Jungle Cruise. 1950s
I scanned a LOT of slides from a batch from the 1950s, and some of those tended to be either a bit too dark, or they were not as clear as I would like. Today's are all a little bit too dark, though Photoshop was able to lighten them up just a bit.
First up is this shot of a fearsome giant spider, patiently waiting in front of a crumbling temple that contains a golden Buddha statue. I wonder if the three crocodile guardians were there at this point? Either they are submerged, or just out of frame. It's interesting to compare this photo to one from just a few years later.
The lush jungle holds many secrets, but for a fleeting moment we get a glimpse of another naphtha-fueled launch, one that has probably been trying to return to civilization for weeks.
We don't typically see a lot of human beings on the Jungle Cruise (though there are some occasional headhunters), but their presence is hinted at by these outrigger canoes (are they still canoes if they have a rudimentary sail??), and by that tiki to our right, I wonder if that's the same one that we would later see on display in the middle of Adventureland, or if it is a different (but similar) one?
12 comments:
Numero uno: I found a spider like that in our garden several years ago. Not huge like this one here; only about an inch or so. But it was shiny yellow and black like this one. I think it's called an orb-weaver spider.
Despite the gloom, this is one of the best views of the giant spider we've seen.
[Major, the link to the other photo doesn't seem to be working?]
Numero dos: This shot was taken from inside Monstro's mouth. You can see his huge teeth across the top of the photo. I think we established in an earlier post that Monstro sometimes leaves his Fantasyland abode and hangs out here in the Jungle to mingle with the other animals.
That white pole thingy inside Monstro's mouth is a whale-sized toothpick.
Numero tres: Hmm, the tiki does have the same shape as the image you linked to, Major. But the paint job is different. I would guess that it IS the same one (with different paint) or perhaps it's a different tiki made from the same mold.
Is that a (fake) human body hanging from the palm tree in the center of the photo?
Thanks for the cruise through the jungle, Major.
I always liked that semi-hidden elephant statue (first pic). It reminds me of an animal cookie.
I like the second pic best because it has that dark/mysterious jungle vibe. Thanks, Major.
I like the slight darkness of these photos; it lends a mysterious air to our dangerous journey down the rivers of the world.
Tippecanoe and sailboat, too!
Brought to you today, Straight from the Heart of Darkness, courtesy of Major P.
Love the spider & Cookie the Elephant. We had those big orb weaver spiders on the farm, they would build huge webs spanning the clothesline strands.
Our predecessor launch, vanishing into the shadows, we will never see them again.
Major, that tiki sure looks familiar. Their cousin lives at the Harbor Hut in Morro Bay.
Those are dugout canoes, but when sails are added, they become… dugout canoes with sails. You then say, those canoes are on sail. I think those are staged in case a launch goes down and the crew needs a rescue, the canoes become hydrofoils for a quick trip out to Schweitzer Falls and back.
Thanks for keeping these pics in the lineup Major.
JG
Photo number two is the essence of the Jungle Cruise experience... if you zoom in on the passengers, you can almost sense the feeling of the cushions they're sitting on
This just proves things do not have to be painted pink or virtually travel at light speed to be "immersive". Those cushions were comfortable and "vinyl-ee". I was always last (off first) so I sat on the cushion that was put on last. I miss the red and white, but am learning to live with the future. Not sure that was an "add value" but whatever...I am forgetting if the spider was guarding the jewel, the snakes were guarding the jewel, or a tiger was guarding the jewel. Something was guarding the jewel. The jungle was especially nice when it really started to become a jungle. It doesn't take that much time in California. When I lived there my Tomatoes were nothing like anywhere else I have lived. Although Eastern ones do taste better. (my opinion only.) A Hamptons tomato is quite delicious. Jersey ones..#2. Teen Idol Bobby Sherman was famous before he was famous for building a miniature Disneyland in his back yard in the valley. There was a story in the paper when he was a kid about how he used potato plants for the jungle cruise because they "looked right." Later in life and into his fame he continued to build his Disneyland at a larger scale. It was very impressive and the Disneyland Line did a story about it. He later became a EMT, then sheriff, then sheriff trainer. Back to the JC... and the legendary Banana Ball! it was legendary...an HR nightmare before those things existed, but legendary nonetheless. I would want a Jungle Cruise in my backyard before Small World topiaries, or a Carolwood Pacific style train. I seriously have thought about all of those things. I do have a jungle...but the boat seems more problematic...thanks for a no-snooze Sunday and back out to the jungle....
As has been mentioned, I like the dark, murkey jungle rather than the pink, sparkly jungle (with giant purple ladybugs).
I think (although I could be wrong) that the spider ended up living in the WDW Haunted Mansion for years. Those with more info than I can maybe clue us in?
JB, I love orb weaver spiders, for some reason I don’t seem to find them as often as I used to. Maybe I’m a weirdo (MAYBE??), but there was a big one outside my grandma’s front door, and I would catch those little moths that were always flitting around the grass and would feed them to the spider. Then one day the words “Some Pig” were in the web, not sure what that was about. And sorry about the link, I fixed it. You’re right, photo number two is a rare view of the Jungle Cruise as seen from Monstro’s mouth. Those telephoto lenses are amazing. I’m thinking that Disneyland had two or three of those palm tree trunk tikis, I wonder if they were purchased from Oceanic Arts in Whittier?
K. Martinez, I’ve always liked that elephant sculpture too. It DOES look like a cookie! I’ll never un-see it now. If you’re going to have a mysterious jungle, then “dark and murky” isn’t a bad thing.
Melissa, when you can’t see anything in the dark jungle, you have to rely on sound (and smell?); I’m sure those rustling noises right next to our boat are just the wind.
JG, NEVER GET OUT OF THE BOAT! I’m telling you, the spiders on your farm were probably very polite and caring, just like Charlotte. Ha ha, I’d love to see a twin of the Harbor Hut tiki in Adventureland! Like an old friend. “Dugout canoes with sails”, gee I feel dumb now. Well, I don’t feel that bright most of the time, so I guess it’s not that different.
LTL, maybe these photos aren’t as bad as I originally thought! I should have shared them on a day other than a “Snoozer Sunday”.
Bu, I assume that those cushions were custom-made for the park, I wonder if they did them in-house or if they had a local upholsterer do them? I’m sure they went through them, with thousands of butts on them every day. I wish I was learning to live with the future! They added a swaying cobra to the temple eventually, don’t take his jewel, dammit. I’ve had eastern tomatoes and western tomatoes, and all I can say is that you need to have a truly vine-ripened fruit to really experience the joys of tomatoey goodness. I just saw a cooking show where a guy said that a BLT is not a bacon sandwich with tomatoes, but a tomato sandwich with bacon. Does Bobby Sherman still have his backyard Disneyland model? Gee, I’d love to see it. I’m sure Bobby is reading this, give me a call!
Stu29573, now that you mention it, I feel like the “Long Forgotten” blog might have had an article about the Haunted Mansion spiders, though I don’t recall if the story said anything about the WDW spider being from the Jungle Cruise. I’ll see if I can find that blog post.
Oh. man, now I'm really craving a tomato sandwich. Every summer we'd get several big baskets of tomatoes from a local farm. Mom would can most of them, but one basket was saved for salads and sandwiches. We'd be having them with/for every meal, racing with time to see if we could eat them up before they went bad. I always loved hearing the story of how Mom was canning tomatoes when she went into labor and finished the batch she was working on before going to the hospital.
Many summers my sister and I would spend with our grandparents in North Carolina and my grandma fixed tomato sandwiches for us for lunch - especially on days that we were going to be having a big dinner or eating out. Even in trips to the beach or boating on the lake we had tomato sandwiches. My sister and I didn’t really like tomatoes but we LOVED grandmas tomato sandwiches!!
Many years ago I had purchased a large group of old Disneyland signs and related items from a gentleman who had retired from the Disneyland sign shop and he and his wife were moving to Arizona I think it was. In the batch of stuff was a deteriorating book with very heavy plastic sleeves … with art boards for figure finishing things. Many natures wonderland animals , Indian shields and canoe insignias and jungle cruise animals ….. lots of stuff was missing but included was the first hand painted color guide for the Jungle Cruise giant temple spider . The artwork was beautiful ….. but I HATE SPIDERS …. And either sold it or traded it.
The Florida and Tokyo HAUNTED MANSIONS both used the tooling for the giant jungle cruise spider in a segue section of the attraction…. Originally there was suppose to be a web wrapped human body - as shown on blueprints for WDW - but only the giant spiders were included. I think Tokyo still featured the spiders until recently.
I love tomato sandwiches. We always had a big tomato patch on the farm, just past the clothesline with the giant spiders. Dad planted the veg garden on the edge of the orchard so he could run the tractor disc over it at the end of the season, easy clean up and organic compost. White bread, mayo, touch of mustard, salt & pepper, that’s all. Tomato season lasted a long time in the San Joaquin Valley. Many years we had the last of the fresh tomatoes for thanksgiving dinner because frost didn’t come till mid-December.
Mike has filled us in on the HM Spiders. Major, you are right, Long Forgotten has a post on the spiders, I know I have read it but am too lazy to look for it. Apparently IIRC, there never was one in the Anaheim mansion, but I can’t swear to it.
As much as I love the JC, I want old Storybook Land, Skull Rock and the Tuna Clipper in my back yard. I would have all my GDB friends come to visit and have tuna sandwiches, and tomatoes in season.
Thanks Major, we can grab a hydrofoil canoe to visit the Harbor Hut tiki.
JG
I knew there was some connection between those eight legged beasties! Thanks, Mike!
And yes, JG, I'm pretty sure I read it on Long Forgotten. Daniel hasn't posted lately, but I still check in just in case.
Yep, Major, these are "Sunday Funday!" pics!
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