Around Fantasyland, April 1959
Here are two nice photos (plus a closeup) from April of 1959! We'll start with this shot; perhaps the photographer was aiming at the castle, but there's lots of Fantasyland goodness to take in. King Arthur's Carrousel, for instance. The Peter Pan attraction; a bit of the back side of Merlin's Magic Shop. And plenty of vintage people to enjoy.
Aw, look at the young couple holding hands. I wonder if they stayed together? Many women have switched over to pants, but that one girl still wears a poofy skirt. There's one of those funky "tent top" trash cans too.
Here's a great shot of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship; you'd think I'd be sick of it by now - photos are certainly not scarce. But it's so beautiful! The tropical lagoon that included Skull Rock would be added soon (it opened just over a year later, in May of 1960). But it's kind of interesting to see it when it was basically in a cement pool. Two sailors (it looks like one sailor, but there are two shadows!) visiting from Long Beach Naval Station are ambling over for a closer look. The little girl in the stroller wishes she had a can of 3-In-1 oil for the stroller's squeaky wheel.
20 comments:
Major-
You can never have too many images of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship.
Also - that sailor is demonstrating a special trick of his, which is casting 'twin shadows'-! It's a wonderful party gag.
Thanks, Major.
In the Pirate Ship photo, I don't recall seeing that type of trashcan before. It looks like a Salvation Army drop box.
The ice cream vendor looks rather bored. With only a handful of guests milling about, I probably would be bored, too. Then again, maybe bored is good, compared to having dozens of guests swarming around you, all demanding their ice cream at the same time.
The strollers are so compact in these images. They barely take up any space at all! Where did the parents seat their 2nd and 3rd child? Where did they stow their set of matching luggage for the three-day Disneyland visit? Where did they keep all the extra diapers, blankets, baby bottles, binkies, soda crackers, boloney sandwiches, fruits and produce? I guess someone had to invent the SUV before they could invent the SUV stroller.
- Joint of Beast (hunk of mystery-meat served at the First Thanksgiving). I think this might be the last of my Turkeyday names. I'm just not feeling it in my heart... or liver... or gizzard... or any of my other giblets.
Is that lady below the Tinkerbell Toy Shop clock, wearing short shorts? Wait...who wears short shorts? I guess she wears short shorts. If you dare wear short shorts.... Well, it was a hit song in 1958!
- Tokyo Mayflower!
That tent top trash can is not only telling us to inefficiently use paper but to actually push the concept. It must have been sponsored by Weyerhauser, or possibly Dunder Mifflin, although their market was primarily in the northeast. They may have sponsored the trash cans at the ‘64 NYWF..
There’s another light blue Mickey (but not Mickey-eared) balloon tethered to a stroller today, although this stroller appears to be free range rather than tethered to a trash can. Find Ms. Short Shorts, then track left. You can’t miss it.
To the right of the couple whose hands are tragically superglued together there’s a kid walking away from us wearing a sweet captain’s hat. To the right of that, there’s a knot of dads discussing the wiring for that addition Jack’s planning on adding to his house while he’s laid off (“220…221. Whatever it takes.”).
In front of them and to the right we see a contrast - wheeled conveyances for children and adults. I think many of today’s strollers have a bigger wheelbase than many wheelchairs. And now JB’s got me wondering…what would a double wheelchair look like?
In the next photo, an escaped stroller and trash can sentry eye each other warily from opposite sides of the quay, each waiting for the other to make the first move. I hope that poor Redshirt doesn’t get caught in the crossfire.
While I absolutely love the benches molded into JG’s Rocks that came with with the Skull Rock enhancement, the colorful concrete benches seen here have a certain charm, too. Not much back support, but plenty of charm. Definitely a nice place to sit and watch the world go by while your tuckus goes numb and you slowly develop hemorrhoids.
Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship photos will never tiresome. Especially ones with all that early Disneyland empty walkway in front. The perfect photo you want to jump in to. Lots of landing area, and no bumping into someone when you make your jump. Might be your Grandmother and you don't want to run into that pesky paradox issue.
TM, So was One-Eyed, One-horned Flying Purple People Eater. A unique few years when those kinds of silly songs were hits.
My 8 year old self thanks you Major.
Excellent views today, Major! Thank you!
The tent-topped trash cans may have been limited to this Castle courtyard area, at least this is the only area we have seen them. Judging from the sides, they are the original 1955 plain green cans with a fancy top that looks added.
And just a few yards away, they give way to the pink “stripe” style that would dominate the Fantasyland “midway”. Behind the Pirate Ship, in the Grotto to come, this same pattern would be used, but in a manly black and red colorway suitable for buccaneers.
Chuck, thanks for the attribution of the rocks! I could scarcely imagine a feature with which I would sooner be affiliated.
That “knot of Dads” is spot-on, looks just like my Dad and his brothers and cousins.
I’ve heard of people who cast no shadow, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone cast two. Maybe Wendy practiced on him.
JG
Great pics today Major. (Actually great ones over the last several days. I'm behind in my GDB viewing.)
The ladies' fashion evolution is in full display. Only two dresses visible among all the pants/capris. And of course short-shorts girl :) I think even they would be shocked at the attire worn to the park today.
For a second I thought red-shirt boy was me but the hair is too dark. I was there so often as a kid I figure I will eventually show up in a crowd shot.
Has anyone else seen themselves in a random photo from then Park?
When my kids were stroller age in the early 80s strollers were small, light and folded to fit anywhere. The ones I see around the neighborhood today are huge, even when folded. Kinda like cell phones. At one time the fashion was very small phones. Just the opposite today.
@ TM! & DrGoat-
Yes, both Short Shorts and The Purple People Eater charted in 1958: January for Short Shorts (#3) and June, for ...People Eater, a big #1 hit for six weeks (Ugh-!). Referred to as 'Novelty Songs', that period was probably the heyday for such things. A sub category is called 'Answer Songs' - such as Duchess of Earl for Duke of Earl; or Small Sad Sam for Big Bad John; or even Leotards for Short Shorts, etc., etc.
Buchanan & Goodman 'may' have started the trend in the Rock 'n Roll era of the 'break-in song' with The Flying Saucer (Parts 1 & 2) - a #3 hit in August, 1956. These 'break-in songs' featured bits from original Top 40 hits interwoven throughout the recording, with 'commentary' telling a story. Dickie Goodman continued churning-out novelty records all the way up to 1982: Energy Crisis '79 and Hey E.T., 1982
Nanook, my mother still has her original 78 rpm copy of The Flying Saucer (Parts 1 & 2). I don't know how many times I listened to that thing. It even inspired me to tape a few pale imitations of my own in late grade school and junior high. And no, Sue - I won't be sharing them ;-)
Everyone has a price, Chuck. ;o)
I love the first picture!
Thanks, Major!
Chuck, Redshirt kid's jeans look really stiff. He can barely move. That, coupled with the legendary violence between strollers and trashcans, well... I'm afraid it's, "He's dead, Jim."
DrGoat, has Mrs. DrGoat shown any improvement yet? We're still keeping both of you in our thoughts.
- Joint of Beast
Sorry guys, it’s been a busy morning!
Nanook, I’m sure that casting two shadows is very useful, because… um… er… I got nothin’.
JB, that is one of the standard Fantasyland trash can designs, but you are right, the shield design on the side really does make it look like we should donate our used clothing and old toys. I’m sure it could be very boring to be a vendor on a slow day! Hopefully at some point he got to go and flirt with the cute girl cast members. I really don’t understand how folks in those days managed to survive (nay, THRIVE) with such little strollers. I remember when the park instituted a ban on the giant “SUV” strollers, and there was a real outcry from angry parents.
TokyoMagic!, not only are those shorts SHORT, but they are short in 1959, which makes them pretty daring.
Chuck, one thing I learned from many visits to Disneyland is to be as wasteful as possible. And I must admit that I have become quite good at it. I considered going “pro”, but decided that I didn’t want to deal with the paparazzi. I see the blue Mickey balloon! No ears, NO SALE. “Knot of Dads”, the name of my metal band! As someone who has had to wheel my mom around in a wheelchair (thankfully for only a brief time, now she can walk), a big wheel base makes all the difference when going over uneven sidewalks and bumpy roads. Also, they go downhill much better when you let go. I thought maybe the stroller and trash can were flirting, but I admit that I am often wrong about such things. I do like those colorful concrete benches, the rounded edges and perfect colors make them very friendly and welcoming.
DrGoat, I’m glad you aren’t tired of the Pirate Ship, because I guarantee you are going to see it many more times in the months and years to come! It had to be right up there among the “most photographed” features. I prefer the “Witch Doctor” song (“Oo-aa, Oo-aa-aa…”) when it comes to silly songs - a “chipmunk” voice automatically makes any song 10 times greater.
JG, I think I have seen photos with those tent-topped trash cans over near the old Viewliner station, but my memory could be faulty. And yes, I do think they just added a fancy top to a standard rectangular can. Do you remember when they sold a pin set with various trash can designs? I almost bought those, to be honest I am kind of glad that I resisted, but mostly because I decided that (as a rule) I did not want to get into the Disney pin craze. I cast a shadow, but have no reflection when I look in a mirror.
Grant, glad you have been enjoying the pix! It’s so interesting how fashion for women went from dresses (almost exclusively) to pants and shorts within just a year or two. I’ve seen other vintage photos with women showing a lot of skin by ‘50s standards, they must have gotten a lot of attention from men. Ah, too bad that boy didn’t turn out to be you! That would have been amazing. As far as I know, nobody on GDB has seen their younger selves at the park, except for maybe CoxPilot, who worked at the Flight Circle.
Nanook, it’s funny, at a certain age I had the radio on 24 hours a day - my brother and I even had it on low when we slept. And we loved the dumb novelty songs, like “The Streak”, “Disco Duck”, “My Ding-a-ling”, and more. Of course Doctor Demento was great for that sort of thing… “Fish Heads”, “Dead Puppies”, and a million more. I sure remember those Buchanan and Goodman “songs”, I hope those guys made a lot of dough!
Chuck, OH MAN! As soon as I read that you’d made your own novelty tunes, I thought, “Sue is gonna want to hear those!”. Ha ha! I know how you feel, though. I have gone back and read things that I wrote when I was in high school, they seemed funny at the time and now they are just embarrassing.
Lou and Sue, offer him ONE BILLION DOLLARS!
JB, those were the days, when your new jeans felt like they might repel bullets and other projectiles. I’ll bet you REALLY had to separate your darks and lights when washing, that indigo dye would probably ruin anything that wasn’t already dark blue.
JB,
She is at home where we set her up with an adjustable bed, etc. Therapists come over 3 or 4 times a week and a nurse twice a week for check-ups. It's been a hectic 3 weeks or so since it happened, we're both exhausted, even the cat who is just getting used to a wheelchair and a walker that Peggy uses to get around. It's a long haul for her but she's determined. Frustrated, but things are slowly getting into a routine.
Thank you for asking, very kind of you.
P.
Dr. Goat, good news, thank you.
Thinking of you both, and the cat.
JG
@ DrGoat-
Good news, indeed-!
@ Major-
Well, as a team Buchanan and Goodman only charted four songs - all prior to 1958; and had four other, non-Hot 100 songs, all released prior to 1960. Goodman went on to chart 16 Billboard hits, and two, non-Hot 100 songs. His biggest hit was Mr. Jaws, in September 1975, going all the way to #4.
Buchanan died of cancer in 1996 (at age 66); and Goodman died in 1989 (at age 55) of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
DrGoat, I was going to email you and ask how things were going, but now I don’t have to bother you when you have so much to do. I’m sorry you are both exhausted, that’s never fun. Hopefully things will start to improve at a rapid pace.
JG, DEFINITELY.
Nanook, I’m trying to think of which songs by Buchanan and Goodman I remember from my childhood. Unfortunately I just remember snippets, though I do remember “Mr. Jaws”. I’m sorry to hear that they didn’t have great lives in spite of having several successful novelty hits.
And we loved the dumb novelty songs, like “The Streak”, “Disco Duck...."
Disco Duck?? Major, you really ARE cool. I loved it.
DrGoat, it's GREAT to hear that Peggy is back home!
DrGoat, fantastic news! May she continue on the mend!
A day late and a dollar short, but that’s only eleven cents in 1959 money. So glad MrsGoat is on the mend!
1. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that balloon design before, balloon-shaped with a picture of Mickey (Mick pic). What will they have already thought of before next?
2. I think my favorite outfit is the bright pink dress on the lady in the Peter Pan queue. She’s like strawberry ice cream on a hot day.
3. Helloo, sailor! If I mash up Follow the Fleet and Swing Time in my head, he can be Fred Astaire dancing with his shadow.
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