"Walt Disney's Disneyland" Part Four
It's time for part four of "Walt Disney's Disneyland"! PART FOUR! Thanks to JG for scanning his 1973 copy of this classic volume.
Sorry I'm starting you out with a page of text rather than a photo, but that's the way things go sometimes. Marty Sklar tells us about the Columbia, the Keelboats, the Canoes, Tom Sawyer Island, and Nature's Wonderland. And then it's on to Tomorrowland, the tomorrowiest land ever. It was "the most difficult to conceive and design", which might explain why it has been so hard for today's designers to update and improve upon what was already there.
I always love a good "splashdown" photo of the old single-car Matterhorn bobsleds. I forget that they were so colorful! I love the mention of electric eels in the ocean, aren't they found in the Amazon? Maybe the subs took a side trip to Brazil.
I love this two-page spread, a photo collage featuring some fun photos of guests of all ages and many nationalities having fun in the park. Interesting that the little girl on the phone at the Bell Telephone exhibit was seen in a 1963 issue of "National Geographic". There's a sailor from a foreign land. France? Russia?
More words! Nobody told me that there would be reading involved! For a moment I thought Marty Sklar was going to mention the Viewliner, but he just skipped ahead to the Monorail. Can't say I blame him, even by 1972 the Viewliner was ancient history. We also get a mention of the Monsanto House of the Future, Circle-Vision 360, and the Autopia. And there's that troublesome quote from Walt about Disneyland never being completed!
Sorry, Charlie, the dent isn't visible in this pretty photo of Sleeping Beauty Castle.
I love that photo from the Jungle Cruise, with completely believable crumbling ruins in the foreground framing a scene of the river stretching away in the distance, and a single baby elephant playing in the water (I think he was squirting an unfortunate crocodile).
All the birds say words and the flowers croon, in the tiki tiki tiki tiki Tiki Room.
It's interesting that Marty mentions one of Walt's rare missteps, with the Mickey Mouse Club Circus. I also think it's interesting that it is implied that people don't go to Disneyland for the shows, they go for the ride experiences. And yet... live shows have become a fairly common (and popular, in some cases) feature at the park over the years. I guess they are relatively cheap, and can be updated or cancelled with ease. Remember the days when Audio Animatronics seemed to be the thing that Walt was most proud of? Now you don't hear diddly about them, I guess mechanical performers have lost some of their wonder.
That's it for PART FOUR! Stay tuned for PART FIVE in just one week!
23 comments:
Major-
Interesting they still referred to the 'lands' as 'realms'. I thought that designation had long-since disappeared from Disneyland lingo. And speaking of long-forgotten activities - a shout-out to the Mickey Mouse Club Circus.
Check out that 'hot pink' Sleeping Beauty Castle seen as a part of the photo montage pages-! Wow - would Miss. Kim be jealous-!!
Thanks Major and JG.
Yes Major, electric eels are Amazonian. Imagine what would happen if an electric eel did his thing in the salty ocean water: the salt water would conduct the electrical charge throughout all the oceans and every living creature in the sea would be electrocuted!
In the 2-page spread, the cub scout looks like Russell, the Junior Wilderness Explorer from "Up".
Is Charlie the Tuna a GDBer, too? Who knew! Hi, Charlie! You should post more often! I know you're disappointed about The Dent not being in this picture, but cheer up! There are plenty of Dent photos on GDB!
A couple of nights ago, I made a pot of split pea soup (with ham, carrots, and stuff added) that looked a lot like the Jungle Cruise river. Except for the elephant... and the crocodile. I left those ingredients out. Have you seen how much a pound of elephant costs these days!? Probably another 'supply chain' issue.
You have a lovely singing voice, Major. Can you hit that high screeching note like Norma Zimmer does just before the Tikis start to chant?
Thanks JG and Major for another Tuesday edition of Walt Disney's Disneyland.
Yes, electric eels come from Amazon. You can pretty much find anything on Amazon these days.
The foreign sailor is Italian. They got a lot of mileage out of that photo shoot, with a different pose showing up on the “Disneyland is for People” (not to be confused with “Soylent Green is People”) page of the 1965 souvenir guide (also generously scanned by JG), and I found yet another pose on the opening Tomorrowland pages of my 1968 copy of the guide.
Not to be outdone, the little girl with on phone, Robin, who was also in the National Geographic issue, also appears on the “Disneyland is for People” page of the 1965 guide, and a completely different photo of her in the same outfit with what I believe is her mother and sister appears opposite the Italian sailor and girl in the 1968 version of the guide. A good photo is a good photo, trees have no scale, and Fantasyland is closed.
JB, oh, my goodness - that kid does look like Russell! Charlie doesn’t comment too often. He’s still pretty broken up about the loss of the pirate ship, even though it spent its first 14 years sponsored by that other tuna company. And Norma Zimmer - present in at least two classic Disneyland attractions as well as pretty much every Lawrence Welk episode I ever saw - was amazing. Funny you should bring her up today - her birthday was just last July.
“…the little girl on the phone…”
I think I’ll take that second cup of decaf. Thanks.
I personally like the collage picture the best. It's kind of like they were trying for a GDB feel before GDB existed. I'm pretty sure Major can sue. I think Grandma and Grandpa twirling in the Dumbo has been used multiple times. I also like the two Sikh gentlemen at the far left. They look like they are really having fun!
As far as "messy killings" go, we have several, I'm afraid. In the AstroJets (or whatever they were called at this point) the young lady giggles as her partner spontaneously combusts. The little girl on the far right is obviously upset because she is about to be eaten by a Ravenous Pooh Beast (she actually escaped with the help of some commando dwarfs, but that's a story for another day). The most troubling picture is the boy being slowly consumed by the balloons. Creepy.
From the style of dress on the bobsled riders, and the minty-green tracks, and the just-planted look of the foliage, and the fact that this is bobsled #1, this could be the very first car of riders on the Matterhorn's opening day, Tomorrowland side. The Fantasyland riders are seconds away from their splashdown, as that track is longer.
The collage is wonderful, and shows two behaviors Disneyland may discourage now: employees flirting with guests, even with a wooden Indian between them; and a dad on a bench resting his bare feet. It looks like he's reading to his son from a Big Golden book, can't make out which one.
Thank you Major and JG for this glimpse of primo Disneyland!
The best part of these posts for me is learning the back story of so many photos.
1972 Disneyland may not be the Ur-Disneyland but it feels to me like the peak. All the great things (except Space Mountain) were running, and nothing great had been demolished.
Thanks Major and all my Junior Gorilla friends. Please enjoy the pics.
JG
I saw a lot of words and typeface in these photos and had to think twice about reading- sitting here in a hotel on THE Harbor Blvd...Harbor Blvd is a long street that does not end at a fancy yacht club, but I think now at a chicken wing place not near any harbor at all. If I have time I will have to investigate (the end of Harbor Blvd. not chicken wings). "Disneyland is for people" I would look at those photos for hours...because I was an odd kid...looks like they were plugging romance: "come to Disneyland and find a spouse!". Truth is, many employees did end up marrying. Some even met, got married, had kids and then the kids went into the job(s) that the parents had...true story...I worked with a couple of them. I think there are more than a few multi generationals. What happened to glittering 24 Karat gold things in the subs? Is it still down there glittering? I love the Tiki princess costume! That is casting at it's finest. Why do I want to see some guy in an orange flowered nightshirt? I agree about not making Audio Animatronics a big deal any more...I guess there are more fantastical things out there. My personal opinion is that they've just moved on. Disney could have led this movement to completely autonomous and very evolved figures/creatures. It would be awesome to see Lions and things skulking through the jungle cruise...pouncing and whatnot...in between jokes of course...just a thought. Disneyland led the way of people understanding that anything was possible...robots, monorails, etc. After all, Disneyland is for people...very very wealthy people with loads of disposable income, or loads of available credit. Yes Chuck: Fantasyland is closed.
Thanks JG. All that juicy information to pour over. The montage is a sight. That gal with the Italian sailor has love in her eyes, or she wants the last bite of that treat he's eating. My cousin was an Italian sailor back in the 70's. It didn't suit him, so he didn't stay one. He ended up a rep for a paint company.
Thanks Major. Can't wait to really get in to reading all the back story stuff, as JG put it.
I love the older couple in the teacups! Grandma knows she has to keep her babushka tied extra tight so it doesn’t go flying when Grandpa starts the cup spinning super fast.
Nanook, It seems clear that Marty was not terribly consistent with his terminology, “realms” does sound pretty old-school. And yeah, what is up with that pink pink castle?
JB, now I will never sleep, worrying that a madman like the Joker will release electric eels into the ocean. Thanks. I wonder if any of the kids in these photos ever saw themselves in this book? “My one minute of fame!”. Hey, I’d take it. Charlie the Tuna does like GDB, as a beatnik he knows what’s hip. I hope you threw a bay leaf into your split pea soup, it makes all the difference. I would never eat an elephant (they are too smart and adorable), but someday they will hopefully make “Impossible Elephant”, like those Impossible Burgers. Many people have complimented me on my singing voice, I can break your wine glass from 20 feet away.
Chuck, Italian, eh? Well, I would have never guessed it. I wonder if some photographer saw him wandering around and approached him? “Bongiorno, you would be fabulous in my pictures!”. He returned to Italy and lived in his charming village, enjoying a full and simple life. I always thought Disneyland was for gerbils, but (as you know) I’m often very confused. Whenever I sense that I am losing an argument, I just shout, “Trees have no scale!”. That shuts them up right away, let me tell you. I was not familiar with Norma Zimmer, I blipped over JB’s mention of her, just assuming that everyone else had heard of her.
Chuck, I do that all the time.
Stu29573, I have sued people hundreds of times, and so far I haven’t made a single cent. I wouldn’t be surprised if the older couple on Dumbo has been used other times. I like the kid rubbing noses with Winnie the Pooh, very cute. It looks like the little girl on the bottom is about to do the same with Goofy, I guess all these kids are of Inuit heritage. If you have to go, being eaten by balloons doesn’t seem so bad, except that your voice gets very high and squeaky.
Stefano, gosh, it would have never occurred to me that the Bobsled photo might show the very first riders on the Matterhorn’s opening day. I have no way of knowing if that’s the case or not! You can’t blame a male employee for flirting with a pretty girl guest, as long as it’s not creepy. Now I wish I could see what the book is in that dad’s hands!
JG, yes, the 1970s were, in general, still a GREAT time for the park, at least from the guest’s perspective. Some of my fondest memories are from this era. Thank you again for these scans!
Bu, SO… here you are on Harbor Blvd. Are you going to go into the park? You are so close! I just happened to drive past Disneyland Drive on Sunday, and boy was I tempted to exit! But I had important places to be. I was shocked at how fast I got there, if I’d known that I could get to Disneyland that quickly on Sundays I would have gone there a lot more. Not now though, because… well, lots of reasons. I think that a LOT of people at least dated fellow cast members, and I’m sure plenty of them wound up getting married too. But the younger folks probably eventually left to go to college. No, the giant golden idol head is long gone, I’d forgotten that it was covered in genuine gold leaf. Hey, I have an orange flowered nightshirt! It seems as if Disney realized that it was cheaper to hire out companies to make their AA figures, and it probably was, but they missed out on all of their own innovations. Garner Holt does a great job, but for some reason it makes me sad that the technology that Walt spearheaded is no longer even done in house.
DrGoat, American women love European men! One of my old girlfriends went to Italy then she wasn’t my girlfriend anymore. You had a cousin who joined the Italian Navy?? Did he grow up in Italy, or did he grow up in the U.S.? Now there’s a story.
Melissa, if there’s one thing grandmothers can’t abide, it’s having their perms out of place. Babushkas were an essential part of the wardrobe of any self-respecting granny.
Something I noticed and forgot to mention...in the Jungle Cruise photo, I know that those figures on the nearest column in the temple ruins are supposed to be elephants, but in this lighting, they look a lot like representations of Cthulu. That completely changes my feelings about the lost civilization that built the place.
Looking at the photo of Dad reading the story to the little boy. Both of them have their shoes off, Dad looks like there is mud or water, or both, splashed on his trouser legs.
I wonder if they had some adventures on Tom Sawyers Island. I'm trying to think where else in the Park you might have gone wading in those years. The Castle moat is clearly too dangerous with all those swans, but closer to the photo location.
JG
Regarding Marty Sklar’s inconsistency with nomenclature ( hey that should itself be a book!!!) I think as the company evolved, there was a point where terms and titles used within the company were not always cleared or appropriate for publications or for guests viewing. Partially I think because it may have sounded concussing. Also in publications sometimes the terms that are official are temporarily changed so not to become overdone to the reader .... I’ve seen this so many times in guidebooks and Disney News/ Vacationland etc and a good example is the replacement of LANDS with REALMS after already saying AVENTURELAND , FANTASYLAND , TOMORROWLAND .... but also having to include New Orleans Square or Caribbean Plaza etc...
Another discrepancy with company nomenclature is with park signage. Long after the terms CAST MEMBERS had been accepted by operations and guests ... signs being produced into the early 90’s still read HOSTS ONLY , EMPLOYEES ONLY and STAFF ONLY. And these were signs clearly visible to guests etc. when Disney began calling their visitors and customers guests it was classy and felt unique . Today EVERYBODY and BUSINESS does it to where is now sounds cliche or silly only because now it’s overdone and used in really inappropriate situations.
But I was trained back when nomenclature was very important with the Disney company and I’ll correct you if you say LIBERTY LAND and not Liberty Square .... Or say “we went to Disney” ..... no you went to either DISNEYLAND or WALT DISNEY WORLD .... etc...
Also I still never turn my back at any point while talking to someone and I never Point with a single index finger ( unless it’s on a map or blueprint!)
Another note regarding these Marty Sklar books : there of course are several variations.... the easiest ones to find feature the different cover designs .... then within there are so many others variations with altered or updated pictures etc ... as new attractions are added or announced . Some editions with feature WED concept art and then during that edition run are changed with a actual photo. I will often go page by page to make sure that it isn’t a duplicate . However one time while doing this I came across a weird anomaly. Two books had the same photo of the New Tomorrowland entrance .... the same guests in the same PeopleMover cars and the same guests below .... WAIT .... no. Wait. These people are different guests all together ... but the passengers and images of the PeopleMover cars are identical- if the attraction wasn’t moving ... there’s no way they all kept there same positions long enough for the people on the ground to be totally different ... then is some other sections of the ground level have the same guests clusters in both pictures. I’ve shown this two images to other collectors and all we can conclude is for some reason TWO different photos were merged together .... and why? Have no idea : nothing seems out of place or unusual in either versions of the two to explain why something would have caused for the image’s alteration. And how much time and effort did it take then to blend two images together ... as opposed to sending out a Disneyland staff photographer to take a new photo or use one they probably already had on file ..... ???
Major, my cousin was born in Italy and never left, with the exception of a trip to Arizona for a week stay with us. I think his favorite part of the visit was a day trip to Tombstone and digging on all the cowboy stuff. We all had Doc Holiday Equalizers at the ice cream shop, which was a giant chocolate soda with sarsaparilla. Took an hour to get over the stomach ache, but it was a good time.
Chuck, soooo, Charlie the Tuna is broken up because the pirate ship got broken up?... That breaks me up.
Happy un-birthday, Norma Zimmer!
Stu, I guess Disney was going for an international look by including the Sikh gentlemen, even though they're probably Americans.
'Tis better to be eaten by a Ravenous Pooh Beast than the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal, I always say.
The boy being consumed by balloons is an example of the 'frog boiling' phenomenon. At first the balloons are all cuddly and pleasant; as indicated by the boy's unsuspecting grin. Then... well, it's too late. All that's left is scraps for the swans.
Major, I did use a pinch of powdered bay leaf, also a pinch of thyme.
Oh, I'm sure that Impossible Elephant is just around the corner. But it'll cost twice as much as the real thing. (And taste half as good.)
”I just happened to drive past Disneyland Drive on Sunday, and boy was I tempted to exit! But I had important places to be.”
The park is lovely, though not cheap,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
I don’t even eat elephant ears at the county fair!
Mike, I never even worked for the company, but it still feels like nails on a chalkboard when I see someone write that they’re going to “Disneyworld.” It’s right up there with “alot.”
Speaking of swans, have you seen THIS?
;oD
Melissa (our poet laureate) has been in a poetic mood lately!
Sue, that video is quite amazing (and cute). I can't help wondering how they trained that little dog. (An electro-shock collar comes to mind... sorry, that's how my brain works.)
Chuck, Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.
JB, I guess we should be grateful that they are wearing pants, am I right? Meanwhile, why ARE they not wearing shoes?
Mike Cozart, I am fascinated by your description of the edition of the Marty Sklar book with the “same photo” that is actually different! I don’t supposed you could take a photo of the two versions (or scan it, though that involves pressing the book flat which you might not want to do)? I remember pointing out to a postcard seller that different postcards from different vendors sometimes showed the same people, and he didn’t believe me until I showed him. “That makes no sense!” he said, as he handed me all of his money in gratitude. So just how many different editions of “Walt Disney’s Disneyland” do you own, anyway?
DrGoat, ah that makes sense. It’s funny how certain American tropes are so interesting to folks from other lands (or realms), I’ve mentioned how everyone in Europe assumed that I surfed when they heard I was from California (I was fairly blond then, so I guess that had some influence). This was decades ago, of course. A chocolate soda with sarsaparilla, I can’t decide if that would be good or not!
JB, I think you’re right, the Disney PR machine loved to brag about how people came to Disneyland from all over the world. The more exotic someone looked, the more they liked it. I’m not sure that is still their philosophy, since some people get their knickers in a twist about anyone who looks “different”. I love frog boiling, it’s a fun party game. Powdered bay leaf! I always thought people just threw the whole leaf in, and then fished it out at the end. I just went hiking a few weeks ago, and my buddy picked a bunch of California Bay Laurel leaves for when he makes pea soup. It grows in abundance all over the hills here.
Melissa, it is true, the expense probably would have kept me away from the park, but I haven’t been that close to it in quite a while. I was disappointed that I was unable to see the Matterhorn or even Space Mountain from the freeway, but I might not have been looking in the right spot - it’s hard to tell now that there are a lot more tall hotels around.
Lou and Sue, aw, look at that little doggie, he’s so happy! As for the lady, hey, she has a hobby.
JB, Melissa is ALWAYS in a poetic mood! I was a little distracted by the pretty lady, but I’m sure the dog was trained with love and plenty of snausages.
Major, we are all very happy you didn’t take up that hobby - or we wouldn’t be here together today.
Fun post!
Is it bad that I fully expected the swans to attack?
Forget the dog - how did she train the swans to sit so still?
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