Taylor Swift called me yesterday and requested some Randos. She just loves 'em! How can I say "no" to Tay-tay?
This first example is from January 1973, it's a pretty photo of the Pirate Ship, though it was no longer sponsored by Chicken of the Sea. Those traitors jumped ship in 1969, and now the eatery was known as Captain Hook's Galley. I miss the mermaid bow figure, I kind of wish they'd kept her and made her a generic mermaid. You know, like the sort that you see all the time.
Next is this oddly-composed photo from February 1965. "Man, the Monorail is great, but check out that blue sky!". Something's going on with the Monorail, that odd-looking yellow device might be the "mule" that could tow Big Red. Or maybe it's something else? I obviously have no idea. If one of you knows, please fill me in!
Major-
ReplyDeleteI know, I know... it was 'falling apart', or something - but that pirate ship has certainly been missed-!
I presume Mike knows what that 'yellow thing' is, but as you surmise Major, I suppose it is a tow vehicle of some sort. Interesting that Monorail Red is loaded with guests.
The Seattle Monorail has a much more scaled-down [and homemade-looking] version which is used for maintenance - lovingly referred to as "the Cadillac". (We may look very provincial up here in the Emerald City, but we're all about luxury-!)
Thanks, Major.
I’m looking forward to someone’s (Mike’s?) info/explanation regarding today’s Monorail image.
ReplyDeleteSome very unique pictures, a few days in a row. Thanks, Swiftie!
^ That’s me, Sue
ReplyDelete"How can I say "no" to Tay-tay? " Besides, if you said "no", her boyfriend would clean your clock!... Whether it needed cleaning, or not!
ReplyDeleteFrom this angle the Pirate Ship actually looks like it's floating, and moving toward us. Although, it appears to be a ghost ship! No one is aboard, walking its decks and leaning over the railings. Maybe the Ship is infested with rats and vampires! 'Tis the ship of Nosferatu! (No wonder they smashed it to pieces!)
I always thought mules were cute, docile, furry creatures that took you on trips through Nature's Wonderland, not yellow metallic things that pulled you around by the nose.
You must be right, Major (you always are!). The 'mule' is attached to the Monorail. I really wonder what is going on here. As Nanook noted, the Monorail is full of passengers. It's an excellent, and rare, view of the mule. And copper-colored Skyway gondola #9 is trying mightily to get into the picture (or is it out of the picture?)
Can't get enough Randos! Thanks, Major.
Major, you are correct. That is the "mule." And as JB pointed out, it is actually hooked up to the back of the Monorail. I've seen the mule moving along the track on multiple occasions, and I'm always surprised at how fast it moves. I want to drive the mule and make it reach a speed of 100 mph......on the curves!
ReplyDeleteCan you believe with all those creative imagineers that Monorail Tow is called “The Tractor” sometimes all that imagination gets used up on other things…..
ReplyDeleteI think Disney probably would have loved to have kept the mermaid figurehead …. But often what happens with sponsors is that anything with their identity must be returned. ( they paid for it) I know there are examples where the departing sponsor fastidiously collects EVERYTHING related to their company …. And there ar other examples where the sponsor tells Disney to do what they want .
Since they left the bas-relief of the mermaid on the back of the ship, and just painted out the colorful diamonds on her tail and gave her a new hairstyle, why couldn't they have done that to the sculpture on the ship's bow?
ReplyDeleteOh, okay. I see Mike answered my question at the same time that I was asking it! I still say, all they would have had to do was paint out her diamonds, and chop off her top bun! And maybe make her a brunette or a redhead.
ReplyDeleteI love that view of "Ol' Piratey" (the age old name of the pirate ship that I just made up)! Yeah, the "We were going to move it, but then we discovered that it was a building, not a ship!" excuse seems a little far-fetched. Buildings don't float like that.
ReplyDeleteI prefer to call the Monorail tractor "The Monorail's Lil Helper." Some people call it "Fred," but they don't get invited to the best parties. Like the one Tay-tay is having this weekend. I'd go, but I have to mow the lawn.
Of course Chicken of the sea jumped ship - they're chicken! They just turned their chickeny little tail and ran! BOK bok bok bok bok BOK!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm surprised they didn't out a new figurehead on the ship. Didn't Captain Hook's ship have a figurehead in the movie? Here's where I admit the shameful secret that I've never seen Disney's Peter Pan. I assume he was the youngest son of Ma and Pa Kettle?
These pictures are beautiful; I think I got my RDA of Vitamin D just looking at those sunny skies. I especially like the reflection of the ship in the water. There aren't enough restaurants that look like other things these days. The Brown Derby at WDW isn't even shaped like a hat, for Pete's sake.
All this talk of mules towing boats has me nostalgic for the mule-drawn packet boat we used to take up the Erie canal every summer. They had a banjo player who led an singalong of old-timey songs on deck until sunset.
Nanook, like Cascade Peak, I feel like the Pirate Ship could have received proper maintenance if they’d tried. But they had a great excuse to rip the thing out! I’d love to know why that tow (or push?) thing is there with a fully-loaded Monorail! I was very happy to ride the Seattle monorail, which happened to be pretty close to the hotel, it was a thrill.
ReplyDeleteAnon, I’m sure Mike will know.
Sue, aha!
JB, I’m not afraid of Travis Kelce, whose name I would not know if he wasn’t dating you know who. He’ll take one look at my muscles and slink away! It is a little strange that there are no visible people on the Pirate Ship, I wonder why? Mules ARE cute and fuzzy, but you take what you can get when you have a mechanical mule. Funny, that copper-colored gondola is the old round style, its days were numbered in 1965.
TokyoMagic!, huh, I have never seen the mule before, but then again, you went to the park a lot more than I did. I assume they still have such a vehicle in case of emergencies?
Mike Cozart, well, the “Tractor” is a fine name, if a bit unimaginative. I still wonder if somebody has that figurehead, an Imagineer who put it in his pickup truck, and maybe has it in storage (because it was so big). I’d love it if it showed up at auction!
TokyoMagic! TRUE!
TokyoMagic!, I agree, they could have easily changed it to make it less specific to Chicken of the Sea. Give her tattoos and piercings, for instance!
Stu29573, I’ve never fully bought the story of why/how the Pirate Ship was destroyed. “We were going to move it, honest!”. Um, if you say so. Monorail’s Lil Helper hoped to someday graduate to a full-grown Monorail, but, you know, machines don’t evolve. OR DO THEY?
Melissa, somehow your comment reminds me of a video of a celebrity (I can’t remember which one, maybe Jessica Simpson) figuring out that Chicken of the Sea was tuna, and not chicken. Yikes. I don’t remember a figurehead on Cap’n Hook’s ship, but it’s been a while since I’ve watched “Peter Pan”. “The youngest son of Ma and Pa Kettle”, ha ha! Do the parks still build restaurants that look like other things? I believe that some parks have eateries that look like steamboats, but I’m not sure. The “Erie Canal” song was one that our class learned in music class when I was around seven. Good old Sal!
Oh, the Pirate Ship! Most sorely missed! We can see on this day the little pumps at the bow that produced imitation “headway” were not running, so the Ship must be hove to.
ReplyDeleteDisney should have switched to chicken salad, added a chicken figurehead and changed the slogan to “The Tuna of the Barnyard”.
The tow vehicle is markedly unthematic, as befits a backstage machine. It’s even painted Caterpillar Yellow so there is no mistaking its utilitarian nature. I’m mildly surprised there was no railroad logo or something along the line of the Disneyland Naval Yards signage, “Disneyland Transit Center”, etc. Major, I knew this vehicle existed, but I have never seen a photo of it, thank you!
JG
I want to ride the Monorail Tractor. It's nice and open air and probably provides more open views. I wonder if you rode is standing up, your head could be lopped off or decapitated from the overhead beams and PeopleMover tracks in the Tomorrowland wooded areas where everything is multi-layered. WHACK!! THUMP!
ReplyDeleteIt's all good, Major. Thanks!
I forgot to mention that I have seen "The Tractor" in action a few times in all my years at Disneyland.
ReplyDeleteJG, that's brilliant! I would TOTALLY have eaten at Tuna of the Barnyard! And it would have had synergy up the wazoo when Disney acquired the Muppets. (Synergy up the wazoo used to be painful, but they have antibiotics for it now.)
ReplyDelete"It is a little strange that there are no visible people on the Pirate Ship, I wonder why?"
Maybe it was rented out for a private gathering of the Society of Claude Rains Impersonators.
@ Melissa-
ReplyDelete...the Society of Claude Rains Impersonators".
Another winner. Ka-ching-!
It's like a Monorail Zamboni (not really but I like that nickname)! :-D
ReplyDeleteJG, I love the details such as the little wake at the bow of the ship. I wonder how many people even noticed it? I love a good chicken salad, so I would be good with “The Tuna of the Barnyard”. Good point about the lack of markings on the tow vehicle, could it have been custom-built for the Disneyland Monorail?
ReplyDeleteK. Martinez, it would definitely be fun to zip along the Monorail track in the open air! It would definitely ruin your day to be decapitated doing it, though.
K. Martinez, lucky!
Melissa, why would it have had synergy with the Muppets??
Nanook, I’ve never seen a Claude Rains impersonator, but maybe it’s because they were all invisible.
Andrew, I know what you mean!
Melissa, why would it have had synergy with the Muppets??
ReplyDeleteJust because of Gonzo and his chicken friends. Camilla would have made a pretty figurehead. OK, maybe the synergy wouldn't have been all the way up the wazoo, but it could have been wazoo-adjacent.
@Melissa, glad you enjoyed. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteMajor, I’m sure the tug was custom built. I’m pretty sure the beam cross-section is specific to the Disneyland train. Is there video of it in action?
I’m wondering if current management has added the Mylar advertising skins to it.
JG
@ Melissa-
ReplyDelete"... wazoo-adjacent". I wonder if that carries the same cachet as "Beverly Hills adjacent"-??
In my RSS reader, the small version of the Pirate Ship looks like one of those tilt-shift pictures that make an architectural object look like a model.
ReplyDeleteJG - They're waiting for Pixar's "Mule" for a wrap on the tug.