Disneyland 1973
I have another selection of beautiful photos from my friend and yours, Mr. X. Yes, THE Mr. X. Accept no substitutions.
First up is this delightful shot of the Swift Market House. Not only is it a good photo of the Market House, but we get some grade-A people action too. The blond lady with the beehive hairdo is my favorite. Each year she spent $25 on Aqua Net hairspray. The equivalent of $5,000 today!
This next view is just a little bit "soft focus", but it's still pretty good, and it gives us a lovely (and rare) night view of Fantasyland - particularly the Mad Tea Party. It's not really mad, it's just disappointed.
And finally, here's a wonderful shot of the Matterhorn. Is it "postcard worthy"? Survey says YES. I'd better dollars to donuts that Mr. X waited a while for a Monorail to pass by, that's the kind of guy he is. About one year ago I shared a detail of this photo, the sign for the Alpine Gardens, over to the right. The yellow sun has expanded into a "red giant", having nearly exhausted the hydrogen in its core. Makes ya think.
19 comments:
Major-
Love the Window on Main Street - "Geo Whitney GUNS". That Matterhorn shot is a beauty - complete with a soaring bird waaaaaay up near the peak.
Thanks to Mr. X and The Major.
In No. 1: Is that Hitler on the right, dressed in rusty brown? Two identical Mickey shopping bags on the left. The two gals must be Mom and Daughter. And oh my... that's an unfortunate get-up that lady is wearing, with the coral pants, plaid (something) with a really odd white collar, and a (matching?) plaid babushka.
In No. 2: The top (dark) third of the photo reminds me of the Small World facade. I can't quite make out that sign in the lower right. Looks sorta like "Chicken Of The Sea" but they weren't sponsors anymore at this point, were they? Maybe "Captain" something (doesn't look like "Hook").
In No. 3: Such a crisp, clear shot of the Matterhorn. Wonderful lighting! And like Nanook said, there's a seagull flying just to the left of the peak.
I'm sooo glad we got the genuine Mr. X tonight, instead of that ersatz one. Thank you, Mr. X. And thank you too, Major.
@ JB-
1969 was when the Chicken 'O the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant became Captain Hook's Pirate Ship Restaurant. (Later Captain Hook's Galley Pirate Ship Restaurant. LOOK HERE for a better view. Thank you, Daveland.
https://www.davelandweb.com/chickenofthesea/images/70s/KTPBKYC_11_71_N30R.jpg
All three photos today are beautiful and postcard worthy.
The first photo I want to step right into. Such vibrant color.
For nighttime, the second photo is a great image.
Love the third photo of the Matterhorn with the Mark III Monorail Red and Alpine Gardens signpost. Perfect!
Thanks, Mr. X and Major.
I wonder why night time photos of Fantasyland are rare? Not much to see? No light? Seems pretty cool to me...and them thar teacups are empty. I wonder if the NASA guys are still working that ride? I'll take a Kosher Dill and a bag of guns please from the Market House. I'm horrified that this is now a Starbucks. It's not that I dislike Starbucks, it's more that I like party lines, checkers, jellies and jams, pickles, apple cider more. I worked in this location for a NY minute and loved it. It was soooooo low key. I doubt that today anything is remotely low key. I like seeing all the plastic shopping bags. Looks like a good "per cap" day for the park. "Wait until we leave or else you will need to carry it around all day long!!!"....ok...parents: a locker is a quarter. "But we need to put in a quarter every time we open the locker!!!!!!"....I was still thinking ... "it's a quarter". It's not even that would would have the pocket money to buy anything at all....except for the nighttime trip for ONE inexpensive item at the Candy Palace. I dreamed of one day filling up my own plastic shopping bag. Alpine Gardens. I never "got it". A lot of space for a lot of nothing. I get it now, but I can see where they would want to monetize that real estate in some way. It wasn't really even "loungey" like benches on the hub. Maybe if they had mid century seating arrangements and pretty blonde hostesses serving cocktails while you smoked your cigarettes and cigars...that makes a little bit more sense. That it was branded takes it to an entire other level. Don't get me wrong...I love quiet spots like Alpine Gardens...but as a teenager, it was a head scratcher to me. At that point I didn't know that the most amazing home in the world stood in it's spot. Thanks MX for the morning photos!
As JB suggests, those two gals in the first picture must be mother and daughter…unless the woman is stealing someone else’s child in that stroller! Shades of urban legends about children being abducted from “Disney.” That makes me shudder - both the urban legends as well as the horrified realization that I just used “Disney” as a place name. I acknowledge I have 24 hours to report to a disintegration station. Let Anan 7 know I’m on my way. Stupid Vendikarians…
In that second photo, we get an unusual angle of JG’s Rocks. Never noticed the hole in them before. I’m impressed with Mr. X’s tripodless time exposure; I’m going to guess he steadied it on the railing while standing on the deck of the Chicken of the Hook tuna boat/ship/restaurant thing. In the distance, the carousel horses are captured as they approach the speed of sound, documentary proof that tigers aren’t the only animals that turn to butter while rotating around a fixed point at 1,000 rpm. Man, I could go for a stack of pancakes about now…
In the third image, my eyes are drawn to the man with the sweet sideburns wearing a blue ball cap, green shirt, tan cardigan, and rust-colored pants pushing a baby stroller and eating an ice cream cone. He’s not afraid to go against the crowd, marching to the beat of a different drum. He’s also stealing that stroller!
Many thanks to Mr. X and, oh, that other guy. You know - the one who does the thing with that picture recorder doohickey and the letter-typing machine.
FYI: RE: Child abduction at "Disney". First of all, among other things, as we know, "at Disney" is not correct English. It is like the other non-English non-sensical grammar used in retail or hospitality establishments "Welcome In". This may be a Floridian thing as I have heard "Welcome In" dozens of times-please get your nails off the chalkboard. As I've said before, "going to Disney" means, very loosely, but again incorrectly, means you are going to Forest Lawn Cemetery to see the burial site of a few Disney's. "AT Disney" means nothing. I have officially turned into my Grandmother and Mother. My Norwegian Father barely spoke English so he might be allowed to say..."Going to Disney"...but in a strong Norse non-understandable dialect (and it would probably more aptly be "going to THE Disneyland PLACE". On to child abductions: well...this is not new...people would call the park in the 80's asking "TELL ME ABOUT ALL OF THE KIDNAPPINGS!!!". Generally, these calls came from Canada and the areas in the US near the Canadian border throughout the midwest. The REAL thing that DID happen, was children being brought to the park BY kidnappers...usually in domestic disputes...where the kids are taken by one of the parents, the legal guardian gets word, the police are called, or FBI if it's across state lines and whatnot. I very strangely was involved in one of these things, used as a distraction...it's a very weird story. My dad did end up "kidnapping" my brother and I, but he took us to Catalina Island....where 26 miles across the sea was a bit more difficult to get to. I knew what was going on and asked if we could go to Disneyland instead. "I'm going to Catalina today" is perfectly fine to say. Catalina is a place, as is DisneyLAND. Disney is a last name. I'm going to SMITH? What would that even mean? ....droning...happpy Friday.
Beautiful Friday celebration pictures, Major. You are right, accept no substitutes.
Chuck, I feel very lucky to have my name associated with those rocks. There were at least two holes, the other one over by Dumbo, it framed views of the little beach with the buried treasure. It’s hard to overstate what a masterpiece that Grotto was.
The Horn That Matters never looked better. Love the Alpine Gardens sign, must have walked by that many times, never remember seeing it. Disneyland is always full of those perfect details. Even now, in these degenerate times, there are still little Easter eggs that you sometimes catch in the corner of your eye.
I’m heading in to the Market House to grab a chair by the stove, come on in and let’s chat off on and all day.
Cheers Major.
JG
No mistaking these for anything but great Disneyland pics.
I think the only time I've ever said just Disney is when I'm talking about Walt. It's Disneyland this and Disneyland that every other time.
Chuck, Love the little fringe on the baby carriage that Mr. blue ball cap is pushing. Not sure about the sweet sideburns though. Back in '73, sweet sideburns had to be Buffalo Springfield length, about 2 inches longer at least. They do work with the ball cap though. At first I thought he was smoking a cigarette but ice cream it certainly is.
Pic number two does have that quality that goes with the "soft focus". Has a bit of a Willoughby atmosphere to it.
Digging on those bags, so darn colorful.
JB, If that's Hitler, that gang of Hitler hunters, cleverly disguised as plaid wearing Partridge family wannabees, will take him out on one of the dark rides. Possibly using a gun Geo. Whitney lent them, which will be carefully disposed of in Knott's Berry Farm.
Really nice Friday pics. Thanks Mr.X and thank you Major.
in the third photo you can see the dreaded end of the line for Fantasyland side of Matterhorn... the chains end not quite half way around the mountain. when I was visiting in the 70s, any time you could get in line when it wasn't all the way to the end of the chains was a good day
Nanook, I’m sure I could look up who Geo Whitney was, and why he “sold” guns. But that would require effort. You understand.
JB, I hope that’s not Hitler. But it might be one of the Boys from Brazil. I used to have one of those Mickey Shopping bags, but I got rid of it because it was “too new”. I guess by now a 50 year-old bag might be worth having in one’s collection. That lady with all the patterns is my new crush. It’s the plaid babushka. And reading ahead, I see that Nanook has already addressed your Pirate Ship sign question! I love that photo of the Matterhorn, not only is it a good photo of the attraction, but you get so many people in it, which is half the fun.
Nanook thank you for doing my work for me!
K. Martinez, I keep hoping that Mr. X will find more negatives from this batch - every once in a while he’ll discover an envelope with a few more, but eventually they will be used up. So sad. Glad you liked these!
Bu, I’m sure that any nighttime photos of the park are rare because it was hard to get a good image back then. Slow film stocks, etc. If you buy a bag of guns, you get one extra gun for free. The perfect gift. I’m not crazy about Starbucks on Main Street either, but maybe people felt the same way about Sunkist, or INA, back then. Who knows. I assume that it does a bang-up business, people love their Starbucks coffee (sorry, Nanook). Maybe the cost of lockers meant a lot if you had to visit it over and over? I agree that a quarter is not much to complain about. I have never purchased a single thing at the Candy Palace, good thing they don’t depend on me for business. And as a kid I would have walked right past the Alpine Gardens, but today I would appreciate them much more. We need more quiet, relaxing places.
Chuck, I have to admit that the woman with the stroller looks guilty. She’s done something, and it shows. I’m unaware of urban legends about children being abducted at the park, though it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s happened over the 60+ year history. People are crazy, you might not have noticed. “Vendikarians”? Yes, I am almost certain that Mr. X put his camera on the ship’s rail and hoped for the best. I always thought that the concept of tigers turning to butter was weird (we have an ancient copy of “Little Black Sambo” that belonged to my grandfather), but it always made me want to go get some pancakes. The man with the tan cardigan is trying really hard to not be noticed, maybe he was famous. My gosh, it’s Tiny Tim! What a great disguise.
Bu, you have to cut Chuck a break, he did put “Disney” in quotes after all. And I mostly hear the Florida park referred to as “Disney”, not the Anaheim park. And maybe he IS going to visit Walt’s grave in Glendale? As much as I admire Walt, I feel no need to go see where he is buried. Weird that people from Canada wanted to know all about the kidnappings. Canadians are nice, for the most part. As for taking a kidnapped kid to Disneyland, there are worse offenses! I went to Catalina when I was a kid, and while it was enjoyable, I would not describe it as a great place to take children.
JG, I am actually pretty interested in how they achieved the relatively natural look of those rocks, with all of their pits and fissures, and holes worn by eons of wind and water. Good fake rocks are a real artform! I love the rockwork at Knott’s Berry Farm, but almost more because it’s a bit primitive compared to something like Big Thunder. I agree about those Easter Eggs, it’s what keeps me enjoying Disneyland photos after all these years.
DrGoat, yes, I never use “Disney” when talking about the park, it chafes! And then I need some talcum powder. I wonder if sideburns were already starting to get smaller by ’73, unless you were in your late teens or early 20s? For some reason I am remembering Clint Eastwood’s sideburns in “Dirty Harry”, they were pretty big. That movie was 1971. Now I want a big-budget movie about Hitler Hunters at Disneyland!
LTL, I wonder how long a guest would have to wait from that point? 30 or 40 minutes? But you have to expect that on a beautiful day like the one pictured.
Major, sorry, I was referencing the Star Trek episode “A Taste of Armageddon.”. Sometimes my stream of consciousness goes over a cliff and it gets hard for others to follow it through the Class V rapids that follow.
And yes, I was using “Disney” as a place name purely for illustrative and comedic purposes. I don’t do that in normal conversation; when I hear it, it’s like being pricked in the ear with a rusty fork.
Those shopping bags are cute as a bug. They should bring them back; they look plenty reusable to me. And if they're not, they could redo them in a different material.
The Alpine Gardens sign always looks vaguely sinister to me because it kind of looks like the flag from The Wicker Man, albeit with a different-colored sun. They should have had an adjacent rest area for service dogs and called it the Alpo Gardens.
I love the brown wallpaper shirt on the guy in the last picture. I remember my Dad having lots of similar shirts.
I think the dearth of Fantasyland After Dark pictures may be partly due to the PRESENCE of light. Unless you know what you're doing (which I certainly don't) it can be tricky to get a good, clear shot of something that's lit up in the dark.
"Going to Disney" is even worse than my pet peeve, "Disneyworld." The only thing I've ever heard about kids getting abducted in the parks is the old Jungle Cruise joke about unattended children being forced to work in it's a small world.
Thanks, Mr. X!
I forgot to add, I still use Aqua Net whenever I use hairspray, because they're one of the few brands that makes a completely unscented version.
Speaking of Hitler (as one does), although it's only tangentially related I thought some of the Junior Gorillas might be interested in this article about a display of puppets made by Frank Oz's parents at the Contemporart Jewish Museum in San Francisco. (One of the pieces on display is a comic Hitler marionette that spent the war buried in the backyard.)
Nanook, thanks for the Daveland link. Now that I think about it, I think I asked the same question a couple of months ago(?). Oh well, live and (not) learn.
Chuck, yay, an original Star Trek reference! Disintegration is a just and fitting punishment for using 'Disney' as a place name. I think 'Disney' is fine when used as a shortcut for the world-wide corporate empire.
"Chicken of the Hook tuna boat/ship/restaurant thing". That's what they should put on that sign!
Tigers turning into butter... Is that a "Sambo" reference? Sounds vaguely familiar. Ah... pancakes... so it IS a Sambo reference!
So, for Chuck, this is "The Day of the Stolen Strollers"?
DrGoat, Ha! Plaid-wearing agents, Geo. Whitney guns, dark rides, Knott's... I see you've got it all worked out!
Chuck again, I got the Star Trek reference right away. Does that mean I'm a jeaneus?
Melissa, what an odd and interesting story about the Oz family's Hitler puppet (and others). Thanks for the link.
Chuck, it’s interesting that there seem to be several alien species with names that sound like they are from Armenia. “Vendikarians”, “Cardassians”, and who knows, maybe more. WHY? I prefer to be pricked in the ear with a nice new, rust-free fork, and obviously so do you.
Melissa, YES, there is a definite “Wicker Man” vibe from that Alpine Gardens sun! I’m afraid that they had Kal-Kan as their sponsor, so Alpo was a no-go. But you had a good idea! Even with fancy phones, I have a hard time capturing a good night image. I’m sure it just takes practice, since my friend travels and takes beautiful night photos all the time. She loves neon signs! Somehow “Disneyworld” doesn’t bother me so much, at least it’s in the ballpark.
Melissa, so you DON’T use the new “Baja Blast” scented Aqua Net? Thank you for the link to that Frank Oz article, I’ll have to really read it in depth later, but it sounds fascinating.
JB, yes, I use “Disney” when referring to the giant company, as in “Sell one million dollars worth of Disney stock!”. I say that all the time. Since we never seen Captain Hook eating tuna in “Peter Pan”, I boycotted the restaurant. Sometimes you just have to take a stand. I’m looking forward to the day when plaids come back in style, they are so gloriously busy. And yet… I don’t hate them!
Major, those rocks in particular were unusually good. They had little pores and vesicles just like real lava. I’ve done several projects with fake rocks but nothing like those. Captain Hook didn’t like tuna, which is why he had so much to sell.
@LTL, YES! That was a short bobsled queue in the photo! When I would run/walk over there at opening back then, the best I could do was across from Alice, where the WOOHOOOHOOOHOOO scream effect would make you crazy. I rarely rode the Tomorrowland side since it was further away, but maybe it was shorter because of that? It seems most people just get in the first line they see, and at that age, I was no different.
Chuck, were the Good Guys from Eminiar or Vendikar? Captain Kirk would drive the computer insane either way, and run off with the girl in the aluminum foil bikini.
JG
Bu, I went to the Starbuck's on Main Street in WDW, several years ago. Loooooong lines that move slowly. It would NOT surprise me if they start forcing guests to make reservations three months in advance, and charge extra if you want to get to the front of the line. Enticing.
The Candy Palace is one of my favorite shops. Though the quality of the candy is not the same as in years past, I love bringing some goodies home to snack on later, to remind me of Disneyland.
"I keep hoping that Mr. X will find more negatives from this batch - every once in a while he’ll discover an envelope with a few more, but eventually they will be used up. So sad."
Major, if Mr. X runs out of negatives from the long-ago-past, please ask him to share more-current pictures. He really has an eye for capturing what we love about Disneyland.
Another fun day at Disneyland. Thank you for these beautiful images, Mr. X and Major.
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