I sometimes feel a little guilty sharing more photos of features such as Disneyland's Matterhorn. Haven't we seen enough of it? Well, your mileage, as they say, may vary. I can only hope that you, the faithful reader, still enjoys each picture.
At first I thought that this was just a nice "portrait" of the Mighty Matterhorn, with a few Skyway gondolas thrown in for flavor (like chocolate chips in granola). But then I noticed that there are two red-shirted mountain climbers infesting the snowy upper reaches! There is probably a powder or ointment to keep them away, but you'll need an industrial-sized barrel of the stuff.
This next photo is from the same batch, though the sky is not a glorious blue. Maybe this was earlier in the day, before that marine layer had burned off? Anyway, we're aboard the Skyway, with the rest of the world tilted at a Dutch angle. There are no bobsleds visible (boooo). Once in a while I try to imagine what sounds we might have heard from up there, we might be too far away to hear the shrieks from riders on the Matterhorn, but maybe we could hear the music from the Carrousel?
These are great photos!
ReplyDeleteIn the second picture, on the left side of the Matterhorn - and to the right of the smaller waterfall, in the rock shadows - am I seeing a new whale (that’s sort of diving)? Or possibly a duck, looking up?
Ah yes, Hans and Fritz. Or is it Otto? I get them mixed up. The first photo is definitely postcard worthy. I saved it to my Disney Stuff folder.
ReplyDeleteMajor, don't worry about sharing too many photos of 'the usual suspects'. As Junior Gorillas, we are contractually obligated to "oooh!" and "ahhh!" over all your photos.
Oooh!
Ahhh!
See? ;-) I think a good aerosol spray should take care of the dreaded Red-shirted Mountain Creeper infestation. Maybe applied by helicopter.
In the second photo, Hans and Fritz (or Otto) are no longer infesting the Matterhorn. The powder, ointment, or aerosol must have done the trick! The only other explanation is that this is earlier in the day, like you said, and the Mountaineers haven't begun their ascent yet. But that explanation is no fun, so I'm going with the first theory.
Sue, I saw that dark area too (if we're looking at the same spot). Actually, if you zoom-in and squint your eyes, it looks sorta like one of the black swans scaling the Matterhorn. MAYBE THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO HANS AND FRITZ (or Otto)!!!
Thanks for sharing the photos, Major. Oooh! Ahhh!
Major-
ReplyDeleteAs with the SBC, there are a LOT of views to be had. Nonetheless, both of these images I would declare postcard worthy. So there.
Thanks, Major.
Yep, JB, that’s definitely looks like a black swan.
ReplyDeleteOooh! Ahhh!
I think that these photos were probably posted in chronological order. Most redshirts meet their demise by the end of the first act.
ReplyDeleteThere may not be any bobsleds in that second image, but there are two PeopleMover trains and a pirate ship, which I believe trumps a bobsled. Need to consult that extra card in the deck to be sure. We can also see at least seven Skyway buckets on the cable, which is probably approaching some kind of GDB record.
Alice leaves make a cameo in both pictures, which automatically earns them a smiley face on their PERMANENT RECORD.
Oooh! Ahhh!
That second picture is full of Youaretherium. And the rooftops of Fantasyland - coo, what a sight!
ReplyDeletePutting men in red shirts in a dangerous situation? Who’s running this theme park, Jim Kirk?
JB & Sue, I see the shadow you are both talking about. It does resemble a black swan scaling the Matterhorn. Swaneee!!! It looks like there might be an even larger and darker (and beak-less) swan shape, just below him.
ReplyDeleteThe Carousel of Progress is also playing peek-a-boo with us, in that second photo.
SUE: do you see the sets of wheels atop each SKYWAY cabin arm? Those wheels are used only to lift the Skyway cabins off the cable so it can roll over the cable support and against to either roll the cabin up a channel ramp and lift it off the cable as the cabin rolled into the station ( and reverse the function to roll the cabin back onto the cable again) . I remember in the early 80’s a Skyway cabin lost one of its wheels rolling over one of the cable support towers. This made the Skyway cabin get stuck on the tower. The wheel fell to the ground missing guests. The entire Skyway attraction came to a halt and some guests waited - I recall up to 13 hours to be rescued by fire fighters with a very tall extension ladder truck that had to be brought down from Los Angeles because Anaheim didn’t have one able to reach. I remember watching this on the San Diego news and being very excited. As guests were plucked from the attraction they were taken to a waiting area where there were given medical attention if needed and they were given soup.
ReplyDeleteI think if I had been a guests in one of the high spots - I don’t think I’d be able to get onto the ladder to climb down that far. Or I’d have to be coaxed out with rolls of attraction posters!!
Many of you may remember the Tonight Show skit when it looked like Jay Leno climbed the Matterhorn?? We were at the park that day and saw them filming it but at the time didn’t know what or who it was fore. But people were curious as to why one of the climbers was in a suite with thick black hair. Some guests said they thought it might be John Stamos ( the actual climber was way to skinny to be even a young Jay Leno) I think at the time John Stamos was still on General Hospital . And nobody would have guessed them Stamos would have one of the biggest Disneyland collections! Anyway it wasn’t till much later I found out that the climber in the suit was suppose to
Be Jay Leno.
Sue & JB, I think I see that dark shadow swan, but I also see the head of that dinosaur Alley Oop used to ride on to the immediate right of the little waterfall. The waterfall is falling right over his nose and he's grinning. And maybe another googly eyed dino on the left side of the fall.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pics Major. Both of them are chock full of Youaretherium. Thanks for that word Melissa. Brilliant.
"Shadow Swans" came from deep within the mountain to wreak havoc on climbers and concrete mountain salesmen. That's why the concrete mountain market dried up. They didn't even put one in The Magic Kingdom!
ReplyDeleteTink's Magical Zipline is pretty obvious in both shots. I wonder if Hans or Otto, or Fritz, Or Col. Kink ever thought about taking the quick way down? They were probably eaten before they could.
The Star Trek episode "Swans in the Shadows" was deemed too terrifying for TV audiences. They considered releasing it as a full length movie, but after adding up all the red shirts that had perished, decided to not draw too much attention to their sketchy safety record.
It's a shame, because one of the most dramatic scenes was Kirk screaming into a microphone on the bridge "SWAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
They reused it later with an overdub.
Otto climbs down after Hans dropped into a crevice.
ReplyDeleteMickey asks him what happened?
Otto: “Look Everybody, no Hans!”
These are superior photos, Major. Lotsa juice in these.
I hope I get to see the Matterhorn one last time.
JG
I remember Darkwing Duck's girlfriend Shadow Swan.
ReplyDeleteFeel guilty for what? I love seeing pics of the Matterhorn. These photos are great! The first one is postcard worthy. I still miss The Skyway. 1969 was peak Disneyland. The Haunted Mansion opened, and Carousel of Progress and Nature's Wonderland were still around. Thanks, Major.
ReplyDelete@ MIKE-
ReplyDeleteAs guests were plucked from the attraction they were taken to a waiting area where there were given medical attention if needed and they were given soup". Soup-? SOUP-?? Only Disney could get away with that sort of crap-!
Lou and Sue, it might be a duck OR a whale! For now I am going to say it’s Fudgie’s Friend . Maybe his name is Fred.
ReplyDeleteJB, as long you continue to send your checks to me, you are welcome to save images in your “Disney Stuff” folder. The “ooohs” and “aaahs” don’t hurt, though. Yes, aerosol sprays and so handy, and they are good for the environment too, which is why I have an aerosol spray for everything. It really is surprising that these photos are from the same day, they feel so different. I generally prefer photos from sunny days with deep blue skies. I wondered why the black swan wasn’t just flying up to eat Hans and Fritz (or Otto) but then I realized that they get their jollies out of doing the unexpected.
Nanook, I could have straightened out the second photo to make it even more postcard worthy, but would have lost a surprising amount of stuff on the edges. I guess that Skyway gondola strut kind of fudges things up too…
Lou and Sue, but what about Fudgie’s Friend Fred?
Chuck, there must be some pretty hard core safety measures for those mountain climbers. Imagine an unfortunate fellow slipping and… well I don’t want to think about it. I will have to refer to my Farmer’s Almanac to see if Peoplemover trains and a Pirate Ship are worth more than a bobsled. Now that the Peoplemover is gone, I suppose the value has increased on the black market (I do all of my buying and selling on the black market). Also, I’ve managed to hack into my permanent record, now “they” think I went to Harvard. Twice.
Melissa, I really do miss that view from the Skyway! Also, never trust a man whose middle name is “Tiberius”.
TokyoMagic!, I guess I’m the only person who loves Fudgie’s Friend. Poor Fred. Considering how large the Carousel of Progress building is, it did a good job of hide-and-seeking!
Mike Cozart, thank you for the description of how those wheels worked! I’m sure I’ll forget it all quickly (my brain), but it is very interesting. Wow, 13 hours stuck in a Skyway gondola, that’s insane. Imagine realizing that you had to go to the bathroom. Awful. And YES, the thought of climbing out of a vehicle that is 80 feet up (or whatever) to climb down an extension ladder sounds terrifying! “I’m fine right here, thanks!”. Funny detail about the rescue-ees being given soup after their ordeal. It’s like soup just sounds comforting to the press, so that’s what they’ll get. “How about a nice bacon cheeseburger?”. I know nothing about Jay Leno pretending to climb the Matterhorn, I wonder if it’s on YouTube. And I’d love to know what John Stamos has in his collection besides that big letter in his backyard. What incredible rarities are in his museum??
DrGoat, ha ha, how many people even know who Alley Oop was? I think these days you have to be somewhat of a comics aficionado (which I am) to remember old Alley. So many animals on the side of the Matterhorn, who knew!
Stu29573, shadow swans come from the Mines of Moria, where they usually party with the Balrog. He loves karaoke! I want to slide down Tink’s zip line, but my arms would probably get tired about 1/3 of the way down. And THEN what would I do? They reused the footage from “Swans in the Shadows” for a 3rd season episode, but they superimposed sock puppets over the swans. To this day it is considered one of the best episodes.
JG, oh boy, that is SOME pun!! I think I need some of that soup that the Skyway survivors got. I hope you get to see the Matterhorn more than just once!
Melissa, I never saw Darkwing Duck, I’m surprised they didn’t give him a girlfriend character!
K. Martinez, I do like the first photo a lot (the second one is OK too), but, you know, there’s just SO MANY photos of the Matterhorn. It’s sort of like the Jungle Cruise, I love it, but sometimes the photos get to be a bit much. Maybe it’s because of the blog, and I just look at too many photos!
Nanook, I KNOW! It was probably Cup-O-Noodles, too!
Well, I for one, remember Alley Oop...one of my favorite cartoons. And of course the hit song of the same name.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find fascinating is the pylon prominently displayed at the top of the Matterhorn in that second picture. KS
Yep, Mike, I do see those wheels! Thank you for Skyway info. That also explains how the cast members could change the order of the gondolas, and group by color or numbers (or both) - as I think you(?) told us they did, sometimes. :oD
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Bu was working the day the folks got stuck? How awful to be up there soooo long. Soup, hahaha! (I have to agree with Nanook!) I would expect a couple days' stay at the Disneyland Hotel, free passes, food, etc.
DrGoat, I DO see the dinosaurs! They're drinking from that waterfall.
Major, depending on the viewing angle, that's either Fred or Swanee.
If you want to experience a little "Youaretherium" from 1991 - CLICK HERE!
ReplyDeleteNote: I tried to find a video with the least camera movement. Dear lord(!), I was getting motion sickness viewing some of the videos, but this one seems to move the least.
Balrog? You sure you don't mean Churronabalrog?
ReplyDeleteMaybe now that Disney owns the Muppets, they can re-enact this classic number on the slopes of the Matterhorn.
Thanks for that Skyway POV video, Sue - really puts the whole thing in perspective!
ReplyDelete"my my my churrona..."
ReplyDeletesorry, i'll stop now.
I also remember Alley Oop, and Our Boarding House, to boot.
JG
Wow. Now THAT Disneyland might be worth walking from the parking structure for…oh wait.
ReplyDeleteIt all looks the same but a 1000% more fun.
I see that the ooohing and ahhhing lasted until 3:41... not bad!
ReplyDeleteChuck, you're right about redshirts' early demise. Except for Scotty, of course. He made it all the way into Star Trek TNG!
Melissa, "Youaretherium." Is that like Unobtainium? I think you've got a smudge of soot on your face.
Tokyo! (I remembered the ! this time!), Swaneee works for me! It's like "Way down upon the Swaneee river" or "Swaneee, how I love ya, how I love ya".
Mike, that's a fascinating and exciting story about the stalled Skyway. I coulda been coaxed down with a booklet of "E" tickets.
DrGoat, I see the Alley Oop dinosaur! He's sniffing the waterfall. And I also see the one on the left. Maybe we should name them?
Stu, forget the Jabberwock, my son, it's Shadow Swans ye'd best beware of!
I gotta see that Star Trek episode!!!
JG, "That's so funny I forgot to laugh!"
Nanook, yeah, "soup" struck me as kinda odd, too. I'd think a complimentary pair of underwear would go over better than soup.
Major, yes. Shadow Swans are crafty and evil. This month's check is in the mail (I don't do crypto currency).
The Matterhorn is like the Tree Of Life in Animal Kingdom. It's also covered with animal shapes.
KS, I also remember Alley Oop, the newspaper comic anyway. It was one of my dad's favorites.
Melissa again, that name is getting longer every day!
JG again, (see my first reply to you, above).
@ Sue-
ReplyDeleteI've been desperately trying to find some actual footage of the Von Roll Skyway VR101 Grip, but what seems to be out there isn't all that clear. (Not certain Disneyland always used that model, but most-likely did).
In this FIRST image, you can see the actual grip, with the two pairs of wheels. The wheels support the 'bucket' when it's in any station, and while the grip is disconnected from the moving cable. Otherwise, the clamp within the Grip is squeezing onto the moving cable, providing the only means of attachment for the bucket to the cable. (And you thought there were safeties, on top of safeties-!)
When the buckets enter a station, the double truck wheel assembly rides-up on the dual rails, taking the weight of the bucket and its occupants. Shortly after making contact with the rails, the small 'arm', with the roller on top (seen in the image), makes contact with a long, fixed plate, forcing the arm to pivot sideways, thus removing tension on the compression spring, forcing the grip to open, and finally allowing the bucket to detach from the cable. (At this point, the cable path travels away from the dual rails, heading towards the very large, horizontal cable drum, which is always in motion).
THIS VIDEO [although difficult to see] depicts the grip opening (at about the 5-second point). You can just see the small arm appearing to the right of the right-most wheel, it's roller barely visible at the top of the arm, as it presses into the long fixed plate, causing the spring to compress, opening the grip.
THIS VIDEO, although rather soft, and is moving very quickly, depicts some of the activity in the station, as the bucket disconnects from the moving cable.
@ Sue-
ReplyDeleteI should have also added: Once the Grip is fully-open, and the bucket is riding on, and supported by, the rails, you can observe the rails making two, short vertical 'bump-ups' in elevation, in relation to the moving cable, so the buckets and the cable are no longer competing for the same space; and allowing the cable to remain in the same horizontal plane as it approaches the large drum.
Nanook, this is fascinating. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteCertainly accounts for how the sometimes irregular spacing was achieved.
I assume that there was some minimum distance between buckets since the cable could presumably be overstressed?
If so, how was that determined? My guess was timing since the cable ran at (presumably) a constant velocity? "X" seconds between launches?
Related to the Skyway, I remember watching the "Osmonds" Disneyland special on TV lo those many moons ago (the one where they tour the brand-new Haunted Mansion). One scene occurs in the Tomorrowland Skyway station. One character has to use a telephone that was attached to one of the steel columns on the arrival side of the stations (inbound buckets passing him). I remembered that and looked carefully at that column on my next trip to the Park (probably a year later), of course, no phone in that spot, since it was a prop.
Anyway, fun stuff.
JG
Nanook, thank you for the videos and details. I do now see it clearly! The buckets are lifted above the constantly moving cable while in the station...and then dropped back onto the cable when ‘leaving the station.’ (Sort of like using the tow rope on the bunny hill, when learning to snow ski.) So when the jokesters at Disneyland wanted to rearrange the colors, the buckets could also be ‘rolled over’ to another side ‘rail’—letting other buckets pass by.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn’t look very secure—where the the ‘grip’ meets the cable. I’m surprised there weren’t more problems. (My palms are actually starting to sweat, just thinking about it.)
Melissa, we do need a re-make of that cute Muppet number! I enjoyed that.
DrGoat, since you discovered the two dinosaurs, I think you should name them for us.
Thanks, Major and everyone!
Sue, I'm hoping DrGoat picks "Alley" and "Oop" as the dinosaur names. :-) Don't know which one is which though.
ReplyDeleteKS, I think I am only aware of Alley Oop from that song, and from seeing strips in books about the history of comics. Not sure if it was ever actually running in my lifetime!
ReplyDeleteLou and Sue, I now expect you to build a working scale model of the Skyway, please take photos along the way and then share your results. You have one week. Not only was Bu working that day, but the stoppage was all his fault! ;-). He was up to shenanigans. You’re right, I’d think that Disney would have at LEAST given them free passes to another visit, after that horrible ordeal.
Lou and Sue, OH MAN, that video made me so nostalgic.
Melissa, maybe that IS what I meant. Disney might own the Muppets, but they don’t seem to know what to do with them.
Melissa, it really did!
JG, “Our Boarding House”?? Was that a comic strip? If so, this is the first I recall hearing of it!
Michaeland, 1991 wasn’t that long ago, was it?? Oh yeah, it was.
JB, you know this already, but for everybody else, I only accept checks and American Express Cards. As for crypto currency, I loved Paul F. Tompkins’ comment: “Does everyone who’s into crypto not know that we already have a fake money scheme called ‘money’?”. Brilliant.
Nanook, there is a guy on Facebook who goes by “Robbie Von Roll” who used to post quite a lot of stuff about the Skyway at Disneyland, and Von Roll sky rides elsewhere. Thanks for all of that great info, it was very clear and easy to understand, which I need, because you should talk to me like I’m five years old. “So there’s a little man in my TV??”. The system of grips and wheels is pretty ingenious, those Swiss might make something of themselves yet (joking, in case all of my millions of Swiss readers think I am being disrespectful). I guess I couldn’t really see the “small arm appearing to the right of the right-most wheel”, even though I looked and looked. And watching that second video, the gondolas don’t seem as hard to maneuver as I expected. I figured that after a few months working the Skyway, all of the guys would look like Tarzan.
Nanook, thanks for additional details!
JG, yes, even though I did not understand the mechanical details, I imagined that something along those lines must have been why we sometimes saw such irregular spacing for the gondolas as they moved above the Sub Lagoon. And yes, I just assume that timing was generally pretty regular, with guests exiting and loading at roughly the same rate. Sometimes folks were slower, for various reasons, it’s inevitable. Funny about the phone prop from the Osmond special!!
Lou and Sue, I’m sure that to a mechanically-minded person, that mechanism with the wheels and grips is pretty simple, but to me it is ingenious. And clearly it has worked for many decades - not at Disneyland, sadly. I still think that the removal of the Skyway was one of the big mistakes of the 1990s.
Sue : the SKYWAY featured a storage siding on the Tomorrowland side station. Cast members could easily pull a empty cabin from the storage siding and add it to the quantity of operating cabins as ridership increased throughout the day or removed un-needed cabins from use. There wasn’t any specific order they would be in relating to cabin number or color.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone has been on It’s A Small World or Pirates of the Caribbean JUST before closing you may have experienced a crew who had not been putting away extra boats that were not needed ..... and then you get all these empty boats clogging the waterways and making guests wait extra long while empty boats cycle thru pointless unload and load cycles for empty boats.
When that Skyway accident happened I think the weather has been pretty cold and besides soup guests were given blankets keys too. I’m sure the guests were compensated with passes and other things that they didn’t want the press blabbing about what the Skyway passengers were compensated with for fear of people who stage or try and intentionally create accidents or situations to fleece Disney or pull a law suit.
I remember in the early 2000’s a lady “slipped” on spilled soda on Main Street and after about 7 unsuccessful passbys she finally fell real good. And sued. Security footage and witnesses Disney had showed her and a accomplice purchasing beverages and intentionally staged the slip.
Or the man who “fell” out of the Skyway at What investigators showed was the safest and softest point on the Skyway to fall ..... and that the man “fell” after he had is friend managed to release the safety lock after “accidentally” fiddling with the latch with a tool they “accidentally” brought with him. And accomplice who remained safely in the Skyway cabin “accidentally” forgot to mention to the employees in the station that his friend had fallen . A judge threw their lawsuit out.
For years .... at Disneyland or Walt Disney World when ever something almost happens like I almost slip on a wet walkway or stumble etc in front of friends I jokingly would grab my neck and fein “ whiplash” and in a strained voice cry out “ATTRACTION POSTERS!!!!.....” as if thats what Disney was gonna have to give me to “ make things right” lol. To this day some friends of mine will say that anywhere a quick fall or accident was narrowly avoided. Unfortunately Disney nolonger has large stashed of original attraction posters to ease my potential whiplash pain.
I know John Stamos has some good stuff - some purchased through auctions and private collectors. A friend of mine sold Stamos an AMERICA SINGS weasel in the 90’s for around 3k. That could easily bring 30k today!! But you know the saying ..... “ if EVERYBODY saved their AMERICA SINGS weasels ... AMERICA SINGS weasels wouldn’t be valuable”
There’s no weasels like show weasels like no weasels we know!
ReplyDeleteYes Sue, Bu was there if this is the same Skyway incident when there was a tornado type crazy weather situation. Not only was I there, I was UNDERNEATH the cable as I was walking from America Sings to Small World. I think I've written about this in a previous post. So, yes...sky went black...crazy winds...when I saw the DLFD on-stage it was "Oh S..."....then when AFD with a hook and ladder came...it was "what the eff is going on?" The show must go on however, and although I was dry going into Small World, there was a torrential wall of rain as we came out of the attraction. Trapped in the boat, and I was soaked straight through to my underpants. Outside the attraction there was a bit of chaos...not because Skyway had stopped, but because the weather was hurricane in style...people running around screaming and pulling out their hair...and you could see the flashing lights from the hook and ladder...(and the ladder itself) over by Coke Terrace...the weather was so intense, which was why it took so long for the evacuation. And yes...they had to come down the ladder. I didn't stay around for that as I was due back to check in, where no one was mildly aware of the mayhem going on in Tomorrowland. The press eventually got a hold of it soon after and then everything went very very very south. I was soaking wet, I didn't even wear a coat that day..it was sunny just a few short hours ago. My lead made me stand there and listen to her talk about Karen Carpenter or something...I was shivering and clearly very wet....I was sent to lunch and was told I could have an extra five minutes to change my costume-35 minutes in total. Watches were checked and time was written down. One minute extra, and you were docked 12 minutes off your time. I didn't get soup. There was no time to eat and change (and reminisce about Karen Carpenter), so I chose to change. Those days were hard core. I'm not sure why I was made to stand in the rain, but I did it- I was still a "casual" employee and I wanted to be permanent. There were many tests of stamina yet to come...ultimately, I got my permanent status. Some times, you must stand in the rain to get what you want: just ensure to stand up straight with arms at your side, do not lean, nor sit. Do not gesture. Speak only when spoken to. And Fantasyland is closed.
ReplyDeleteMajor-
ReplyDelete"“So there’s a little man in my TV??” Oh, no. The 'little man' is in your refrigerator. Yes, there's SO much you don't know-!
@ Sue-
THIS image has been shared before, but helps illustrate what MIKE described when referring to the 'storage siding'. (Daveland, thank you).
I just typed a big explanation of the Skyway station cabin storage area and what was above and below but it disappeared. Anyway that Davelavd Skyway storage is a mega rare image .... but not what was there after the 1965 cabins were added .... it was much larger and had a floor!!
ReplyDeleteMike, thanks as always for more amazing comments! You could write a book! And yes, I HAVE been on IASW when there were lots of empty boats, it was very frustrating to go through the slow load cycle. At the time I wondered WHY they didn’t pull some of the boats, but it might have been during the Pressler years when maintaining enough staff was not a priority. I’m sure the CMs were frustrated too. I’m sure you’re right about the park giving those guests more than just soup, that could have resulted in some pretty harsh press from a bunch of unhappy (and cold) guests. “13 hours stuck in the air, and they gave me soup!”. I love it when scammers like the slipping lady get caught on camera. Amazing that it didn’t occur to anyone that there could be security cameras watching them as they rehearsed. And I definitely remember the guy who fell out of the Skyway cabin into a tree. “How in the world could that even happen?”. Well, now we know. Do these people get charged with attempted extortion or anything? Ha ha, maybe I need to start saying, “Attraction posters” when I trip on something! Ha ha, I have 20 “America Sings” weasels, doesn’t everybody?
ReplyDeleteMelissa, it’s the classic story. Only with weasels.
Bu, I guess they can’t always predict when a squall will come through, but you’d think that somebody would have been monitoring the weather situation. Though this was probably long before the days when you could just look at a radar map on your phone. I wonder if that incident changed how they operated when rain was imminent? “If it looks like rain is coming, shut it down!”. Probably not. You can’t disappoint hundreds of guests for something that might not even happen. Sounds like you had an “exciting” couple of hours. Weird that they would make you stand in the rain, not even a cheap poncho or umbrella to help keep you dry. Seems “not cool”. BUT… now you have a good story all these years later!
Nanook, why can’t there be TWO little men? I think there’s at least one in my computer, too.
Mike Cozart, you should do what some of us do, when you type your comments, do so in a text document! It kills me when one of your comments vanishes, all that stuff gone. I wish I knew why it happened. At least with a text document, you could just copy/paste it again and see what happens.
Nanook and Mike, thank you for the additional info and link to Daveland's photo. Interesting stuff, today!
ReplyDeleteMike, another thing I do when typing up comments (in the "Leave Your Comment" section):
After I finish typing a lot, I highlight and "copy" it - and I keep re-copying all of what I typed - as I type more sentences. I'm always prepared in case I lose anything. I then just "paste" it all back into the "Leave Your Comment" section. BEFORE I hit the "Publish" button, I make sure that I've done one final "copy" - as that's where I usually lose my drafted comments. I CAN relate.
Bu, I now DO recall you telling some of that story, before. WOW! Your description of the events makes me feel like I'm standing there with you! I'm now cold and shivering. I'm sure it was awful, but you have a great way of making it "humorous." Thank you for sharing!
Major, this blog, with all the fun and humor, with lots of terrific people, is a very nice oasis in the middle of a crazy world, right now. Thank you!
Don't forget the little man rowing around in your toilet tank!
ReplyDeleteAlso, what Sue just said.
I've learned so much about the Skyway from this thread I almost feel like I could operate it, if I didn't have the upper body strength of a golem sculpted from cream cheese.
ReplyDeletePost script: I am pretty sure that after this, the Skyway did not open if there was even a drizzle. This "Sitch" contributed to the discussion of "Skyway Bye Bye" from what my sources told me at the time. Insurance nightmares/metal fatigue/etc. etc. I was sworn to secrecy at the time...but I honestly forgot what the secret was. They've sealed up the Matterhorn, so that is that!
ReplyDelete