Frontierland Views, June 1970
While today's photos might qualify as "Sunday Snoozers", they could be worse! Once in a while you guys will get a break.
It's that burning cabin that we are all so familiar with. It must have been built with authentic Dura-flame logs, those things really do last forever. The flames are really roaring, but we know that an energy crisis was on its way in about three years, At which point the flames would be replaced with an anemic fire effect (with theatrical smoke) like the kind we see in "Pirates of the Caribbean". Our dead settler looks particularly contorted this time, which is totally rad!
Meanwhile, over at Fowler's Harbor, the Columbia rests (as usual) while it undergoes some repairs... or I guess that's just where it sat when the park wasn't that busy. However, the park was busy, just look at the crowd of people waiting to ride the Keelboat! The raft is packed too. A few guests are aboard the Columbia, possibly there to see the "below decks" exhibits (which was rats and a bunch of unshaved sailors with scurvy). We also get two canoes for one low low price.
16 comments:
Major-
The trees casting their shadows around the Settler's Cabin always heighten the drama and make for great photos. This one is no exception. I think the RoA would do well to install a set of traffic signals - or at least a pair of semaphores-!
Thanks, Major.
Isn't Mr. Arrowshirt usually facing the other direction? I think his arm is broken. Is that a large mallet next to him? I don't remember that being there before. Oh, if only he had worn his tan shirt instead of his red shirt!
In #2, the guests are safe today; not a duck in sight! Looks like the keelboat has to make a really sharp right turn as it leaves the dock, to avoid a collision with the Columbia. Seems odd to place the dock so close, but maybe the keelboats were very maneuverable.
Thanks for the Frontierland views, Major. Hard facts and all.
Our dead settler looks particularly contorted this time, which is totally rad!
Perhaps he was still alive, and writhing around on the ground!
I’ve been below decks of the Columbia many times …. But only once (that I recall ) when it was a docked attraction. The funny thing is .. I remember that visit like it was last week. It was 1980 and after breakfast my friend Eric and I split up from my family and wouldn’t meet up with them again till lunch time. We were both wearing OP (Ocean Pacific) Corduroy shorts and matching sunset OP shirts and we sported the latest BOWL and FEATHERED hair cuts. We had a system then : after rope drop we went to Big Thunder and rode it as many times as we could … then to Pirates if the Caribbean …. Then to pieces of eight to look at the Pirates of the Caribbean maquettes I dreamed of owning ( I have one of three now) then to Haunted Mansion. But when we got to Mansion two cast members stood in front of the gate and told us it it was going to open a little later than normal - but it would be very soon. Eric and I went over over to Columbia Below Decks …. I even took a picture of the entry sign with a 110 camera I used most of the film on Big Thunder. When we got below a cast member ( no it wasn’t Captain Mike O’Brien) told us many things about the exhibit and at the galley table explained why the plates were square and slid into tracks …so as not to slide around the table from the undulating seas! And that was where the saying “a square meal” came from: the nautical plates used by navys! He also explained that the size of the Columbia was exactly the same as the original and that while some of the crews quarters had be adjusted so Disneyland quests could tour through, some of the berths and bunks were the size you were seeing and that most humans were substantially smaller in the 1700’s and 1800’s!
Ok…. I have to bring up Disneyland & EXINWEST: so that 1980 trip I mentioned above was when I found out Disneyland had a giant EXINWEST display….. but how I found out was at END of the day! We were getting back into the car and my little sister tells me “Mike ! Mike ! Disneyland was selling a bunch of EXINWEST!!” And then my mom turned around from the front seat and “said oh yes we forgot to tell you ! They had so much but I wasn’t sure which ones you needed…and I didn’t want to get ones you already had.,” then my sister in her defense said “ I told mom which ones you had….I knew” ….. as our car drove out the Disneyland parking lot to hit the San Diego freeway!! I was so mad! You guys could’ve told me at diner about the Exinwest !!! I can’t believe you are all telling me NOW!! And I started whining then my dad ended the conversation : “ there’s nothing we can do about it now and it’s not your mother and sister’s job to be TOY lookouts anyhow - now I don’t want to hear you mention EXINWEST again today!” It was a LONG ride back to San Diego …. much longer than usual.
I think the settler is doing yoga - hot yoga, to be precise.
Mike, as a former kid obsessed with various, niche things, I understand your frustration. And as a parent, I understand your dad’s. :-). Cool that you got an interpreter on the Columbia; every time I’ve been below decks, it’s been every man for himself.
We’re the POTC maquettes you mentioned WED design studies that were on display or collectors’ items available for purchase?
“Were the POTC maquettes…”. Man, I hate autocorrect. I had to do a lot of cleanup on that comment and still missed one. Grrrrr!
It’s a busy day on the River and I want to ride the keelboat.
I vaguely remember seeing Columbia open for tours at the dock, but it seems unusual.
I did enjoy the below-deck tour, thanks for the square plate tip, Mike. I’m glad you got your pirates doodad.
JG
Nanook, those trees are threatening to obscure the whole cabin scene. Somebody needs to get in there with a Husqvarna chainsaw!
JB, I believe that the dead settler is usually facing with his head to the left, but I am too lazy to check (I was out late last night). I think that the Keelboats WERE maneuverable, which was part of the problem… the skippers liked to make them go back and forth so that they would lean precariously. Until one tipped over. Oops.
TokyoMagic!, THAT’S IT!
Mike Cozart, it sounds like you had a particularly wonderful tour of the below-decks part of the Columbia. As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, I was always such a Mark Twain fan that I only rode that, but finally decided it was time to do the Columbia about 10 years ago. And I wanted to see the below decks thing, but it was SO crowded that you could see people waiting for their turn to go down the steps. I think it was a case of nobody knowing you could go down there, and once people saw that you could, everyone wanted to do it. So I still have never seen that area, except for in photos. Just think, sailors were so tiny in the old days that you could collect a whole set and keep them in your toy box!
Mike Cozart, ah, the Exinwest sets. Better than gold! I’m sorry you didn’t get to see the display and that you didn’t find out about it until you were driving home. How often did you go to the park back then? From what I gather, you did get to see at least SOME Exinwest stuff in Frontierland, and even acquired some. I forget, do you still have your sets in their boxes? I assume you actually put the models together.
Chuck, I think the settler was doing “hot smelly” yoga. You know, the 1800s. And yes, I can definitely see both sides of the collector quandary. I still remember when my dad wouldn’t let me buy a neighbor’s slot car set for $15, the meanie. But I know he was right, I would have played with it for two days, and then we would have been stuck with this big slot car set.
Chuck, for a minute I thought you were a maquette! ;-) I’m assuming that Mike owns a genuine WED maquette, not a collector’s item made for purchase.
JG, for years people have used round plates, but nobody ever referred to them as “round meals”. But I guess one of the things that might appeal to a potential sailor (one that wasn’t “impressed” into service against his will) would be regular meals, and grog.
The burning cabin murder scene looks quite realistic. I think about things like fencing and whatnot, like “I wonder if the same guy that built that fence was the same one that built them for Toby Tyler…or Pollyanna? Or at least the same guy designed them (?) Keelboats. Really? We wondered why it flipped over? Looks a might full on top. I’m glad they have the ever present small willowy string keeping the Columbia docked…else it might escape. I often wondered that, even during my employee days. I vaguely remembered the “below decks” only tour. I think they made it a “B” when it wasn’t circumnavigating the globe. Major- if you haven’t seen the below decks, you really must make it down there. It is super cool, like the Tree House before it was ruined. Cool to see everything in motion: rafts , canoes, keelboats. The trees look impressive, who would guess that when this photo was taken that 15 years prior that it was oranges. I didn’t have time to weigh in yesterday, but found out that New Zealand is the #1 producer of Boysenberries in the world. I may order one for the yard this year and see what happens. I hear they are persnickity. Exinwest is an odd name, but I do love models. I love your dad Chuck- that is EXACTLY something I would say now as an adult! WE JUST HAD AN AMAZING DAY AT DISNEYLAND AND I AM GOSH DARNED TIRED (I would use other words) AND I WILL NOT TOLERATE TOY TALK FOR THE GOSH DARNED ENTIRE TRIP HOME!! NO MORE TALKING UNTIL TOMORROW! When driving co-workers around now, I do sound like that. Stop touching your sister! Ha!
Chuck: the Pirates Maquettes were sculpted by Blaine Gibson at WED and casted then sent to the Disneyland Display department and painted then sold at The Pieces of Eight and The House of Treasure at WDW. They were done the same way the emporium window figured that were made to be sold at the parks Disneyanna Shops. The pieces were made in extreme limited quantities as WED and the Display Division had extra time between projects. The whole line appeared in the late 70’s and continued into the mid 1980’s. The pirates - there were only three styles: The Auctioneer, the Auctioneers’s Assistant (that’s the one I have) and the Pirate Captain at the Town Well. They are highly detailed painted and attached to a black wooden base with a brass plate reading “ Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean”. They were always $225.00 a piece and that was a hell of a lot on money for something at Disneyland. I bought mine in 1986. I had every intention of finally buying one with HS graduation money. When I first went to buy it, I felt guilty to be spending that much money and throughout the day we went back to the Pirate Arcade to look. Should I get the auctioneer? Or the Pirate with the drawn sword? So we left and I didn’t get one because I felt guilty. So on the next trip about a month later I had convinced myself to buy one. I wanted the auctioneer with the blue coat!! So on that visit right after I ride Pirates we went into the Pieces of Eight to get the Auctioneer. Guess what? They didn’t have an auctioneer left! The cast member had them even check downstairs. The CMs said for several years they might be sent 3 of each figure once in awhile … sometimes they would get them then and sonetimes after months a few more would be sent. So….. I was disappointed and had my mind set on the auctioneer… so I didn’t get one . After lunch that day I talked myself into going back and getting the Pirate Captain from the well scene with the drawn sword! So we go back and WTH!!!!! It’s gone!!! One the Auctioneer’s assistant is in the display case!! The cast members that were there in the morning were gone , but the lead was there … she said she heard the “purple coat Pirate figure” had sold earlier and figured that I had come back and purchased it. NO it wasn’t me!! So I looked at my least favorite and she had someone double check what they had left … they had two of the orange shirted Pirate. I chose the one from the display case because the one from the stock room seemed loose on the base. She said she couldn’t remember the last time they received these maquettes … she recalled the last time was before she had left on maternity leave and her child was almost 2 now! So I bought one of the last two they supposedly had no longer disappointed with which one was left but grateful to have at lest one!! A funny thing I remember that day was while I waited for them to bring the box up from below , the lead rang up two different guests who were sent to Pieces of Eight to buy cigarettes: Disneyland still sold cigarettes in a few selected locations but were not on display and kept behind counters and guests had to ask for them. Again this was 1986. So I guess I was lucky any were left since I had first scene the Pirate maquettes sonetime while Big Thunder was still under construction.
So EXIN toys ( EXCELLENCE INDUSTRIAL PLASTICS) of Barcelona Spain was founded during reconstruction after WW2 with the help of Americans helping the Germans , Spanish ,Italians ( the losers) establish and build new industries and get their countries growing …. For you train fans and diecast collectors out there , EXIN was started the same way as Preiser , Merten of Germany and Rio, Poacher and Rivarossi Of Italy. The EVIL Axis countries who once made death now make toys and miniatures!! Some of these products were firsts introduced into the USA under the name AHM ( associated hobby manufacturers) because of the reluctance of Americans and the Allied countries having interest in purchasing things made by their former enemies.
Anyway by the 1960’s EXIN of Spain was one of Europes biggest toy manufacturers. They also developed a plastic construction block system similar to Lego called EXIN BLOC. In 1967 they introduced the first of their extremely popular toy line EXINCASTLES. ( EXINCASTILLOS) the new product winner at the 150 year old Nuremberg Toy Fair. In 1974 EXIN introduced EXIN OLD FAR WEST. In 1975 FOA Schwartz is the exclusive US distributor of the line and it is called EXIN OLD WEST in the United States. 1976 the EXIN construction toy line includes EXIN CASTLES , EXIN OLD WEST and TENTE and is distributed by FNR INTERNATIONAL : Disneyland and WDW are two of EXIN WEST and EXIN CASTLE buyers. The western sets are so popular they are expanded 4 times and Eventually become known as EXINWEST by 1978. Because Spain is a socialist country they have labor and production problems throughout the 80’s and 90’s . Spain is thrown into financial distress because of the SPAIN EXPO and the cost spent by the government. Labor problems in Spain become so bad FNR and EXIN have tooling sent to Mexico City and start EXINMEX to manufacture Exin castles and EXINWEST : the quality is so bad … EXIN can’t get shipments completed because the plastic quality is so bad … factory managers are corrupt and sell the coloring beads used to make the high quality impact plastic colors Exin is known for … EXIN purchase the high quality paint and is sent cheap stuff. Exin closes EXINMEX of Mexico and sends tooling back to Spain …. Gets selected EXINWEST and EXIN CASTLES back in production then EXIN of Spain goes bankrupt the same way EASTERN AIRLINES did . POLITOY ( kenner Europe ) buys Exin tooling except EXIN WEST and CASTLE line purchased by FNR and brought tooling to USA .. Exin Castles made till early 2000’s. Exin West never Re-introduced.
Major : EXIN of Spain was the manufacture of SCALETRAX The biggest line of model racetrack systems since TYCO and Aurora.
The last EXINWEST sold at Disneyland was in 1992. And ExinCastles were sold till 1998…. Infact WDW had a special set in the EXIN CASTLE GOLDEN SERIES ( that looks like Cinderella castle)
EXIN WEST and EXIN CASTLES are modular like Lego but build a model like playset that can rebuilt various ways. From some EXINWEST fan sites and clubs we have discovered the EXINWEST line was inspired by the popular OFFICER BLUEBERRY old west comic book series.
The mallet is there in case the settler tries to get up. A CM sneaks out of the underbrush and bonks him over the head like Daffy Duck.
Mike, what a cool…and heartbreaking…story. I feel your pain. I don’t know how many times I’ve talked myself out of buying something I really wanted due to the cost and regretted it later when it was no longer available. The Monorail tabletop model that came out about the time of the New New Tomorrowland in 1998 comes to mind. Lesson learned.
In fact, I bought a backpacking cookset and stove a couple of days ago on that same theory. I had wanted just the pot set for a while, but when I finally had the money available it doesn’t seem to be available by itself anymore. I didn’t really need the stove, but if I wait until I can find the pot set on its own, the item is liable to be discontinued and I’ll never get one. Of course, now that I’ve bought it, I have just guaranteed another 20 years of volume production for that particular item. I can console myself that I did get it on sale for about $20 off.
Bu, I’m sure it is very likely that some of the studio craftsmen who built Disneyland also worked on some of the classic movies. It’s amazing just how skilled those people were, I wonder how many of them had learned their trade in Europe, maybe before WWII? The REAL DEAL. I do want to see the below-decks area, but like I said, the single time I was ever on the Columbia, it seemed that everyone on board wanted to see what was down the steps. I decided I didn’t want to view it when it was full of 50 other people. Boysenberries from New Zealand, who knew. We have family friends who have an avocado farm out in Santa Paula, and we used to go there when I was a kid. There were boysenberries growing in ditches, we could pick them and eat them. The daughters of the ranch owners insisted on calling them “GIRLSenberries”. If they can grow in a ditch with no attention, you should be able to grow them in your yard!
Mike Cozart, so it sounds like I was mistaken, the maquettes WERE manufactured for sale to collectors? I had no idea. Did they do Haunted Mansion maquettes as well? I’d love to see what the ones for sale at the park looked like. Yes, $225 back in those days was PRICEY. I’m sure I would have been torn about which one to buy as well. I’m sorry you weren’t able to get the two that you preferred, but as you said, at least you got ONE of them. For all we know, they stopped manufacturing them around the time you bought yours, and there would be no more to buy.
Mike Cozart, more Exinwest mania! I’m impressed by how much you know about the Exin company and their history, the sign of a true fan. Were you a fan of other models too, or pretty much just the Exin products? For instance, did you buy Aurora monsters, or Revell WWII airplanes?
Melissa, why am I not seeing the mallet! I suppose that if I was about to get an arrow in the chest, I’d prefer to be knocked out by a mallet first.
Chuck, I think any fan or collector has lost out on something great at least once, and probably multiple times. I often wait to think about it, and then it’s too late. I did get one of those Monorail models, and got the red one because, to me, it was the ultimate classic Monorail. But then a friend said, “You should have bought the blue one, they made way fewer of those and they are sure to be more valuable!”. Oh well. I know what you mean about buying an item and guaranteeing that it will be plentiful on the market. Sort of like washing your car and guaranteeing rain.
Thanks, Major. I wanted a red one. Rub it in, why don’t ya? ;-)
Post a Comment