Monday, February 26, 2024

Kids In Disneyland, March 1963

Oh man, I'm getting a little weary of having so many "too dark" slides - but I just have to get them out of the way! Today's aren't even from the dreaded 1974 batch; these are from 1963. 

Some of you will recognize the two be-sweatered kids (if you can discern them in the dark shadows) as they frolic with their pal Pluto (Pluto is everyone's pal!). He's just had his shots, so he's a little grouchy, but, being a pro, he doesn't let it show when kids are around. You can see two of the Little Pigs in the background as well. Way in the distance is the Disneyland Hotel. I like the way they surrounded trees with a ring of benches, plenty of seating for everyone, though only a few get shade.


You'd be surprised to learn that the kid at the wheel has been driving a real truck for several years. But things were different in 1963! The Carnation truck looks great here; the boy to our right is impatiently cooling his heels. "Come on, give somebody else a turn!". But they are very comfortable right where they are.


10 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-
Make that the "Hotel Disneyland". I don't doubt for a minute that 'Junior', there, has been a 'shorty trucker' for the better part of this lifetime. He bears the look of experience-!

Thanks, Major.

JB said...

"...he doesn't let it show when kids are around. You can see two of the Little Pigs in the background..." I know this is your blog and all, but should you be calling kids "little pigs"? ;-p
I do recognize the two be-sweatered kids... well, I recognize their sweaters anyway.

Ha! You're right, Major. It looks like the kid at the right edge is saying exactly that! And OMG! The be-sweatered demons were tearing around so fast in the Carnation truck that they ran into a guest and severed his head clean off his body! They mounted his head as a trophy, next to the demon driver.

Sometimes the darkness adds to the mood of the photos, like the Adventureland photos from the other day.... but not today. These pictures would have looked better without the darkness. Oh well. Thanks, Major.

walterworld said...

Those two boys shouldn't clear outta the Carnation Truck 'til there needs are met...they are Union after all..

JG said...

I love the kids face looking at Pluto, a mixture of amazement and adoration, a dream come true.

And the kids face in the passenger seat of the truck, looking like we had asked to buy milk on credit…

And I remember sitting in the drivers seat with the wood steering wheel and all shiny brass gadgets.

Thanks Major, these are just right.

JG

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, you are right, the Hotel’s name was charmingly reversed back then. Maybe Yoda was the one who suggested the sign?

JB, I call kids things that are LOTS worse than “little pigs”! I hope that the jealous boy had his chance to sit at the wheel of the Carnation Truck, otherwise he would be full of hate and resentment for the rest of his life. I wish I was as charitable about the dark quality of these slides as you are, but I appreciate the positivity!

walterworld, yep, they don’t want no scabs around!

JG, we’re so used to the costumed characters at Disneyland, but for kids of a certain age, it really must be a wonderful thing to meet their beloved heroes. Plus the characters are so soft and fuzzy! Ha ha, I didn’t really notice the expression of that one kid, he is not happy. I never got to sit behind the wheel of the Carnation truck, even though I’m sure it was there when I was a kid. I probably didn’t even know kids were allowed to climb aboard.

Melissa said...

How can you drive trucks in a car nation?

Thank you, I'll be here all week! Don't forget to tip your server, she has to pay off her churro dealer!

Major Pepperidge said...

Melissa, Tow Mater lives in a car nation. Think about it.

Chuck said...

My oldest thought he was really meeting Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore when he was just shy of his third birthday. So fun to see that through his eyes. I don't remember not understanding they were costumed characters, but I do remember thinking the pirates in POTC and Peter Pan Flight were real. Captain Hook scared the Spaghetti-Os out of me.

JB said...

^ Plain Spaghetti-Os, or Spaghetti-Os with meatballs? (har har)

Anonymous said...

Chuck, the Pirates in the Pirates of the Caribbean are real, aren't they? Don't ruin my dream!

On the first watching, my Dad was convinced Mr. Lincoln was a live actor, not an animatronic. The robot had a little nervous twiddle of the fingers while waiting for the show to begin, exactly as a real person would do.

Melissa, if we all drove pink cars, we would live in a Pink Car Nation.

JG