Fantasyland, July 1976
Today's photos are from 1976; it's interesting to me how slide transparencies can look different depending on the era that they are from. Obviously we have clues like hairstyles and fashions to help place them in their proper context, but the film itself also differs. These seem to have a slightly warm look to them, which is very appealing if you ask me.
You know what is also appealing? Those caterpillar vehicles from the "Alice in Wonderland" attraction. If a giant caterpillar was crawling toward me I would probably run in horror, but I'm happy to ride in one! Look at him, he couldn't be more snooty, which is part of why I love him.
Meanwhile, over on Casey Jr., a murder occurred! Not really, but wasn't that exciting to read? Instead, two nice ladies are about to experience the low-tech (but wonderful) charms of miniature tableaus from their favorite stories. And as most of you know, everything is more fun when you are wearing a bucket hat, so the gal in green will be having a great time.
25 comments:
Three people in the caterpillar appear to be looking at what the young gal is holding. I’d rather be enjoying all the scenery from that track level. I wonder what’s distracting them?
That train cage looks awfully cramped.
Fun ‘you are there’ pictures, today.
Thank you, Major.
Major-
I think the Matterhorn bobsleds should have been 'snooty'. Take that, Abominable Snowman-!
Thanks, Major.
I just noticed how human-looking the caterpillar's hands are. That is, aside from having only four fingers. It's a little disconcerting.
What does that girl have in her hand? (No, this is not one of the riddles Bilbo shared with Gollum.) It looks like a ticket book.
I think the lady in the bucket hat is a Kiwi (New Zealander, not the fruit. Although she is wearing a green shirt.) I've known a couple of New Zealanders and they had that same look/style, including the bucket hat.
That's a scary-looking aminal on the right. Lion? Camel? Demon? Chihuahua? If I was a little kid I'd stay far away from that thing.
Thanks for the fantastic fantasy fotos of Fantasyland, Major.
Sue, I think she is holding her ticket book. My advice to her is, put it in your pocket, or your purse, or give them to mom to hang onto. Holding them in your hand while going on rides is a sure way to drop them and never seen them again.
It almost looks like a topless person is coming down the steps from the Skyway chalet, in that second pic.
Tokyo!, haha. You knew that by saying "topless" we would immediately look at the photo again. You devil. ;-)
Well, I did say "almost," so anyone who didn't want to see an "almost" topless person, could have refrained from looking. "DON'T LOOK, ETHEL!!!!!" ;-)
Correction, "DON'T LOOK, JB!!!!!!!" But I guess it's too late. You've already been incensed! ;-)
Sue: I think Tokyo is right: it’s her Disneyland ticket book she’s holding. I also think it just appears that they are looking at it as the riders are trying to locate the photographer bellow. I can only imagine how many times in a day guests really lost their coupon books and how many “lost” their coupon books. I bet 50% of guests in City Hall on Main St. were there because of lost tickets. Another 25% of the guests were there asking if Discovery Bay and Thunder Mountain Runaway Railroad would be open by their next visit. The remaining 25% of guests in line at City Hall are asking if they could be directed to the shop that sells EXINWEST.
Seriously , that must have been a big problem for Disneyland then with guests losing their ticket books. How did they handle it? I’ve heard so many horror stories from cast members who worked in city hall both ticket period and post coupon books … and I don’t think I’ve heard any stories of guests losing their tickets.
I used to always go into city hall and get a stack of that day’s guide book before we headed out and I remember on a very rainy day a line of guests …. And as I got the guidebooks I could hear this last complaining that because of the rain there was so much they didn’t get to do - and this was there only visit that year …. The CM was very pleasant and explained in a very nice way they do make announcements and post signs about certain attraction and show closures ( this was the 80’s) so that guests can make a decision before entering the park that day. I remember thinking “lady” you waited till 30 minutes before the park closed to complain or ask for your money back !!? - you should have done that in the first hour “ then just before my friends age I left we saw the lady again with her family … her husband holding an umbrella over a little girl in a wheelchair and her little brother standing next to her. I wanted to tell the lady if she went back in with her kids she’d probably would get “rain check tickets” - I know if I was a CM and had seen them I would have given them some. I felt bad for them.
I want that lens the photographer is using. Sharp focus and impressive zoom.
TM!, you’re right about that person in the background - she does look like she has no head! That is what you meant by “topless,” right?
The way the caterpillar is painted makes it look like a guy in a caterpillar suit (which I'm sure we all own). Except there is a huge hole in his back with people sitting in it, which is probably uncomfortable. All in all, I can't see much to be snooty about, but maybe he's overcompensating for everything.
The Kiwi on Casey Jr. looks a lot like my old lead singer. Not that that would mean anything to anyone, but it's what I first thought of. I'm pretty sure that demon thing on the front of the car was a Beta Test Exploding Duck.
Fun pics today!
Lou and Sue, it looks like that girl might be holding a ticket book, though it is a little weird that she has chosen that moment to look at it. Like you said, she should be enjoying the ride!
Nanook, I’m trying to imagine how they would have made the Dumbo vehicles “snooty”. So far nothing comes to mind! Maybe he could be wearing a monocle?
JB, obviously you have never looked at a real caterpillar up close, or you would have noticed their tiny human hands. How do you think they open those pudding “snack packs”?? I now choose to believe that the woman in the bucket hat is a Kiwi, and can almost hear her charming accent as she drives to Weta Workshop to animate Gollum (or whatever). I think that animal is a dragon, but it might be a Woozle.
TokyoMagic!, yes, ticket book, I agree. Gosh, can you imagine losing your ticket book while on a ride? What a derp move. Now I really do wonder how often that happened! Did certain rides have piles of partially-used ticket books littering the ground? By the way, that IS a topless person on the stairs; by 1975, Disneyland not only allowed toplessness, they encouraged it. Pants were also optional.
JG, there’s nothing wrong with looking!
TokyoMagic!, I guess I never realized that “The Streak” was possibly the greatest song ever. Sorry, “Stairway to Heaven”, “Imagine”, and “Layla”!
TokyoMagic!, are you saying that JB smells good?
Mike Cozart, My guess is that most Disneyland guests went to the park to buy Exinwest sets, and decided that they might as well ride some attractions as long as they were there. It’s the only thing that makes sense. According to Marty Sklar, people regularly asked the folks in City Hall where “Disneyland” was. “I’ve been to Fantasyland, I’ve been to Tomorrowland, but where is DISNEYland?”. That Marty, he sure comes up with some groaners. I wonder, is there ANY chance that they would replace a lost ticket book as a courtesy? Seems unlikely, but back in those days, they would do a lot to make a guest happy. I suppose the lady complaining about the rain ruining her day is like the person who sits through an entire movie that they hate, and THEN demanding their money back. Well, OK, I do that all the time too.
Chuck, our photographer was using one of NASA’s old Hasselblad cameras that had been to the moon. They are bulky, but dang, they take good pictures.
Stu29573, now I won’t be able to look at a caterpillar ride vehicle without seeing some “Cronenbergian” body horror. Thanks for that! ;-) Did your former (don’t use the word “old”!) lead singer wear a bucket hat onstage? “Exploding Duck” is what I always order at Chinese restaurants.
JB, the hand stood out to me, too! At first I thought one of the riders had somehow gotten their hand up there.
Interesting, because I was going to wear my mauve caterpillar suit today. (The blue one is at the cleaners…)
The dragon’s eye is a martini olive.
Remember how the caterpillar had little Persian slippers on all his feet? Alice is a really cute movie, even though composed on hallucinogens.
Thanks for these goodies, Major.
JG
Alice in Wonderland: the ride: "meh"....Alice in wonderland the ride down the leaves and petals: "Awesome". That needs to be the next Alice in Wonderland- just riding a swirling and twirling down a series of leaves and flowers and petals. Of course, the ride vehicle is completely fantastic. I would like to see him smoking though. I'm waiting for the Main Street Dispensary. Stranger things have happened. Lost tickets. City Hall. Not a favorite of mine. Some realities of the 80's: "lost tickets are considered cash and unfortunately cannot be replaced" that was pretty much cut and dry. There were only a few per day. Sometimes this was a judgment call: rest of the family has them (there were no receipts in that era...your tickets were your receipt). Dad is full of cameras, and bags, and stress box and it basically came down to: do you believe them, or not. Lost and found received ticket books a plenty- so guests were sent there. Employees pocketing tickets found on rides were disiplined/fired. If you turned them into Lost and Found and if there was no claim- you got them. Same with cash. Pocketing ticket booths or cash was considered theft. Rain checks: "Disneyland does not offer rain checks". Sounds harsh, however there is some science: A: You are told at the parking lot that Disneyland will remain open in the rain. B: Jack Wagner tells them the "inclement weather" story at the ticket booths waiting in line. C: Signs are posted as to what may close to due inclement weather. D:The ticket booth employee informs them of the same and "informs" (legal term) them that the Park does not offer rain checks. ALL tickets are stamped with an "I" for INFORMED. After all of this, the guests take responsibility knowing that the park will stay open, that some rides/attractions MAY be closed, and that the Park does not give rain checks. This did not deter those that came through the gates...thought..."uh no..this is not for us"..and then came into City Hall to come another day. What time did you come in this morning? Guest: "We just got here!" "What section of the parking lot did you park in?" (this was all VERY documented in small increments). Guest: "Section A". CH: "A was parked at 9:30am this morning" Given that the guest was coming in at 4 or 5, this didn't fly. Guest: "no one told us that the things would be closed!" CH: "Your tickets have been stamped with an I, which indicates the Cast Member informed you that some attractions may be closed, of which today only Alice In Wonderland and Dumbo were closed. Most of our attractions are indoors and are not affected by the rain." "Some attractions that are outdoors that can be safely operated in inclement weather stay open." "As you chose to came into the park after being informed, I'm sorry that we can not offer complimentary tickets for a return." "YOU'VE RUINED MY ENTIRE VACATION!!!!" "I'm very sorry to hear that" "Can I help the next guest in line?" Next guest: "WOW...do you get that all day?" "yes" Guest: "I just want a map". To be continued...this is a long story....
A rainy day shift in City Hall was unpleasant at best. The 80's were harsh as Disneyland needed to keep every dollar coming in. Comp tickets were one thing...a refund was an act of God and had to be approved by a litany of people, however it was done. All the circumstances had to be very very considered. Comp tickets were not handed out like candy. A supervisor had to approve each and every, and you had to plead the case of the guest. A supervisor was always on-hand on these rainy days, which thankfully are not too frequent in So.Cal. The issues with guests and rainy day comps generally occurred when it was sunny in the morning, then went south later on. You always said a prayer that a rainy day started rainy, and ended sunny. On a sunny morning, guests do not plan for coats, rain jackets, hats, etc. etc. etc. so...they get soaked, and want to go home. All shops had plastic rain ponchos and umbrellas for sale with the SLIGHTEST hint of rain. They were not expensive at all. If you went into Lost and Found and said "I lost my umbrella"...they would bring out the biggest box of umbrellas and say "take one". Same thing with sunglasses by the way. Comps would generally only be given out if the guests were in the park for a very short period of time (remember the parking lot thing) and basically only got as far as the end of Main Street and turned back. Everyone else....nope. Refunds were given to those generally from foreign countries with no intention of ever returning. In those days comps were also good at WDW...which we did mention to those who may be on the East Coast. If everything was approved and blessed, and the comps came out, guests were IMMEDIATELY escorted out of the park: IMMEDIATELY. They were not allowed to shop, go to the bathroom...nothing. If they wanted to shop they could go to the UNOCO shops or the newsstand OUTSIDE the gates. Guests and their entire party were escorted to exit (some tried to get handstamps) and were not counted as "exit". They had to go through the chain. Kids were always crying and saying "whyyyyyyyyy?". After a few years of all of that, I can say I've probably not heard it all, but I've heard a lot. Guests are crafty. Disneylanders are craftier and know every angle. "The phone recording said you were open until midnight!!!!" me: "Sir, that is actually me on the recording and I can assure you I said 6 and not midnight." (I did the recording from time to time). Guest at 5:30pm: "We just came in. It is too crowded" "we need to go home" "my children are tired!" Me to kid: "what time did you get here today? Kid: "It was early! We had to wake up early! We had Mickey Mouse pancakes!!!" Aww...kids say the darnest things. Certain calamities: Tornados, hurricane force weather, black outs (yes..it happened) are another thing and things were looser in those cases, HOWEVER...every single guest was scrutinized and cataloged in case these types of cases became "habit". I heard that after I left....many many many years later...that things became VERY loose and guests were given comps so they didn't have to listen to the ranting. Guest service became very primary, while the maintenance and upkeep went downhill (apparently). So I guess it came to "happy people" or "paint"? Can't we have both? I do not have fond memories of City Hall, although the costume was awesome. I do like New Zealanders however. Best guests ever! Love the Kiwis...they never complain, are happy to get soaked in the rain- just so very grateful to be in The Magic Kingdom!, and do not scream and yell because they didn't get to ride Dumbo. Hawaiians also fall into this same category....and Cher's boyfriend. Yes, Cher waited in line for the Matterhorn and the boyfriend supported it by saying that every guest is a VIP. It was that Italian guy...forget his name. The park closes at 6 and Fantasyland is closed.
The woman in the front seat of the Dragon car is looking at her new Lee press-on nails to see if they are still there and set properly.
Love the caterpillar ride vehicles. Thanks, Major.
@ Bu-
Thanks for sharing those stories. I can't imagine how difficult it must've been dealing with the public when they are acting less than "on their best behavior"-! Even [or perhaps - especially] when in Disneyland. I wonder how it's dealt with now - with a virtual complete lack of civility and entitlement among many, many folks-?
Cher's 'Italian guy' boyfriend was Rob Camilletti
Lou and Sue, it looks like that girl might be holding a ticket book, though it is a little weird that she has chosen that moment to look at it. Like you said, she should be enjoying the ride!
Nanook, I’m trying to imagine how they would have made the Dumbo vehicles “snooty”. So far nothing comes to mind! Maybe he could be wearing a monocle?
Melissa, those weird, fleshy hands! I’ll bet they were clammy too.
JG, I do remember that the caterpillar wore many pairs of slippers. I think the centipede in “James and the Giant Peach” also had issues with his many shoes. The Disney animators always claimed that no hallucinogens were involved with the “Alice” movie. But do we believe them?
Bu, I quite like the Alice ride, personally. Disneyland needs more crazy nonsense, as far as I’m concerned. That being said, I always did like the part where our vehicle wound down the leafy path, looking like it was about to plunge over the side. YouTuber Jenny Nicholson says that she used to work at City Hall, taking customer complaints. She was perfect for the job because, no matter how abusive the guest got, she could not be ruffled. Always calm and polite. They should have doubled her pay! Anyone who goes to Disneyland on a potentially rainy day should be prepared for the inevitable. Buy a poncho, for crying out loud! Or reschedule your trip. I’ve mentioned it before, but one of my best trips ever was on a day that started out rainy. I wonder how many of those complaining customers never returned to Disneyland again? Not that it hurt the park at all.
Bu II, it seems hard to believe that Disneyland was not always crowded and popular, but I sure remember when they offered a big discount for SoCal locals so that they could get more butts in the park. I’ve never bought an umbrella at Disneyland, but I’ve been to other places such as New York City. When the rain starts, all the smart stores put out their boxes of cheap umbrellas. That’s why I own three collapsable umbrellas now, I never had the one I packed with me when the downpour started. Funny that people with comped tickets were escorted out, it makes sense really. Imagine being a kid, so excited to be in Disneyland, raining or not, and heading toward the exit. Very sneaky to ask the kids about when they arrived. I’m sure the parents were gritting their teeth. Was Cher’s Italian boyfriend named… Luciano Pavarotti??
K. Martinez, press-on nails were one of NASA’s greatest inventions.
Nanook, they should treat rude guests like misbehaving cats. Squirt them with a squirt gun. Shake a tin can full of pennies at them. THEY’LL LEARN! Didn’t Cher dump Rob Camilletti for Luciano Pavarotti?
I love all the stories about the rain situations and ticket books, Mike and Bu. I only experienced a few rainy days in DL and WDW - and I found it fascinating how umbrellas and ponchos magically appeared for sale everywhere. And when it was cold, wintery Disney jackets magically appeared. I once had to buy one and actually love it, though it can't be used during our Midwest winters.
Bu, HOW did you keep Park guests from overpowering the stars for autographs??
I got free tickets to Kennywood once when they closed early due to rain an hour after we arrived, but I ended up not being able to use them before they expired. I HOPE nobody's asking for them at WDW, because rain is just part of the experience there. The sky opens up without warning and everybody just runs for the Hall of Presidents.
I remember when I went to London in the spring of 2001, everybody told me to make sure to bring an umbrella. I thought it was just a stereotype that everyone in London carries an umbrella, but I brought one anyway (it was a duck-head style, that made me feel like Mary Poppins). And darned if it didn't rain *just a little bit* every single day. There's a line in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night that goes, "The rain it raineth every day." I always thought he was being poetic, but maybe he was just being English.
I think I've told this story before, but Mrs. Chuck & I were at Disneyland in the middle of the week in early June of 1995 when an unexpected afternoon rainstorm came out of nowhere. We were OK since we kept a pair of yellow Mickey ponchos in our "Disneyland 'go' bag," but the storm caught Merchandising off guard and the few ponchos available in stores sold extremely quickly. People kept asking us where we got our ponchos, and we'd answer honestly - "Disney World." Odd how mad some people got at us because there were no ponchos available. By the time they managed to get the poncho stocks out of whatever warehouse they were in and distributed to the stores, the rain was over.
Tokyo!, darn tootin' I'm incensed! (I prefer verbena scent.)
Stu, yay! Another teaser for exploding ducks. Can't wait!
Major, geez, now I feel embarrassed. It never occurred to me to look reeeeally close at caterpillars' hands to notice the similarities to us humans.
Why, yes. I DO smell good. We have lemon balm growing wild around our house. I rub the leaves all over me (not really) so I smell citrusy... or maybe I just smell.
Melissa, exactly! That's what I thought, too. The other day someone said that me and Sue were psychic twins. I guess now we're psychic triplets.
JG, yes! A green olive stuffed with pimento pepper. I knew it looked familiar but I couldn't place it!
Bu, it makes me edgy and uncomfortable just reading about your guest relations problems. I don't think I would have handled it well.
Major again, I guess I need to see an ophthalmologist; I'm seeing double. ;-)
Melissa again, "The sky opens up without warning and everybody just runs for the Hall of Presidents." Why? Do the animatronic presidents hand out cheap umbrellas?
It doesn't have to be the House of Presidents - any show with a large indoor holding area will do. It's just the first one that sprang to mind.
Melissa, I was just being stupid/funny with the Hall of Presidents quip. I guess I should've added a winky face.
As for rainy weather at Knott's, they would almost always close the park early. They would get fewer people on rainy days to begin with. And then since many of their attractions are outdoors, they would just decide to close early, and announce it over their public address system. They would not give out rain checks, unless you went and asked for them at Guest Relations. Whenever someone asked me if they would be passing out rain checks at the exit, I always told them to go to Guest Relations. I'm sure Knott's would not have wanted me telling guests that, but come on, you are closing the park much earlier than what was originally posted or announced.
In the early nineties, I went to Universal Studios (Hollywood) during George Washington's birthday. They had announced extended hours, due to the holiday weekend. Since they were going to be open late, we got there a little bit later in the day. It had not been raining so far, that day. Well, a storm came in and they shut down all of the shows and announced that the park would be closing early. Because of my prior experience from working at Knott's, we went straight to Guest Relations. They tried to give us the "no refunds" speech, but I persisted.....politely! Then they asked what time we got there and what we had done so far. Up to that point, we had only gone on the tram tour. We had tried to go see a show, but they had cancelled all of them because of the rain. That is what made us go straight to guest relations.....well, that and the fact that they were now closing earlier than they had originally announced. They took a look at our receipt, which showed that we hadn't been in the park very long. So they ended up giving us complimentary tickets and at that point, they were actually very nice about it. They even told us that the tickets WERE transferable and that we could give them away to someone else to use, and they also let us know that the tickets did NOT have any expiration date. It was many years later, when we finally went back and actually used the tickets. I should mention that at the time we went, a trip to Universal Hollywood consisted mostly of just the tram tour and about 6 shows in the "upper lot." The only indoor "ride" at that point was the "E.T. Adventure." So after having all of the shows cancel, there really wasn't much else to do.
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