Wednesday, October 06, 2021

1989 Souvenir Guidebook! Part 2

Like the title says... this is PART 2 of a series featuring scans of a 1989 souvenir guidebook, courtesy of our friend JG. We're in Adventureland now (so... counter-clockwise for those of you keeping track). 

Besides the fierce face of Pele (goddess of fire and volcanoes), the most notable thing on this page is the photo of the beautiful dancers from the much-missed Tahitian Terrace. The Terrace would survive another five years, finally closing forever on April 17, 1993. 


A jungle launch (still with its candy-striped, pre-Indy look) moves perilously through a hippo bathing pool. Don't make too much noise, except for those of you carrying a pistol with blank cartridges - you can fire at will!


I believe that the scene with the gorilla and the crocodile was added to the Jungle Cruise in 1976. The tiger might have been added then as well, but I'm less sure about that.


This page features the Swiss Family Treehouse, which would be altered in 1999 with a "Tarzan" overlay. Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room is also highlighted. It is "...where parrots who have learned to talk get a chance to teach people how to whistle". You don't say!


On to Frontierland! The Nature's Wonderland Mine Train was gone, otherwise the land remained much as it had been for many years.


Big Thunder Mountain Railroad had already been around for nine years at this point, but for many younger visitors it was a thrilling highlight.


The Keelboats still plied the Rivers of America, and the old mill was still at the south end of Tom Sawyer Island... "Fantasmic!" wouldn't come along until 1992.


Those giant dinosaur ribs always make me think of The Flintsones. There was a T rex skeleton in Nature's Wonderland, and the story goes that this is the same skeleton (or parts of it, anyway), but my skepticism alarm keeps going off.


Reading the text, I am surprised to see the mention of "Sam, who owns the Golden Horseshoe Saloon". I guess Slue Foot Sue sold it. It's all moot, since they don't do an old-fashioned music & comedy show there anymore. We also see Mickey feeding a goat at Big Thunder Ranch.


And finally (for today), it's nice to see Captain Mike at the wheel with two of his friends. He reminds me of Alan Hale Jr. The Disneyland Band is performing on the bow of the Mark Twain, and we get another look at a Keelboat.


THANKS to JG for scanning his guidebook! Look for part 3 in one week.

18 comments:

MIKE COZART said...

In 1986 Slue Foot Sue and Pecos Bill left town. Sam and Lilly moved in.

That picture of Captain Mike O’Brien was used a great deal during Disneyland’s 25th anniversary. In park guides, magic kingdom club flyers , magazine ads , travel ads and newspapers.

TokyoMagic! said...

Woweeee! Talk about them ruining everything. Let's count just how many things are shown on these pages, that aren't around anymore. And how many of those things were not replaced with anything!

I always loved how they saved part of the Nature's Wonderland Mine Train trestle coming out of the tunnel/exit from under Cascade Peak, and put two mine cars on it (fifth scan). I remember going to the park one day and the trestle and the mine cars were gone. A cast member told me that a tree branch fell on it, and they didn't want to spend the money to replace it. How much would that have cost them, anyway? So to this day, it's just a "floating" tunnel opening with very little meaning.

Is that "Jim" climbing around on the Columbia?

And just how do those Tahitian Terrace dancers keep their sarongs up, while shaking their hips?

Thanks you Jay Ghoul and Major Poltergeist

- Tokyo Macabre!

JB said...

Let's see, Main Street to Adventureland to Frontierland... Are you sure we're going counter-clockwise, Major? Or maybe this is some new way of reckoning, like 'new math'.

No matter. I'm still marveling at the clarity of these scans that JG (Jay Ghoul) has presented to us.

Seeing the interior of the Swiss Family Treehouse reminds me just how homey their 'living room' looked. I haven't seen Tarzan's living room but I doubt it looks this cozy.

Tokyo Macabre!, "...how do those Tahitian Terrace dancers keep their sarongs up..." Why, with Gorilla Glue, of course!

Thanks JG and Major for part 2 of the 1989 Guidebook.

- Just Buried

Chuck said...

“Frontierland is a riverboat town, a cavalry fort, a Mississippi stern wheeler, a keelboat cruise, and a dance hall revue.” Exactly two of those things are true today, and that’s only because they are inextricably linked by the same steamboat. DeRuin Vreething indeed.

Note the use of androgynous child models in the close-ups, particularly in the image with the security guy dressed as a cavalryman. Actually a fairly astute marketing move, showing children of all genders enjoying Disneyland in as few photos as possible.

Thanks again, JG and Major. This is a nice start to the day.

- Bride of Chucky’s Husband

JG said...

Major, these look pretty good, thank you for sharing them.

I think my big regret from this era was missing the Tahitian Terrace, but the kids were tiny and it was an expensive meal.

I think this was the trip where I ate my sandwich at the Creole Cafe with my little boy sleeping on my lap.

Jay Ghoul

Anonymous said...

There was a whole lot to love at this Disneyland! Sadly, too much of it has been lost or changed beyond recognition. These pages just ooze ambiance and sense of place (not literally, that would be gross) . I get the feeling that much of that is gone now. So sad.

On a different note Captain Mike (aka Alan Hale Jr.) is actually piloting the "Mark One." It went missing after rounding the far side of Tom Sawyer Island on a three hour tour of the Rivers of America. There were reports of very realistic animatronics in the Unfriendly Indian Village jumping and waving their arms, but no one ever bothered to check it out. Even now, when the park is closed and the moon is full you can hear ghostly calls of "We're here you idiots!" So strange....

--Replicant 92573

Alonzo P Hawk said...

Hula Hula Hubba Hubba ;-)

Thanks to Major and JG for sharing.

@Tokyo Magic, maybe the hula girls use the "big safety pin" that the In n' Out burger employees use.

JB said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JB said...

Bride of Chucky's husband, (Love that! I knew you'd find a way to make it your own.), I also spent a few seconds trying to guess the gender of that kid with the cavalry guy. I finally decided she was a girl, but...

Replicant 92573, Is this a different Replicant than Replicant 29573? ;-) (Or maybe it was just a glitch in your positronic brain)
"These pages just ooze ambiance and sense of place (not literally, that would be gross)" Oh, but this is the time of the year when literally oozing is desirable! Haha, loved the Gilligan ("and the rest") homage.

- Just buried (Forgot it again!)

Anonymous said...

Westworld, where nothing can go wrong go wrong go wrong...
Replicant 57293

Melissa said...

Thkeleton thkeptithithm? That’th dethpicable!

Slue-Foot Sue sold her sole saloon to six-Foot Sam;
The sarsaparilla’s so-so, but it’s better than butterbeer, Ma’am.

Bu said...

Bride of Chuckies Husband…well…that is a modern marriage for sure! Captain Mike seems to be mugging for the camera again- those poor seniors- the little ladder to get up to the wheelhouse can be quite steep…hope they got their comps for that gig- they look like they are enjoying it in any case. That TSI security guard I knew. That particular costume was probably one of the best on the West side. He was quite “Gastonian” if I remember correctly. That photo was used quite a bit in multiple situations. The Golden Horseshoe performers look like Betty Taylor and Fulton Burley…who had been retired from the show at that point…or maybe my eyes deceive me. That was quite a shock to us all when the show was cancelled. Nothing else really measured up after that point- in my opinion anyway. We were all told that “this is show business and that is what happens…shows don’t last forever!” We were kind of sad because people were losing jobs. Wally Boag was already gone by that point, but Dick Hardwick was more than dismayed by the decision regardless of general uncertainty in that line of business. Ever been to Kentucky? (I will be quite pleased if anyone remotely understands that sight gag.). I loved the Swiss Family Treehouse…lots to look at…movie props…Hayley Mills dad…RIP Tommy Kirk…a sad bit of news…It was in the Pollyanna contract that if Hayley signed…her dad would get the role in Swiss Family Robinson…and the rest is history…unfortunately, Ms. Mills was denied 90+ percent of her Disney earnings after becoming of age due to tax laws in the UK. She fought…and lost…the lawyers never lose however. It’s a long story- you can read her book that just came out to get the details. A very interesting read overall. (I am not being compensated for this plug.). And I ramble on…

JB said...

Replicant [pickanumber] Haha. Looks like the number is gonna change every time. (You really should get that positronic brain of yours looked at.) If I remember correctly, the movie poster said: "Where nothing can go worng".

Melissa,"Thkeleton thkeptithithm"? I get that it's Sylvester-speak, but... I think the Major should tackle this one. ;-)

Bu (DeRuin Vreething), Ramble on. It's all good.

- Just buried (Wow, just about every word in this comment was underlined as misspelled by Blogger.)

Melissa said...

That’s one of the (many) reasons I treasure the Tiki Room so much; the voices of Boag and Burley are preserved (for now).

Looking over the last few days’ posts, it looks like I missed the whole spooky name thing! Gonna have to ponder on it. All I can think of for now is... Malissafent?

Chuck said...

Yeah, Bu - I didn't think that one all the way through.

"Malissafent" is awesome!

- The Only Husband of Chucky's Bride

"Lou and Sue" said...

Very entertaining comments, along with great scans from this souvenir guidebook.

Chuck, I think we had this problem with you before, a couple years back, where you told us you had a wife AND a girlfriend. ;o)

Love the names that everyone is coming up with. Thanks for the laughs!

Thanks, Major Poltergeist and Jay Ghoul!

- Lou and Sue and Boo!

Chuck said...

Sue, I did have a wife AND a girlfriend - just not at the same time.

I may have told this story before, but a friend of mine and his wife took a cruise on their honeymoon. One of the shipboard activities they participated in was a variant of The Newlywed Game, and one of the questions asked the new grooms to name their last girlfriend. He told me about half of the men got the answer wrong.

Anonymous said...

The last good days...years of what was pretty much the original park...at least in the generation who worked and managed there. KS