Like the title of today's post says, I'm using up the last two scans from a small lot from 1976. They were fun while they lasted.
Two girls (who have appeared in most of the photos from this batch) sit in a Mad Tea Party teacup; At some point the teacups were repainted with new colors and graphics, not sure when that was done. Somehow that cup with the hearts looks very '70s, don't you think? Notice the ornamental arches that now surrounded the attraction. They look good, and they keep vampires away.
One of the Dumbi soars to a height of 20 feet, and both girls are about to gray out due to the speed and lack of oxygen. Hey, that spire to the left has its own little dent!
In the first pic, I see that Monstro is photo-bombing this image. Seems like he's been doing that a lot lately. Looks like he got himself freshly waxed just for this photo opportunity.
ReplyDeleteIn #2, Hey, you're right, Major; another Dent! I'm beginning to think that the Castle spires are made of paper; they seem to get damaged so easily.
This Dumbi looks like he's been sniffing glue; he looks sorta 'out of it'. Maybe he flew too close to the Alice ride and got a whiff of whatever the Caterpillar is smoking.
Thanks for the Fantasyland pics, Major.
July '76: peak Bicentennial! Practically Postcardworthy Pictures here. JB, I was thinking the same thing about Monstro photobombing. Love the girls' matching earrings. Lots of Whee! going on here.
ReplyDeleteOne of the spires on the Fantasyland Caricature Stand is also photobombing the first photo. And the Storybook Land lighthouse is trying to hide behind that lamppost.
ReplyDeleteThe photographer of the second photo, must have also been riding in a Dumbi vehicle, since it was shot from an elevated vantage point. That orange-ish colored wall (backstage), looks a little odd.
Trying to place the direction of the last photo sent me down a (short) rabbit hole to discover something else I had never consciously noticed before.
ReplyDeleteThe structure to the left with the back section painted orange is the Fantasyland Theatre. The crenellated and beturreted structure immediately behind the Dumbo that the girls riding is a different building. It was a smaller structure that had castle-themed walls facing both the flying elephant ride and Fan 1 and was separated from the Fantasyland Theatre/Snow White building by a small alley. You can see the separation better in this Daveland photo, although you’ll have to take your eyes off Jane Mansfield to do so.
It was apparently demolished during the construction of New Fantasyland nearly 40 years ago and either replaced by or worked into the structure of the Village Haus (now known as the “Red Rose Taverne” because the area desperately needed a Beauty and the Beast reference shoehorned into it and South Tyrolean architecture lends itself so well to a French setting; see “Festival of Fools Disneyland 1996” for more information on how any themed setting can convincingly be converted into pre-Revolutionary France with just a name change and a few new signs).
Anybody know what that building housed? Was it the kitchen for Fan 1? Or did that house the pixie dust generators before they started subcontracting that function out and cutting it with sawdust and sand?
Note to self: recalibrate cynicismometer after breakfast. The needle isn’t pegging.
Wow, these shots are CLEAR. Not "clear" as in Pepsi Crystal, but "clear" as in "sharp as a tack!" That alone makes them go up 34.7% on the Coolometer. Good job! These are fun!
ReplyDeleteLots of fun abound in these photos, like Melissa said, Weee!
ReplyDeleteI like the graphics on the cup. Can't remember if this is the same design scheme from earlier or after they changed it.
That's two dents, as the Count would say. Or Two dents there are, as Yoda put it.
Hope everyone had a good weekend. Thanks for the Jane Mansfield pics Chuck. Matching outfits, of course.
Thanks Major, I went to Disneyland alone that year to celebrate my 36th birthday.
That's two dents
ReplyDeleteOne more and they’ll have a tri-dent!
This is a “Come for the Pictures, Stay for the Comments” post today.
ReplyDeleteI’m happy to see these pictures, but a little sad because these kids family pics ended up on the internet instead of in a treasured album. Funny that only some posts affect me that way, but this one does. I will treasure these for them, wherever they are or went.
Thank Major.
JG
That first photo is absolutely postcard-worthy. The color, the lighting, the depth of field and the sharp definition is amazing. That's some high quality film stock, no doubt.
ReplyDeleteEverything about it is practically perfect in every way.
Sad to see this lot be finished...
Thanks again!
JB, Monstro is pretty needy, in spite of his blustery personality. I always like it when he looks extra shiny, like he has just surfaced from the deep! I’d love to know how those spires were so mistreated, there are photos that show them sitting on the ground before they were installed, it’s like some Bozo kept ramming them with his bulldozer.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, those girls are definitely the age where they start to care about things like earrings. And lip gloss. LOTS of lip gloss, in every flavor.
TokyoMagic!, impressive that you knew that that spire is from the Fantasyland Caricature Stand! I’m glad they saved the Storybook Land lighthouse after it was no longer used as a ticket booth. Presumably it served some other use after that? And yes, the second photo must have been taken from another Dumbi, it’s surprising that there’s almost no motion blur.
Chuck, I’m not sure why, but I just assumed that the Dumbo photo was looking in the general direction of the Fantasyland Theatre; although I am usually wrong! So the fact that you think so is encouraging. Gosh, Jayne Mansfield is kind of like Marilyn Monroe, she just looked great in so many photos. I can’t fault them too much for wanting a Beauty and the Beast reference in Fantasyland, that was such a massive hit, and gained a lot of respect from the showbiz community in general. Is it heresy for me to confess that I think it’s good but that I don’t love it? Same with The Lion King. I know, I know. I’m going to have to leave it to smarter people to answer your questions (talk about a low bar!).
Stu29573, I wish this lot of photos had been bigger, but I’ll just have to be happy with what I have.
DrGoat, they definitely changed the teacup designs from the earlier ones that feel more inspired by the Alice in Wonderland movie. These “new” designs feel more along the lines of ‘70s decor, like you might see on a Dixie Cup. I have always wondered how George Lucas came up with Yoda’s mixed up way of speaking! I’ve never gone to Disneyland by myself, but I kind of wanted to. By the time I was old enough to drive there, we lived *just* far enough away that I never bothered to make the 75 minute drive.
Melissa, four out of five dentists recommend Trident for their patients who chew gum!
JG, it IS weird that nobody wanted these pictures, but I do understand that when a parent passes, there is often so much stuff to deal with that people have to make some Draconian choices.
Major, it's OK to like but not love Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. They showcased a great revitalization in Disney feature animation, and I have some great personal memories to go along with them (I once saw Beauty and the Beast on its initial release at the drive-in as a double feature with Aliens³), but Pinocchio they ain't. Your secret is safe with us...and the rest of the Internet.
ReplyDeleteI've always found that dentists' recommendation to be a little harsh. Sure, a loud gum-chomper can be annoying, but I don't think it warrants spearing them like a fish.
Tokyo, I think this is a case where "go-away gray" would work better than go-away green. Anything would be better than this "look-at-me orange".
ReplyDeleteChuck, "beturreted". I stumbled over that one 3 times before I could pronounce it correctly. It would almost look the same if you held it up to a mirror.
Everything went downhill when they started diluting the pixie dust. Nowadays you're lucky if can get an inch or two off the ground. And the biggest outrage is that they charge even MORE for it now! TRE.
Melissa, har-de-har-har. Would that be King Neptune's scepter or the cinnamon gum?
JG must be in a melancholy mood today. It's contagious; now I'm feeling wistful, thinking about discarded photos. But, as I've said before, my mood changes rapidly! I'M FEELING BETTER, NOW!
Major, except for your initial usage, I think we're all misusing the word "Dumbi". That would be the plural of Dumbo, right? Yet I, and others, are using it as singular. Time to consult the Oxnard English Dictionary!
Chuck again, wow. "Beauty and the Beast" AND "Aliens 3" on the same bill? I wonder what the thinking was behind that?
Tom, if only that girl’s hand wasn’t in front of her face! But I do love the color and the warm tone of that picture; PLUS it’s from an era that I remember so well.
ReplyDeleteChuck, I was really deep into animation during the “Disney renaissance” of the 90s, and was excited about all of the success of the revitalized animated features. I could watch “Beauty and the Beast” or “The Lion King” and have a perfectly OK time, but there’s something about them that isn’t quite “all that” for me. Did you REALLY see Beauty and the Beast on a double bill with Alien3?? If so, who in the world thought of that one? Gum-chompers don’t have to be speared as long as they have enough to share with the rest of the class.
JB, I kind of like “go-away-green”, gray is so industrial. Orange is my favorite color (I suppose) but I haven’t seen too many orange buildings in my life. New Pixie Dust no longer has cocaine in it, so we can’t expect it to work like it used to. Yum, cinnamon Trident, I have a pack in my car as I write this. I understand JG’s feelings about discarded family slides, but as a slide collector, I guess I have mostly become inured to wistfulness. When my mom eventually passes, we’re going to have to decide what to do with her 8 big heavy boxes full of over 100 year’s worth of photos. I still look at them sometimes, but there are many people in these images who I can’t identify (friends of my grandparents, distant relatives I never met, etc). Those will be easy to discard (in theory). I believe that “Dumbi” is the correct plural of Dumbo; Shakespeare used “Dumbi” in “As You Like It”, as we all remember.
JB, sorry to make you feel bad, I have been doing that a lot this week. Forgive me.
ReplyDeleteI am grateful that the kids in the photos shared their good times with us.
Major, you are right, sometimes I regret some of the things that had to go, but in the long run, it was the right decision for me. Hopefully these photos were the same for these folks.
I still have a lot of stuff to go through, even 20 plus years later, I have to muster the courage to look at it. I'm glad I didn't just toss it all since I found some letters clarifying times in my Dad's youth that I can't ask him about anymore. It was good to learn some of that.
JG
”I have always wondered how George Lucas came up with Yoda’s mixed up way of speaking!”
ReplyDeleteI’ve read that a lot of it came from Frank Oz. He helped to develop the character, and he felt like using a different syntax would emphasize the fact that Yoda was so old that he came from a time when people spoke differently. As if somebody like Shakespeare was still alive and speaking in our time.
I like to think that even though these pictures ended up here instead of in a family album somewhere, the people in them are part of our Gorilla family. These kids, Fun Mom, Sad Linda, and all the rest.
Melissa, you are right. We are all adopted Gorillas one way or another, and these kids are part of the family now. I like this way of thinking of it.
ReplyDeleteOn the Yoda tack, we may never know until Grogu starts to speak, if he ever does.
I read a novel long long ago where the human colonists of a far-away star system spoke almost exactly the same kind of inverse syntax. The story there was that they adopted placing the verb at the end of the sentence after the object to differentiate themselves from Old Earth. It made the story hard to read.
I have often wondered since if Yoda's speech was "adapted" from that story (which pre-dated Lucas by at least a decade), plundered like Princess of Mars, Dune, and so many other better novels to feed the Star Wars armament factory.
JG
Major, yes, that really was the bill of features at the drive-in on Alien3’s opening night. It was my first time at a drive-in since I was an infant. I remember it well as one of my first “official” dates with Miss Future Mrs. Chuck. And we thought it was a bizarre program choice, too (and for all you Nosy Parkers out there, yes, we did watch the movies).
ReplyDeleteHearts to what JG and Melissa said.
It's a bit late but got to say, Alien3 was when the series began it's downfall. And to play with Beauty and the Beast cracks me up. There is a vague common plot bit I suppose. Like playing Phantasm and The Wizard of Oz on the same bill. Those are lovely sentiments from JG and Melissa. We have boxes of old family photos that we occasionally go through. It never fails to produce that feeling that starts in your heart, runs up to your throat and sometimes comes out your eyes. I hope those kids remember that time in Disneyland and have the same feelings.
ReplyDelete"When my mom eventually passes, we’re going to have to decide what to do with her 8 big heavy boxes full of over 100 year’s worth of photos."
ReplyDeleteMajor, when the time comes [and I hope it's a long ways away], you could try finding someone who has a blog that posts people's photos, for people to enjoy. That's what I did.
;oD
Really cool photos, today! And the discovery of yet another dent.
JG, I’m sure JB will be OK. He is resilient! As for throwing things out, my sister has a good philosophy: “I value people, not things”. She can get rid of things, but she will never “get rid” of the people, if that makes sense. And while I think that is a great sentiment, I do love things! I think of stuff from my grandma that I so wish I still had; letters between her and my grandpa during WWII, her teenage diaries, things like that.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, Frank Oz, I should have known it. Pretty smart, that Frank! I don’t know why I didn’t even consider that such a great actor performed Yoda. I like your idea about these kids now becoming a part of the larger GDB family!
JG, I really do wonder if they will ever let Grogu speak! He should have a rich baritone, like Barry White. Hm, I wonder what that novel is that you remember? I used to read all kinds of sci-fi, and I’m amazed at how much of it has blurred over the years. On the other hand, I had a bunch of old anthologies of short stories, and I remember a surprising number of those!
Chuck, that’s so crazy, that double bill is pretty subversive. Nice that it happened to be one of your first official dates with Mrs. Chuck! That alone makes it a treasured memory, I’m sure. I don’t understand, what else would you do besides watch the movie? Play that kazoo?
DrGoat, I know that a lot of people disliked Alien3, but there were things about it that I liked. I found “Alien Resurrection” a LOT worse, even though it looked good. It just had a lot of really dumb ideas. Phantasm and the Wizard of Oz on the same bill, brilliant! I don’t know that I get misty looking at old family photos, but I DEFINITELY realize how much I miss my grandparents - both sets were so wonderful, and so different from each other.
Lou and Sue, I don’t know how interesting my mom’s boxes of photos would be to the GDB crew. Lots of boring baby photos, pictures of people that even I don’t know… the usual stuff I guess. Nothing like the photos that Lou took!
It’s funny you should mention a kazoo…
ReplyDeleteThe traditional gift for the 24th anniversary is musical instruments. So for our 24th, Mrs. Chuck received a silver (colored) kazoo,