Happy Birthday, Sue B.!
I'd like to wish our friend Sue B. a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Thanks for everything you do for GDB, Sue, and I hope you have a wonderful day. Because Sue (and her dad, Lou Perry) have shared so many wonderful photos with us, I actually have pictures her when she was very young, visiting Disneyland with her Aunt, Mother, and some family friends in May of 1964. She says that the trip was in celebration of her 4th birthday! And while I watermarked these as being from "Lou and Sue", the photos were actually taken by her Aunt Adeline.
I love this first picture, with Sue and her Mom's friend Carol standing near Pluto in front of the "Fantasy Art Fair" (notice the closed booth in the distant right with the sign that reads "Fantasyland Art Corner", a rare sight). Presumably it held items that would have also been found in the Tomorrowland Art Corner - books, animation cels, and all manner of other wonderful souvenirs. Sue is so delighted, it's hard not to smile. Why fight it!
Notice the Jungle Cruise attraction poster, rather drastically cut down to fit inside that shield-shaped frame. Ouch.
I thought that the lady in white was one of Sue's group of family/friends, but she's just an interloper! I asked Sue for some memories of that day, and she had a few: One thing I clearly remember is sitting at a round table, eating at the Golden Horseshoe Revue, with our group plus a couple of strangers. I managed to knock over my root beer, spilling it on the strangers. I was mortified. Everyone was nice about it, but I still felt horrible.
I remember we stayed in the Disneyland Garden Apartments, and I loved our room with the enclosed private patio, with lots of greenery and flowers. I recall, at one point, a number of my relatives were in our room sitting and visiting with us; Marlene recently told me that they were all celebrating my 4th birthday, at that time, in the room. I don't recall this, but Marlene said that my grandma gave me a 1,000 piece puzzle as a birthday gift and my frustrated mother had to convince me that it was not the time and place to try to put it together. She probably suggested that I wait 10 years.
I threw in this third one "just because", even though the people in the Dumbo vehicle are not family or friends. Who doesn't love a good picture of Dumbo?
There are more fun photos from this batch (and MANY more from Lou and Sue of course)! Thanks to Sue and her Aunt Adeline for sharing these great pix.
31 comments:
@ Sue-
Extra points for your mom's friend Carol and her cool sunglasses. It appears she may be holding a movie camera-?? (Where are those films-??) Talk about photo bombing - yes, that's right, m'am - just make yourself right to home.
Thanks Sue, for sharing these images with us.
Sue, you were such a little cutie! Happy, happy birthday to you....and many more! I hope you have a wonderful day.
I was going to ask the same question as Nanook, about whether Carol was holding a movie camera!
It feels strange to see a Jungle Cruise poster in Fantasyland. I guess I don't remember seeing posters for other "lands" in Fantasyland before.
Thank you Lou, Sue, Major, and Sweet (Aunt) Adeline!
Happy birthday, Sue! Did you know that on your fourth birthday, the Wonderful World of Color aired the episode "Disneyland Goes to the World's Fair?"
I love these two photos of you. There's that absolute delight in your face that is part of what makes hanging around with four-year-olds so much fun. The fact that you were at Disneyland makes it just that much more awsomerer.
I can sympathize with you about the puzzle. For my first birthday, my grandfather bought me an AMT 1/25th scale model kit of a 1969 Dodge Charger. I became aware of it when I was about 6, and I was allowed to open the box and look at it a few times a year. It was a beautiful kit that could be built in both "stock" and "custom" versions, with chrome plastic trim and a set of real rubber tires for each version. Way too complicated for a one-year old who was still putting things in his mouth.
My mother finally gave it to me when I was about 8, and I started trying to put it together when I was about 9. I remember spray painting it a bright red...and then it vanishes from history, sort of like the One Ring after Isildur's death at the Disaster of the Gladden Fields. I secretly hope I may find it one day in a cave somewhere, my long-lost birthday present, my...precious.
Thanks so much for sharing these photos, and may you have the happiest of birthdays!
Happy birthday Sue! And many happy more......
Thanks for sharing these great pictures. And thanks to the Major for posting them!
Happy birthday Sue! My dad's birthday was yesterday, so I can send you some leftover cake. He was born almost ten years to the day after you! Thanks for always leaving such enthusiastic comments - I've learned a lot about everyone else thanks to you. Have a great day, and thanks for sharing these fun pictures!
Nanook, I think Major is being kind. It's obviously ME who's photo-bombing the picture! I probably ran up to Pluto, and my mom's friend, Carol, just followed. I don't know where Carol's films are, but my dad took a lot of movies starting in the 50s...I'll need to learn how to "post" some footage for everyone here to enjoy, some day.
Thanks, TM!
Thanks, Chuck! I'm glad you got to finally enjoy your model kit! I don't think my puzzle ever left California, because I have absolutely no recollection of it. If it wasn't for Marlene (Carol's sister who was also on this trip), I wouldn't have known about it. BTW, you'll meet Marlene in the other half of this post, whenever Major posts it.
Thanks, Budblade!
Thanks, Andrew! Please wish Crumb Crunchers a "Happy Belated Birthday!"
Thank you, Major, for making "getting older" a lot more fun!
Happy birthday, Sue. How lucky to celebrate at Disneyland!
Thanks for you and Lou’s generous sharing of his excellent photos. I really appreciate them.
JG
Happy birthday, Sue! What a great series of pictures.
Happy Birthday, Sue. It looks like Disneyland was pleasantly uncrowded for your 4th birthday! As always, thanks for sharing your family's photographs.
Happy Birthday Sue! Even with an interloper, you steal the show in that pic. Pluto seems to be interested in that interloper...could be that person's family member off-screen is taking a photo.
Have a wonderful day and a whole bunch of wonderful Unbirthday's too.
Thanks Sue and major.
Happy Birthday, Sue. Thanks for sharing your Dad's photos and for all the enthusiastic comments! Have a great day!
Chuck, My first new car was a '69 Charger and I didn't have to put it together!
Thanks, Major!
zach
Happy Birthday, Sue. Thanks for sharing your family memories.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sue!!!! Seeing you in that long gone Fantasyland with its bright mix of colors and patterns it’s almost hard to believe it’s the same Disneyland that we enjoy today.
I have a very similar GOLDEN HORSESHOE / Root Beer story; it was about 1988 and I was in college - my friends and I were sitting on the upper balcony level and my friend Patrick knocked his root beer over the entire table ..... it quickly poured off the table edge and through the openings of the railing , down onto the guests ordering drinks at the bar below . Angry guests looked up at as and and I was mortified : one man made some comment to us like “ we were kinda old to be pulling immature pranks like that “ or something along those lines ....as if we had done it intentionally! We felt awful.
Major / Tokyo : It is odd to see a Jungle Cruise poster in Fantasyland , but I’ve seen so many examples of temporary construction walls in various lands that displayed all kinds of attraction posters - most not specific to the land . I have many photos too of attraction posters cut down and oddly trimmed to fit all sorts of former ticket windows , and assorted size display frames made for non-attraction poster size signs that had been removed for whatever reason. I’ve also seen a 1968 backstage group of photos that show the Small World Clock figures freshly Painted and in the background in the lower windows of the Staff Shop building are attraction posters ( I assume mounted to board or Masonite) but cut down LENGTH WISE and appear to be used as sunlight blockers in the windows!!!!!
Happy Birthday Sue, and thanks for all the great photos you share! Those white sunglasses look very "Mrs. Walt Disney"- do some image searches- she loved her white frames. When the "New Fantasyland" opened sans all of the painted sheet metal canopies and whatnot (done when there wasn't any $$ left in 1955) I remember saying to myself "I kind of liked it better before"- so 1950's Disneyland-tastic. (and BTW: I think Mrs. Disney was wearing white shades at that opening....!" I'm not sure I ever saw her without sunglasses on....) Nevertheless...to a 4 year old...all they really care about is riding Dumbo and playing with Pluto. You look like you are about to explode with excitement, and Pluto looks like...well....perhaps not as over the top as you but possibly:... "man...I'm hot..." A very happy birthday to you, and 364 unbirthdays.
Happy Birthday Sue! Your pics are some of my favs that Major posts. Thanks and keep 'em coming!!
Happy birthday to Sue,
Happy birthday to Sue,
You can spill root beer on us,
But we'll all still love you!
Carol certainly had a sense of style!
Sue, looking at the picture, I think you're probably right. I have a very similar picture of my daughter at WDW with Tigger. She was five and just ran right up to him, totally cutting the small line. I was a little embarrassed, but Tigg and his handlers took it all in stride.
Happy birthday!
Nanook, I’m like you, I always wondering about the photos (or movies) that guests took when I see them holding a camera. I know someone who threw “thousands of photos” away after their parents died, and can hardly stand thinking about it!
TokyoMagic!, I think they tended to have posters for other “lands”, to inspire guests to wander over and check out the attractions to be enjoyed there. For instance, in many old photos you’ll see Fantasyland and Frontierland posters on display in Tomorrowland.
Chuck, wow, good one on “Disneyland Goes to the World’s Fair”! One of the all-time classic episodes. And I agree, the sheer happiness on little Sue’s face is so adorable. Funny that your grandfather bought you a complicated puzzle when you were 1 year old. Even by the age of 7 or 8, I had some Revell models that never quite fit together like they were supposed to, and I hate painting them because I was so bad at it. I wanted them to look perfect!
Budblade, I am happy to share this stuff with you!
Andrew, be sure to put a scoop of ice cream in the box with that piece of cake. Sue is really good about getting people to share their photos and personal stories!
Lou and Sue, so I must have posted the two photos of you out of order. The one with the lady in white should have been first, and then after you photo-bombed it, she ran away in tears, leaving the scene for just you and Carol! ;-) Hmmm, sharing films… getting them scanned is pricey, I have discovered. I’ve done it a few times. And then I discover that the filmed scenes aren’t even that good! Don’t worry, everyone will see all of your 4th birthday trip photos. And you’re not getting older, you’re getting better!
JG, remember, today’s pix were taken by Aunt Adeline, even though I credited “Lou and Sue”!
MRaymond, these really are delightful.
Pegleg Pete, I guess mid-May was still considered the “off season” back then. Lately there has been no such thing as an off-season!
DrGoat, it’s true, Sue’s smile overwhelms everything else. Think of all the glum kids we’ve seen on GDB, but Sue’s happiness is right there for all to see. The way Sue tells it, the lady in white was posing first!
zach, I’ll bet you wish you had that ’69 Charger today!
Alonzo, thanks for checking in.
Mike Cozart, I know that the rootbeer spill was just an honest mistake, but I’m actually surprised at the fairly reasonable response from the old man! I would have been MUCH ruder! “Maybe you kids need a few years in the Marines to knock some sense into you. Also, stay off my lawn!”. Your story of the posters cut down for use as window “shades” is awful, and yet I remember The E-Ticket magazine sharing a story about how posters were torn into small pieces to be used as makeshift dustpans. THE PAIN!!
Bu, I’m not sure if white glasses frames ever went out of style, but they are still stylish all these years later. I know what you mean about the New Fantasyland - for all of its very nice details and charm, there is something about the “old Fantasyland” that appeals - at least to those of us who saw it in person. Kids do love riding Dumbo, but my niece was too afraid to make Dumbo soar, so she scooted along at the lowest level. We all laughed at the sight.
Grant, Sue has been so generous that I still have lots to share, and she is just waiting to scan much more!
Melissa, your custom birthday song will make Sue’s day!
Stu29573, it’s not uncommon to find photos of any of the characters, with various kids posing in front, to the left, to the right… all clearly from different groups. I can just hear the parent saying, “Just run up there and I’ll take a picture!”. I’ll bet those CMs in the costumes have seen it all.
Sue- Happy Birthday! Wishing you all the best- have a great day. Cool pictures today as well- Thanks Sue, Adeline & Major.
-DW
Happy Birthday, dear Sue! Love your delight in seeing Pluto. Thank you for sharing your treasure trove of photos. And thanks Major for compiling them for us. Ms. Photobomb-ee has an unusual coat, with the red and blue color blocked hem. And I see a few babushkas in the Dumbo pic.
Happy Birthday Sue! I feel we are kindred spirits. Based on your age, there is the possibility that had you visited in the 70s you could have been on one of my JC cruises....or paddling away on a Canoe I was steering. Thanks for all Lou's pictures to bring back the memories...even for me as a child visiting in the 50s. Ken(K)S
Happy magical Birthday Sue! I just love seeing photos of you as a little girl with your pretty red hair and bright smile. Gosh, I feel old though as I figured out I'm 12 years older than you!!! Hope you have a great day.
Also hoping that when all the covid restrictions are lifted perhaps you can make a trip out here and those of us who live in Southern Calif. and nearby can have a meet up - wouldn't that be fun?
A very happy birthday to you, Sue! Thank you for sharing so many wonderful photos of Disneyland through the years. I recently shared this particular set of the Disneyland Hotel at night from 1983 with my mother, and it made her misty eyed remembering her very first trip staying there with my dad in 1984. You, Lou and Major spread so much joy with these photos every day, so I hope today is extra special for you!
Happy birthday Sue! It is almost impossible to not smile when looking at a picture of Dumbo. Thank you for sharing your special day with us. Thanks Major, as well.
Kathy!, you’re right, I didn’t notice that odd coat with the red and blue. Wonder if it is home-made?
KS, I can’t wondering if I saw you at the park during one of my visits! Kind of amazing to consider!
Irene, age is just a state of mind! And you seem to be pretty youthful to me. I know Sue was planning a trip to SoCal, which was scuttled by Covid. But I’m sure she’ll be out here eventually!
SunnieDaze21, aw, that’s a sweet story of your mom remembering her first trip to the Hotel with your dad. While my mom and dad didn’t have any Disneyland memories that meant a lot to them, I know there were other things (like their honeymoon trip to Las Vegas) that they would talk about as if it was the greatest time of their lives!
Sue,
These are wonderful pics! Your dad took great photos. I love the Fantasyland coloring. And finally, you look so cute in these pics and brighten them up greatly! Thanks, Lou and Sue.
Shame on me! I forgot to wish you a happy birthday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUE!
You brighten this blog so much. :-)
Ken
JG & MRaymond, thank you!
Pegleg Pete, thank you! I think we only visited Disneyland in the off-season, as I never remember it ever being super-crowded, when I was a kid.
Thank you, DrGoat!
Zach, thank you! When I started dating my husband (boyfriend then, obviously), he drove a 1969 Chevelle. They don't make cars like they used to, do they?! Or, as TokyoMagic! says: They ruin everything!
Alonzo P. Hawk, thank you!
Mike, thank you! I can picture you saloon gals (guys) really getting into a lot of trouble at the Golden Horseshoe! Hahahahaha! Still can't stop laughing about that photo you shared here.
Thank you, Bu & Grant! As long as Major keeps posting, I'll keep scanning.
Melissa, THANK YOU! Your poem is the icing on my birthday cake!
Thank you, Stu! Please share that picture of your daughter here (that is, if she'll let you)!
DW and Kathy, thank you!
Ken S (KS), I'm sure I would've seen you during those years and am still hoping you show up in one of my [dad's] photos! During our trips, we would spend multiple days in Disneyland, and ride the Jungle Cruise often. My dad and I are so very happy when we hear that you or one of the other readers are enjoying these pictures!
Irene, thank you! I CAN'T WAIT to get out there and meet you and some of the other Junior Gorillas! You and all the others add so many laughs to my day, and I really enjoy feeling like I'm back in Disneyland daily on GDB, with friends.
SunnieDaze21, thank you! Your story makes this all worthwhile!
Thank you, JC Shannon!
Major, I don't think that coat was home-made, but I remember it was a weird stiff plastic-like material.
K. Martinez, thank you!
Kathy and Major: I just now realized that you were referring to the falsely-accused “Photobomb-ee” and not me (the real “Photobomb-we”), when referring to the coat. I like her coat better—it was probably more comfortable!
K. Martinez, glad you checked in on this special day!
Lou and Sue, it feel weird commenting on your comment about other people’s comments, so I will just say that I am glad you joined up with us here on GDB! And I see by your next comment that you already picked up on the fact that we were talking about the lady with the white coat. But it’s OK!
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