More "Spirit of America" Parade, 1988
It's been almost three months since I posted the first batch of Lou Perry's photos of the "Spirit of America" parade from the Magic Kingdom, circa 1988. Why has so much time elapsed? It's just one of those things.
As you can see, this float celebrates the American southwest (Utah?), with red rock formations and saguaro cacti, along with saloon dancers, cowboys, and Chip and Dale in Native American costumes. Dancing around on a moving float must have its challenges.
Hello Dale!
Next is this lookout tower, the kind you might see in the Pacific Northwest. I guess? Looks like one of the Country Bears up up top, waving to guests. I like that the Star Jets tower is visible in the distance.
Lumberjacks are wielding axes, but they only cut down bad trees, not the good ones. I thought for a moment that the mill might represent Sutter's Mill and the Gold Rush, but now I'm not so sure. There's Br'er Fox, but Br'er Bear is nowhere to be seen. Baloo is filling in. Notice Pooh Bear just behind the mill.
Next, sandy beaches and surf music. Hawaii? California? The parade performers on skates and bicycles make me think of the Venice Beach boardwalk. A place where no weirdos reside. Well, maybe a few.
Ahoy, Pluto! I assume he would occasionally go down that spiral slide. Looks like fun!
Judging from the size of that wave, we are definitely in Hawaii now. Waimea Bay? Sunset Beach? Tigger can handle them all, but just in case he wipes out, he just bounces.
If only I could be as cool as Tigger.
Out in the Pacific Ocean, you might see some pirates. Maybe even Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, though they are not in their magnificent galleon, but instead have a little sailboat ("S.S. Miss Hap", har har), but I'm sure they'll work their way up to a fancier vessel after they take all of our gold doubloons.
That's it for part two! But never fear, there are lots more photos from this parade to come, thanks to Lou Perry, and Sue B. (who scanned them all for us)!
18 comments:
Major-
"It's been almost three months since I posted the first batch of Lou Perry's photos..." Yes - it's kinda like re-visiting with a bunch of old friends - and their fabulous 80's clothing. There are some awfully-nice floats, here.
Thanks to Lou & Sue for taking/sharing these lovely images.
#1: Is that cowboy with the striped shirt wearing a coonskin cap with a cactus on top?... WHY???
The saloon gals are rather fetching in their Holstein cow-inspired costumes.
#2: OMG! Dale has only four fingers!... Poor guy. ;-)
#3: Of all the things they could have used to represent the Northwest, a fire lookout tower would be pretty far down the list, I would think. I guess they needed something for the bear to stand on and wave to the crowd. I just noticed that almost everyone is wearing white.
#4: Hmm, Sutter's Mill would probably have miners panning for gold, not lumberjacks. But who knows? On the left, one of the lumberjacks is trying desperately to get back on the float.
#5: I'm sure you're right about this being SoCal, Major. If it was Hawaii the CMs would be wearing flowery Hawaiian shirts; that's how parade organizers think.
#6: That must be an off-the-shelf slide (from Spiral Slide Mart). I can't see them building a custom slide from scratch for this parade. Does Pluto (maybe he should be called Dwarf Dog now) always have his big red tongue lolling out like that? I don't remember.
#7: Tigger looks a little stiff here. I wonder if there is actually someone inside or if he's just a mannequin? Pretty cool idea for a float, though.
#8: Ah. Tigger looks normal here. So there IS someone inside! The wave looks even better from this angle.
#9: Captain Hook is looking up at something. Maybe he's keeping an eye out for that no-good mischief-maker, Peter Pan.
Many thanks to Lou Perry and Sue and you too, Major.
The Pacific Northwest section has me scratching my head (although that might just be dandruff). There is an axe embedded in the support structure for the fire tower, which makes me very suspicious of those lumberjacks. They may be lumberjacks, but they’re not OK. And nothing says “Pacific Northwest” quite like a character from a Kipling story set in India.
Thanks again, Lou & Sue!
P.S. - Andrew has published his second Fantasyland post over at Bayern Kurve.
I know I’ve said it before , but next to AMERICA ON PARADE ….this parade has always been one of my favorites …. And I’m not a parade person …. At least not the way they have evolved and not gigantic overdone monstrosities! I miss the old COMPUTER WORE TENNIS SHOES and BOATNICKS parades ….
SUTTER’S MILL was a lumber mill that gold just happened to be (accidentally) discovered…. It wasn’t discovered by gold miners. In fact the mill operators and John Sutter of SUTTER’S FORT contemplated to keep it quiet …. But we all know what happened.
thanks Major ! Lou & Sue!!
I forgot to mention that is probably not meant to represent SUTTERS MILL as that float sequence is titled THE GREAT NORTHWEST.
In picture 5 the MAIN STREET VEHICLE Livery Rental poster by National Car Rental is visible on the streetcar car barn …. However it’s partially blocked by a parade crossing sign. Disneyland used this same poster but with references to Disneyland’s Main Street .
This does look like a fun parade. As for the float with the spiral slide, I'm wondering if the the guy who is supposed to be buried in the sand (or is that snow?), is actually the driver of the float?
And do lumberjacks really wear Olivia Newton-John style "Physical" headbands while working?
Thank you Lou, Sue, and the Major, too!
TM!, I understand traditional lumberjack clothing includes somewhat different accoutrements.
Chuck, Disney should have depicted that version of a lumberjack on the float!
Who doesn’t love a parade?
Me, that’s who.
I’m heading over to the Haunted Mansion, which is a walk-on right now.
Parade pictures are great since I don’t have to wait in a crowd.
Those lumberjacks are OK, they have slept all night and can work all day.
Thanks Lou and Sue and Major for recording and compressing this show.
JG
Hey guys, I have to help somebody move today (yes, in the pouring rain, anybody want to help?). It's just out of an art studio, but still. I might not be back until the evening, so I apologize for my lack of participation in the comments until then.
I am sooooo not a parade guy…just does absolutely zero for me. I’ve always been this way, I think it’s my TGM (terminal grumpy man) syndrome. If there are a lot of dancers and musicians in the parade I will give it a look…otherwise, it’s generally time to hit the west side and take advantage of shorter lines. My eastern compadre TG’s would lament a bit over “our park makes a HUGE DEAL out of parades”…hence the TV specials et al. Parades mean parade cross overs which if you are working on the west side it’s just a big pain in the pinny (which is UK for “pain in the pinafore”) which means BTM, which means the part of your body you sit on. I looked at these photos this morning without glasses…they looked very “colors of Big Thunder”…I didn’t scroll
Down to the CA HI ones…but Who doesn’t love Tigger. Tigger should have his OWN parade…and if there was a Boatniks Wore Tennis shoes parade I would definitely be first in line! THAT would be a parade of intrigue- lots of float boats bashing into each other…just like the movie. Thanks Lou and Sue and Major for the photos- stay dry for those on the west…the press only shows us the worst of it, so please stay safe.
The photo catalog of Lou and Sue seems to match the size of Getty Imagines! Great shots! KS
Nobody does a parade like Disney, but this is one of my favorites. They really outdid themselves on this one. So glad to hear there are more pictures to come! And look how nice and polite the audience is, arranging themselves like kids in a class picture or showgirls in a Busby Berkeley movie, so everybody can see past the others.
1. I'm a sucker for Wild West anything, but seriously, all my love goes to the boy dancer in the coonskin cap with the saguaro on top. Take that, Carmen Miranda!
2. That float really ROCKS! Thank you, thank you, I'll show myself out. Looking at the ladies on the bottom left, I was tempted to suggest a drinking game where we all chug when we see a guest with a crunchy perm, but I assume some of us have to go back to work some time this year.
3. Those lookout towers are good for getting your bearings. (I showed myself back in.)
4. I assume you've heard of those evil lumberjacks who suck the sap right out of trees like vampires? Yes, boys and girls, beware the LUMBERDRACS. (If I'm going to keep showing myself in and out like this, we're gonna need a swinging door.)
5. The kid with his "feet" sticking out of the "sand" is a sight gag worthy of Marc Davis. I had forgotten about the rainbow-colored zinc cream that was so popular! A quick google tells me it's still available. Maybe I should go out in the sun more than once a decade.
6. Well, hellooo Sailor Pluto! (He's more far out than Sailor Moon.)
7. OK, can we just take a minute here to admire the design and craftsmanship of Tigger's bathing suit? (It will distract us from wondering why he needs a bathing suit when he wa;ks around in the nude the rest of the time.) There's like, a whole separate pantleg for his tail!
8. Major, Tigger wishes he was as cool as you.
9. I've lived near lakes all my life, and believe me "The Miss Hap" is exactly the sort of thing some retired guy would name his pleasure craft.
Big thanks to Lou, Sue, & the Major, too!
I miss the old COMPUTER WORE TENNIS SHOES and BOATNICKS parades ….
The float for THE THREE LIVES OF THOMASINA was beautiful, but they could never get the damn cat to sit still.
Ladies' underwear is all well and good, but if they want to spice up the lumberjack float they should add some log drivers.
It just occurred to me that the adorable little kids in these photos are about the age of my supervisor. They grow up so fast!
Nanook, these floats don’t have enough LED lights for my taste, but otherwise they are pretty good!
JB, you don’t wear a cactus on top of YOUR cowboy hat?? Dale lost a finger when he didn’t keep his hands inside his vehicle. The lookout tower was “thinking outside the box” I suppose, I don’t hate it, but it is a little weird. I agree, Sutter’s Mill would probably have smelly guys with beards holding pickaxes and pans (for gold-panning). I feel like that SoCal float is a bit like the lookout tower… that’s the best they could do to represent Southern California? Some palm trees and a slide? Pluto… “dwarf dog”…?? Yes, I believe that he usually has his tongue lolling out. I’m sure Tigger is trying to not fall off the surfboard on that moving, unsteady float.
Chuck, I couldn’t quite tell if that axe is embedded, or if it was placed there for some reason. Either way it is a puzzlement. Those lumberjacks look like they took some time off from the local junior college to cut down some trees. You obviously don’t remember the story in “The Jungle Book” where Balloo goes to Portland. Thanks for the heads up for Bayern Kurve!
Mike Cozart, I still place the Main Street Electrical Parade at the top of my list. I think I saw America on Parade back in the day, but it did not “stick”. I had a book about it, so I might be confusing it with the book. They had a “Computer Wore Tennis Shoes” float?? I loved that movie when I was a kid.
Mike Cozart, you had access to info that I did not have! I remember you mentioned National Car Rental before, interesting that their name is on that Main Street vehicle.
TokyoMagic!, oh funny, I did not even notice the guy “buried in the sand”, that’s pretty clever! Those lumberjacks look like they did roller boogie on their time off.
Chuck, whatever that show is, it’s very silly.
TokyoMagic!, it could happen, thanks to dreams and wishes.
JG, yeah, in general I’m not a parade guy either, and I feel a little guilty, since I know that a lot of work goes into designing the floats and the performers are doing their best.
Bu, I remember the last parade I sat through at Disneyland was a Christmas parade, and it was OK, but my date was the one who insisted that we watch it. Meanwhile, like JG, I was thinking about all of the rides that we could have walked on during those precious 15 minutes. And as for those TV specials, YUCK. Disney never did a single TV special (about the park) that was worth a damn as far as I am aware (I’m not counting the ones from the Walt years). Amazing how they can’t “crack the code”. “Let’s get a bunch of B-list and C-list celebrities, and put in some lame song and dance numbers!”. That’s not what I want to see. Did they ever do a parade that was just Pooh themed? It seems so obvious, especially given how his popularity eclipsed Mickeys at some point. I don’t think that’s the case now, thank goodness.
KS, it sounds like Sue has only scratched the surface, too!
Melissa, at first I thought that the cactus was behind the cowboy’s hat and just appeared to be on top of it, but no, it’s really up there. Float…rocks? I get it! Do they use lookout towers anymore, in this technological day and age? Luberdracs, soon to be a Dreamworks movie. I don’t remember rainbow-colored zinc oxide, even though it was popular? I wasn’t popular, which is how I missed it. Tigger’s bathing suit prevents sand from… well never mind. And yes, “The Miss Hap” is a dad joke made real.
Melissa, was there an Ugly Dachshund float too??
Chuck, I once had a boss who was younger than me, and continually said, “i can’t believe I’m your boss”. She was a real dope.
Major, Pluto is a dwarf dog now because Pluto, the heavenly body, is now classified as a dwarf planet. Makes perfect sense to me.
I love everyone's commentary on this parade!
I bet the 'support' that Tigger is strapped to - and belt that holds-him-on - is covered by his snazzy bathing suit. Or he'd go flying off. Unless just his feet are attached to the board?? He has a good float spot...in the shade!
"I was thinking about all of the rides that we could have walked on during those precious 15 minutes."
Major, you probably have more than 15 minutes. A little while before the parade starts, people are gathering...plus, by the time the entire parade has made its way through the park - and people start to head over to rides - you may have a good 45 minutes to hit a few attractions. I'm not a parade or fireworks person, either [though I have seen and enjoyed some of both]. At WDW, I managed to go on PotC three times in a row during one parade [or fireworks show?].
Thanks, Major, and everyone, for the nice comments.
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