If you have kids, and you take them to Disneyland, and you happen to find Mickey Mouse standing around with nothing to do, you might as well have the kids pose for a picture with Mr. Mouse. The little girl looks adorable, and the boy is ready for a flood; it's always wise to be prepared. Is he holding his glasses in his hand? "Take off your glasses, Joey, we don't want you to look like a nebbish!". Hey, I'M a nebbish.
Might as well take another one, and in fact this one is a little better. Fewer people nearby, and sis's tongue isn't sticking out (something she does to sense the heat of potential prey nearby).
Major-
ReplyDeleteIs it any wonder why parents want to drag their kids to The Happiest Place On Earth, with photo ops like this one-? (I do believe 'Joey' is sporting a pair of Hush Puppies-?)
Thanks, Major.
If those aren't little Joey's glasses in his hand then I don't know what they could be. Sis looks like a future Tour Guide. Mickey must have elephantiasis in his feet. Look how big and bulky his orthopedic shoes are!
ReplyDeleteIn the second one, there are a couple of pedestal water fountains in the background. But alas, no bags of sugar. I bet that's Mom on the right edge, wearing the cat-eye glasses. Major, you mentioned Sis's tongue placement; Joey also has a bit of tongue showing in the first pic. I've noticed that some kids do that thing with their tongues when they're happy or excited... and I have no idea why.
A pair of quintessential Disneyland photos today, Major. Thanks.
I think the boy is actually holding his pipe. And it wasn't one of those children's "bubble pipes," either!
ReplyDeleteSis is scratching her left palm, so that means she's going to be coming into money sometime soon.
Is that "Fun Mom" way off in the distance of the second pic?
Oh, that second one IS nicer. Get an extra print for Grandma! Dig the lady in the Fruit Stripe dress! Mr. Greensweater heading into the bank has a kind of Johnny Mathis look going on.
ReplyDeleteLook at those people just walking by Mickey and not even noticing him! Maybe they didn't know who he was? Of course now any Disney higher-up that sees this picture is only thinking "Look at the lost picture taking revenue! Add a Lightning Lane Genie Plus Super Deluxe Money Que to that situation RIGHT NOW!...oh, and a Wookie!"
ReplyDeleteEvery sentence is improved by adding "...oh, and a Wookie!"
ReplyDeleteThese are cute kids, nebbishes of the world, unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains!
ReplyDeleteI see those drinking fountains and each of the Hill Bros. signs. The Hills were bros before it was cool.
Johnny Mathis and Stroller Lady are heading to the ATM, but will have about a 12 year wait until one is invented.
Stu, imagine being able to do something in the Park for just the price of admission! Beside breathing and standing in line…
Thanks Major, these little folks are about our age now, as they were then of course. I hope they see the pictures and feel a good memory.
“…oh, and a Wookie!”
Whaddya know, it works!
JG
Nanook, these photos are another case of “Why did neither of these kids want these photos anymore?”. They’d be about 60 today, and yet the slides wound up on eBay.
ReplyDeleteJB, maybe Joey stole somebody else’s glasses? Sure Mickey has big feet, but they aren’t anything compared to Mario the plumber’s feet. Those “water fountains” actually dispense warm buttermilk, which kids love. Hmmm, I wonder if the tongue thing is inherited? Also, I think it’s funny when you see people spell “tongue” “t-o-u-n-g-e”.
TokyoMagic!, that boy was about to offer Mickey a hit. This is good s***, Mickey, do yourself a favor!”. That DOES look like Fun Mom in the distance!
Mellissa, as the envelopes of photos prints told us, “Pictures make perfect gifts!”. I will send all of you a picture of me, posed artfully on a bearskin rug.
Stu29573, it is pretty amazing that there isn’t a crowd of ravenous guests. Sure, we see one or two people patiently waiting their turn, but on recent visits you could tell when a character was in town square due to the mysterious gatherings of people. “Oh, there’s Tigger!”. I like the idea of a Lightning Lane for Mickey, regular customers would just have to stand there an extra 10 minutes while Lightning Lane people got to cut in front of them. No problem!
Melissa, I will try that at my next job interview.
JG, is it just me, or does it look like there is some sort of large sign to the left of the tree in the background (the sign would be in front of the Hills Bros. restaurant)? I have no idea what it would be, it’s awfully big to be one of those menu signs. Back in 1966 they had ATMs, but they were made of bamboo and coconuts. Letting people do stuff for free in an amusement park is the way to madness. See my comment to Nanook, why would these folks (about our age as you noted) get rid of these wonderful memories?
Major, I always pronounce "tongue" in my head as "tung-wə" so I'll be sure to spell it correctly. Just like "leopard" and "jeopardy" are "lee-o-pard" and "jee-o-par-dee."
ReplyDeleteWhy does the sign look like it says Bank of Anerica in both pics? I think the glasses may be an optical illusion; he doesn't seem to really be gripping anything, especially in the second photo. Maybe it's a loose thread or some embroidery/a mended hole in his britches. I thought the lady over Little Neb's left shoulder in Photo 1 was balancing a ball on her head, but she's just perfectly in line with the circular lamp on the bank wall. Thanks for some cute pics, Major.
ReplyDeleteTH! As a kid, I got little corncob pipes from the smoke shop when I went with my dad. It wasn't a toy- these were real pipes meant for tobacco. He didn't see an issue, but I don't think my mom liked encouraging me to smoke any more than his smoking did.
ReplyDeleteMajor, I see that sign now that you point it out. Maybe advertising the proposed Edison Street or something like that? I think it's too late for Edison Street though.
ReplyDeleteDean Finder, my vehemently non-smoking Dad bought me one of those corncob pipes, I think at Knotts, or maybe Calico. I used it in Halloween costumes a few years. Owning it never tempted me to smoke though.
Remember, the Hills have Bros...
JG
Kathy!, that's the Hills Brothers Main Street Coffee House sign which is in front of the entrance. KS
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite vintage Mickey. I'm not too much for the over-animated plasticized one of 2023...he kind of looks like he went to Victoria Principals husband and had too much coffee for breakfast. If you get that reference, thanks :) I also don't know why these photos ended up on eBay, but thanks for that, because now we can enjoy them. How nice when characters were just happened upon and not lined up for. I still don't understand that. It doesn't seem like it would be too fun for the person inside either. It just seems kind of natural you would walk under the train tracks into Town Square and there would be Mickey greeting people- not spastically, just natural: "Well of course, I'm Mickey Mouse...welcome to Disneyland...let's have a photo". Not with a body guard and a person with a QR scanner. Looks like people are lined up for free water and somebody has eaten the big bag of sugar. When we weren't allowed sweets, I would save my pennies to buy a box of sugar cubes and hide them in my bed to eat at night. So I totally get swiping the bag. Water fountains seem to be a thing of the past, but in all new construction I do, we are compelled to have a chilled water dispenser to fill bottles. I trained my dog at the park (a park park, not THE Park) to be able to turn the fountain on herself and drink from it...everybody seemed so enchanted that they didn't seem to mind the dog mouth all over the place. She even stepped up on the little step. That was a long while ago so today I suppose that I would have several agencies for #1 not having my dog on a leash, #2 not controlling the dog and then #3#4#5....a host of other things. That dog was the smartest dog I ever had, and of course her name was "Mickey". Thanks for the morning memories this morning Major. ....and Fantasyland is closed and a wookie.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, first of all, I am impressed by your upside-down “e”. Secondly, “tung-wə” is now my rapper name.
ReplyDeleteKathy!, it DOES look like it says “Bank of Anerica”! I’ll have to look at some of Daveland’s photos (even though it will cost me $50) to see if it looks different from straight-on. Maybe you’re right about the “glasses”, I’m still unsure.
Dean Finder, I had a corncob pipe too, I got it as a souvenir when we visited the Gettysburg battlefields. I never tried to smoke out of it though, but my older brother eventually tried smoking an illicit substance out of it.
JG, yeah, this is pretty late for Edison Street, or even Liberty Square. That sign is just too indistinct to ever know what it was. Maybe all dads bought their sons corncob pipes??
KS, I see the Hills Bros. sign, but do you know what the rectangular sign is to the left of the little girl’s head?
Bu, that is a very classic Mickey, it’s pretty much how I think of him (when I think of him). I understand that they tried to cuten him up (I guess “cuten” isn’t a word?), but the blinking eyes are unnecessary. We don’t need it. Mickey always felt like an unofficial Mayor of Main Street (or Town Square), maybe that’s just me. I assume there must have been some sort of handler nearby? Or were guests trusted to behave themselves appropriately back then? I would sometimes crunch on sugar cubes, but somehow they didn’t satisfy, even though they were plenty sweet. I guess I needed something a bit more complex. Now I’ll always imagine somebody letting their dog drink from any drinking fountain I see. And a wookie!
That sign to the right of the lady’s hip and to left of the little girl’s head is the OPERA HOUSE sidewalk blade sign …. The frame and post is still used today … but in these shots it’s showcasing the opera house Lincoln Savings & Loan Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln poster … not the attraction poster but opera house version of the Lincoln poster .
ReplyDeleteAnd I just saw your question Major...and I agree with Mike. KS
ReplyDelete