, he pretty much recognizes everything. And I know we saw a cute old Corvair recently. I’ve always said that if I won the lottery, I’d much rather own several beautiful old classics than ANY of the 1,000 horsepower supercars. I just love the way they look! And then I could afford the upkeep too, ha ha.
Stu29573, I will bow to your expertise, because I sure don’t know!
JG, it must have killed Walt to have acquired a large chunk of land, only to have to devote so much of it to a parking lot. Just think, if he had another 10 acres (or so) for bigger, better attractions and “lands”? My niece and nephew have both done field trips to Disneyland, through their school bands. They even got to go backstage! Not that I’m jealous or anything. And 4 hours is about how long the bus ride would be from San Luis Obispo to Anaheim, that sounds brutal.
Major, I think that’s a T-bird. Maybe Nanook can confirm.
Ken, those two large pine trees appear to still be standing, just beyond the Frontierland stockade. They might have been "topped" at some point, but I believe they are the same trees. There are also some pretty large pine trees on the Plaza side of the stockade:
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8121109,-117.9195412,3a,75y,275.04h,112.91t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3VTC9WB-h67XW6LsPMHGkQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
This might sound crazy, but I am just repeating what I have heard in the past. I was told by different cast members on different occasions, that Walt did not own the land that the parking lot sat on. He supposedly only leased it. And now, it gets crazier. I have also been told that Disney STILL does not own that land, and that they continue to lease the land that DCA is now built on. Has anyone else heard this crazy story? It really doesn't even seem possible. (But as Walt once said to Julie Reihm, "Anything is possible at Disneyland.")
Tokyo, that sounds like a weird story. Hard to believe they would invest a Billion Dollars in DCA on leased land unless they had a 100 year plus lease and maybe not even them. I guess that's not impossible, but sounds strange.
I wonder if that is confused with the easement required for our beloved power line, no permanent construction can go under a power line, and the power company has an easement for construction and maintenance of those lines. "Someone", (presumably Disney) renegotiated the route and must have paid to relocate the line so DCA could be built.
I know Disney bought the land for the Mickey parking structure since I was rooting for the strawberry farmer (who kept refusing to sell) to get absolute top dollar for that land. We didn't know him or anything, just one ex-farmer rooting for another. I wonder how much he settled for?
JG
Major, I saw the pictures and post were clearly labeled "1963" and couldn't resist referencing my recent string of intentional mis-dating of every photo "1963." I guess my joke was a little too "inside GDB."
I had a weird dream last night that aliens had invaded the Earth and were herding people into camps, but there was a secret resistance group within the occupying force that was helping small numbers of specially-vetted humans to escape to safety. I was able to verify my eligibility by proving that I had responded to comments by both Nanook and DrGoat in the GDB comments section.
TM!, that is a crazy story! Everyone knows that the City of Anaheim is actually leased from Disney.
I love the Monorail. There was a point where you were in the parking lot, then the Disneyland Hotel, then the lot again. Both "outside" the park then woosh! In a few seconds over the berm and you are inside Tomorrowland! That was sort of a thrilling moment (well it was for me).
That kid (in pic 2) wearing what appears to be a Pendleton MUST be a Beach Boys fan.
Never went to Disneyland on a Field trip but we did go to the Hostess Bakery and saw the machine that put the squiggles on the cupcakes!
@Major, the small white car, that's partially blocked by the black car, is the Corvair. Why do I know this? We owned a four door, a two door, and a Greenbrier (Corvair van) in the mid 60's, my dad loved those things. I wish he had kept one, they were fun and the faults pointed out by Ralph Nader had already been redesigned by the time his book came out. The car really got a bad rap.
Major-
It's been a busy day. That 'white car with the grey roof' is a 1957 Pontiac - perhaps in Kenya Ivory & Silver Gray. The 'pink car with the black roof' is a 1955 Chevrolet - in Coral & Shadow Gray. (I note the Coral color disappeared after this model year...) The black car 'behind the man walking away' is a Renault Dauphine... ♬... with the city horn - and the country horn...♫
@ Sue-
That's a 1958 or 1959 Thunderbird, just to the left of that fabulous Chevrolet.
And MRaymond already ID'd the white Corvair, just to the right of that two-toned Chevrolet.
Lou and Sue… look at you, with your car ID skills!
TokyoMagic!, I am astonished that those two pines are still there. I would have bet money that they’d been removed! Good thing I’m not a gambler.
TokyoMagic!, wow, I have not heard that Disney does not own the land for the parking lot and DCA! It seems so unlikely, given the amount of property that the company has acquired over the decades. But I guess anything is possible, as you (and Walt) said!
JG, yes, I think the same thing… why would they spend well over a billion dollars to build DCA if they didn’t even own the land? Your easement theory sounds more likely. I remember reading about that strawberry farmer, and like you, I hope he and his family got a fortune. If I recall correctly, the farmer died not long after the sale. I could be wrong though.
Chuck, since you said “…if these undated photos are from before 1975”, so I thought that perhaps you’d missed that bit of info in the title of the post. It happens! And man, do you have some crazy dreams! I am upset that my word did not apparently help you get to safety, so now I am going to sulk.
Anonymous, I know just what you mean, I always loved the part when we were actually back in the park again! Though going outside the park was fun too. Heck, it’s ALL fun. Good eye on the Pendleton shirt! Oh man, I hope you got a free twinkie or cupcake at the Hostess bakery!!
MRaymond, ah OK. that’s what I thought! Gosh, your family sure loved Corvairs. I was fond of Ford Falcons when I was a kid, maybe because of the commercials with the Peanuts characters. Imagine if we still had cars that belonged to our dads! I thought I remembered something about Corvairs having problems, I guess Ralph Nader is the reason.
Nanook, ha ha, you did a great job! I was teasing you of course, since you are such a whiz at identifying old cars. “Shadow Gray”, great color name. That will be my DJ name! I wonder if the coral color was an anathema to men (or some men, anyway)? I mean, it’s pink, after all. Renault Dauphine, so fancy!
Renault Dauphine will be my stage name henceforth.
Another amazing thread.
JG
Major, I forgot to answer your question about my first comment. Yes, that was a Gang of Four reference! Like, t-o-o-o-o-t-a-l-l-y-!
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