Kids 'N Characters, August 1965
Ordinarily I'm a fan of vintage photos showing kids (or adults) meeting their favorite characters at Disneyland. The guests look so delighted! They seem to forget that they are communing with a guy or girl in a sometimes-bulky costume.
However, today's photos leave something to be desired... we don't really get a good look at the characters, or even the guests they are meeting. I'm not sure what exactly was going on here, to be honest. For instance, there's Pluto, Flower, and Goofy, surrounded by a small group of admirers, but we mostly see the face and bad posture of the kid to the right. Stand up straight! Get a haircut! Well OK, you don't need a haircut, but I've got my eye on you!
More fans show up, thought the crowd is still small by today's standards. Mom (and her babushka) is happy to keep her distance. Notice the little blond boy with the blue shirt, he's holding a box with what appears to be a red "K" on it. I wonder what it is? Dad seems to be reaching for it so that the kid can have both hands free.
29 comments:
The Dent!
I am looking forward to today’s comments...will check back later.
Thanks, Major!
Major-
Do you suppose Mr. Poor Posture [I should talk... oh brother], is wearing a Saint Christopher Medal-?
Thanks, Major.
Sue, yes. I guess I see The Dent, except that it's farther to the left on the roof than we usually see it. Must be because the camera is farther to the right.
Major, Indeed. What the heck is going on? Everyone, CMs and guests, are just casually standing around looking at... something.
It does look like a stroller is hidden in the crowd, but I don't think that's what everyone is looking at.
Is that Thumper on the left, behind Flower?
Maybe it's the ghastly remains of a swan attack. (Hard facts, again.)
Goofy makes any photo a colorful photo.
Yes JB, that is Thumper!
I wonder if the box with the red "K" on it is a shoe box. Maybe he absolutely insisted on bringing a change of shoes to the park?
It looks like that small group of people shoved a churro cart, a drink cart, and at least two employees out of the way, just so they could all stand in that spot. They are all bullies, I tell ya:
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.812365,-117.9188513,3a,71.6y,24.32h,95.3t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6IZZMrp-k2dd1xJVf4n-yQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
- Tokyo Margarine! (Parkay!)
TM, I think that box with the big K is the infamous Macguffin you hear about. The thing that drives the plot forward. Should be a big W, but a big K will do. Or maybe it's the stroller. We need more info. It will probably remain a mystery, one of many, I'm afraid.
You're right JB, Goofy really brightens up the scene. Perfect distraction.
Fun pics Major, thanks.
Goofy’s practically nose-to-nose with a gal in white sandals...cozy group
Wow, Goofy really looks like "a guy in a suit" at this angle! A bored "guy in a suit" at that. This reminds me of between takes while shooting a commercial. "Ok, everyone take 5. Thumper, baby, try not to blend in with the castle so much. Can we get makeup to fix that dent? Focus, people, focus!"
The Dent makes a brief appearance in photo 1.
I think these pics are taken by Dad of the two blonde boys, Posture Kid and his little brother to the left in photo 2. He’s jockeying to get a shot of the characters and is boxed out by Goofy’s judo move. So he gives up and shifts his angle to get a good shot of the kids without characters. Mom just wants to move on
@Nanook, I thought the same thing. Photo date is too early and the kid is too clean-cut for it to be hippie beads, and size, shape are consistent with a religious medal. Christopher is the likely candidate.
Notice the gentleman in photo 2, dutifully expending a precious frame on the Matterhorn from the designated Kodak photo spot.
Do these even exist in todays Park? Were these planned in advance, or did someone walk around one day with a bunch of flags and decide “This is a Photo Spot!”
Thanks Major, fun to speculate on these.
JG
Wasn't this foursome in another photo near the Matterhorn where they were equally non-plussed and in some-sort of pre-Zoom era conference? Looks like the same bored culprits. I can't say that I blame them too much...with bad posture/white keds (also bored) or engaged penny loafers/no socks. Dad seems to want to get the his "team" involved...btw: nice landing strip dad! I personally miss having a full head of hair so I can buzz it all off- perhaps that is why it all fell out. A high and tight seems easy enough to maintain, but it requires a weekly cut to look sharp. Enough about me... I can see the dent, but I had to look super hard...and there it is! Thanks for bringing up that Kodak photo spots seem rather random...I thought so too. "Let's just put it here!" I was mystified why people would not have enough imagination to come up with their own photo ideas. It's a ad...I get it. The great unwashed mystifies me most of the time. The shoe box looks like a Keds box, and perhaps there was a spare pair of white keds for posture brother? Those white ones get kind of dirty quickly if you are wrassling around on TSI, so I get it. You know how kids are, they also like taking full size toys to bed with them, as do my dogs. Thanks Parkay for the link to the Google map thingy. I am behind the times. With out mortgaging my home, and selling a kidney, I was able to tour the entire Magic Kingdom in less than 15 minutes. Whilst on YouTube I visited all the attractions without waiting in a single line, and in fast motion. So...no need to spend a dime. I even made my own Churros and popcorn during the entire event for pennies on the dollar. It was very interesting to see the employees and costuming. My how things have changed.
Lou and Sue, everybody loves that dent!
Nanook, that probably IS a Saint Christopher Medal, or else it’s a premium from the “Gomer Pyle” fan club.
JB, the dent moves around, just one of its many mysterious properties. Sometimes it talks to me. You can hear it, can’t you?? The way the characters are gathered around, it looks like somebody passed out, and they are trying to figure out how to deal with it. “Maybe we should do a silly dance?” says Goofy (yes, that’s Thumper to the left, looking like the rabbit from “Donnie Darko”).
TokyoMagic!, I not only bring a change of shoes to the park, but at least two full wardrobe changes. Sort of like Elton John. I can’t wear the same clothing in the daytime as I wear once the sun sets. So tacky. What is that weird little tower to the right of the castle in that Google street view image??
DrGoat, maybe it’s an Egg Maguffin? My favorite! No wonder Hitchcock liked them so much. Every once in a while I’ll see four palm trees forming a big W (it’s rare, but it happens), and I always think of THAT movie. I have to think that the box with the red “K” was a toy bought over in Tomorrowland, but I sure can’t imagine what it could be.
Lou and Sue, oh yeah, there IS a young girl right in the mix. Even more mysterious!
Stu29573, I guess the costume designers didn’t really think much about how the characters looked from the back. Do you think the guy who played Goofy once did Richard III, receiving five curtain calls, just like Alan Rickman’s character in “Galaxy Quest”?
JG, it’s always so hard to tell which kid is with which adult, I tend to put all the kids with buzz cuts together. You know, the mom takes them to the barber and just has him give them the same haircut. It’s just easier that way. I forgot that Goofy knew judo; he eventually became a master of several martial arts disciplines. I’m not aware of Picture Spots existing anymore, but would not be surprised if I am mistaken!
Bu, good memory, we saw this same gang back on August 31st! Poor dad, it must be hard to wrangle kids of different ages and different levels of enthusiasm (or lack thereof). Now that I think about it, my mom had some electric clippers, she probably cut our hair herself, though I don’t remember her actually doing it. I’ve always wondered if a Kodak rep walked around to determine where the Picture Spots would be? They paid good money to be the official film of Disneyland. It’s weird, the Google Maps street view thing would have been a feature that I probably would have loved back in the day, but now my love of the current park has changed (faded) so that I still haven’t done a complete walk around.
It's weird, cuz in picture one, bad-posture kid looks like he has antenna coming out of his head, and in picture 2, the kid next to him on the rail has an horizontal antenna running along his head. Maybe that's why the photos are off, because the photographer was actually gathering proof that aliens enjoy visiting Disneyland as much as humans?
Oh...those Kodak picture spots. Many were located quite nicely and also had a photo of the recommended shot on a tablet below the sign. Problem today is there are too many people around to get a decent picture. KS
Major, I can hear the Dent. He sounds just like Aaron Eckhart. Or maybe Tommy Lee Jones. Possibly Billy Dee Williams. Hard to tell…kind of a coin toss, if you ask me.
Major-
I presume that "weird little tower" - actually there's a pair of them - house loudspeakers and/or lighting equipment-? The execution of the finishes is just close enough to the real castle (albeit with the new "colorful" stonework) as to make them stand out as eyesores. They need to appear as if they've been sitting there since July 1955, or need to be doing 'their own architectural thing'. Maybe in-person the vibe feels differently, but here, it merely appears as if someone was dispatched to Castles 'ᴙ' Us and chose "Speaker Tower". "Yeah, it's close-enough; everyone will think they are outbuildings of the Castle".
The dent does indeed speak..."Major...I am your dent..." or "These are not the dents you are looking for"...or "Help me Major...you are my only dent".
Interesting note about the KODAK picture spots: a photographer from Kodak did indeed roam the park selecting picturesque views to suggested to guests what set ups would create ideal souvenir pictures .......... early on. A WED/DL signshop guy I interviewed several times when he retired in 1996 said that while each sponsorship renewal with Kodak usually called for revised and updated Kodak Picture Spot signs ( there are 4 designs from the 50’s to 1995) Many of the signs had been slight relocated a few feet or re-located in an entirely different spot at the whim of the sign shop project’s art director. Often these changes were because of landscaping growth blocking the original selected view spots . He said a few spots for a time had almost no subject because they were now blocked ... and didn’t get adjusted until a sign shop employee noticed or the revised signs were being installed.
Dr. Goat, ah...yes! The Hitchcock McGuffin! That's what it is!
Major, I think Nanook is correct about those towers housing speakers, as well as lights and projectors. I can't remember exactly when they were added, but they are "fairly" new. When they are not in use, I think Rapunzel hangs out in one of them. And her sister, Rasputin, hangs out in the other.
Those picture spots are still around today.....or at least they were the last time I was at the park. I don't know who sponsors them now, but you can see one of the photo spot markers below, along with a sample photo included on the pole (as KS pointed out). Sadly, it looks like the only photo op here, is of a sea of strollers.
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8133087,-117.9191043,3a,20.8y,115.15h,84.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9tnoWORmAxCKKd_B9MO0aQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Tokyo, (As Bu said. Dang, I really should read all the comments before I start writing mine.) Maybe the "K" is a pair of Keds (from K-Mart).
Parkay, schmarkay. We use Imperial. (It's cheaper. And right now, it's the only brand available.)
DrGoat, I heard ethereal, angelic singing when I read your "Big W" theory.
Stu, that was hilarious (and spot on).
JG, it seems Posture Kid is the only one with a necklace/medallion. Maybe it was given to him by his Grandma or Aunt (after getting his cheek pinched).
Major, "Sometime (The Dent) talks to me" Oookaaay. It's your Blog, so- Yeah sure. Sure, I hear it, too... All the time.
It also occurred to me that maybe someone passed out, or had a nose bleed.
In that Aug. 31st post, it looks like Goofy and Pluto are holding Flower back from attacking the photographer. Flower's giving him the stink-eye.
DKoren, you've solved the mystery!
Nanook, How'd you get that backwards "R" symbol? Cyrillic alphabet?
Bu, haha!
Tokyo, Ah yes, the hair twins.
DKoren, oh my gosh, he IS an alien! I didn’t even notice. I feel like such a fool!
KS, I think that the signs with examples of the photos that guests could take were only there for a while, it seems that I have many pictures that don’t show those at all.
Chuck, if I wasn’t so envious of your pun abilities, I would say something sarcastic!
Nanook, I figured that the towers must contain speakers and lighting, but it’s surprising to me that I haven’t really noticed them before. That being said, I don’t look at a lot of contemporary park photos, particularly the castle, which I have seen plenty of times! I can’t believe they needed those ugly structures for parades, but… nobody consulted me. Or they did but I had my phone ringer off, happens all the time.
Bu, I imagine a squeaky kind of voice, sort of like Danny’s voice when he was possessed by Tony!
Mike Cozart, thanks for the info about the Kodak Picture Spots! It makes sense that Kodak would help decide where to put them. And I’m not surprised at all that the park would feel free to relocate them whenever they wanted, though as you said, growing trees often changed the views. Think of how Main Street looked when the trees got so big that you could not only not see the shops, but the castle itself was blocked!
TokyoMagic!, I was thinking that maybe those towers went back to “Light Magic”, and that I just forgot about them, or my brain edited them out when I was at the park. You know how that goes. Ha ha, I didn’t know Rasputin was Rapunzel’s sister! Oy, look at those strollers. It’s out of control. I know that Polaroid has been the official film, as has GAF, and maybe Fuji? Not sure about that last one. “Cletus’ Pretty Good Film” sponsors them today.
JB, even if the “K” is for Keds, why would the kid have a box with him? And does Parkay margarine not exist anymore? My sister and her husband like margarine because it comes in those cute little tubs and it’s always easy to spread on toast or English muffins, but I never buy the stuff. I’m glad you hear the dent too, now I know I’m not crazy! I really wish somebody could give an insight as to why the characters are having such a weird little grouping, right in the middle of The Plaza. Are they planning to have somebody whacked? And you’re right, Nanook managing to make the backwards “R” is some sort of witchcraft!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you THE BACK SIDE OF GOOFY!
Bu, I think you;re right about the Keds; several of the younguns seem to be wearing a fresh-looking pair. Either that or he's gotten hold of a box of Very Special K.
Lovely pinkish babushka in #2.
Major, We use good ol' 'Mericun butter for toast and most other things. We keep margarine (we tend to call it 'oleo') on hand for some kinds of recipes.
I'm sure Parkay is still available, but right now, during the supply chain thing, Imperial is all I can find.
Man, I gotta get me a crate or two of that “Cletus’ Pretty Good Film”. I'm sure it's the bestest ever!... Not sure what to do with it, though. Does Cletus make a “Pretty Good Camera”, too?
Melissa, thank you. Now I can rest easy knowing that I've seen the back-side of Goofy. Wasn't sure I'd be able to cross that one off my bucket list.
Melissa, I guess if I have to see the backside of a character, it might as well be Goofy. Even if the kid is wearing a fresh pair of Keds, why would he need the box with him in Disneyland?? He could have put them on in the parking lot and left the box behind. This mystery will drive me mad.
JB, I am a Blue Bonnet man myself. I also use Dapper Dan pomade. My dad remembers stirring yellow coloring from a capsule into their oleo so that it wasn't lard-white. He said he and his brother fought for the privilege! Cletus doesn't make cameras, he just makes film. What people do with it is THEIR business.
I have two family stories about the margarine dye tablets.
One time Grandma had the margarine in a clear plastic bag to mix in the dye by squeezing it through. When Grandpa walked in the kitchen door, she held up the bag and said, “Look! It’s the Schmoo!” And as she gave the bag one last squeeze, it exploded all over Grandpa’s work clothes. Then they both busted up laughing.
Other Grandma never mixed the dye in; they just ate the margarine as it came. Long after all the kids had grown up and moved out, and they stopped selling the margarine undyed, Dad was at their house and opened a kitchen drawer looking for something. The drawer was half-full of margarine dye tablets. She hadn’t used any, but she’d carefully saved them all in case they came in handy someday.
Major, that packet of yellow dye was due to the dairy lobby making it illegal to sell colored margarine - not that that yellow color looked anything like real butter. Even now, dairy states like Wisconsin have weird regulations around dairy products. A friend relocated there and has to travel out of state to get Kerrygold Irish butter.
My mom was a home ec teacher (minted in the late 1960s) so I grew up on margarine as the "healthier" alternative based on that era's understanding of the relative dangers of various fats. I haven't touched the stuff since I moved into my own place.
Melissa, I'd expect the "backside of Goofy" to appear in something that Disney's lawyers would sue out of existence.
Also, I think Nikon sponsors the Picture Spots. At least at Walt Disney World they do.
The 'butter v. margarine' war is silly and confusing. Like dean Finder said, in the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s, 'they' told us to use margarine rather than butter. Because of all the 'bad' cholesterol and such found in butter. Then, in more recent years, 'they' tell us that butter is better, because margarine is made with hydrogenated fats, which is worse than the animal fat in butter. I pretty much ignore 'them' now.
Just wait, pretty soon 'they' will be telling us that fruits and vegetables are the worst thing you could possibly eat. Which reminds me of the conversation in Woody Allen's "Sleeper" concerning cigarettes: "It's one of the healthiest things for your body"
In the Google Street View link that TM! (Tub-of Margarine!) listed in today's comments, did anyone else look for THE castle Dent? It's 'temporarily' covered-over in this 2017 view. Ugh!
Is it still covered, today?? I have to get up early for work tomorrow, so I don't have time to search for a current photo...but I sure hope it's still there!
Sue, I did look for the dent in that Google "street view" from August of 2017. As you said, it was covered at that time. Disney had covered the rooftops of most of the Castle's turrets, with fake rooftops, for the park's 60th anniversary. I don't know exactly why they did that, unless it had something to do with all the extra "diamond" junk they glued on the Castle at that time. I did find pics showing the dent still being there well past the 50th anniversary, in 2005.
In this fairly current pic (from Wikipedia), the dent appears to be gone. I'm guessing that either they corrected the dent when they finally removed the fake rooftops from the 60th anniversary, OR the current colors are so blinding, that they end up camouflaging the dent:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Beauty_Castle#/media/File:Sleeping_Beauty_Castle_2019.jpg
What the...? Why fix the Dent? It was a feature, not a bug!
Ugh. The rooftops on that 2019 picture hurt my eyes (as well as my heart). I was out sick Monday and half of Tuesday. This may cause a relapse.
Post a Comment