Two Beauties From 1957
Here are two wonderful slide scans from 1957! Let's start with this nice shot of the Junior Autopia over in Fantasyland. Tomorrowland's Autopia was so popular that a second mini-freeway opened on July 23, 1956. It used the same cars, though supposedly there was a block of wood on the gas pedal so that younger drivers could more-easily drive. You know, those stumpy little legs! Which might explain why kids are doing the driving in every car except the red one with the solo woman at the wheel. Fantasyland looks great, and I love the white hard hats worn by the cast member. Notice two men (gardeners?) standing by the berm in the distance.
The Motor Boat Cruise was brand-new in 1957 (debuting in June)... in this photo, and sporty speedboat is about to pass beneath a bridge that was used by the Viewliner (which debuted on June 26th... I'm not sure if the Motor Boats debuted on the same exact date). I'd never noticed those blue "shark fin" things on either side of the surface of the boats, and in doing some Googlin', saw that they were present on some boats, sometimes. Were they eventually removed? Were those boats phased out? No idea!
33 comments:
Major-
Definitely some unusual angles on these images. Who cares about the gents in the background in the first image - my eyes were immediately drawn to the hard hat-wearing cast member who appears to have a whistle in his mouth. Is that really the case-? Oh my - that must'a been joyful for all concerned. Inquiring minds want to know more-!
Thanks, Major.
I notice that the solo lady driver looks kind of intense; with hands at 10 and 2 (more like 11 and 2), and bolt-upright posture. The lady behind her is wearing a pink 'coolie' hat. These cars look pretty sporty, in a '50s sort of way, with all the rounded contours.
Major, it looks like there is a garden hose going across the grassy berm. So you're probably right about the guys-in-white being gardeners. Either that, or they're relieving themselves.
The shark fins seem kinda odd. Maybe they were there to add a greater sense of excitement and danger to an otherwise gentle ride. They DO look cool though. Did the 'antenna' in the back serve some purpose? And what's that thing in the water at the bow of the boat? Looks like a pack of cigarettes. It probably has something to do with the track that the boat is on.
Lots of sparse grass and dirt in these early photos. Thanks for the vintage goodness, Major.
Also, Andrew has released another trip report. This time: WDW's Magic Kingdom! I've only gone through half of it so far, and it's another must-see!
Those two workers/gardeners in the first photo, are getting their kicks by placing a penny on the DL Railroad tracks. After the train derailed, management was scratching their heads as to how a penny would have gotten onto the tracks, in an area that was off limits to guests.
Thanks Major, for continuing to share some really great early DL photos with us!
I wonder how long those first MOTORBOATS were used. They have engines in the rear and a much different hood/bow than the boats that saw the longest amount of use. The ones I’m mist familiar with had the engine in front and had those double access “tipple” style motor hood. Disneyland saved two of the second version MOTORBOATS. I wonder what became of the first ones .
Major, I’m sure those Men in White are space aliens taking soil and vegetation samples to return to Tralfamadore. Their flying saucer is artfully concealed backstage in Tomorrowland with the spare saucers from the ride.
I think the Hard Hat CM needs that whistle to keep order since those cars aren’t on tracks. He probably has a cattle prod too, and mace for the really obstreperous drivers like the one trying to sneak by him.
Looks like the Dads are having trouble fitting their legs into those tiny cars. I can relate. My last outing on the Bobsleds made me wish I could take mine off and set in the sled cockpit beside me. I read yesterday that rigor mortis begins before death, which makes sense somehow.
Those fins on the motorboat are GPS antennas, keeps the pilots from getting lost in the wilds of Fantasyland. Were the boats in Fantasyland or Tomorrowland? See why GPS was needed!
Thank Major, these cap a lovely week in Disneyland.
JG
Wow what great angles today, and from a somewhat overlooked era.
As soon as I saw the orange in the second shot I knew we were looking at a Viewliner bridge. I think that shot is from the northwest turn of the tracks, not too far from the Fantasyland station, though the one reference photo I have is pretty grainy.
That "Motor Boat Cruise" pic is wonderful! Riding the Motor Boats was a great way to decompress from all the sensory overload of the newer attractions. Those were the days of simple pleasures at Disneyland.
Nice pics. Thanks, Major.
Great photos today. Those guys who worked the Autopia in those days had to be really careful where they stepped. One false move and you could probably get your foot crushed.
Love the motor boat and the happy dad giving his daughter a boating leason.
Lesson.
I think my favorite part of the first picture is the two Dads unfolding themselves out of the tiny cars. When my parents met, My Dad drove an MGB he could steer with his knees.
Nanook, not only do I not mind the gents in the background, I like it when I can see mysterious stuff going on in the distance! I’ll bet that Autopia CM blew that whistle like an NBA referee. A real pro! How else are you supposed to get a kid’s attention?
JB, that solo lady knows that there is never any excuse for poor posture. Considering how many of those “coolie” hats that we see in vintage photos, I have seen darn few on the collector’s market. I have one (in bad shape) in my collection, it’s boring beige paper with “DISNEYLAND” on it. But I’ve literally only seen three or four in my years of collecting. I wonder if these photos were taken during a particularly hot Summer? Maybe that’s why the gardeners are out watering in broad daylight, and why the plantings look relatively scraggly. Thanks for the heads up for the new Andrew post!
TokyoMagic!, those dumb gardeners will soon learn that the Disneyland RR will only squish a penny by 5/8. A derailed DLRR? HARD FACTS!
Mike Cozart, if anybody would know the answer to your question about the Motorboats, I would think it would be YOU. I wonder if the early versions were prone to some of the same problems as the Phantom Boats? Overheating, conking out, etc. Just like the Autopia vehicles, it seems to have taken several tries to get the Motorboats right.
JG, soil samples are important for science, as any alien visitor can tell you. So are probes. Icy cold probes. “Tralfamadore”, nice reference! Sure, a cattle prod is always useful when dealing with children, in fact they are better than whips, I have found. The kids really treat you with some respect. And yes, I found that MANY Disneyland vehicles are not ideally designed for anybody of a certain height. Including the Matterhorn bobsleds, but some of those Fantasyland dark ride vehicles are pretty tight as well. Wow, GPS in 1957, who knew??
Tom, I’m not sure if the Viewliner track’s “footprint” overlapped where the Matterhorn would eventually go, but it would have been fun if they could have somehow kept the Viewliners. On a crowded day, maybe it would be nice to take the kids on a fun little train ride through Fantasyland!
K. Martinez, I mostly remember riding the Motor Boats at night, since that was the era when we did “Navy Nites”, but it was still fun. I seem to recall cottoning on to the fact that I wasn’t really doing much to control the boat, which seemed kind of crummy. But hey, I’d love to have those Motorboats back!
Sunday Night, I think I have read about Autopia CMs getting all sorts of nasty injuries from being crushed against the curb, or having toes smashed by those heavy little vehicles. OUCH.
Melissa, I can steer my car with my knees, no fancy MG needed!
Long ago I had a comedic notion that would have been a swell running gag for those cheesy television specials of the post-World-of-Color era.
Two of the obligatory special guest stars from A Hit Comedy Series would take charge of a Jungle Cruise boat, do some schtick and suddenly be confused about how to get back to the dock. Then, as the obligatory pop semi-stars lip sync at various locations as per usual, we keep seeing the lost Jungle Cruise boat in every body of water in the park -- trailing after the Mark Twain, emerging from Small World, becalmed in the moat, and otherwise navigating every flume and lagoon, finally screaming down Splash Mountain. Sometimes the sitcom stars would do a gag; other times they'd just be floating by in the background during a song. I was writing newspaper advertising and had no connections, so this brilliant idea never reached the people who needed it. Otherwise we might have had Steve Urkel asking the Pirates of the Caribbean for directions.
Just felt it was time to get that out of my system.
...racing the Ty-D-Bol Man through all the park restrooms...
I often drive with knees while texting with one hand and a McDonalds tiny cheeseburger in the other. You gotta do what ya gotta do. Hart hat whistle man also is sporting a mustache. Which in that day I don’t think was completely verboten. There was a painter in my day who was grandfathered in or something and was the only guy that I ever saw onstage with a mustache. I totally get the whistle. I’m the 80’s it was yelling over the motors. As I’ve said before, I’m jut a fan of that ride fundamentally…everything is noisy and smelly. People live for it however…enjoy it people. Is there original track left? Someone knows. Motorboat cruise I love everything about. What a sweet fun little ride. Not everything needs to thrust you about in 4D. Speaking of thrusting about…my back is still out of wack from 1987…and has degenerated with each subsequent ride. I do LOVE the Matterhorn though…with all of its body slamming. Feels much more of an authentic bobsled ride…and the clickety clack is awesome too. Splash down is also awesome. It’s just the getting in and out. The employees helped though, as my developing physique required shoehorning. I would also like to see the TV special, and I think they could CGI all that stuff and it would be believable. I would prefer 1970’s Escape to Witch Mountain type effects though. I gave a speech about Urkel once at work. People were saying that Urkel was not cool. I find that Urkel is cool as he is, as his character, portraying his authentic self. Authenticity is cool. Artifice is not cool. I could go on, but I will stop. Thanks Major!
Dbenson, I would watch that movie.
JG
DBenson, I would watch that, too! There was that Sandy Duncan special in the 70s, "Sandy at Disneyland"....or was it "Sandy in Disneyland"?....anyway, she rides a Jungle Cruise boat through the jungle with Ted Knight who is supposed to be a realtor showing her potential property to buy, and she rides through Pirates of the Caribbean with Ernest Borgnine, in a rowboat! But you've taken the concept many steps further. I like it!
I have to look up that Sandy Duncan special. It would make a great spring counterpart to my annual fall viewing of the Paul Lynnde Halloween Special.
I think those things on the Motor Boat are speed holes... They make the boat go faster. Or may be they're Buicks designed by Harley Earl.
Dean Finder, the last time I checked YouTube, I could only find segments from the "Sandy in Disneyland" special (brought to you by the good folks at McDonald's), but not the entire thing. I hope you can find it somewhere. Someone gave me a copy of it many years ago. I think they told me at that time, that Disney does not actually "own" it, even though it was filmed at Disneyland. That might explain why it never showed up on the Disney Channel's late night "Vault Disney" programming, back in the day. Oh, and it's totally on the same level of greatness, as "The Paul Lynde Halloween Special." It's probably even better, because it's early 1970s Disneyland. She met her husband during that special. He was one of dancers. And they are still married, today. Now if we could only get Disney to make a "Million Dollar Duck II" film.
"Return of the Million Dollar Duck"? "Son of the Million Dollar Duck"?
"Bride of the Million Dollar Duck"?
"Million Dollar Duck does Vegas"?
"Two Pounds of Trouble"?
"Million Dollar Duck Goes Bananas"?
DBenson, ha ha, your show concept is too on the nose! A lifetime of variety specials will do that to a person, I guess. Remember when so many of the most popular TV programs were variety shows? Such a different time. I also feel like you were a little bit inspired by “40 Pounds of Trouble”? Steve Urkel should be in all TV shows and films. Hopefully he will be in “Oppenheimer”.
Melissa, but who would play the Ty-D-Bol Man?
Bu, I don’t often drive with my knees, but it has happened. I’m not proud of it. The mustache is a bit of a surprise, but I think you’re right, they hadn’t completely codified the “Disney Look” yet. Which was basically, “Look like a member of the LDS church”. I’m not a huge fan of the Autopia, but I ride it out of nostalgia, and sometimes the line isn’t too long. I hate the idea of it being gone, and yet… if they could replace it with something good… maybe a “Million Dollar Duck” ride. I admit that while I don’t find the Matterhorn vehicles as torturous as some, the ride itself was surprisingly rough. Rougher than I remember it being. Mr. X says that they ruined it, but I forget what “they” did. Authenticity is cool? Then I must be SUPER cool!
Dbenson, we need to get John Williams to do the music.
TokyoMagic!, I don’t remember Sandy Duncan and Ted Knight on the Jungle Cruise, but it sounds like the greatest thing that ever existed. Ernest Borgnine too? Have I died and gone to heaven?
Dean Finder, oh man, you must have eyeballs of steel.
TokyoMagic!, why didn’t Sandy Duncan ever perform with Muddy Waters? “Sandy and Muddy”. I’d watch that all day. If only there’d been a star named “Soggy” too. Wow, weird that a Disney special would not be owned by Disney, but your explanation kind of makes sense. Hey, you love “Million Dollar Duck” as much as I do, clearly!
TokyoMagic!, “Million Dollar Duck 2: Electric Boogaloo”.
TokyoMagic!, since Charlie the duck laid eggs, she was… well, a girl. Come on man, get with it!
JB, all I know is that they should do a mashup of “Million Dollar Duck” and “John Wick”.
There's a fan-made DVD on the Haunted Mansion that has Sandy Duncan and Ruth Buzzi in clownish burglar costumes roaming the ride, with the doom buggies somehow removed. The same special?
Recall a WDW special where Dick Van Dyke joined the costumed dwarfs as #8; they made their entrance singing "Heigh Ho" from a tunnel on Big Thunder Mountain. Another had a montage of Tommy Tune dancing in various locations, including atop the tender on the railroad. And back in the day World of Color had an episode showcasing the newly opened Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, with the Cowsills running around the park pursued by a schedule-obsessed manager.
Nowadays they roll out generic pop stars to lip-sync in front of the castle, like the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade but not rolling out of the way when finished, and generic TV stars clutching microphones and going on about how their current family units love visiting the parks. Mutter mutter ...
DBenson, yes, that Haunted Mansion scene is from the same special. And yes, they did take some of the Doom Buggies out, so that they could walk through the Mansion. Other scenes include Sandy Duncan doing ballet in IASW, singing on the stage of the CBJ, with the bears, and traipsing through Primeval World, with Lorne Greene (I believe). Oh, and she sings "Top of the World" with John Davidson, while riding Fire Truck down (or maybe up) Main Street. It is not to be missed for all of it's 1974 goodness!
Okay, it turns out the entire special is on YouTube, and apparently has been for 6 years. Maybe it's been that long since I've checked. But again, I do have a "copy." This copy doesn't look too bad, considering. It's strange, it opens with the familiar "Wonderful World of Disney" opening, but then there is a McDonald's overlay transparency thing, advertising McDonald's at the beginning and end of the special. I don't remember any other episodes of The Wonderful World of Disney having that type of "over the picture" advertising. Maybe Disney does own this, and that person who told me that they don't, well.....to quote Whitney Houston (once again), is whack!
"Sandy in Disneyland is brought to you by your neighborhood McDonald's, the family restaurant where you can enjoy friendly service, and good food. Chances are, wherever you're going, there's a McDonald's right on your way. You deserve a break today, at McDonald's!"
I hope nobody who watches this, blames me later for any pain that it causes them. But I truly love this thing. Only Sandy Duncan could pull it all off! I mean the special, not her.....oh, never mind!
I guess it would help if I provided the link. Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij-RMJMvuqI
Oh gee, after providing that link, I went and watched the entire special. I know some people will have great difficulty sitting through it, but I think it is worth it for the Disneyland footage alone. I forgot about a Nature's Wonderland Mine Train segment. And the Jackson Five sing aboard the Columbia Sailing Ship. There is also footage of the original Main Street Electrical Parade floats, including the large Chinese dragon, which was eventually replaced by Pete's Dragon. The end credits have a logo for "Pasetta Productions Inc." and the thing was executive produced and directed by a "Marty Pasetta." At the very end, Sandy Duncan thanks her "wonderful guests," but also says a "very special thanks to all the McDonald's people, for giving me this fabulous Cinderella evening." This might be why Disney doesn't own the rights to the special. Maybe McDonald's owns it. Maybe they should play it on an endless loop in all of their restaurants. And you just know that if she or some other celebrity was filming a special like this today, they would not say "fabulous," they would say "magical," or "enchanted," or "wish-filled," or "dream-like." And they'd be wearing mouse ears and carrying a bubble wand, or a light saber. And dancing with a Wookie or an Ewok. While eating a churro.
Or a $50 Zinger.
Major and JB, I forgot to acknowledge your potential sequel titles:
"Million Dollar Duck does Vegas"? "Two Pounds of Trouble"? "Million Dollar Duck Goes Bananas"?......... “Million Dollar Duck 2: Electric Boogaloo”
Brilliant! And if the franchise continues to be successful, then they can do, "Abbott and Costello Meet The Million Dollar Duck" and "The Million Dollar Duck 6: Charlie's Revenge!"
Major, I forgot that Charlie was a female duck. So instead of "Bride of....", make that, "I Married A Million Dollar Duck."
Okay, I'll stop commenting on this post now. Maybe.
Million Dollar Duck V: Adjusted for Inflation
I just watched...or tried to watch...Sandy 1974. Wow. Painful. Very Painful. It's better with the sound turned off. Marty Pasetta did a lot of those specials, he was kind of well known in our dept. I think he did some Oscar shows too. There was some drama, but I forget what it was- probably trying to manage us/taking over too much. Usually why they (outside production companies) got into trouble...Sandy Duncan was quite the talent. I'm sure that show was put together in a NY minute, but looks like a lot of rehearsal for those dance numbers, etc. and she's practically in every scene. I was exhausted watching her work. Nice job Sandy.
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