June is a big birthday month! Today we are celebrating JB's big day! And as usual, Sue B. sent along a vintage birthday photo. From the 1960s? Maybe early 1970s? A family gathers around a boy who is about the blow out the candles on his chocolate cake. 10 candles! I love the decor, especially the pictures on the wall, presumably somebody (Mother?) is an artist. Happy Birthday, JB!
It's time for more photos from the Dream Team (Irene, Bruce, and James)! I realize that it hasn't been that long since the last DT installment, but that's how life is sometimes. Today I will share a trio of photos that I am assuming is from not long after Toontown opened - it debuted June 18, 1988. It was the first new "land" at Disneyland since Bear Country (later "Critter Country") opened in 1972.
There it is, looking a bit murky in these old photo prints - I'm sure the color was actually much more saturated and clear. The green hills with the TOONTOWN sign are a nice deep green, it seemed that this feature tended to fade, or at least it was more noticeable when it did so. Notice Gadget in the lower left, I admit that she looks kind of scary!
To the left is the entrance to Gadget's Go Coaster, a roller coaster for kids; can an adult even fit in those little cars? I rarely wander back to Toontown, so I'm not sure what that building is right in the middle. Maybe Mickey lives there? It's nice to see the Jolly Trolley, before it became a static prop.
We get a much better look at the Jolly Trolley here, along with the crowds that were common in those early days. I thought that the wonky blue structure might be Donald Duck's house, until I saw that the tower is topped by Goofy's hat. He obviously built that house with his own gloved hands, and he did quite a good job.
Many thanks to the Dream Team!
Major-
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday JB-! I hope your birthday cake has [at least] 10 candles on it, as does the one for our young lad, here. (Just what is he holding-?)
That distinguished gentleman in the left corner looks like a cross between George Burns and my [maternal] Grandfather.
Thanks to the DT, Sue and The Major.
Happy birthday, JB!... Oh wait... force of habit!
ReplyDeleteA family of celebrities! There's George Burns (dang, Nanook beat me to it!) looking very dapper, on the left. Lady Bird Johnson is next, in the white sweater. And Pat Paulsen looking typically dour, on the right. I wonder if he ran for president in that year? And of course, Rex the wonder dog! Famous for..... being wondrous... or something. Hmmm, six napkins with eating utensils and seven people, plus Rex. I guess it's sort of like musical chairs; somebody's gonna get left out! My mom had a few of those chunky candles with the wreath of fake flowers plopped over it.
Thank you, Sue. I (we all) appreciate your effort and contributions here at GDB.
1) I think we have another photo from the Dream Team with Gadget marching determinedly toward us. She seems to be glaring at us. WHAT DID WE DO?
2) I've never seen ToonTown in person. So I'm even more clueless about it than you, Major. But yeah, let's call that Mickey's House... until someone here says otherwise.
3) Maybe that's Donald's house over to the right, with the masts and nautical flags? The light blue thing is reminiscent of his cap. I think the guy on the left in the red & blue checkered print shirt should get todays VFA.
Thanks you, Dream Team. Thank you, Sue. Thank you, Major.
Yep, that's Mickey's House. The little structure to the left of it, and above the Gadget's Go Coaster sign, is the exit to Mickey's Movie Barn. It's where Mickey makes his movies....his rated "R" movies ("R" for "Raton").
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, that is Donald's Boat, to the right of Goofy's house.
Happy birthday, JB! And many more! On Channel 4!
Thank you, Major, Irene, Bruce, and James!
Thanks to Sue, too! I didn't mean to leave you out! I love ALL of the vintage birthday and holiday images that you find and share with us!
ReplyDeleteOooops, one more comment! Only one more, I swear!
ReplyDeleteMajor, the date you gave for the opening of Toontown is the date for WDW's Toontown, formerly Mickey's Toontown Fair, formerly Mickey's Toyland, formerly Mikey's Starland, formerly Mickey's Birthdayland.
Disneyland's Toontown opened on January 24, 1993......unfortunately.
Happy Birthday JB...which sounds kind of like a movie mogul circa 1941: "It's gonna be big picthcha JB, REALLY BIG!!" "Sign these contracts for me JB, will ya?" On to Toontown...which I did visit in the early 2000's I think...those were the days of "bring "Dasani" water into the Park...presented by Kettle One"....I have very faint memories of this "land", what first comes to mind is "faded" and "with all the things they could have built...this was it?" In those days "cheap and cheery" seemed to be the order of the day...and by golly, they did it. I suppose kids liked it...but don't they have an entire land devoted to that particular avenue where big giant kids like me can enjoy it too? Minnies House was cute...and it was like (and probably continues to be) walking into a big Fisher Price set. The Mickey railway thingy now is the "E Ticket" of the land...it's techno-tastic...lacks some old school charm..as tech is kind of "cold" unlike paper-mache hippos in "it's a small world" which I really love. How Toon Town got "green-lit" kind of amazes me...not sure if there are really any viable/volumn-driven merchandise or food locations here....possibly...there were too many kids so this big kid said "I'm outta here" and left the Park right after that...Back to pic #1 and the birthday boy....I think that art is kind of family historic/history/roots/etc. driven...they all don't look like they may be from exotic lands...however gramps could be from a distant land...not sure about the rest...and maybe Dad...who is clearly the photographer...could be the exotic one? Happy Birthday again JB and thanks Major and The Dream Team!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday JB! Many happy returns of the day!
ReplyDeleteLove that pendant lamp! Just like the one we used to have. Lucky kids to have both sets of grandparents. Thank you Sue for scrounging up these photos too, how do you do it?
We visited the Park with our kids sometime around this time, Toontown was brand new, overcrowded, garish, hot, and free of decent food. I do have some good memories of Roger Rabbit and a jail cell with rubber bars. Our kids loved it when they were tiny, but I don’t think we even went there on our last trip with them. I do think it’s good to have some things in the Park geared to the very young. I think Bu said everything I would say otherwise, including the paper-mache hippo which is my very favorite IASW character.
Thanks Major and the DT!
JG
I loved Toontown when it first opened. My only gripe was including Gadget's Go-Coaster and the character Gadget. This land was inspired by "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and had a 1940's vibe taken from the Touchstone/Amblin film. A character from the later era "Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers" didn't belong in IMHO.
ReplyDeleteI'm full of joy as I see the original format of the Jolly Trolley with two trollies connected. That is how it originally operated and provide great kinetic energy to the area. As a single trolley the kinetic energy wasn't quite the same. And now it's completey gone with tracks removed as well.
Thanks to Dream Team, Sue & Major.
Happy birthday JB! With two trolleys operating on the Jolly Trolley for Max Capacity, I'm sure it was a true people eater! Or not. I've been out of the loop lately, but I've been enjoying all the posts.
ReplyDeleteOh, and happy birthday, JB!
ReplyDeleteNanook, yeah, I now see 11 candles, but I am sober today. I can see the George Burns resemblance, though George looked nicer!
ReplyDeleteJB, I can’t see the name “Lady Bird” without thinking of the hound dog on “King of the Hill”. Pat Paulsen, wow, how many people remember who he was? I do recall him being on lots of TV shows, I don’t think I ever found him that funny, but I liked him anyway. Six Napkins for Seven People, one of the worst MGM musicals. Did we see Gadget before? I hope I didn’t accidentally post the same photo twice, it happens. I like the idea of ToonTown, but there is something lacking there. It’s better with Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (or whatever it’s called), but I still want MORE there. I guess if I ever have a house, I will need to have a version of my hat on it?
TokyoMagic!, you know as much about ToonTown as you do about Knott’s! Thank you for clarifying what’s what. Thanks to copyright laws, we can now make a REAL rated “R” Mickey movie!
TokyoMagic!, yes, you’d better thank Sue, or she’ll come after you.
TokyoMagic!, see my comment to Nanook; I was clearly very drunk when I wrote this post. Why is it unfortunate that TT actually opened on that date?
Bu, I wish I was an old-fashioned movie mogul, mostly so I’d have excuses to use the word “colossal” a lot. Also “BOFFO”, which is hard to use in daily conversation. Could you not get water in the park in the early 2000s? I guess you’d just have to buy a soda. I realize that I am nitpicking, but Disney cartoons generally did not have the wacky “not a straight line in the place” style - that was more Fleischer and other early studios like Van Beuren or even early Terrytoons. Walt was always striving for “realism”, or a version of it. I’ve never been inside any of the character houses in TT, maybe they are charming. I do like the Runaway Railway, it feels like a nice sizable attraction that, as you said, is bright and cheery. I would think that clever people could come with specific TT merchandise, but I’ve never seen any that I wanted to possess.
JG, are pendant lamps still a thing? My mom bought one at an estate sale, I think it’s kind of ugly, but it has big chunks of colored glass, which she likes. It hangs in the stairwell. ToonTown, I remember hearing that they originally wanted to make the Roger Rabbit ride multi-level, sort of like the Alice ride, but they cheaped out. I hate that they don’t see the long-term picture. Spend more money now, but then you have a more spectacular attraction for many decades. My main memories of early TT are watching a line of people who wanted to pose with a prop car, everybody wanted to do an “I’ve been run over!” pic.
K. Martinez, I know what you mean about the 1940s vibe, but I guess they could argue that TT is home to ALL Toons? I assume that Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers was a big deal when the land was built, and ya gotta have that IP! I didn’t remember that the Jolly Trolly was ever more than a single car, so seeing the two connected is kind of mind blowing.
Andrew, there you are! I hope all is well, thanks for checking in.
K. Martinez, hopefully JB will have a clown lined up for the big party later today.
Coming in late as usual. I'm amazed how all the GDB members stay up all night just waiting to "pounce" on the latest installment with their comments.
ReplyDeleteFirst, a hearty Happy Birthday JB! May your cake be as yummy as what Mom made in the photo. That was the FIRST thing I looked at. That's what Moms did back then...make a cake...not buy one from the bakery. And darn...the frosting was pure sugar too. Just the way I like it. Amazingly, I still have my teeth. But then again, those were baby teeth days for the most part and due to fall out.
Toontown was much more interesting with the Trolley operating. Motion within the land made a difference. Much like the Peoplemover in Tomorrowland. Bummer.
Lastly, for those inclined to know, I added a comment to yesterday's post about why all those telephone numbers were in the hotel guide. KS
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JB!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sue for being the GDB “den mother “ and always locating the perfect vintage birthday theme cub photos.
The earliest proposals for a “TOONTOWN” for Disneyland go back to the mid 1980’s when there were plans to replace THE MICKEY MOUSE REVUE with a Black Cauldron attraction at TOKYO DISNEYLAND ( DL CA was also planning a Black Cauldron - thst allowed guests to choose their direction at various points ) anyway a proposal was created on how a Mickey Mouse Revue relocated to Disneyland Anaheim might look ( a image appears in the ART OF DISNEYLAND book) it featured a downtown abd residegtidl section with Mickey house , a Mickey revue theater and a Scrooge McDuck bank vault coin crawl. A dark ride of a Disney character 1920’s movie studio done in black and white was also developed. EISNER wanted more character and Disney tv character exposure at Disneyland.. and Eisner produced films … so when tiger rabbit hit the screens the ball started rolling. Then the big TOMORROWLAND 2055 project started to get underway and Eisner halted it to bring the cost down .. while that was being revised , a MICKEYS TOONTOWN and FANTASMIC projects grabbed Eisners attention … and they rest happened the way it did. No new Tomorrowland 2055 .
My phone changed PARTY to CUB (?? ) ….. we are doomed with AI!! Lol!
ReplyDeleteKS, you have to be right at your keyboard to be the first to comment! 12:01 AM, BE THERE! My brother has gone through some stuff, so when it’s his birthday, I have made him a cake for the last four years or so (since my mom can’t do it at her age). I think he appreciates it. I wonder if the Jolly Trolly was just not used by guests? Or the “suits” figured out the easiest way to increase profits - eliminate rides and the employees needed to operate them. Ugh. I’ll look at your telephone number comment after I’m done with today’s comments!
ReplyDeleteMike Cozart, I have no doubt that the plans for ToonTown were considerably more involved and fun than the final version - that’s pretty much standard. For nearly 30 years, they did not add a single thing to TT, which seems almost criminal. I’d love to know if there are a lot of rejected concepts. I’m kind of glad that we did not get the Mickey Mouse Revue - perhaps it was wonderful, but I am over the shows where the audience passively sits and watches AA figures as they “perform”. I’m sure many people enjoy those, but hey, I have my own opinion! Meanwhile, I do think there should be a Scrooge McDuck/Duck Tales attraction!
Mike Cozart, it’s OK I knew what you meant.
Should the Jolly Trolly be the Jolly Trolliday? Or does that speak to much to Trolls....? Us Norsk peoples want the world Troll in everything....I also commented on the phone lines from yesterday...those interested, take a look...and ditto on the Mickey Mouse review...I wanted to see this in WDW before it was taken out, but seems like it was another Bear Band, America Screams thing...akin to a very very well done Chuck E Cheese...and nothing like the wonderful Carousel of Progress...which still delights, and I've never had to wait in line for...which is a good thing...and could be a bad thing...."Troll World"...kind of Smurfy...but could go into the Norway Pavillion in EPCOT. Trolls in Norway have very little to do with plastic figurines with orange hair...just saying....a long history of trolls: Ask Ibsen.
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY, JB! I hope you are having a wonderful day, eating lots of delicious birthday cake, and doing everything that makes you happy. You deserve it!
ReplyDelete"KS, you have to be right at your keyboard to be the first to comment! 12:01 AM, BE THERE! "
And us folks east of the Mississippi have to stay up til 2:01/3:01 AM to comment early. Yes, we are crazy enough to do that. A lot.
Speaking of Pat Paulsen, I remember watching him in the 1960s, running for president, on the Smothers Brothers Show. I just now went on YouTube and watched some of the videos of him, from back then. Ha!
ReplyDeleteWhy is it unfortunate that TT actually opened on that date?
ReplyDeleteMajor, it's not the date that's unfortunate, it's the fact that it opened at all! Like Bu, I took one look at Toontown and thought, "with all the things they could have built...this was it?". I thought it was ugly, and too open and bare with almost no landscaping and without a berm surrounding it. And they already had Fantasyland, why did they need to go and copy Knott's with a Disney version of Camp Snoopy. And even the things that were "kids-only" like the ball crawl and bounce house, were removed pretty quickly, along with most of the interactive elements of Donald's Boat, AND the Jolly Trolley. So what was the point in building an entire Toontown "land"? They should have just built the Roger Rabbit ride (which is a fun ride) and maybe the Mickey meet 'n greet, and not bothered with the rest of it.....in my opinion, anyway! Let me put it this way, if "Light Magic" had been a "land," it would have been the equivalent of Toontown. :-)
Pat Paulsen. Such an underappreciated comic. He was hilarious on the Smothers Show. I have a Pat Paulsen for President '68 button. And while I never met the man, I did meet his wife at their winery in Napa Valley and have a bottle with his signature on the label. KS
ReplyDelete