Oh boy, I'm proud to present two special scans today, from photos taken by Mr. X back in 1973. At night! Arguably when the park is at its most beautiful (and, dare I say, magical).
I can't tell you how much I love this first photo, with the façade of It's a Small World all lit up like a dream. The touches of violet are somehow just right; perhaps there were other colors that didn't show up on film as well, but I have no complaints. Wonderful.
Perhaps even more wonderful is this amazing shot of Skull Rock, with those glowing green eyes that can only be the result of an evil curse. Why is the water glowing green as well? I've mentioned many times that the sight of Skull Rock at night was one of my favorite things when I was a kid, hopefully you can get a sense of what it was like.
THANKS to Mr. X!
Major-
ReplyDeleteWowie-zowie-! Hubba-hubba-! Zing-zing-! These are some shots.
Thanks to Mr. X-!
Gorgeous!!
ReplyDelete—Sue
Two nighttime beauties, indeed! These are so beautiful and special, I can't (won't) say anything snarky about them like I often do. I saved both of them to my Disney Stuff folder.
ReplyDeleteIn the Small World photo, I'm ok with bright saturated colors as long as it's done with colored light, not painted. Somehow I make that distinction in my head. Even bright paint is ok if it's used in the right locations, like the Teacups and inside the dark rides.
I'm not sure why, but Skull Rock looks like a miniature model here. Maybe it's the foliage; the plants are bright and shiny, like they could be artificial. Be that as it may, this is the best, clearest nighttime shot of Skull Rock we've seen here, says I.
I'm sure that some of the greenness (strange word, that) is due to green light shining on the water from above and below. But I think there's more to it than that. Fluorescent dye that only glows at night under a certain kind of light, maybe?
Thanks very much to our friend Mr. X, and to our other friend, the Major. (And to my brother, Darryl, and my other brother, Darryl.)
These truly are magical shots. The couple of blurry people in the small world picture just add to the otherworldliness.
ReplyDeleteCan Mr. X share a bit more as to how these photos were taken? Was a tripod used? And what was the shutter speed. I'm guessing skull rock was over a couple of seconds long.
ReplyDeleteExcellent nighttime shots! That Skull Rock pic isn't just postcard-worthy, it's View-Master-worthy. It reminds me of a nighttime shot on one of the "Fantasyland" packets of View-Master reels. I think this shot by Mr. X is actually better.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing with us, Mr. X and Major!
I didn't realize that slurry was reflective. That makes it 37% more awesome than my previous calculations.
ReplyDeleteIt just dawned on me that I never saw Skull Rock at night in person. And now I realize that my entire life has been a complete waste. I must console myself with chocolate...
Since all of Disneyland's waterways are interconnected, I think the green glow in the water indicates a reactor leak in one of the subs, most likely Nathan Hale (D-309). That boat had a troubled history and was rarely in service, which is probably why you've never seen a photo of it.
There is something about Disneyland at night, especially Scull Rock. The IASW photo is very cool as well. How cool would it be to have the Scull in your back yard garden? You would be the talk of the neighborhood and the star of the BBQ set. "Honey, would you grab the ribs while I light up the Scull?" A celeb for sure. Thanks Major and Mr. X.
ReplyDeleteMagnifico! Thank you Mr. X and Major.
ReplyDeleteSkull Rock reminds me of the '60s board game Green Ghost, with every spooky set piece guaranteed to glow in the dark. Look between the palm trees at left, there is some deep indigo indicating the last bit of daylight fading fast.
And at the lower left is Skull Rock Jr., looking up at pop with a craggy grin.
Wow and wow!!! Those are amazing and fantastic. I'm not sure I've ever seen a pic of Skull Rock at night, so this is super special. Thanks Mr. X for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIt's a small world...lower case...BANK OF AMERICA...smaller...but all caps...I can't let it go. These are really awesome photos. In addition to being lit as an adult, I also lit up a few buildings based on my experiences believe it or not, at Disneyland. It is impressive how the lighting is built into the design, and in the commercial construction that I was working in...it was a "blip"...until I started lighting things like It's a small world. The suits saw differently after architecture awards were handed out. Small world is especially impressive how its super hot in front, and then tiers back to many different shades..giving the illusion of depth and an infinity behind it...who knew that a bunch of warehouses and Global Van Lines were right there? Also...it glows green there in the center where the loading dock is and the trees are nicely downlit...and possibly slightly uplit to give separation in the foreground. The slurry when it's painted on is actually a matte finish. When the humans come and walk walk walk walk...they polish it up nicely. Powerwashing every night also helps. You can see the painting stripes- like a lawn. I watched them do it one night...and thought..."that's what that stuff is?" I would like my driveway slurry coated please. Same color. Skull Rock was especially nice at night. This shot was also a Viewmaster slide that I was obsessed with. I had a View Master projector and would stare at that slide for hours. I was a strange one. The waterfalls, and the "volcanic" rock...was all so very well done. The EuroDisney one is OK...but this one is "the one". That it was demolished was a crime. I have photos of that demolition somewhere...the aftermath, not the actual demo. They couldn't blame that one on termites or rot...but maybe it was a wood frame...who knows...rebuild it please. Thanks MP and MX..as Debby Boone, Kasey Cisyk and then lip synched by Didi Cohn sang "You light up my life"....this morning. (Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy...best song...)
ReplyDeleteWonderful start to Friday, Major.
ReplyDeleteI remember Skull Rock at night. I never guessed how precious that memory would become.
And I have always loved IASW.
Thank you, and mr. X too.
JG
The first one is so pretty and calming, and the people with their mint and periwinkle clothes really match the scene. The last time I was in that spot it was a stroller parking gridlock. Skull Rock was amazing. It does look like a miniature for a monster movie; someone release the tarantula! Thank you Mr X and Major.
ReplyDeleteNanook, I can picture you stomping one foot!
ReplyDeleteSue, almost “Lou-worthy”!
JB, I agree with you, I love the look with the colored lights in fact. And there’s that footage from the “Tencennial” special with Walt and Mary Blair, Mary shines colored lights on a small model of IASW. I wonder if a tilt-shift effect would work on the Skull Rock photo? Usually I think of those as being from an aerial perspective. I’d try it, but I’m away from home most of the day. I think the green water is merely the result of green lights, but it looks even MORE green because these images are from negatives. There’s always some guesswork involved when scanning slides, I actually think I over-brightened the Skull Rock photo. Oh well.
Melissa, based on that blur, the exposure can’t have been more than a second or so, it’s surprising that the image turned out so well-lit!
orbitalpunk, I’ll have to ask him! I don’t think he used a tripod, but he might have rested his camera on a handy trash can. Not sure how much he’ll recall almost 50 years later!
TokyoMagic!, there’s also a beautiful postcard showing Skull Rock at night, though the green eyes don’t show up much (if at all). There’s also a Pana-Vue slide that is similar to Mr. X’s photo.
Chuck, Are those “tire tracks” left behind by maintenance vehicles? Or maybe parade floats? I agree, the reflective quality looks pretty great. So were you never in Fantasyland at night? Or was it that you had not been to Disneyland until Skull Rock was already gone? I didn’t consider radioactive water, but now I won’t be able to un-think it.
Jonathan, I’ve always thought that it would be so cool to have a beautiful tropical lagoon pool, with water spilling from the mouth of my own Skull Rock. Just imagine! You could have tiki drinks and play Les Baxter albums and live the life.
Stefano, I remember seeing commercials for that Green Ghost game, and wanting it so bad! Anything that glowed in the dark was my thing. And with ghosts? Forget about it! Would you say that Skull Rock Jr. is a chip off the old block?
DKoren, I’ve shared at least one nice photo of Skull Rock at night before, but it was many years ago. I’ll happily post as many as I find!
Bu, I’m sure most people don’t think much about architectural lighting - until they see a particularly nice example of it. My mom has a neighbor with a yard that is so well maintained, but at night there are many small lights that really make the place look like it’s the only house you ever want to live it. I love being able to see the trees atop IASW, such a fun detail. Funny to think of that slurry being worn glossy by millions of feet, but it makes sense. I thought that those marks on the slurry were from tire tracks, but yes, maybe they are actually the “paint marks” from the slurry being brushed on. I’m glad Disneyland Paris has a Skull Rock, but I don’t like it as much as the old Anaheim version. And termites can’t be the issue because I have a photo that shows the steel inner structure before it was finished. It just had to go! Because of… bad planning?
JG, I think my earliest memories of Skull Rock at night are from when I was around five years old, and even my child brain thought it was one of the coolest things. Beautiful, but a little bit eerie.
Kathy!, yes, IASW has become a real parking lot for strollers, it’s understandable I guess, but still unfortunate. I’m imagining how lovely it would have been to be in that first photo, on a warm summer night. I’ve said it before but I always remember Skull Rock as being huge, when in fact it was probably 8 feet tall (or so). It just had a big impact.
ReplyDeleteBoth great shots. Absolutely mesmerizing.
ReplyDeleteReally missed out on seeing Skull Rock and that whole area; our first visit was before I could remember much, and our second visit was in summer of 1983 after everything was torn out. The night time shot with the green glow makes it all the more mysterious and interesting.
Major, I know that my dad would agree with me—that Mr. X takes the First Place trophy home tonight!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mr. X, for sharing your beautiful images!
—Sue
Major, I have no childhood memories of Fantasyland after dark. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that all but my earliest childhood visit in 1971 were in the off season when Disneyland closed early in the evening.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I have a strong memory of eating outside Oaks Tavern and watching the firefly lights in the trees, looking out across the Rivers of America as the Mark Twain chugged along and seeing the Haunted Mansion poking up over the trees like in some souvenir brochure (although I didn't notice the "ghost light" moving from window to window). I also remember riding the streetcar back to Town Square and getting a Mickey-eared balloon after dark on my first visit when I was 2½. But the rest of my non-guidebook memories of Disneyland after dark begin in 1993, long after Skull Rock had gone to that big concrete recycling program in the sky.
I wonder - do they have artificial breakwaters in Heaven?
If Mr. X isn't a professional photographer, well, as Cal Worthington promised... I'll eat my hat!" KS
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I agree. The ghostly people really add that extra something to the photo.
ReplyDeleteChuck, I think the Sub you meant to say was the Alan Hale, which, as we all know, developed a large hole in its hull.
JB, why - of all the - how could I have made a mistake like that? Of course - the Alan Hale. If I'm remembering correctly, the longest period of operation it ever managed to pull off was a three-hour tour...a three-hour tour.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I just watched a Perry Mason episode from 1963 where a pre-Gilligan Alan Hale was the bad guy in a tweed jacket.
ReplyDeleteThis lead me to read the Wikipedia, that show only had three seasons, but what an impact. And a ton of backstage drama, just amazing.
I wonder if Skull Rock was on Gilligan's Island?
JG
Tom, I can only wish (greedily) that I had a while batch of slides like these! Night shots are so scarce, as you probably know. 1983 was a long time ago now, I’m sure that most Disneyland fans never saw Skull Rock at all, and maybe don’t even know it existed.
ReplyDeleteSue, high praise indeed!
Chuck, Even though you missed out on Skull Rock at night, it sounds like you have some equally beautiful memories of evenings in Frontierland. Some of my favorite memories are of riding the Mark Twain at night when crowds were low. The sound of soft banjo music was playing, and the sound of crickets (or is it frogs or toads?) coming from Tom Sawyer Island was very evocative, it really made you think that you were in the woods. I can only assume that that sound effect is recorded… but maybe not! I’ve always wished I’d see the “ghost light” effect at the Haunted Mansion, but I never have. Such a great idea. The don’t have artificial breakwaters in heaven, but they do have artificial mayonnaise.
KS, if Cal can eat his hat while standing atop a flying airplane, i’ll be extra impressed!
JG, I don’t know why they didn’t name that sub after Alan Hale, a TRUE American hero.
Chuck, Alan Hale should have made his submarine out of something other than bamboo and coconuts.
JG, whoa, I’ve never seen Alan Hale in anything except “Gilligan’s Island”, or I don’t think I have, anyway. His dad was in “The Adventures of Robin Hood”, quite a resemblance between the two. Wow, Gilligan’s Island only had three seasons?? I’m stunned. I must have watched every episode 50 times after school.
Thank you Mr.X for two wonderful photos. I love Skull Rock and that beautiful expanse of pavement with the backdrop of It's a Small World.
ReplyDeleteThanks Major!
DrGoat, isn't it funny how the pavement (of all things) helps to make that first photo so nice? Who would have thunk it?? Not me!
ReplyDelete