Random Fantasyland
Today I am presenting a group of random Fantasyland views, shared with us courtesy of the Dream Team - Irene, Bruce, and James!
First up is this nice (and unusual) shot of one of the beautiful illuminated manuscripts that tells the story of Princess Aurora, aka "Sleeping Beauty". This had to have been the first page spread that guests got to see. I wonder if this was actual painted artwork (which is my guess), or if this is a reproduction of some sort?
Photos of the dioramas inside Sleeping Beauty Castle are very rare - I only wish there had been more. Still, we must be grateful for what we have! Here, King Stephan and Queen Leah (yes, I had to look up her name) failed to invite the evil witch Maleficent to Aurora's christening, and Maleficent is not happy about it. As we all remember (from the 1959 film), she challenges Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather to a dance-off.
Next is this photo of a parade - I don't know which specific parade. There's a float jam-packed with princesses - "A Royal Princess Celebration". There's Snow White, and Belle, and I see the backs of the heads of Aurora and Cinderella. They are joined by lots of little girls in costumes - I am assuming that each of these girls came to the park already dressed as their favorites!
And finally, from a different parade, we have a pretty Snow White whistling while she worked, sweeping all of the dust and grime from the Dwarf's cottage. Behind her is the wishing well.
Thank you as always to Irene and the rest of the Dream Team!
21 comments:
I remember this version of the "Sleeping Beauty Castle" walkthrough with the dolls. I think today it's all die-cut figures and scenery props. Either way, I liked both versions.
Does anyone know if they updated the Castle walkthrough when new Fantasyland opened in 1983? And would this be that version?
Thanks, Major.
Interior diorama shots are VERY RARE indeed of Sleeping Beauty Castle walk Thru . The Castle walk through was not part of the scope of New Fantasyland. The version shown in today’s pictures were created in 1977. This was mostly what was show up through the castle interior shut down after 9-11. The 2005 version is mostly flats with digital projects recreating the feeling of Eyvind Earle’s concepts renderings for each of the window vignettes.
I took photos of every scene in SBC, prior to it's 2001 shutdown. The pics all turned out pretty well, except for maybe one scene which was difficult to photograph. I need to post those! I did post one pic, back in 2010. That scene can be seen here (scroll down to the very last photo!):
https://meettheworldinprogressland.blogspot.com/2010/06/1970s-aurora-returns-to-fantasyland.html
I hope Snow White knows that when you sweep (or scrub) the floor, you have to move the plants!
Thank you, Dream Team and Major!
I loved this walkthrough. By far in the top 5 for me. I was a weird kid, I’m a weirder adult. For an A ticket I would very slowly and methodically look at every scene. I saw the “Barbie” version which there has been a lot of discussion around in the interwebs. I loved that they themed the walls and the steps to castle-y stone-y so it felt like you were walking through a real castle, and the darkness was GREAT. And Snow White really should move those plants…I’m not mad at you Snow, I am mad at the DIRT!
I can't remember if I ever saw the walk through or not. I was usually making a bee line for Peter Pan, my favorite dark ride. I am sure I would have liked sharing a pirate ship with Snow White there. Thanks to the Dream Team and Major for these awesome scans.
I'm 99% sure that we missed the walkthrough in my 1973 trip. Of course. WDW doesn't have a walkthrough (just a fancy eatin' place...and a Dream Suite that you can't see) so I never saw it there either. Some of the effects of the original sounded cool (the peep hole with the demons, for example) but they're probably better in my head than what they really were.
Who doesn't love a parade? The people trying to get to the other side of the street, that's who! Still, if you learn to chillax and just watch the dang things they are a lot of fun.
Thanks, Dream Team!
I wonder who would win in the dance battle… I think Merryweather would pull off some great moves. But who knows what tricks Maleficent has up her sleeves? I heard she does a sick moonwalk.
Celeste
Major-
Is it politically-correct these days to depict 'ol Snow merely doing domestic chores-? I would think her PC-version would have her first designing a "dust banishing contraption", and then depict her pushing buttons to carry-out the formerly disagreeable task.
Either way, I see the gentleman standing behind her came to the Park wearing his neck pillow, just in case the day's festivities proved too boring.
Thanks to the Dream Team.
The first SBC walkthrough was mostly flats as I remember ... there was a slide of Aurora used in ViewMaster reels of the '60s and '70s, just a cutout and Pepper's Ghost, but very effective.
To Lou and Sue and company, I just caught up with a week of GDB. I never saw the castle dent in all my visits to Disneyland; it wasn't noticed until Randy Bright's 1987 book DISNEYLAND came out. In the gorgeous cover photo, the dent is blatant; then I saw it on most cover pictures of the Park souvenir magazine, especially one from the early '90s. It was obvious in postcards from the earliest years, including the Walt one. This is pretty obsessive-compulsive, but if the devil is in the details, bring on the Disneyland devils. P.S. Tinkerbell's high wire is just visible in the Walt postcard too, probably rare for that era.
Stefano, let me be the first to say that you ARE a TRUE Jr. Gorilla - since you take the time to read all the comments. Thank you for responding! Did Randy Bright's book mention The Dent?
[A side note to all Jr. Gorillas: If The Dent has not been explained, yet - we can put our heads together and start a really cool rumor that will eventually become fact and added to all future Disneyland history books! Our claim to fame, maybe.] ;o)
The princess parade float is obviously before they invented the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo Boutiques - where parents could spend upwards of $500+ to get their little girls a princess outfit and hair styled in the ugliest princess hairdo ever (a TIGHT pulled-back bun with hairspray-plastered-down hair). To just get the hair done was $100+.
Fun pictures, today - thank you Dream Team and Major!
Ah, the "sherbet" version of IASW. I remember seeing this one.
I have always liked all the versions of the Sleeping Beauty Walk-Through and I try to visit it each trip. My only memory of the early version is the now-removed "Bottomless Pit" scene, and I don't think I noticed the change to the Barbie version.
The last picture is terrifying! Snow White is up on that platform with no railing or handrail for the steps! What if she were to fall off? The dwarves are liable for workplace injuries! I see that she is on a parade float and not the Wishing Well by SBC, maybe she is wearing a harness to hold her in place. Snow's costume always seemed like a good foil to Robin the Boy Wonder's yellow cape. It would be good to see them together at a costume ball.
Stefano, thanks for more backstory on the dent. Just a fascinating side detail.
JG
Oops, thanks to the Major and the Dream Team for the posts and photos!
Do orphan princesses have Workers Comp coverage?
JG
K. Martinez, yeah, this is the version that I remember; since I didn’t know that it ever looked any other way, I was OK with the dolls. I’m unclear as to whether the original from the ‘50s also had the flat cutouts like today’s version (which I love). I see that Mike Cozart has answered your question about when the walkthru was changed!
Mike Cozart, the “doll” versions remind me very much of Emporium windows, somehow. Still well-done and nice to look at! Do you know if the original Eyvind Earle version had plywood flats?
TokyoMagic!, I’m surprised you haven’t shared those yet - people are going to love seeing them. I’m looking forward to it myself. Snow White was very busy, she sometimes didn’t do a thorough job. But she did whistle plenty.
Bu, I’m like you, I love this sort of thing. Dioramas, model train setups, etc. I spend way too much time gazing at the details. Even now, I feel like the flow of guests wants to go much faster than I do when viewing the new improved walk-thru scenes.
Jonathan, the walk-thru was easy to miss if you didn’t know about it, so I’m not surprised if you didn’t see it. Peter Pan really is a great dark ride, but i love them all. Don’t ask me to choose my favorite!
Stu29573, you’d think that Cinderella Castle is so huge, they’d have room for a walk-thru if they wanted one. I wonder how that would have looked? Presumably it would have told the story of Cinderella, too, which would have been nice. Imagine the transformation scene, a nice “Pepper’s Ghost” effect I’m sure! I’m not a big parade fan in general, but I sure wish I could go back in time and see these vintage versions.
Celeste, I have to believe that Maleficent would have moves that would blow our minds! I’m impressed if she can moonwalk, because I still don’t get how it’s done (even though I’ve read Michael’s description many times).
Nanook, let’s face it, Snow White was a pretty traditional fairy tale princess in 1937. She didn’t skateboard or play an electric guitar, though I hope that they will change the original movie so that she does both of those things. “Neck pillow”, ha ha.
Stefano, oh yeah, I forgot about that Viewmaster. I’ve seen it enough times, you’d think I’d remember. For some reason I just can’t get enough “Pepper’s Ghost” effect! I have Randy Bright’s book, but it’s been a long time since I looked at it. I wish I knew the story of the dent. Since the turret was a separate piece, I’m surprised they didn’t just turn it so that the dent would be less-visible. Unless the bonk happened after it was already installed?
Lou and Sue, I don’t remember being aware of the dent until a week (or so) ago, so I don’t think it’s mentioned in Randy Bright’s book. Could the “rumor” be that Tinker Bell crashed into the castle one night thanks to high winds? Don’t worry, she was fine. I always found the “princess mania” to be a bore, but then again, I’m not a six year-old girl. If I had a daughter, and I could make her happy by giving her an ugly princess hairdo and some sparkly makeup, I’d probably do it!
JG, the sherbet version of IASW doesn’t look quite so bad here, partly because it is a bit washed out. Did they have a bottomless pit in the walk-thru?? I know there was one on Tom Sawyer Island. I assume that Snow White is actually cleverly strapped to the float so that she can’t be a demonstration of Newton’s Laws of Motion when the float unexpectedly jams to a halt.
JG, You’re welcome!
MIKE COZART, Thanks for the info on the Sleeping Beauty dioramas change over date and the extra info on how the new dioramas work on a technical level. Always appreciate your in depth knowledge of the Disney theme parks.
Also, forgot to say thanks to the Dream Team, Thanks, Dream Team!
Major, your reason for The Dent would also explain the need for Tink’s guide wire!
Major, I remember the Bottomless Pit in the SBC was lined with the same stone block finish as the other walls, but there was a glass window pane over the opening so your view down was limited. I thought it might have been the inside of one of the round towers since it was a round shaft, lit with purple light. I also remember thinking it was odd since it didn't clearly correlate to the SB story, it was just a feature of the stone corridor, like "every castle has this". It probably led to the dungeon below the Castle where the Lost Boys make the churros.
You are right, there was another "bottomless pit" in Injun Joe's Cave on TSI, that one was an irregular "stone" grotto without a glass pane. Again, it was difficult to look into and no bottom was visible. It was pretty dark and might have had a sound effect of wind sighing in the distance. This might still be in place with the Pirate overlay but I can't recall.
JG
Hooray for the Dream Team! This is a particularly charming collection from their archives.
The first picture really captures how much the SBC storybook painting looks like a real illuminated manuscript. I know the “doll” version of the dioramas isn’t everybody’s favorite, but it is mine. Maybe it’s just because I’ve sewn so many doll clothes in my day. (My nativity set is made of home-costumed dolls.) I wonder whatever happened to all those little figures when they changed to the current version? Maybe they spent some time in Main Street shop window displays?
What a thrill it must have been for those little ones to get to be in the parade! I know a lady who makes a few extra bucks selling more comfortable versions of princess costumes on etsy; the rayon ones they sell in the parks are apparently pretty scratchy and hot for a whole day under the Florida or California sun.
I can’t remember seeing another picture of the iasw façade from this particular angle, where you can see so much foliage through the openings. So pretty and airy.
I’ve seen plenty of Snow Whites (Snows White?) in my day, but I think the one in the last picture bears the strongest facial resemblance to the animated version I can remember seeing. And I love how the picture captures the wind moving her skirt. What the spectators don’t know is that she was the star forward on the castle’s field hockey team, and she’s about to flick that flowerpot into somebody’s unsuspecting mug.
Nanook, ha, ha! In the next park parade, Snow White will be riding down the street on a giant Roomba.
Major, I just remembered that I have video of the 1977-2001 Castle walk-thru. I need to get on the ball and do a SBC MEGA post!
JG, I remember the bottomless pit! I also wondered if it was the actual interior of one of the Castle turrets that we were looking into. It sure looked like it. Now, do you remember the hole in the wall next to the window? You could yell into the hole and hear your voice echoing. And yeah, I always wondered why that was there, since it didn't have anything to do with the movie, but it was a neat little scene and effect.
Bu, when Snow was off duty, and just chilling with friends, she liked to be called, "Helga."
The “Bottomless Pit” inside Injun Joe’s Cave on TSI was only about 3 feet deep and featured some colored lights ( under the wooden plank bridge) the crevices that got no light gave the guests the impression of a deep ravine below. There was howling wind effects AND now and then a scream - suppose to be the ghost of Injun Joe as he fell. THAT scream recording was the same same scream used for the Wicked Witch falling in Snow White! It’s interesting that two of Disney’s oldest recordings used in Disneyland cane from the film SNOW WHITE AND AND THE SEVEN DWARFS and both could be heard in Frontierland : the Injun Joe’s Cave scream and the Snoring Miner ( recorded for the sleeping Dwarfs) heard emanating from the El Dorado Hotel at Rainbow Ridge! ( pre big thunder El Dorado Hotel)
Tokyo, thanks for confirming I wasn’t hallucinating or conflating another memory. I don’t recall the echoing hole, but it sounds vaguely familiar. Please post your diorama pics when you have a minute, I would love to see them!
Mike, thanks for the detail on Injun Joe’s pit. I love the sound effect trivia. Is the witches scream the same as the Goofy Scream that plays at Alice in Wonderland? That noise played every few seconds while waiting in line for the Bobsleds, it is etched in my mind. It seems to be a Disney version of the Wilhelm Scream.
JG
Hiya Dave - I answer that first one. All the pages from the 1977 version we found in there were HAND PAINTED ORIGINALS. Crazy. We scanned all of them at hi rez and re-used them (mostly) with new hand-painted elements by the new team.
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