Well... here are two "nothing special" slide scans for your "snoozer Sunday". You could do worse, but you might have to work at it.
Both photos were taken from the Disneyland Railroad, sometime in the 1980's (so they're not even that old). I suppose it's moderately interesting to see the ramps and switchbacks of the queue, and the various souvenir stands - plenty of opportunity to spend more of your money. And we might be able to add three points due to the golden sunlight of the late afternoon (please make a note of that in your records).
The train has moved along by just a few feet, so the view isn't much different from the first photo; there's more topiaries. But... if you look closely, squinting your eyes and standing on one foot, you can see a double bobsled swooshing along the upper slopes of the Matterhorn, meaning that each of you will hear from an old friend, or at least get offered a stick of sugarless gum, very soon!
Some unusual views of Small World Gifts , The Fantasyland Ice Cream Train and Fantasyland Charactures . Also wearing the It’s A Small World gondolier costumes designed by Tom Pierce and introduced in 1968 are two male castmembers and to the left a female cast members wearing the costumes short waisted coat. This same costume design remained in use until the Mattel sponsorship. The new costume stil used a gondolier variation however.
ReplyDeleteIt’s funny how many guests used to get “trigger happy” with their cameras when the trains pulled into the Small World plaza area .... they quickly would snap pictures out of excitement and obligation , but rarely were getting a specific subject.
I like these views! We can even see the Rocket Jets in that second pic. If these shots are from the 1980s, then I'm guessing they would have to be from either 1980 or maybe early 1981. The Fantasyland Caricature stand was gone by Christmas of 1981 I think it might have even been gone by that summer, or earlier. Mike, do you have a date for when it was removed?
ReplyDeleteWell....uh....um....huh.
ReplyDeleteI got nothin'.
Major, I like these views. These are like beef stew, nothing fancy, but still plenty to chew on.
ReplyDeletePhoto 1 shows the area that is now the elaborate parade viewing area, before the multilevel platforms, lighting rigs and speaker towers. We can see that the old fence design with semicircular wood cutouts (dating from opening day) was still in use in out of the way locations.
Notice the globe light pole pattern that runs all the way around Autopia/ lagoon into Tomorrowland by the subs, and two trash cans. Never noticed those out here before.
Also good views of those gift shop stalls as Mike points out.
Photo 2 is as nice a “general view” of this area as could be asked. Notice the astroturf under the queue ramp, where it is too dark for flowers and no headroom for a lawnmower. I also notice a convex traffic mirror on the ramp pillar. Was this for traffic control use? It looks like it is reflecting around the corner to show boats coming out of the show to the load control area.
The lone tree in the planter, which, I think, is still there today (which, due to a long-ago post, I think of as “Chuck’s Tree”), and at least five more trash cans, all different ones from those seen in photo 1.
Thanks for these fine pics!
JG
I might have just answered my own question. I checked my DL guidebooks from 1981. They all had the same photo on the cover, and just the year, "1981," without a specific month or season. The only indication of the seasons, was from the advertisements in the back of the guide, for the various Disney films that were released that year. It appears that the Fantasyland Caricature stand disappeared from the guidebooks, sometime between The Fox and the Hound (released Summer of 1981) and the re-release of Cinderella (re-released Winter of 1981).
ReplyDeleteSo, these pics must have been taken sometime before Winter of 1981.
I imagine the two headless Small World CMs singing Marco and Giuseppe’s duet from The Gondoliers.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/Js0sTbaps84
These photos feature the Backside of Signs.
ReplyDeleteJG points out a bunch of details that are just waiting to be noticed. All I can add Is that along the fence line to the left, on the opposite side of the parade route in both photos, there are two sugarless water fountains.
JG, “Chuck’s Tree” - now it’s my turn to be touched.
@ TM!-
ReplyDeleteNice work.
With a vivid imagination, you might be able to discern the 'distorted images' on the blue, plexi backs of the oval signage. Just when exactly, did the very long sign go bye-bye, to be replaced with the pair of oval signs, with the plumage/finials atop... 1976, 1977-?
Thanks, Major.
Ok, I got something!
ReplyDeleteHere goes:
These pictures were actually taken by one of the topiaries as it returned home!
Ta Da!
......and those blue oval signs used EXTRUDED ACYRILITE : more expensive than regular plexiglass but also available in more colors and thickness than standard. One of those original marquee signs survives today had hangs inside the Small World show building above the mechanical room is for AA figure maintainence - a elevated section of the boat storage room. Walking in there is like stepping into 1966.
ReplyDelete