Most of you know what you are in for if you check in to GDB on a Sunday; that's the day where I usually share scans that are flawed in any number of ways. Too dark, too blurry, too boring... you name it. Both of today's photos are from a batch from March 1962, and for some reason they all tended to be a bit dark (sometimes very dark), and they all have a blue-violet cast to them.
Both of todays photos feature the Submarine Lagoon, one of only 10 or 11 lagoons in Anaheim, but (arguably) one of the most popular. The "Nude Lagoon" nearby sometimes gets higher rankings in the polls, no surprise there. I told Walt that the Sub Lagoon should be clothing-optional, but he pretended not to hear me. Anyway, here's the very blue-green lagoon, it reminds me of a bottle of Pelikan ink that my mom used to have in her desk drawer (she liked to use a fountain pen, believe it or not), I always liked that particular shade of emerald green. BUT I DIGRESS.
Same lot, but less greenish. I struggled to do any color-adjustments to these; the camera makes it look like it was tornado weather, though I'm sure it was merely "partly cloudy". There's not a single sub in the lagoon, which makes me wonder if that attraction was down for maintenance. At least we get a Mark II Monorail.
In #1, are the Subs closed? Other than a few CMs, there's nobody in the queue. But the "Dive!" bubbles are still bubbling. The waterfalls are still falling. The crabs are still crabbing. There are seven Subs at the station; is that the entire fleet?
ReplyDelete#2, Ah. You think it might be closed as well, Major. Besides the Mark II Monorail, we also see Cinderella Castle in the background. And the Richfield Eagle is getting ready to swoop down into the lagoon, pluck a Sub in its talons, and fly back up to its perch to feast on... steel? Aluminum? What were the Subs made out of anyway? I saw a real eagle do that once, about two miles from my home; flying just a few feet above my head with a fish in its talons.
Pretty good photos for Sunday, Major. Thanks.
Sunday snoozers always evoke…evoke something, so I enjoy them much better than perfectly curated studio type shots. I don’t use the word evoke that often. The outdoor moving sidewalk/inclination/etc. for Monorail is a head scratcher for me. Ultimately, it does rain in California, and when it did, these were always turned off. In my day anyway. Subs seemed like they were always in rehab. Here is no exception. Subs should be of the Disneyland Navy, not the tropical explorers club. Silly. I loved Dory until she started bullying employees, allegedly. She was not Ms. “hugs and kisses”…ever. RIP Her ex Anne. She was kind of a wild one. The best word I think to describe the other was “stoic”. I am also stoic, a proud one btw. Lightening up the overall color of the Matterhorn was a good idea. When it’s darker it looks a bit man made. I always enjoyed this side of the line better. The Alice side seemed hot and noisy to me. This is the side that Cher’s boyfriend said to then Chastity, it’s Ok for us to wait because Disneyland is for everyone. It’s also where someone else (story not for print). The sky is ominous and reminds me of that squall thing I’ve talked about before…this is how it looked before all went south and the hook and ladders arrived. I like fountain pens, they don’t like me. Ink everywhere. Very messy. My man hands can’t do it. I have eagles in my neighborhood too. They are quite massive and muscular. Between them and the hawks I need to keep the dogs inside. Owls too- they are quite unsavory and will attack humans if they feel cornered. Nice view of the Monorail sailing by- however I feel that I am not up to snuff when I cannot recite M1, M2 etc. all of the Gurr’s are great to me. Bubble top being the best. Nothing else stands up. Good design never goes out of style. Trees have no scale. $13 for Adults aged 12 and over and Fantasyland is closed.
ReplyDeleteMajor, even the darkest of scans have something worth seeing. Let’s be honest, you could post a picture of the inside of someone’s pocket and if it were taken while they were in Disneyland, we would find something to like about it.
ReplyDeleteI know that exact shade of ink you mean.
Are those mountains in the distance or a fog bank?
JG
JB, this was probably during the time when the mermaids laid their eggs; Walt wisely ordered the Subs to be shut down until the pollywogs were big enough to be transferred to another facility. Not many people know that the Subs are made of resin, just like model airplanes.
ReplyDeleteBu, considering the complexity of the Submarine Voyage, I’m not surprised if it was down for repairs often. Having everything underwater does a real number mechanical items, and paint. Rain in California, man do I miss that. It took me a moment to realize that you were referring to Ellen, I generally try to avoid celebrity news, it’s just not my thing. But sometimes you’re gonna see it no matter what. I do agree that lightening the Matterhorn was a good idea, the original darker color was not bad, but it did not have the “aerial perspective” effect that the lighter color had (making the mountain seem bigger). My mom liked fountain pens for a while because she loved using green ink. It’s a family thing (not me though!), her mother, grandmother, and aunt also loved green ink. Not sure why they cared so much, but there you go. We have plenty of owls and hawks, I’ve never seen an eagle around here (unless an Osprey is an eagle? Too lazy to look it up).
JG, I always wonder why certain slides seem to lean towards certain colors; I just scanned some that were a bit on the violet side, and others that had a cyan cast to them. Were they stored in a place that was too damp, or too warm? No idea. I’m going to change GDB’s theme to photos of the insides of pockets! Those are mountains in the background, BTW.
"The Blue-Violet Lagoon" was a major flop at the box office. People came to it expecting a bunch of sex and violets.
ReplyDeleteThese shots may be a bit melancholy, but they're still lovely. I'm especially fond of the play of light on the water and the angles of the monorail tracks in #1.
Major, it's easy to tell an osprey from an eagle: Ospreys have those two large propellers in front that can pivot upwards for take-off and landing.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting about eagles- I never saw one in our neighborhood (or anywhere in our state, Oregon) the whole time I was growing up. Until about 18 years ago; suddenly they started showing up. Even now, they're a somewhat rare and welcome sight. I hear them more often than I see them. I've managed to get a couple of not very good photos of them.
That’s an interesting point regarding the exterior Speedramps being shut off during inclement weather. Both the Stu Adamson SPEEDWALK and SPEEDRAMP ( later Goodyear) as well as industrial “rubber railroad” ( for freight) were designed to operate outdoors in inclement weather. In fact most of the operating Speedramps in the USA were outdoors and most without coverings.
ReplyDeleteThe Disneyland PeopleMover would be shut down in rain …. So the Speedramps would also be turned off automatically. But I have distinct memories of ridding UP the Monorail Speedramp around the 1985/1986 time frame with rain pelting us in the face. So I wonder if really the Speedramps would be turned off IF the attraction itself was closed as opposed to it just raining. I know in the 1990’s after Goodyear stopped production of its passenger conveyors like Speedramp and Speedwalk , Disneyland had to have replacement parts custom made and the tread belts custom manufactured…. So that is why all the rubber treads became Dunlop. Dunlop also manufactured the replacement PeopleMover loading turntable literally less than a year before Disneyland shut the attraction down permanently after the vehicle coupling accident entering the Circle-Vision building.
Does everyone remember in the very early 90’s how loud the squeeking and grinding noise was at the PeopleMover turntable as it had become so worn and warped. I remember a friend and I were recording various views of the the PeopleMover cars entering and exiting the station and how loud the turntable noise was. I suspect the cost of the new Dunlop turntable was justified as at thus point the PeopleMover attraction was to still be a part of the new Tomorrowland project as TOMORROWLAND 2055 degraded into TOMORROWLAND- Infinity and beyond (TACOBELL TOMORROWLAND ).
What I was trying to get at was that has the Goodyear replacement parts became difficult to get the Speedramps at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World became more freaquently inoperable…. And guests had to walk up and down the ramps. Parts were canabalized for more important Speedramps …. As Space Mountain’s exit Speedramp was replaced with stairs…. The PeopleMover was closed …. Parts went to Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain entry …. In its later years , Monorail Ramps were used for exiting only and walk ups to board. After the the fire on the space Mountain entry ramp all the remaining Speedramps were removed except Haunted Mansion. Florida still had Speedramps at PeopleMover and Haunted Mansion …. Pirates , Space Mountain … all removed.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, the Lollygagging Lagoon on a lazy Snoozer Sunday.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Major and Jr. Gorillas, for another fun day!
Melissa, nothing could ever surpass the genius of “The Blue Lagoon”, even Stanley Kubrick knew that his movies were crap by comparison.
ReplyDeleteJB, hmmm, I think what we have here is a failure to communicate! (Strother Martin, “Cool Hand Luke”). My sister says that she sees bald eagles up around Morro Bay, but in all the times I have visited, I’ve never seen one.
Mike Cozart, I wonder if in reality the rubber belts turned out to be slippery when it rained? Seems impossible to think that they didn’t test for such an eventuality, but it could be. If you remember being on the Speedramp in the rain, then that would seem to be pretty solid proof that they were NOT shut off in every instance of precipitation. It seems weird that Goodyear couldn’t supply replacement belts, even if they stopped officially manufacturing the conveyors; if Dunlop could do it, why couldn’t Goodyear? I do not recall the Peoplemover turntable making noise, in my memories it was as quiet as could be. BUT… there’s a chance I just didn’t think about it.
Mike Cozart, does the WDW Peoplemover have a circular turntable like the one at Disneyland? I could see them using a moving belt like they do at the Haunted Mansion, but have no idea really. I guess it makes sense to cannibalize the parts for other operating systems, but it’s still kind of sad.
Lou and Sue, I prefer the Lagoon from the days when it was full of mermaids and gray subs!
Mike, I’ve also noticed that the boarding turntables at both the WDW Peoplemover and Spaceship Earth have gotten pretty noisy over the years.
ReplyDeleteMajor: Dunlop came in with a lower bid than Goodyear….. (for the belts and turntable) I dunno about replacement mechanical parts. Also by this time it had been well over a decade that Goodyear had ended its PeopleMover and Disneyland sponsorship. Goodyear continued a bit longer with Florida’s Grand Prix Raceway / Tomorrowland Speedway sponsorship … but Disneyland and Walt Disney World are operated as separate companies.
ReplyDelete