Casey Jones Junior, 1956
Here are two more scans from some oversized (120 format) transparencies - both featuring Casey Jones Junior as he pulled the colorful circus train through Storybook Land. I've always loved the way Casey looks just like his cartoon counterpart. The driver sees us taking his picture, and is frankly sick of the paparazzi. "Don't they understand that I am a person, with feelings and needs like the shmucks I look down upon?". He's a work in progress.
A second photo reveals that the canal (for the Storybook Land Canal Boats) is empty for some reason - a worker of some sort is partly obscured by a fence pole to the right. Could this be from the early days before all of the charming miniature vignettes were added to Storybook Land? After two months of operation, the Canal Boats closed while Storybook Land was constructed and the muddy banks were landscaped with miniature plants, including a bonsai tree planted by Walt Disney himself. It seems very possible!
Hey, why not zoom in, since these large-format transparencies are high-quality? We can see the fearsome Wild Animals, both wearing pink dresses.
9 comments:
Those are some very lovely weeds, in that first pic.
Major, that second pic is a very rare shot of the installation of the giant "quilt" from the Disney short, "Lullaby Land." We can see that Toad Hall had not yet been placed on that point of land on the far left. A rare shot, indeed! Thanks for sharing!
Hmm, the Casey Jr. driver looks suspiciously like the villainous "Agent Smith" in "The Matrix". Does that mean that all of us are in the Matrix and don't realize it? Maybe I should try bending some tableware with my mind. I think this photo needs some more blue sky. ;-)
Maybe that's Walt behind the pole, planting his bonsai tree!!! OK, probably not. We gots us some power poles in this here photygraph.
Wild animals with pink dresses are the most dangerous of all! Their pink coloration comes from the bloodstains of their prey... or maybe from eating crustaceans, like flamingos do.
And look! The monkeys in the monkey cage are all wearing red. That means they're angry. And when monkeys get angry, they fling 'stuff'.
Tokyo!, And then they replaced those lovely weeds with miniature trees and shrubs and cottages, and castles and stuff... TRE!
I always enjoy these large format slides, Major. Thanks.
Note the occupants of the red cage are wearing pink and the occupants of the pink cage are wearing red. That means something. I just don’t know what.
TM!, I believe you are mistaken. That prominent point of land is where Agrabah will be built. Toad Hall will be installed sometime later between the giant quilt and Arendelle. Frankly, I’m surprised that such a minor film of dubious quality that nobody remembers is even included along with scenes from such immortal classics such as Aladdin and Frozen. ;-)
I'm amazed that Storybook Land with its canal boats and circus trains are still at Disneyland. I always rode the attractions of Storybook Land when visiting Disneyland because I enjoyed it immensely. It always brings me back to early days of the park and the good memories.
Thanks, Major.
TokyoMagic!, I wonder if I could eat those weeds? If only Michael Eisner was around, we would all know! I feel like a dope, of course the quilt is being installed, I guess I was on LSD again. And thanks for pointing out where Toad Hall would eventually be, that’s very cool!
JB, whenever I think of Agent Smith, I think of his voice saying “MisteR AndeRson” (emphasis on the r’s). And then I think of him opening a can of whoopass! Walt Disney loved to relax and make bonsai trees, he also did that thing where you rake sand into patterns. You know, that thing! Pink coloring: I used to read that hippos sweated pink because there was blood in their persperation. Or something. I wish I sweated blood, how cool would that be?
Chuck, your observation about the colors/cages is proof of the Coriolis effect. I forget, was Toad Hall moved at some point? I remember there was a lot of controversy, I think it was removed entirely for a while. I like seeing Agrabah and the golden domes, but am less enamored of Arendelle - which I am sure is a function of my decrepitude.
K. Martinez, I agree, a beautiful little ride that has no loops or wookies or lightcycles does not seem to be the kind of thing Disney values these days. However, I have witnessed long lines for Storybook Land on my last few visits, which showed that guests still enjoyed that attraction.
Story Bookland is looking pretty rough here. Not only dirt and weeds, but those crass, utilitarian wooden retaining walls. Image trying to make those pink and gold glittery! And seeing that gardener stitching together the giant quilt is amazing.
But the train looks great and we have to start somewhere, …journey of a thousand miles yadda yadda… I’ve always felt most at home in the Monkey Cage Car.
Ken sums up my feelings about Casey and the whole ensemble. Some of my earliest Disneyland memories are right here, and I hope it stays forever.
Thanks Major, special pictures today.
JG
Major, our comments crossed in the ether.
You are correct, Toad Hall was once where Agrabah is today. The Sultan bought up a number of English estates with his oil money. I think he bought the Emporium too.
I’m not sure if Toad Hall was absent for a while or not, but now it resides on a niche in the bank downstream of the Quilt, Ratty’s House came along with it, so we can see him “…messing about in boats…”
I don’t mind Arendelle since they did include more icy peaks for the background and even as old as I am, I never saw the Old Mill cartoon all the way through.
Overall, the additions for the newer films seem (to me at least) to do little damage to the spirit of the original ride while including scenes that younger audiences can enjoy.
I wish there was more reference to Beauty and the Beast, (which I thought was a fine film and underrepresented in the Park), but I can’t point to anything I could live without to make room.
JG
In Koenig's "Mouse Tales" books there's a story about groups of Marines going on the Storybook boats and, to the puzzlement of cast members, asking for a particular hostess. It turned out that when she had a boat full of uniforms she'd do a dirty version of the spiel.
My favorite Storybookland “story” is when Fred Joeger / the model maker of most of the miniature buildings - was installing the Alice village church structure he was disappointed the copper roof was so new and shinny he k ew the quickest way to weather the metal . He urinated on the miniature roof! This greatly irritated the landscapers . As a salute Fred Joeger’s Main Street window reads “ Fred Joeger :decorative fountains - all kinds”.
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