A Pair From June 22, 1965
Here's two from June 22, 1965, starting with this first scan, from a slide that was damaged; I cropped off the bad parts, which is why it's nearly a square. Anyway, it's kind of a neat view because the two ladies are inside the Firehouse on Town Square! This is certainly the only photo that I have from this location. The big bell would wake up even the sleepiest fireman, or maybe even Walt Disney, who had his apartment upstairs (the little bell was for the dalmatian).
Next is this "not great" shot of two other ladies, buckling in for a terrifying ride aboard a rampaging flying elephant. I look forward to the long-awaited sequel to Dumbo, "Dumbo VS Godzilla". In 3D!
14 comments:
Major-
In addition to the aforementioned 'two' bells, there appears to be yet another [even] smaller bell - the set of twin coils visible next to the 5-gang, pushbutton wall switch plate.
Actually, the lady positioned closer to us on Dumbo is checking the number on her pager.
Thanks, Major.
Yay! More photos of Isabelle and Florence! I hope you have many more images from their DL visits, Major!
The lady on the left seems pretty proud of herself. Or maybe she's just a born exhibitionist. Or maybe she's trying to attract some hunky fireman, "They've gotta be here somewhere!"
I wonder what that row of push-buttons does? (Below the dalmatian's bell.)
"Dumbo vs Godzilla. In 3D!". If it's playing on an IMAX screen, I'm there! Little Dumbo is pretty small compared to 200 ft. tall Godzilla. Maybe Dumbo flies up Godzilla's nostrils and causes him to sneeze to death.
It's not such a bad little photo. We've got the Fruit Stripe gum support arms, we can see that these Dumbi don't flap their ears in flight, and we get a good view of the joystick lever that raises and lowers the pachyderms. It looks like the kid in the green-blanketed Dumbo is picking his nose. (The kid's nose, not Dumbo's.)
One would be hard-pressed to say where that first photo was taken, but the second photo is classic Disneyland! thanks, Major.
(In case anyone's interested, we saw Isabelle in Major's post from August 30, 2024. And we saw her sister Florence, in his post from May 17, 2024.)
Maybe Dumbo is planning on taking revenge for what happened in "Bambi Meets Godzilla?" (Available on You Tube!)
Is it my imagination, or is Dumbo looking ever so shiny and new? Even the railings look freshly painted: or perhaps this is just in the day when everything looked fresh? Looks like the Dumbi are second gen without flying ears. Flying ears would probably work now with lighter weight materials more readily available. I'm still a bit mystified why this ride continues to be as popular as something like Peter Pan....at the end of the day: Dumbo could be shaped like a giant aspirin going round and round and it's the same ride. I suppose riding around in an elephant is a much different photo op than a giant aspirin. The firehouse is like going into a bit of a time capsule- even today, and I highly recommend everyone to check it out whilst in the Park. Even the tiny stables for the horses have details: like cast brass hardware: that's really not even in view to guests. There are lot's of details: some that still exist from this photo: including the big bell: still in it's same place. Not too many people find the need to stop by, so it's always a nice respite from the crowds milling about the plush counters at the Emporium, or those racing to be shot at with lasers and whatnots. I advise to see it while it's still around: as there seems to be no sacred cows anymore. Thanks to Izzy, Flo and Major!
The last time I went in the Firehouse, I was in high school, I think. Time to fix that. My first thought seeing that picture was that it was taken in an old classroom, the wood paneling is so similar to those old rooms. Great catch, Major! The rows of buttons are almost certainly light switches. Top button is ON, button below is OFF. The ON buttons might have abalone mother-of-Pearl inserts as I have seen in other (real) old buildings dating from the first electrical lighting. I wonder if these were salvaged from a real building or built by Bob Gurr on his lunch hour between Main Street vehicle designs?
Ditto on Dumbo popularity, I just can’t see it. I mean, even if he were supersonic and armed with missiles, he still just goes in circles looking at the elephant backside ahead. Oh well, having tons of guests in that queue means fewer in the Casey Jr. line, and that’s a plus for me. This photo is heavy on details, which is good.
Thanks Major, very nice photos today.
JG
I used to go into the fire house all the time. A veritable museum of old firefighting stuff. And the stalls for Bess and Jess were just too cool.
Nanook, there are probably smaller and smaller bells, until we reach the atomic level. AND STILL I CONTINUE TO SHRINK! Pager reads: “Remember, you’re an alien from the future, don’t be obvious”.
TokyoMagic!, Isabelle and Florence, the two hottest babes in Anaheim.
JB, I’m a born exhibitionist, I love to walk into public places naked. If they don’t like it, they can go to heck. I wonder if they ever had a fireman character in the Firehouse? Smokey Joe. Dumbo is smaller than Godzilla, but he has magical qualities that Godzilla can’t even imagine. Like invisibility! They didn’t show that in the movie, but it’s true. I love it when a kid is caught on film picking his nose, there’s a famous issue of “The Disneylander” with a great example on the back cover.
TokyoMagic!, whew, they are fully dressed in those photos, I was worried.
Stu29573, ha, I first saw “Bambi Meets Godzilla” at one of those “Spike and Mike Animation Festivals” decades ago. A classic.
Bu, Dumbo has received a fresh coat of elephant wax, made from dolphins and bald eagles. You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs! Yum, omelets. Now I’m hungry. I wonder if they made entirely new elephants for the “stationary ear” version, or did they just reinforce the joints and fill it with Bondo? I think Dumbo is one of those “first ride” experiences for many small children, and it’s probably pretty thrilling for them at that age. I’ve been on it once or twice, and it’s fun enough, but not worth a long line. Leave it to the others! I’ve done the Astro Orbiter precisely once, if the Rocket Jets were still up on their high platform I’d do that all the time. Until perhaps two years ago, I’d never been inside the Firehouse, and was charmed by the details, such as the horse stalls. And it was fun to be so close to the beautiful “chemical” fire wagon. It would be great it they made it a Star Wars-themed fire station, though.
JG, I was looking at that varnished plywood (?) wall, I have no idea how authentic that is, or if it was just an affordable option to plaster. Somehow it does give off a “schoolroom” vibe, though I don’t remember ever having a schoolroom with varnished plywood walls. Those light switches remind me of my grandparent’s house, we loved pushing the buttons, which of course drove my grandpa crazy. The heater was also controlled by buttons with magical glowing lights, we could not keep our hands off of those. Who cares if we turned the heat on in the middle of summer? I think part of the appeal of the Dumbo ride is that it is so “classic Disneyland”, it’s been around for over 60 years and is sometimes the first thing people think of.
Steve DeGaetano, I was admiring the quality of the woodwork on those horse stalls, those old-timers really knew their stuff.
The UP/DOWN control on DUMBO is identical to today’s 6th generation DUMBO!!
Test
Hmm blogger has been eating my post .. ??
The firehouse at WDW has shadowboxes with patches from fire departments around the country (and maybe a few foreign ones). Does the Disneyland have them too?
‘Clara’ there seems to know her way around a bell. Haha
I thought/think they might be the same two women on different days. Same-ish hair styles, but it is the glasses that make me think so, but I haven’t referenced our known Flo & Belle photos.
MS
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