More From the Mysterious Benefactor
Let's continue the series of many (MANY) photos of the Columbia, from the large collection of scans shared with us by the Mysterious Benefactor. These are dated "May, 1979".
The Columbia was slowly passing by, and the photographer snapped several pictures in quick succession. I skipped a few because I figured you didn't need to see every tiny advancement, but I still appreciate the thinking. You never know which image will be the best one. This first one might be rejected due to those ropes and pulleys right in the middle of the crowd.
.jpg)
Come on people, smile! You want to appear in an issue of "Vacationland" magazine, or "Disney News", don't you?? This could be your big break! Spielberg is on the phone right now.
.jpg)
The girl in the white sweater and red shorts has got it, but now Stretch has decided to adjust his glasses, and now he won't be playing Indiana Jones in two years. Way to go, fella. Now we're stuck with Harrison Ford.
Hey Melissa, there are twins at the rail!
.jpg)
And finally, a change of pace (sort of) with the Mark Twain heading away from us. I've never wanted to stand at the back of the Mark Twain, but maybe it would be an interesting perspective.
.jpg)
Thanks as always to the Mysterious Benefactor!
16 comments:
Major-
The first image is documentation for the special Witness Relocation Sailing. (I think it needs more work, though). In the 3rd image: To the little gal in the blue shorts - I'm sorry young 'lady', we cannot tolerate any visible midriff-!
Thanks to the M B.
#1) Yes Major, one might think this one would be rejected. But it would fantastic for the cover of "Ropes and Pulleys Monthly"! I was going to make snarky remarks about quirky-looking guests, but these all look like regular folks. Although I do spot Prof. Snape over there on the right edge; trying to be incognito with those dark glasses.
#2) Oh dear. Prof. Snape turned out to be a woman... doing a Snape impersonation! The guy to the left of her is signaling to an outdoor vendor that he wants two turkey legs. A lot of the passengers are laughing or smiling in this photo; they're up to something!
#3) Now the same guy (Stretch) is signaling to the vendor that he's going to pay for the turkey legs with exact change, "on the nose". The twins: Hans and Fritz, the early years. It will be several more years before they attempt their first ascent to the top of the Matterhorn, but they're already in training with their lederhosen and bright red shirts.
#4) Major, it would be interesting to watch, and hear, the paddle wheel for a while. But I think I would make my way to the front by the time we passed the Hungry Bear Restaurant.
Thank you, Myst. Ben. and Maj. Pep.
Those twins look short enough to go under that railing and tall enough to fall over those ropes. I'm guessing there is a six foot metal gate there now.
Thank you for more Columbia pics, Major and M.B.!
The last time I sailed round the horn on the Columbia I noticed that the ropes were made of black nylon: doesn’t rope last for a zillion years? Do we need to make things plastic? I’m confused. I enjoy the Columbia ride more than the Mark Twain and tend to ignore the spiel on both- I’m sure it’s awesome, but just more noise in a place I would prefer some serenity. The decks of the Columbia give more of a sense of spaciousness. It t would be nice to stop and have them bring out chaise lounges, and serve drinks and light bites. Just as long as no one spoke, and it was completely quiet. No loud talking, and no children under the age of 35. This morning I am the grumpiest of grumpy old men, and I’m proud of
It. If on the Mark Twain the stern is the most unpopular place, that’s where I will
gladly stand…or if they can do chaise lounges out there I would like that too. No Zingers in the snacks though…I want to be Zinger Free in ‘23! You can add that to my quote list along with Trees have no scale, and Fantasyland is closed. Thanks MB for the photos!
As all good GDB readers know, the pullies are the REAL stars! Get all those distracting people out from behind there!
Yeah, all those folks seem pretty normal. Except for the "twins." You see, they are actually clones developed in a secret lab under Pirates. Or...something...
I prefer the backside of water to the backside of the "Twain, but I'll take either. I do prefer a nice stern-wheel to a side-wheel riverboat, though. Sure, the side-wheelers are considered more "festive," but in a straight up drag race the stern wheel gives more push. I always thought they should have painted flames on the sides of that baby!
I agree, lets remove all those distracting and perfectly ordinary guests so we can focus on the details of the ships.
I seem to remember watching the River from the back of the Mark Twain, but I know I did watch the real Mississippi from the back of a sternwheeler in the Real New Orleans. It's mesmerizing to watch that wheel turn.
I wonder if they built up a good head of steam, set the wheel in first gear and popped the clutch, if the Mark Twain would do a wheelie? Or whatever the river boating equivalent is called? Do boats have a clutch?
Inquiring minds want to know!
Thanks Major and MB!
JG
#1 - Hey, look, it's Stanley Kubrick at far right! He must be there to consult on improvements to Mission to Mars. Love the tall dude casually leaning on the ropes.
#2 - Everybody looks so tired. Or maybe they're just seasick.
#3 - I was thinking the same thing as TM! about the twins slipping under the railing! Hopefully someone will grab their checkered suspenders if they start to fall.
#4 - Ladies and gentlemen, the backside of Mark Twain!
Nanook, when I am hiding from the mob, I like to go to Disneyland! They’ll never look there. And what are the odds of a Disneyland photographer taking my picture? Slim! I always think the “bare midriff” look is odd for kids of a certain age, but maybe I’m just a dope. Probably.
JB, I stopped subscribing to “Ropes and Pulleys Monthly” once they got all popular with the kids. They really sold out. Am I really supposed to believe that Bad Bunny likes pulleys? Come on! Professor Snape as a woman, well J.K. Rowling might have some interesting things to say about that. I love hand signals, especially to turkey leg vendors. You really have to be “in the know”. Hanz and Fritz have the same hairstyle as me, the one I call the “Eight Is Enough”. I agree, the paddle wheel is moderately interesting, but I would rather be looking at the plastic animals!
TokyoMagic!, I thought the same thing, those kids could go right through those ropes. I’m not saying that I want that to happen, but I’m also not NOT saying that.
Bu, black nylon ropes? Yuck. No bueno. I’m sure they do last a long time, but have no idea if they last longer than real ropes harvested from rope trees. I think I prefer the Mark Twain to the Columbia, but it’s all good. They should definitely serve drinks, and Gino’s Pizza Rolls (pipin’ hot). And milk shakes. It’s funny, I don’t think of people talking a lot on the river craft, except for little kids who don’t know any better. I agree about avoiding the most crowded spot on the Mark Twain, but that’s usually the front of the top deck. You can be one deck down and it’s a lot less crowded!
Stu29573, I remember when I was a kid I was so fascinated by the tangle of ropes and masts and sails on those big sailing ships, it seemed like a miracle that anybody could make sense of them, let alone actually sail anywhere. And yet… they did it!
JG, I’m not saying that I absolutely would not ever take a trip on the Mark Twain standing at the back, in fact I will do it if everyone gives me $5,000. Let’s make this happen! No really, it would be kind of nice to be back there with the splashing paddle wheel and (probably) no other guests. I’m not sure that the Mark Twain could do a wheelie, but I did once see it jump over several school buses. I never really thought of side-wheelers as more festive; in fact I picture them going around and around in circles because the wheel is on one side.
Melissa, I wonder, did Stanley Kubrick ever go to Disneyland? Probably not, but you never know. I wonder if it was hot and humid, in spite of the overcast sky? That can take it out of you. It’s kind of odd to see the smallest kids right at the spot where they are most likely to fall, but I’m sure they liked being able to see (that railing is too tall for the likes of them).
In the beginning of American steam boating sternwheelers were more common , but by the late 19th Century the Sidewheeler became preferred - especially for larger boats … they were faster and easier to maneuver - especially when dockinging. The biggest and fastest of the Riverboat “palaces” were all sidwheelers … the Robert E Lee , 8 of the 9 versions of The Natchez being the two most famous because of their speed record rivalries. I mentioned this before when a slide was posted here on GDB that showed Disneyland’s MARK TWAIN bow gangplanks…. I knew the ship had been designed with them but they appeared stored along the dock . Most sternwheelers never boarded passengers or freight lengthwise as they do at Disneyland - in reality the crew would get the bow as close as possible to a warf , dock or levy …. As much as the river depth would allow …. Then lower up to two very long and narrow gangplanks. These “bridges” could usually swivel in needed in case it wasn’t possible to maneuver closer to the dock. It was common for male passengers to often wade thru some shallow water to get to the start of the gangplanks depending on river conditions. Like freight hired levy teams would also carry the lady passengers to the (sometimes) dry gangplank. Stern Wheelers could maneuver easily lengthwise along side a warf … assuming there was space . This also made the loading of cargo and passengers faster. The Disneyland Mark Twain was a Hollywood composite of 1850’s - 1860’s style boats …. I can find no direct matching prototypes but it looks identical to a matte painting of a riverboat that appears in Davy Crockett … I’m not sure if the mark Twain is based on that or if the film image is based on what WED was developing. The WDW Richard F Irvine / Liberty Belle is based on a real boat that operated on the Missouri River … and the EDL’s Molly Brown is based on a prototype that operated out of Sacramento. All the Disney riverboats when new were very accurate and authentic … but are slowly becoming amusement park caricatures as alterations are made for safety and over controlling management… and at Disneyland the Mark Twain and Columbia are mistreated and abused for tacky Fantasmic ( when guests are so brain dead they need shiny objects for entertainment)
There's a great description of a steamboat race up the Hudson River, and the resulting disaster, in Anya Seton's Dragonwyck. It didn't make it into the movie version because it would have been insanely expensive to film in the 1940's.
Mike Cozart, thank you for all of the steamboat info! You are a font of knowledge. I’m curious if your love of Disneyland is one of the reasons you learned so much about old steamboats? Interesting that the Mark Twain is (apparently) not based on any actual vessel, but is instead a sort of amalgam of styles. They got a lot of press over the fact that the Mark Twain was the first steamboat of its kind to be built in decades. My impression is that they did a lot of research in those early days to make things as authentic as possible (or maybe “Hollywood authentic” would be more apropos). So many artists from other studios worked for Disney at that point, I wonder if one of them came up with the Twain’s final look?
Melissa, why couldn’t they have just filmed it in a bathtub with two plastic models? That’s what Ed Wood would do.
@ MIKE-
"...Most sternwheelers never boarded passengers or freight lengthwise as they do at Disneyland - in reality the crew would get the bow as close as possible to a wharf , dock or levy …. As much as the river depth would allow …. Then lower up to two very long and narrow gangplanks..."
In How the West Was Won, when George Peppard (Zeb Rawlings) returned from fighting in the Civil War, he disembarked from a sternwheeler using a bow-mounted, pivoting gangplank, from which he jumped to the wharf. (It wasn't the 'ol Cotton Blossom, however, but some other riverboat used in that scene).
That first pic has Mr. White Collar standing right next to Mr. Blue Collar. Disneyland - bringing the classes together!
Major, while Walt was mainly focused on trains, there was definitely always a serious aquatic component to the attractions. I have always admired the chutzpah of creating your own river boat, AND the River to run it on.
This was partly due to his mania for waterskiing, which started with the stern wheeler, but the craving for more speed eventually led him to canoes, whether Indian or Crockett, and then to motorboats, Phantom or otherwise.
Mike Cozart, historic details for both Mark Twain and Columbia are less important since neither are really boats. Since they run on rails, they really should be termed trains, or even monorails.
JG
Major: yeah WED kinda took the size and boiler arrangement of earlier period riverboats ( 1850’s - 1860’s ) and used decorations and trim a bit more common with the 1870’s and 1880’s. The style of decoration was used in architecture too - the interior of the original plaza inn was done in 1880’s - 1890’s “riverboat gothic” mansions , saloons , casinos , “pleasure palaces “ and resorts during the late 19th century were sometimes done on this style. By the early 1900’s it’s was considered gaudy.
Theme park or not and no mater how they are actually powered .. the goal was to make ALL Disney rivercraft look authentic and correct - that was once Disneys hallmark . The Mark Twains … the Molly Brown … the Kindom Queen I and II … the Oceola … the Richard F Irvine … the Columbia … all were built and opened and operated at sone point in very realistic fashion … with correct details … but many of these details are being pulled away. All Disney parks are pretend .. so if the Columbia or the mark Twain use a “monorail” guide rail ( behind the scenes ) you treat them as respected historical water craft because the passion that recreated them justifies it. …. Because the locomotives of Hong Kong Disneyland are diesel … they don’t need water towers or wood ricks and and other steam locomotive “support” buildings … but these details are expected for the theme and to make them believable and historically correct …. So you include them in the design ….. it’s why Disney theme parks exist at all.
Mike, while reading your last paragraph, above, I wanted to stand up and put my right hand over my heart. You said it, especially in those last two lines. We need you to run the Parks.
Thanks, Major and MB, for the fun ROA excursion, today.
Post a Comment