Nice Jungle Cruise 1950s
Here's a pair of nice early Jungle Cruise photos for you, taken on a gloomy, overcast day. Perfect for flying leeches and killer monkeys. Grandma and grandpa look like they're just about to board a jungle launch, while another one returns from a week in the Amazon.
This next one is more interesting to me; besides the crocodile guardians along that stretch of river, you can see a bridge made out of vines in the distance, betraying the presence of other people in this green Hell. Meanwhile, there's that strange raft in the foreground...
...it looks like it holds a bunch of mysterious equipment. All I can really ID is the outboard motor and a fire extinguisher or two (and maybe a gas can), but what are those silvery things that look like... well, I don't know what they look like. I guess you could argue that this was a case of "bad show", maybe it shouldn't be visible to guests, but it also looks like it could be stuff salvaged from past expeditions that didn't go so well.
34 comments:
Major-
"Bad show" indeed, whatever it is. I spy a PAR bulb up high on the left 'column'. In the future it could be the raft for the 'Trapped Safari'.
Thanks, Major.
Major, In the first pic, I think that's the Mekong Maiden returning from a week-long cruise. So... Mekong River, not the Amazon. Sorry, I just felt like being "that guy" tonight.
In the second pic (and close-up), what indeed, is that raft thingy? It sure doesn't look like "part of the show". In the shadows to the left, it looks like there's a big wooden wheel, or part of one. And what ARE all of those things that look like axles? I see some fish nets (or fish traps) in addition to the other things you mentioned. On the right, there's all those projecting things that look like PVC pipes. I don't think they had PVC pipes in the '50s. There's also a modern floodlight attached to the raft. (Is that the PAR bulb that Nanook mentioned?)
I'm guessing this was used to repair the Cruise Boats and/or the track. I don't think we've seen this mystery craft before, have we?
Oh, and the croc furthest from us is listing a bit to the right.
Not sure if that's the Dominguez palm in the background. It looks a little too stately to be one of the regular Jungle Cruise trees.
Another day, another mystery! Thanks, Major.
JB, that listing crocodile is just sleeping. He's missing out on an opportunity, though. There is a coot in the water, just a few feet from his head.
I know that second shot is of the waterway that connected the Jungle Cruise with the Rivers of America, but I'm trying to remember the orientation of the bridge and the crocodiles. This is the view from the footbridge that went over the waterway, correct? And we are looking in the direction of the Jungle Cruise/Adventureland?
Are those oranges on the tree beneath the Dominguez(?) palm tree? If so, Trader Sam could have been operating his own Orange Julius franchise, out in the jungle.
The raft is some production thing for making movies. Looks like they are probably shooting a press thing, episode of "Disneyland" or otherwise...Love these old Jungle Cruise photos- so authentic even it it's infancy. The bridge is the first time I've seen that...wonder if anyone used that- or perhaps that was part of whatever they were filming (?)
That monkey bridge is new to me, although I’ll bet if I scour the GDB archives there’s probably another comment from me from years ago that I have forgotten that says essentially the same thing.
That raft is certainly a case of function over form. “I need a moving platform with a light on it so we can do maintenance stuff on the river. Don’t spend a lot of money on it and don’t worry about making it look pretty. Yeah, that’ll work. Here’s $200 for the materials. Don’t go over budget. Now beat it, kid!”
JB, the Mekong Maiden really did spend a week in the Amazon. That shows you just how lost they were. And that is the Dominguez Palm in the second picture.
TM!, yes, this is from the footbridge looking back towards Adventureland. The waterway went due east-west under the bridge (the bridge went northeast-southwest) and then made a turn to the south to connect with the Jungle Rivers of the World (which includes both the Mekong and the Amazon, which explains how the Mekong Maiden was able to get from Asia to South America on one tank of naphtha). You can see the general layout of the waterway and its orientation toward the Jungle Cruise load structure in thisYesterland picture, although there isn’t enough detail to make out the crocs, monkey bridge, or Dominguez Palm (https://www.yesterland.com/aerial1955.html).
Oh, Bu, a camera platform makes a lot of sense. That explains the spotlight.
Nice pictures today!
I'm pretty sure those silver things are snow making machines. You see, when Disney heard of Khrushchev’s plan to visit Disneyland, the quickly decided to add the Volga River to the cruise. However, that visit never happened and the equipment was eventually used on the Matterhorn.
If I'm lyin' I'm typin'!
“The Mystery of the Camera Raft” this week on Disney’s World of Color!
The wheel-like object in the shadows is a fan, undoubtedly for wind effects.
What a mysterious early picture, Major. I feel fortunate to see this. A forgotten part of the Park.
JG
Nanook, what is a PAR bulb? I guess it must be better than those sub-par bulbs. Ha ha! I’m a genius.
JB, you’ll be surprised that the Mekong River is in Brazil. Not many people know that. That rafty thing is “Walt’s Raft”. Sometimes he just needed to get away. “Just build me a raft and put a bunch of junk on it”, he said, and what Walt wants, Walt gets. I was wondering about those nets as well, they are a very specific shape. This raft is pining for the barge over in Fowler’s Harbor, they were young and in love. I believe that you are right about the Dominguez Palm!
TokyoMagic!, maybe that crocodile had already eaten 20 coots. Like potato chips, you know. “Man, I just can’t stop, but I’m also really full”. I thought that the second view was taken from that bridge, but now it looks too low to me. When I have time maybe I’ll look for an aerial photo.
TokyoMagic!, those are the famous African Death Oranges! Delicious. But you’ll only eat one.
Bu, interesting idea; I guess that the Jungle Cruise boats were not quite right? You’d think they could just use one of those. But I’m sure you are right, there has to be a reason why they built that crazy raft.
Chuck, yes, I know we have seen that bridge before, I am always intrigued by it. A little bit of extra set dressing that adds to the “story”. As a former construction manager, I appreciate how you knew that I ended every sentence with “Now beat it, kid!”. Very authentic. Maybe that isn’t the famous Dominguez Palm, but rather the less-famous Snerd Palm. And OK, if you and TM both think that the photo was taken from that footbridge, who am I to argue? No really, who am I? I bumped my head, and now I think I’m an opera singer. And yet my voice is horrible! That Yesterland pic is too high up (like my voice!), I’m going to need to find a photo NOT taken by a U2 spy plane. ;-)
Chuck, you don’t keep a spotlight on all your boats?
Stu29573, I have to admit that your explanation makes a lot of sense. We want the Prime Minister to feel at home, after all. That’s why the also planted beets along the river’s edge, just for a few days. Walt was looking forward to showing off his beets to Khrushchev! Also, there are to many H’s in “Khrushchev”.
JG, starring Spin and Marty! And their friend from Oslo, Sven Svenson. Good eye on the fan, now I see it.
Major, on Lake Shasta, north of Redding, a craft like this would be called a "patio boat" and it would have a barbecue, a porta-potty and at least two separate coolers for beer.
The JC boats probably did not have enough head clearance for all the equipment, remember how photos from the boats always have the fringe from the fabric roof showing? Also, having a dedicated barge means no loading and unloading fragile equipment, no reduction of guest capacity while filming, and the patio boat is available for parties on the River after work (most important).
I wonder where this vehicle was parked when not in use? For that matter, where were the JC boats docked when not in use or under repair? Must be an unseen backstage area beyond the Tahitian Terrace?
JG
Major, a hard smack on the noggin can really mess with your sense of self, which is why I always wear a helmet in the shower. As a reminder, your name is “Jean Norman.” I looked you up online, and it turns out you actually are an opera singer. You are also, apparently, deceased. My condolences.
And you are right – I do not own any boats that don’t have spotlights.
JB, I think that “fish trap” is actually a screen to cover the fan blades JG identified to prevent unintended handouts (and faceoffs) to the crocs.
JG, the JC maintenance area is behind the west side of Main Street, accessed by a spur track that runs across what was then the waterfront side of the original Plaza Pavillion back deck outdoor eating area. I'm having trouble linking these individual images, but you can kind of see them during this era in the first and fifth photos at this website: https://austincarroll.medium.com/the-origins-of-the-world-famous-jungle-cruise-1f62c44b5234.
While this is a later photo (1965), you can also see the maintenance area and water spur in this picture from Vintage Disneyland Tickets (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3jV5FcVqpE8/SUSNVjQLOCI/AAAAAAAAF2s/JkLK278YE9A/s1600-h/DL+aerial+views+1965_001_blog.jpg). The maintenance area is under a shed directly west of West Center Street. The Pavillion's outdoor seating area has been replaced by the Tahitian Terrace, with the spur's water channel going directly past it. I think I remember either KS or Matthew "Amazon Belle" telling us a story about pulling a boat out of the maintenance area after dark and seeing the dancers from the Tahitian Terrace walking behind the stage on stepping stones, smiling, and waving.
Major-
The 'PAR' in PAR bulb stands for parabolic aluminized reflector. The PAR bulb consists of an incandescent filament, or a halogen filament tube, or an LED array, or an HID arc tube, reflector and pressed lens incorporated into a glass housing, sitting atop a brass, threaded base. PAR lamps rely on both the internal reflector and prisms in the lens for control of the light beam.
Although the parabolic aluminized reflector was utilized as a part of a lighting instrument, or fixture, with credit going back to Clarence Birdseye (yes, that 'Birds Eye'), who started a small company - Birdseye Electric Company - to create a single unit bulb and reflector for use in display lighting. It was sold in 1939, later to become part of the Sylvania Company. The PAR38 lamp, as seen on the 'barge', came to life in the 1950's and was used everywhere in outdoor lighting, often in 'garden' settings, with the addition of a color coating to add 'dramatic effect'.
The '38' is derived from the "maximum diameter of the lamp", in ⅛'s of an inch. So, 38, ⅛'s = 4-¾" "diameter" at the widest part of the bulb. And yes, light bulbs still use the letter-number combination: i.e. A19, R40, S6, MR16, C9, G19, etc., etc., to identify both the shape and size of lamps. And yes too, the letter designation represents the shape: A = Standard/Arbitrary; R = Reflector; MR = Multifaceted Reflector; G = Globe; T = Tubular; C = Candle Flame; S = Shorter, rounder-shaped; etc.
Chuck, the Jungle Cruise maintenance/storage area is in plain view to those using the pathway behind the west side of Main Street (used to bypass fireworks crowds). There's a few small attraction posters, some loading docks for the shops, and JC boats chilling out.
I’m sure most of you by now saw the news reports about the Jungle Cruise waters turning pink/red the other day….. a sewage leak of all things . It happened while the attraction was in operation. Then a few hours to cycle out the contaminated colored water.
Those mini attraction posters displayed along the walls of both guest overflow corridors of Main Street USA were some of the very first things printed by the Disneyland’s new ( at the time) digital printing signage equipment . It was some of the most advanced equipment of its kind a few years ago. The Disney company uses it for other park projects as well - the Disneyland sign shop even made all the ride system control panels for MYSTIC MANOR in Hong Kong as well as the new Epcot attractions. But soon WDW will be getting even newer digital sign making equipment.
The current overflow corridors that allow guests to see the jungle cruise storage area is used for guests exiting ….. while guests entering use the overflow to the right of Main Street . Both are functional but very cheap and tacky WDI designed a great Main Street overflow Arcade to be located on the east backstage area …. Disneyland said “but we use the Main Street /Adventureland backstage area that WDI said ; “no guests should ever be back there “ Disneyland opted NOT to build the WDI designed Main Street guest arcade and created the “Main Street trash alley” on the west backstage area …. And the “Victorian Cattle Pen” to the EASTSIDE …..
Thanks for that additional info, Andrew & Mike. I take it you made an effort to see this in person recently, Andrew. ;-)
It's been a good 13 years since my last visit, and I guess I was vaguely aware that guests were "sometimes" funneled that way but wasn't aware that they had institutionalized it...or done so little to dress it up. Here's a video walk-through (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJWZ_IuM3Xs) of the West Side Exit Corridor.
I tend to agree with WDI's assessment that guests should not have been funneled through that area except in an evacuation emergency; it really does look like the "Main Street Trash Alley." The most interesting things to me are the brief glimpse of the JC maintenance area and a quick glimpse of the far side of the upstairs patio behind Walt's Apartment over the Firehouse, and that's just because I'm a nerd.
For completists, here's the East Side Corridor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlMbbmu4gPI).
I totally agree that they need something like this to facilitate movement during parades and special events, but this is pretty "blah." I would love to have seen the WDI design. DL Paris has corridors on both sides that were designed with the Park and enhance the themed experience there. This...well, I guess it gets you where you are going.
Tokyo!, haha, I didn't see the bird (coot, you say?) in the water. Now, it looks like that listing croc is slowly inching his way over to the bird for a surprise attack! Of course, if that bird is an AED then it's the croc who's gonna be surprised.
Chuck, thanks for the link. I can see where the raft would be (and the crocs and the coot).
The silver things: Pencils down! Snow machines. Stu solved the mystery! Thanks Stu. Everybody clap your hands if you believe in Stu's theory!... [crickets]
JG, it does look like a fan, now that you mention it. This only adds to the mystery!
Major, count me as one of the people who didn't know the Mekong was in Brazil... live and learn. I feel so foolish and uneducated.
Instead of the barge, the raft could be pining for the fjords.
Is there an official record stating which of the world's rivers are represented in the Jungle Cruise? The Amazon and Nile, surely. Apparently, the Mekong. The Ganges. Probably the Zambezi.
Chuck again, Jean Norman, online, deceased, condolences... GDB comments are frequently nutty, but today's comments are especially squirrelly.
I think you're correct about the 'fish trap' fitting over the fan blades. The shape looks right.
Thanks for that backstage YouTube link. Wow, I see all sort of opportunities for a guest to cause mischief and mayhem back there.
JG, there’s something about the way that the raft in today’s photo is listing to the right that makes me imagine all that equipment sliding into the river. And then it would be swallowed by hippos, because they eat everything. I figured they could (maybe?) remove the cloth awning on a Jungle Cruise boat, but maybe it was not that easy. While that raft looks OK for storing gear, it sure doesn’t look very usable as a moving craft. I’ll wait for others to figure out where the boats were stored!!
Chuck, I hit my head so hard that I had to look up Jean Norman again. I would be alarmed at being deceased, except that I feel pretty good otherwise. Maybe that screen cover for the fan was to keep fish out, and thus it is still a fish trap. That aerial view from 1965 was the one I was going to look for as soon as all of my afternoon soap operas finished. I wish we had photos like that from every year, wouldn’t that be amazing? Thanks for all the links and info!
Nanook, I now know so much about PAR lamps that I am going to “go professional”! The “Birdseye Electric Company”, who knew! You did, but nobody else. His lights were effective, and easy to heat up for dinner. Do you just know all this stuff about bulbs off the top of your head? I am thinking of a display of antique lightbulbs that I saw at the Huntington Library, you would have loved it (it actually was pretty interesting!). Thanks, Nanook.
Andrew, you seem to know it so well, as if you’ve been there many times! ;-)
Mike Cozart, I did see something about the Jungle Cruise waters turning pink, pretty weird. Yay, a sewage leak, that must have been fun for everyone with “nose shot” (is that a term?). When Andrew mentioned the mini attraction posters, I immediately wondered about them. I wonder if they use essentially an oversized inkjet printer? When I took a tour of Warner Bros. Studios, they said that they now use a huge printer for their “painted” backdrops - the same kind that is used for billboards. It’s a shame that they haven’t dressed up that overflow area - I could forgive the tackiness if they only used it rarely for emergencies, but if they plan to use it regularly, then there is no excuse. Just slap some glitter and LED lights on it, in classic (current) Disney fashion!
Chuck, Walt originally wanted to have guests experience the Main Street Trash Alley. “Say boys, this will give guests the chance to feel like they are not important to us!”. “Great idea, Walt”. Nobody who reads GDB is a nerd! According to J.D. Power and Associates, GDB is only visited by the smartest and best people! And also by people “most likely to send the blog host lots of money”, but I only mention this in the spirit of complete transparency. Instead of dressing up that backstage area, how about just putting burlap sacks over the guest’s heads? Think of the savings! And for $25, you can keep the sack.
JB, I don’t want to brag, but I know a lot about geography. Which reminds me of a story, I was in Europe and I met a girl who’s family was from Argentina, and I said, “The only thing I know about Argentina is that it is next to Russia”. The girl was not amused. This is what happens when one’s sense of humor is too sophisticated.
Major-
I didn't know about the Clarence Birdseye connection - but I know everything else. (Scary). I also know that "Fresno is the gateway to Yosemite" - as Spreckels [or was it Domino-?] sugar told me so, with a horribly out-of-register 4-? color image accompanying that factoid-!
As for being hoisted with one's own petard, humorous speaking - just stick with me for a few moments - the groans and 'blank stares' come fast and furiously. (Oh why, oh why hasn't everyone a "sophisticated" sense of humor-?) I know: "There are many judges of humor... and they don't agree." Drat.
P.S. Here's my $25. I want to be the first person to own a gen-u-ine Disneyland burlap sack. (How can you stand to live with all your 'brilliance'-??!!)
Major, I'm assuming that Adventureland's Snerd palm came from Edgar Bergen's front yard?
@ TM!-
Boy... there certainly aren't any secrets with this group-!
Nanook, when Candice Bergen was a child, she and her brother Charlie used to climb that tree. Charlie needed assistance, however, because he was a little stiff and uncoordinated.
Major-
Those backstage 'corridors of distress' are pretty horrendous - especially Main Street Trash Alley. Interesting though, in the Victorian Cattle Pen side, I see the undersized attraction poster for the Matterhorn only has a single bobsled, featured. What's up-? Is this the current version of the poster; or is this 'miniaturized' version copying [a rare variation] of the original AP, missing that second bobsled just appearing out of the icy tunnel-?
@ TM!-
Please note my ... hoisted with one's own petard comment to The Major when attempting jokes about Charlie McCarthy. No one ever said he was as limber as Pinocchio-!
Like I said: squirrelly!
Nanook, yes, it’s scary how much you know about PAR lamps. I’m sure Fresno enjoys knowing that they are the “gateway to Yosemite”. “Your only value is as a place to pass through on the way to somewhere else”. As for sophisticated humor, I must be particularly cursed. Nobody ever laughs at my hilarious jokes! The burlap sacks could be “plain” for $25, or “stinky” for $45.
TokyoMagic!, Bergen and Walt were friends, so that is probably true.
Nanook, thanks to my spy software, it’s true, I know what everyone is up to.
TokyoMagic!, when Charlie needed assistance, Candace said, “I am NOT putting my hand ‘up there, I don’t care how much you need my help’!”.
Nanook, that is an interesting observation about the Matterhorn poster. I have seen one (or maybe two) examples of the “single bobsled” version of that poster in my life, so the fact that they used that version is odd. Like they went out of their way to choose the unusual version.
JB, there are no squirrels in the jungle. Or… maybe there are?
The full-size attraction posters are printed at WDI on the same equipment that can print things like the haunted mansion stretch portraits or prop painting in nursery of Peter Pan’s Flight …..
These mini posters are printed with the boarder around them …… but some of them feature posters that were never done full-size ( yet) at Disneyland in the modern series …. Like Storybook Canal, Pirates Lair, Buzz Lightyear are some examples …. But at WDI sone of the hallways feature those very sane ones full-size.
Major-
When you said "plain", I first read it as plaid-! Just the thought of 'plaid' burlap makes my heart skip a beat. (And if it's both 'plaid' and 'stinky', Disney can charge [at least] $100.00-!
"And you are right – I do not own any boats that don’t have spotlights.
"
And I do not own and talking chickens that don't play the oboe.
That must be that bridge over troubled waters everybody's always going on about.
Mike Cozart, I knew that the HM stretch portraits were printed these days, which is why the older painted versions can sell for well over $100K. I’m sure I’ve seen a Buzz Lightyear poster, but off the top of my head I can’t picture it. Time to Google it!
Nanook, Disney will spare no expense with their burlap bags, and will make them plaid OR polka dotted. But not houndstooth.
Melissa, what else don’t you own? ;-)
GDB: Come for the pictures, leave with the lamp specifications.
@ Sunday Night-
And we've merely scratched the surface.
...burlap sacks with glitter mouse ears = $150.00.
Thanks, all, for the fun day!
Now I’m going to stroll down Disneyland’s back alleys...
—Sue
Chuck, thanks for those links, I guess I will never get to exit through Main Street Trash alley nor see the JC boats in their lairs.
Somewhere I saw a quote about peoples fascination with antiques, “They would buy cow flop in a burlap sack if you told them it was an old sack”.
JG
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