Fantasyland, 1960s
I'm mildly curious to know just what percentage of photos in my collection were taken by somebody aboard the Skyway. I'd think it would be a LOT. There's a person out there (a real person!) who probably has the numbers, but I would not be so rude as to impose and ask them to do the work. That's my job, or the job of my ward, Mongo.
1/6th of this image consists of the edge of a Skyway gondola (the old bucket kind), but maybe some of you find that interesting. I don't judge. Down below, guests wait in a very reasonable line for Storybook Land, where miniature tableaus from your favorite Disney animated classics can be seen. But first you have to go through Monstro's mouth, and it isn't pretty.
A standard green garden hose snakes across the lawn, did Johann the gardener forget to put it away? Fire him! A group of sailors waits in the queue, including an officer. To the left, a canal boat is loading up a fresh set of passengers, and a standard Disney-ride cushion is in the "up" position (just like when the Jungle Cruise is loading).
Hey, don't you know that the Carrousel is for kids? Adults are supposed to stand around and wish that they were riding while they watch their kids having fun. Didn't you read the fine print? Oh well, that guy looks so happy I guess we won't throw him in Disney jail. This time. But don't let it happen again!
17 comments:
Major-
I see the first image was shot during the STORY BOOK LAND period; as opposed to the more sprightly STORYBOOK LAND. Seeing that green hose exposed 'on stage' completely destroys the miniature scale of the attraction. Those guests should demand a refund-!
Thanks, Major.
That cushion looks like a Walkers Pure Butter Shortbread Cookie. (I think we discussed this in a long-ago post.)
Yellow sharks! We’ve seen red and green, in past photos. Now I hope we see purple ones.
Fun pictures, thanks, Major.
Major, unfortunately that's not a garden hose, it's snot coming out of Monstro's nose. He had a head cold. You can see his whale-sized hanky flapping in the breeze, like a flag on a flagpole, close to his gaping maw. The photographer caught Monstro in mid-sneeze.
At the bottom of the close-up we can see aunt Hildegard and uncle Otto. They're from the Old Country and have lived through several famines. That's why she carries a chicken around with her at all times. Because you never know when you'll need a chicken.
Thanks, Major.
JB, Hildegard and Otto’s daughter is following about 25 feet behind — carrying a sack of potatoes.
But first you have to go through Monstro's mouth, and it isn't pretty.
Especially when Monstro is suffering from tonsillitis or dry socket.
JB, my great-grandmother brought a chicken with her to Disneyland, during one our family trips. Really! I didn't think they would even let her through the gate with it, but they did. Then there was the matter of carrying it around, and lugging it on and off the rides. She was a real trouper. (My great-grandmother, not the chicken.) She ended up carrying it around for several hours, before we all helped her dispose of it.
Major, if you went with 6.4% of your photos being taken from the Skyway, nobody would question you.
TM, I'll bet that chicken really hit the spot. I think JB's chicken is among the living. Probably makes all the decisions in the family.
I remember the cushion discussion, Sue. If I remember correctly, they were invaluable to the ride operator. Staving off unruly guests and a good shield for chickens in a fowl mood. (Sorry, it just came out).
Fun Skyway pics Major. Thanks.
I am in awe of Monstro’s impressive display of cetacean dentition, but even metaphorically, our exit from his digestive tract remains insalubrious.
After seeing Johann getting hosed, I wonder if the loss of the space (from Story Book Land to Storybook Land) might have been a gardening error, putting plantings too close together…
Also just noticed that, until the addition of the Little Mermaid tableau, none of the miniature scenes were visible outside the SBL berm. A berm within a berm, has to be significant, but I have no idea how. Jung would know.
Thanks Major, I’ll settle for 6% of old Disneyland.
JG
TM!, your chicken story has me thinking about The Great Race again...
Prime Minister: Leslie escaped with a small friar.
Professor Fate: Leslie escaped with a chicken??!!
JG, interesting point about the "berm within a berm" and the fact that all of the original SBL tableaus were invisible from the loading area. There's even a mini-berm between the two parallel alignments of track atop the top of the berm, presumably to hide the Italian Alps from the load area. And now that I think of it, on Opening Day, none of the miniature tableaus were visible from anywhere in the attraction.
Nanook, If “Storybook Land” is more sprightly than “Story Book Land”, then “Storybookland” is the ultimate in sprightliness!
Lou and Sue, yum, shortbread cookies. Add enough butter to anything, and I’ll eat it. The yellow sharks are the common and non-threatening lemon sharks!
JB, I think this might be the official first mention of snot on GDB, so congratulations! It makes a fella proud. Maybe whales carried their hankies on sticks, sort of like fancy people carried their glasses on sticks back in the fancy days. You laugh at that chicken, but it is Aunt Hildegard’s “comfort chicken”, they actually paid for a separate airline seat for it.
Lou and Sue, yum, shortbread cookies, and some nice roast potatoes (roasted on the flames of a tiki torch in Adventureland). Bellissima!
TokyoMagic!, I’ve never really understood “dry socket”. Don’t explain it to me, I don’t want to know! “Wet socket” doesn’t sound any better. Well jeez, for a moment I thought you meant that you great-grandmother brought a live chicken with her to the park, and I was stunned that they allowed her through the gate.
Jason Schultz, thank you! And I am frankly STUNNED that the number is that small!
DrGoat, now we’re getting to a pretty tasty lunch. Chicken, potatoes, and shortbread cookies for dessert. Did anybody happen to bring a cooler of sweet ice tea? I wonder how long one of those cushions would last at Disneyland, with thousands (millions?) of butts wearing them out.
JG, maybe Monstro was waiting for those cleaner shrimp to come along and make his teeth sparkling white. A toothpaste with hydrogen peroxide is not a bad idea either. You make a good point, was the change from “Story Book Land” to “Storybook Land” a mere gardening snafu? I am not sure if one could see the snowy peaks near Geppetto’s Village from outside of Storybook Land, maybe only from elevated vantage points.
Chuck, I guess I need to somehow watch “The Great Race” again, since I haven’t watched it in about 30 years. There was (is?) a berm within a berm separating some of Frontierland from Fantasyland, you can see it in certain photos, it looks to have been easily 30 feet high - maybe 40. I don’t think Disney parks do berms anymore. Imagine riding the canal boats on those early days when there was just bare dirt to look at!
I think the demise of the berms - particularly in Florida - is an environmental stewardship thing. Florida has enough invasive species as it is; no need to build the perfect artificial environment for Bermese pythons.
In the theatrical featurette "Disneyland USA", they include a shot of a guy spraying Geppetto's village with a hose (No, it's not a rainstorm, ha ha ...). Also a Frontierland outlaw clambering up among the undersized Rainbow Ridge buildings, and aerial shots revealing that Main Street was essentially a strip mall with a vacant lot to one side (the promised home of Edison Square and Liberty Street). As time went on they became a bit more fastidious about immersion, but at best they could only insulate you from full awareness of the outside world. On my last visit I remember sitting at a Main Street snackery, watching the Astro Orbiter spin while hearing the Mark Twain's whistle.
I though Mongo only pawn in game of life.
#1: Well, hellooo sailors!
#3: Carrousel Grandpa is just happpy because he found Waldo, Jr. on the next horse.
Sue, by golly, you're right. And you just know that they grew those 'taters themselves. They're ready for chicken stew anytime, anywhere!
Tokyo, so crazy! Um, would that chicken have been fried by any chance?
DrGoat, haha. Projectile punning.
JG, I refuse to look up "insalubrious", too much work... OK, I just did; not as bad as I had imagined.
JG, sometimes a berm is just a berm. Oh wait, Freud said that, not Jung.
Chuck, I remember that line!
Major, thanks! I'm always thinking of ways to make GDB more classy.
Chuck, they could also avoid invasive species by planting it with Bermuda onions. (Is it still a pun if it's spelled the same way?)
Melissa, I hadn't noticed that the kid resembled Waldo. Stripey red & white shirt, check. Red hair, check. Black-rimmed glasses, check. All that's missing is the hat.
At last the Blazing Saddles reference, I was going to do that, Melissa, and then forgot it. Thank you!
@DBenson, that mash-up you describe is one of the best parts of Disneyland, the Omnibus pulling up in front of the House of the Future, the Castle spires visible over the Shooting Gallery, etc.
I haven't seen Wookie World yet, but I hear that the "immersion" there is taken up a notch, with no references to any other parts of the Park. Not sure how I will like that. Might be OK, if the theming is complete enough.
JG
JB, Freud was famous for saying he wanted to be Jung again.
Chuck, was that python named Monty?
JG
I meant to respond yesterday, to the comments about my great-grandmother's chicken! Yes, it was fried! She also brought along at least one "side" dish, but I don't remember what that was. Even as a kid, I knew that we weren't supposed to bring food into the park, so I was worried that someone was going to say something to us. I guess that rule has been relaxed now, and you can bring in whatever you want, in your child's SUV stroller.
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