Thursday, March 18, 2021

Snow White's Scary Adventures, and more

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to two GDB friends, Zach, and Mike Cozart!

Here are two more photos, from a fun June 1963 batch. First up is this nice view of Snow White's Scary Adventures. You probably recognize some of the gals in line... two others are just about to start their journey in a little mine car. Sure, they're laughing NOW...! I love that we get a pretty decent look at the beautiful mural that graced the front of this attraction. Those two vultures appear to be looking right at those ladies, and licking their lips. Vultures have lips, right?


I zoomed in on part of the mural, and lightened it up a bit. In other photos, we've seen a CM dressed as Snow White manning the controls, but today it looks like Fred The Mechanic had to do the honors. Those mysterious buttons and lights! It's like playing the mighty Wurlitzer at Radio City Music Hall.


You know me, I like a sunny, bright photo of any location in Disneyland. But the gray, cloudy sky somehow suits this lovely shot of Skull Rock. My favorite mermaid is there too, as is Casey Jr. I sure would like to have been there when some genius announced that both of these features were slated for demolition.

23 comments:

K. Martinez said...

Happy Birthday, Zach and Mike Cozart!

More great Fantasyland pics. Recently you had the "Peter Pan Flight" façade and today we have the mural for "Snow White's Adventure", all from the original Fantasyland. Great stuff!

I like grey skies over Disneyland. It brings out a certain quality and the light is softer. Thanks, Major.

"Lou and Sue" said...

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday you two!
Happy Birthday Zach and Mike!
Happy Birthday from Lou and Sue!

"Lou and Sue" said...

Fred the Mechanic - hahahaha!

At a quick glance, it looks like Skull Rock is holding a red rose in his teeth.

Thanks, Major!

MIKE COZART said...

....aw shucks everyone..... thanks! And don’t forget , today is The Pirates of the Caribbean’s 54th birthday!!

That Snow White ride operator is hilarious !! He will press the special button and send those ladies into the bookie room! He looks like a guy whose gone clean that Frank Canon is gonna come looking too for some information! And Frank “knows of a Terrific restaurant Thant makes a fantastic........”

The clouds and shadowy light brings out some of the detail of Skull Rock . That reminds me - I’ve pulled out the mermaid artwork from 1969 rehab of the Pirate Ship restaurant - I’ll get some pictures and send them to Major to share here.

TokyoMagic! said...

Happy birthday, Zach and Mike!!!

Are those ladies in the Snow White pic, the "coat group" who were accompanied by the Walter Knott lookalike?

I wonder what that smaller control panel (the one at the front of the line) was for? An "emergency stop," perhaps?

Andrew said...

Are we sure that "Fred the Mechanic" isn't a regular guest drafted to cover for a CM while he/she ran to the bathroom? "It's easy... just hit these two buttons!"

A very happy birthday to Zach and Mike!

Chuck said...

Happy birthday, Zach & Mike!

That part of the mural is what convinced 7-year-old me to ride Snow White's Adventures (Scary), despite the parenthetical warning. Stupid, lousy mural...

Sue, despite his overactive salivary glands, Skull Rock could dance a mean tango.

Stu29573 said...

In the first picture, the tunnel almost looks real! You know, it would be cool to have a coaster that runs through the mines and...uh... Never mind.
A day without a skull is like a day without orange juice!
Happy birthday Mike and Zack! Mike! I've made some pretty good friends through the blogosphere! I hope have a great day!

Nanook said...

@ TM!-
That "smaller control panel" is a trio of hand-operated counters - I presume one each for 'child', 'junior' & 'adult'. "Enjoy your 'scary' adventure-!"

Happy birthday, kids.

Thanks, Major.

Stefano said...

Best wishes to Mike and Zach! Mike, that's being born under a lucky star, to share your b-day with POTC.

It looks like Hank the Handyman, with his back to us, was drafted to take tickets. I remember a ride on SWA(S) with the power out on the loading zone electrical rail; the young male cast member had to push our car to the mine entrance before we got underway.

Just noticed a tiny skull face in the rock to the left of the waterfalls; it is looking up at pa, a chip off the old block.

"Lou and Sue" said...

Stefano, I do see one, on the top of that little section in the water, with lots of greens on its "head" and greens behind it. Is that the one you're seeing?

BTW, Stefano, you beat me to the Handyman, but I was thinking maybe he was Bob the Postman (who has LOTS of extra time on his hands because he only has to pick up mail from maybe 2 mailboxes?? Maybe Mike or someone out there can tell me how many mailboxes were on Disneyland's grounds - Park and Hotel included, back then...

DrGoat said...

Happy Birthday Mike and Zach. Congratulations!
I love the facades in all the dark rides. Images that stuck in my mind growing up. Extract of Disney.
Love to see that artwork Mike.
Wish I could get to Fred and Hank, but he looks too much like my mother's boss at Valley National Bank, back in the 60s-70s.
Thanks Major, and have a great day Zach and Mike.

JG said...

Happy birthdays, Zach & Mike!!

Great shots, Major, thank you!

I’ll be back later, many meetings today.

JG

zach said...

My birthday present today is my second Covid injection! Huh, even after a year, spell check doesn't recognize 'covid'.

I didn't even know I shared a birthdate with POTC until we went to DL on my birthday and ended up celebrating POTC's 50th anniversary.

Thanks all for the b'day wishes!

Zach

Major Pepperidge said...

K. Martinez, I lucked out for a while and had quite a few nicer-than-usual slides to scan, but I feel bad because I have so many “meh” views coming up. It’s just how it worked out, but still, hardly a “wow” slide in the bunch.

Lou and Sue, (I like the high note you hit on that last line), that skull is a fan of the Grateful Dead - skeletons and roses are their thing.

Mike Cozart, I had no idea that today was the 54th birthday for “Pirates”! Though I’m sure when I look at Facebook later I will be reminded over and over. I do wonder why the guy operating the Snow White ride is so “everyday workman”. There’s nothing wrong with it, except that it looks weird at Disneyland. At least give him some mouse ears to wear! I’d love to see the Pirate Ship/mermaid artwork.

TokyoMagic!, yes, those are the ladies that always accompanied Walter Knott everywhere he went. It was like he was in a music video all the time. That smaller control panel indicated who would survive the ride and who would never emerge from the exit.

Andrew, yes, Fred did something bad, and after an hour in Disneyland Jail, they shackled him to the control board for the rest of the day. Crime doesn’t pay.

Chuck, maybe I am rewriting my memories, but as a “monster kid”, I always loved a little scary thrill in any ride! I was much more scared of roller coasters, until I finally actually went on one.

Stu29573, interesting, it’s true, from our angle, that tunnel does have a very “trompe l’oeil” effect. And everyone knows that skulls are the perfect accent for every fashionable home - Martha Stewart said so.

Nanook, is that really what that panel is for?

Stefano, Hank at least is dressed more like your standard Disneyland cast member, in a neat white shirt. It really does feel like Fred is just filling in unexpectedly. Wow, imagine having to push a loaded attraction vehicle a few hundred times. “They don’t pay me enough!”. Hey, that does look like a smaller skull, especially with the “nose”. Coincidence?

Lou and Sue, oh, maybe I was looking in the wrong place? I guess a postman standing in that line would really be shirking his duties. The motto says stuff about snow and rain and sleet, but nothing about theme parks!

DrGoat, I’m glad that the current dark rides still have painted murals, but they don’t have the same effect on me as the old ones. Maybe it’s nostalgia for those original versions. There was a gallery in Burbank that painted their entrance (once you were through the front door) to look like you were in Snow White’s haunted forest, it was really neat, I wish I’d taken a photo at the time. It’s gone now of course.

JG, I’m glad you liked these!

zach, lucky you, I’m still waiting for my first shot. I don’t qualify yet. I’m happy that you checked in today to see all of your birthday good wishes!

Nanook said...

Major-
Until proven otherwise - those three 'doo-dads' resemble manual counters in every way. (Yes... very 'old school'). And as long as we see a trio of them... I'm voting for: Adult; Junior; Child. LOOK HERE

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday to you three! Always enjoy the comments. KS

DBenson said...

Tangent:

In the original "Batman" serial, the villainous Dr. Daka hides his headquarters behind a horror-themed Snow White-type ride improbably located in an abandoned neighborhood, but open for business with a barker. Daka's henchmen, the usual gangster types in suits and fedoras, board the ride in pairs and try to look casual as the little carts roll through the doors. Halfway through they get out of the carts walk past a brute pretending to be a figure, and there's the complete supervillain lair. It's a strange piece of work, combining unpleasant anti-Japanese stuff (even for a WWII product) with sheer looniness.

Back on topic:

I do remember seeing Snow White operating the Disneyland ride once, looking a bit bored. I checked out Peter Pan's Flight and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, but those were run by generic cast members. Wondering if that Snow White did walk-around duty as well. As for the pirate ship, I do remember buying a tuna sandwich inside and eating it at a table near Skull Rock. Disappointed the ship was only a food location, but by then you had Pirates of the Caribbean a brisk walk away. Still have my piece-of-eight token with my name stamped on the back, courtesy of a machine in the pirate arcade.

TokyoMagic! said...

Nanook, thanks for that info about the counter. I see a slot below the three buttons, so I assume the unit also doubled as a place to deposit guest's tickets.

Still, it would be funny if it was some sort of emergency "stop," which the employees could just hit at random and make people smoosh their ice cream bars and churros all over themselves. ;-)

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, what about the “undecided” button?

KS, hooray!

DBenson, I’ve never seen any of those old Batman serials; “Dr.Daka”?? Weird that they put his amusement park ride in the middle of a neighborhood. They could have filmed scenes at any one of the amusement piers in SoCal. It sounds kind of fun though, as you say, for the sheer looniness. I have at least one photo of Snow White operating the board on that ride (wearing a wrist watch so that she can end her shift ASAP). I wonder how many other people expected that beautiful pirate ship to be more than a restaurant? Still, I miss it, even if there was no ride inside.

TokyoMagic!, I’ve heard that ticket stubs were counted (sort of) at the end of the day, what a fun job that must have been. I’d be tempted to invent a number, except that they probably needed something that jibed with the number of tickets sold as well.

Nanook said...

Major-
The 'undecided' category didn't come along until much later...

Omnispace said...

I'm thinking that having Fred the Mechanic operate the ride controls is like the produce guy covering an extra checkout at the grocery store - may not be the quickest but he knows his wax beans!

I though that the Dumbo-over-water concept was very nice when it opened, but seeing this photo of the Skull Rock lagoon only reinforces the loss.

Many Happy Birthdays! Wondering if anyone went with a Pirate theme this year? ;)

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I suppose you are right! :-D

Omnispace, maybe Fred had actually done some maintenance on the Snow White attraction earlier, and he was working the controls to see if everything was operating smoothly. Pure conjecture of course! I like the “Dumbo-over-water” idea too, but would trade that for the Skull Rock lagoon any day.