Under the Sea
It's Snoozer Sunday! Way better than Super Bowl Sunday, although they do have all those neat commercials.
As the title of today's post says, we're spending a few minutes under the sea today. The beautiful Submarine Voyage's lagoon provided a glimpse into the shallower parts of the ocean where the sun still shines, though the water filters out everything but the blue spectrum. Luckily I like blue.
There's always fighting going on in nature, and these two dumb crabs have forgotten what they are even angry about. It might have to do with peanut butter (creamy vs. chunky). Or else there's a dame involved!
Some people say that this next photo is the best one to ever appear on GDB. Others say that I should be given the Nobel Peace Prize. Still others want to send me money and gems and rare comic books. Who am I to argue?
EXTRA! EXTRA!! GDB friend TokyoMagic! kindly shared two of his own personal photos of the crab scene from two versions of the Submarine attraction.
This first one is from April of 1997, "...about a year and a half before the Subs closed", TM reminds us. Nice color! It does appear that the crabs had been replaced or repositioned at any rate.
This next one is from October of 2013, when the Nemo attraction had been open for six year. Now the crabs are enjoying the "manna from heaven" that was supposed to be issuing from that vent. Whatever it is, I don't want to know! But hey, as long as they are happy.
MANY THANKS to TokyoMagic! for sharing his photos with us!
20 comments:
I like the pic of the fighting crabs. I call the big one, Bitey. And I call the other one, Buster. They actually still exist today, in the Nemo version of the ride. I guess someone thought they better keep at least one scene from the original attraction. Too bad they didn't keep all of the original scenes.
One of my all time favorite rides. Not only is it cool, it's fun to look at as well. Walt and the Imagineers hit it out of the park with this one. I remember riding as a kid and as a teen. It never lost it's appeal. Major, I think it's Mayo vs Miracle Whip. Thanks.
These pics are great! Love the blue liquid space and bubbles. The old Submarine Voyage was a favorite along with the Jungle Cruise and Mine Train Ride. Thanks, Major.
You know, it never occured to me just how much air is at the bottom of the ocean. Bubbles are coming up everywhere!
Speaking of Bubbles, that's the dame's name that the crabs are fighting about. The bubbles right behind them reminded them of their disagreement. Crabs are great associative thinkers. And they taste great too!
I'm not even sure those two crustaceans are fighting. They may just be ill-tempered, like sea bass. Definitely crabby.
That second photo is no worse than any I took with a disposable underwear camera while snorkeling - except I never got to go snorkeling at Disneyland, which automatically makes this photo eleven times more stupendous than any photo I've ever taken with a disposable underwear camera while snorkeling.
I was surprised to find out that West Edmonton Mall in Alberta had an actual sub ride called Deep Sea Adventure. I watched this awesome video yesterday, where someone uses an underwater camera to get a look at the remnants.
Chuck, was the camera disposable - or the underwear??
Beautiful blues today - thank you, Major!
Tastes great!-Less filling! is a favorite argument among crustacean curmudgeons.
Subs have always been a favorite. Very low tech now but amazing and innovative for the 50s.
Thanks, Major, for the, uh, snoozers.
zach
Sue, both. Just like my comment.
This is a prime example of why I should wear my reading glasses when commenting. Today was my first attempt at using predictive text to write a comment. It will probably be my last.
The first photo is a good one. Wonder if the photographer tried to pass it off as being from a real ocean swim. TokyoMagic!, that reminds me that there are squabbling crabs in the Nemo movie too. Could they have been influenced by the sub voyage?? Was the second one a case of a mistimed shot or was someone really into bits of coral and sticks? Thanks, Major.
Anything but snoozers today, Major. Thank you!
Imagine getting that last picture with the equipment of the day, brilliant.
Bitey complains that Buster got peanut butter in his chocolate, while Buster complains the reverse.
Now that the Subs are colonized by silly cartoon IP, we can ride the real thing in Hawaii, which I personally recommend. The deja vu was strong with this.
https://atlantisadventures.com/submarines
JG
Major-
Liquid Space never looked bluer.
Thanks, Major.
TokyoMagic!, Buster and Bitey are like the two brothers from the band Oasis. They’re just never gonna get along. You know, I have only been on the Nemo version of the Subs one time. It was fine, I was glad it was still there, instead of completely removed like the Florida version. But I still miss the original ride.
Jonathan, I don’t think that enough people appreciate how cool it is to just look at that beautiful lagoon with the submarines coming and going, even if you have no plans to go on the ride itself. It seems hard to imagine a Disneyland Tomorrowland without that lagoon.
K. Martinez, the Submarine Voyage was definitely a “must do” whenever I went to the park. Yes, I knew we weren’t really thousands of feet down, but who cares! It was great.
Stu29573, not only is there lots of air at the bottom of the ocean, but it smells like freshly roasted coffee. Who knew! The Disney folks, that’s who. I would probably fight over a dame named Bubbles too, she must be quite a looker.
Chuck, for some reason your comment made me think of a line in Woody Allen’s “Radio Days”, as if the crabs were arguing: “Wait, you think the Atlantic is a greater ocean than the Pacific??”. I never even thought to try to take photos out of the Sub portholes, I was too entranced I guess.
Andrew, WOW, that submarine ride in Alberta looks like a very impressive experience! Thank you for the links!
Lou and Sue, I didn’t even notice the typo, but have made plenty of those myself over the years!
zach, it sounds like those crabs had LOTS to fight about! Maybe they just need to find another lump of coral to stand on. I guess the Subs were low-tech, but they seem like a pretty big achievement for a theme park ride.
Chuck, it’s just like when my phone thinks it knows what I want to say. Patton Oswalt has a funny bit about how he typed the word “I…” and the phone automatically thought that he would want to follow it with the word “hate”, because he complained about everything all the time.
Kathy!, I’d like to think of somebody showing these during a slide show, and telling the guests that they took these during a week in the Bahamas. One of Marc Davis’ tricks was to place two animals together, facing each other… we automatically would make up a story to go with it, which I guess is what we have been doing today! As for the coral shot, I wonder if the photographer was just trying to fire off several shots as quickly as possible?
JG, I think that if you took pictures in the lagoon during a sunlit day you could get pretty good results, but in the “dark ride” portion, forget it. Other than the sea serpent, I don’t think I have ANY photos from the dark part. And of course that has some of the coolest stuff! Do you see much from the subs in Hawaii? Maybe it’s sort of like the glass-bottom boats in Catalina.
Nanook, I still don’t know why they filled the lagoon with Berry Blast Gatorade.
Major-
That second shot from TM! looks like a failed Busby Berkeley underwater crustacean musical number - in other words - perfect for Fantasmic!
Thanks, TM!
Chuck : in the 60’s thru the 80’s ....there was a company that rented out period vehicles to studios and other production companies - and horse drawn was there specialty. The horse drawn vehicles were almost all vintage 19th century they maintained with a few exceptions. They obtain vehicles from fallen studios and a giant wagon collection in Los Angeles that was part of a historic hacienda / ranchero museum that sold off the wagons before becoming a state run museum. In the 90’s the company closed and a new company was formed that handled the motor vehicles .... the horse drawn went to a few museums - the majority to a transportation museum in Old Sacramento . Bonanza , Little House and Disney Studios used to rent many of these Horse drawn vehicles.
Sadly the original vintage were becoming too difficult to maintain because of age and wear and the choice of a available wagons got smaller and the need for them also got smaller.
Many stagecoaches used by studios were “modern” reproductions or severely altered vintage .... even with forms of “disc brakes” ( like the stagecoaches at Knotts berry farm!!)
Wells Fargo co. ( yes THE WELLS FARGO CO.) owns around 30 stagecoaches.... almost all the Concord type ..... 12 are kept in complete working order with a staff to operate them ... those are often used for promotional appearances , tv and movies and commercials when needed.
A company out of South Dakota - The Hansen Wheelworks has seen a business in creating new period vehicles for film , tv production , museums and even private collections. Their work is stunning!! They even recreated a type of mud wagon for the San Diego historical society for display and use in old town San Diego state park .... based on a type of coach used by the Seely/ BUTTERFIELD stage line between Yuma-San Diego - Los Angeles.
Of course the square window in the boot of the Disneyland stage in Which Mountain is there so a stage hand can “steer” the coach in the bank lobby to make it appear it’s moving from witchcraft!
Major, those Hawaii subs were fun an strikingly like the Disney ride, only real and untethered.
The Waikiki location was mostly a sand bottom, but the sub company had bought several wrecked ships and planes as habitat, so there were fish,turtles etc. but nothing like the Disney menageries.
I think the rides on Maui and big island are more populated natural habitats. I’ll try those when we visit there again.
It was a riot but expensive. The subs do not come into dock, you board a lighter that takes you out to the sub route and board ship to ship. Saves sub transit time and battery on the 1.5 mile sail to the underwater site.
JG
Mike, the Hansen Wheelworks - I like 'em already! ;-)
Nanook, I think I remember that scene from “That’s Entertainment!”.
Mike Cozart, I’ve always wondered where all those old coaches, buggies, and other antique forms of transportation came from. I figured that it was very likely that in the 1950’s, there might actually be some survivors from the olden days that could be 50 years older, or even more. I can understand using a better form of brake on stagecoaches, especially if the public’s safety is an issue. And most people would never notice any outward difference. Amazing that Wells Fargo owns around 30 coaches! And very neat that there is a company that still makes high-quality repros for those who want them.
JG, oh I like the idea of that sub company creating some artificial reefs, it’s amazing how quickly the sea critters discover new places to live and eat. I had no idea that Hawaii has MULTIPLE sub rides! I’d be a bit disappointed if all I saw was a sandy bottom, even if I saw it from a real submersible. I can only imagine how expensive such a thing would be - I once got to take a helicopter ride in Alaska, and it cost a bloody fortune.
Chuck, don’t tell people your last name, or the paparazzi will never leave you alone!
Thanks for the advice, Major. You know how I value my privacy above all else. In fact, I'm doing an interview with Oprah to talk about it.
Thanks, TM!, for sharing you additional photos!
@Tokyo, thanks for the added photos!
The first group of crabs were served as an animatronic dinner at the Haunted Mansion banquet table.
I can't understand the second group, no attempt made to hide the grating? Is that part of the narrative? The original scene was better, as usual.
Major, the sub company went to great lengths to buy old boats and planes, then have them "sanitized" of toxics like fuel and hydraulic fluid before sinking them. As I recall, the rides were about $150 apiece, but the trip, including out and back, was almost 2 hours, so overall, an OK deal, and where else could you do this? We rode on the morning just after the ballistic missile scare (which you may recall). We spent the early part of the day in the hotel scullery waiting for the all-clear. After that experience, an expensive sub ride seemed like a bargain.
JG
Post a Comment