It has finally happened! Today I am posting the final two slide scans from a cursed lot of slides from April, 1974. "Cursed? Major Pepperidge, surely you don't believe in such nonsense!". Well, I DO! These slides had the unfortunate distinction of being mostly too dark, and the only explanation that makes sense is THE SUPERNATURAL. But the curse is broken today, thanks to clean living and jazzercise (yes, I have leg warmers).
Neither of today's photos are that bad, admittedly. They are also not great, but you can't have it all. This first one is a nice view of a section of Fantasyland as seen from the Skyway, passing near the Pirate Ship, with the Drooling Skull (terrifying) and Monstro da Whale mid-frame. Near the horizon, it's a small world gleams like a city out of a dream. We even get a little Peoplemover action.
How do they keep their lawn so green? Plenty of manure, I'll bet. And there's no dandelions or burr clover or other unsightly weeds. It's a lawn that Hank Hill would be proud of. The flowerbeds of swirling yellow and orange flowers are almost psychedelic. And hey, there's a certain snow-capped mountain just past those palm trees.
Say! Two fellas made a wrong turn at Albuquerque and somehow wound up at the very peak of the Matterhorn! They are probably suffering from hypoxia, frostbite, and athlete's foot. But they have a song in their hearts and pockets full of dreams!
Major-
ReplyDeleteAll I need is Skull Rock for a great day-!
Thanks, Major.
I love this photo! (I'm keepin' it!). It screams Disneyland. (But it's a good scream). Skully's drool never looked better, and I love the masts and crows nests of the Pirate Ship thrusting upward. At first, I couldn't locate Monstro; all I saw was that deep blue lake with icebergs floating in it.... Then I realized that the deep blue lake WAS Monstro! He's a master at camouflage; no wonder he swallows so many boats, no one can see him coming!
ReplyDeleteOoOoOh! Another excellent photo! (I'm keepin' this one, too!) You already listed all the great features of the pic, so I don't have to; thanks! The psychedelic flowers are marigolds, I believe.
I'm trying to confirm that there are actually three fellas atop the Mountain. One of them appears to be lying down; passed out from hypoxia no doubt, like you said. If there are three climbers, then this would be a rare photo, capturing all three Alpenkleimen brothers: Hans, Fritz, and Otto!
Two 'keepers' in one day! Treat yourself to a Golden Gorilla and a Zinger! Thanks, Major.
That first pic also gives us a peek at the blue and white Small World Souvenir Stand, the orange and pink Fantasyland Caricature Stand (behind the mast on the right) and the blue smokestack and engine of the Fantasyland ice cream train. But I'm trying to figure out what that red and yellow strip is on the far right. Was that the souvenir stand that was located across from the entrance to the Motor Boat Cruise? I don't ever remember it being painted with those colors.
ReplyDeleteFrom the appearance of those palm trees, it appears to be a little windy in the Matterhorn shot.
JB, don't forget the fourth and fifth brothers, Gunther and Friedrich! ;-)
^ They are afraid of heights and are never seen on the snowy slopes of the Matterhorn... We don't talk about Gunther and Friedrich.
ReplyDeleteJB, oh...that's right! Their sisters, Liesel, Louisa, Bridgitta, Marta, and Gretyl, were all ashamed of them!
ReplyDeleteDisneyland in it's "Salad Days". I'm really not too sure what that means, but a friend of mine refers to "ahhh...that was us in our salad days" a lot. I believe that it is a good thing, and I do enjoy salad. Skull Rock looks amazing from this viewpoint: drool and all. And we also see a very shiny Monstro...but never never mention his breathing mechanism...or it will be bad. It's nice to see a PeopleMover "comin' round the mountain"....and I always thought it was nice that the ride not only creeped into Fanstasyland: but made the entire trip. Instead of bringing the PeopleMover back to life, let's fill in the Rivers of America. There. I said it. For another chapter and blog. Back to the Matterhorn and the Family Von Fritz up there on the top...and it looks like there is three of them...just goes to show not everything needs to produce cash, and can be subtlety in the background. The green grass is amazing: Nitrogen and Iron. California sun helps too. The sod was replaced pretty regularly if I remember correctly: as were the floral swirls. They did it during operating hours after the "closed Monday Tuesday" ended...and the guests didn't seem to mind. In fact: it looked kind of natural watching the guys plant these successions of flowers. Marigolds self seed and are quite prolific: an interesting choice here as normally they are considered quite a common flower: when you do them in these big fields they become very uncommon. If you don't want deer munching your entire yard: they are good to plant. Mosquitos don't particular like them either. They also hate basil. I wouldn't mind a swirl of marigolds and basil: very fragrant, and I kind of like the smell of marigolds. You can see the stripe swirls of the yellow and orange flowers: it's very subtle but purposeful. I saw a super lame photo of the upcoming "new Tomorrowland" with a "nod" to these floral displays. No...it was not a nod: it was a blip. You can't do these things in a blip. They need to be amazing and have scale/gravitas. If you are going to do it: do it right. and I will leave it there. Thanks Major!
ReplyDeleteTOKYO: that stripe turret you are seeing is part of the Fantasyland caricature stand - it was a colorful toy-like castle structure - designed by Rolly Crump . It was part of several fantasyland stands added about the same time also designed by Rolly . These included the famous Fantasyland Ice Cream Train.
ReplyDeleteNanook, don’t you need a glass of Florida orange juice too??
ReplyDeleteJB, like the cuttlefish, Monstro can change his color and even his pattern. Sometimes he looks like trees, sometimes he looks like a pile of ice cream. You just never know. I think there are only two climbers atop the Matterhorn, I think the reclining figure might just be a shadow. But I could be wrong, since we have definitely seen three fellas on the mountain before.
TokyoMagic!, ah, that’s a caricature stand? You’ve probably said that before; I just wrote blog post where I describe it as a souvenir stand. I guess a caricature IS a souvenir! Will I go and fix that blog post? No! I think the red and yellow things are umbrellas, that area might be a dining “zone” that was there for a short while. You’re right, it looks a b it gusty in that second shot - not surprising for April. What about the youngest Matterhorn climber, Justin?
JB, I definitely don’t talk about… those guys.
TokyoMagic!, wow, that family was prodigious!
Bu, I’ve never liked the term “salad days”, but always assumed that salad was a first or second course, so salad days were “early days”. I guess. I do like this angle for Skull Rock, it’s almost like an orthographic drawing. Not quite but close enough. When I see the amount of money that they will be spending on awful junk in Florida, I think that we could have our Peoplemover back. They just really don’t want to do it! I think it’s a pride thing by now. “If we give them what they want, they’ll think that we’ll always bend to their will!”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen new sod going in at the park, but then again, I didn’t go there enough. You sure did! I have seen them replacing flowers, and the last time I was there before rope drop, I watched landscape crews carefully clipping any tree branches that might be a tad too low. About 20 seconds before the actual rope dropped, they skedaddled! I have a fondness for marigolds, since I planted some as a school project when I was around six or seven years old, and they grew very well! You never forget a thing like that. I’m sure my mom helped a lot when I wasn’t looking, since I’m sure I was watching cartoons rather than watering them. Many of the announcements from D-23 left me unimpressed or just plain sad, but they aren’t making the park for farts like me anymore. The kids seemed so excited.
Mike Cozart, I love Rolly, but have never been fond of that toylike caricature stand, it seems so out of place. To me, anyway. I guess IASW is full of “toys” so maybe I’m out of line.
If you had told 1974 me that I would get misty-eyed over these scenes 50 years later I would not have believed you. But there you go.
ReplyDeleteThat’s a splendid view from the Skyway and even the merest glimpse of that drooling skull is enough to lift my spirits all day. Like JB I’m hijacking this for a screen backdrop. I don’t spend as much time in front of a desktop any more, but I will still see it occasionally.
Also good to see the bits of those odd structures lining the parade route. I’m with you, Major, the caricature stand feels out of place and the ice cream train was weird.
Imagine having “Climbing Artificial Mountain” on your resume. I also like marigolds, especially the “Cracker Jack” big ones, had a big row of them on the farm to fend off gophers etc.
Thanks Major!
JG
PS. This blogger comment window is suboptimal. Whoever programmed this should have to use it…
I have fond memories of the ice cream train but as an adult designer those rolky crump structures look like something for SANTA’S VILLAGE. Not long ago I worked on some projects that would have saved WDW’s Frontierland and Liberty Square compared to the coming disaster announced at D23. …. There is some hope for Disneyland’s Tomorrowland ….
ReplyDeleteThese pictures really show the difference between theming in Disneyland and Disney World. Disney World's theming is (was) creating visual barriers so everything you see within the land was part of that land. Disneyland was too small for that, so you could see elements from multiple lands at once but they were still visually pleasing.
ReplyDeleteOf course Disney World has been dropping that philosophy in recent years, and the announcement that they're filling in the river and putting cars rides there makes me expect Liberty Square will lose all cohesion as we either see cartoon cars racing from the Revolutionary-era town, or a wooded berm is built to crudely block the ride from view.
Mike, I'd be interesting in hearing those proposals if you're at liberty to share them.
Color me twitterpated over these today! Thanks Major
ReplyDeleteMS
JG, I know what you mean! Obviously I have devoted a lot of time and energy to enjoying the Disneyland of the past. It’s not that I don’t ever want change, I understand that it is necessary, but it is disappointing when that change is done because “kids don’t know that IP anymore” (see: The Swiss Family Treehouse) or “we can replace that with a fast ride” (see: Rocket Rods), or for other not-great reasons. I don’t remember the ice cream train personally, though I believe that an old parade float was repurposed, which I kind of enjoy. Do marigolds actually repel gophers?? Sorry about the new comment window, there’s apparently nothing I can do about it.
ReplyDeleteMike Cozart, yes, Santa’s Village is apt, or even the early Magic Mountain. I didn’t see any D23 announcement for Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, if there is some hopeful news I’d love to hear it!
Dean Finder, having never been to WDW, I did not know that there were visual barriers to prevent clashing elements from being seen from one land to another. I guess I assumed that Florida was so flat, and they didn’t use berms (as far as I am aware), that you could see from one place to another. One of the things that really kills me about the recent announcements re: the Magic Kingdom is that they have SO much land, but they use it to build more and more hotels. Why not expand the MK, keep the beautiful river (etc), and add those new attractions?
MS, I’m glad you liked these!
With all the exciting attractions showing up in Image #1, do you know what caught my eye first?? The striped trash can. It really is a great shot with so much squeezed in.
ReplyDeleteAnd the second image is a winner, too.
Thanks, Major. (I'm still trying to picture you in those leg warmers.)
Mike, I knew that the striped turret was a part of the Fantasyland Caricature Stand, but I was talking about the row of red and yellow just above Monstro. I think Major is right.....I can see now that they are umbrellas. That area had additional seating for people to eat the food that they had purchased over at the "Character Foods" stand (Fan II). The area was raised, and was located pretty much where the current queue for Storybook Land is. It was an excellent spot to watch the parades, if you were lucky enough to find an empty table.
ReplyDelete