Knott's Monkey Farm, 1960s

I have three fun photos from Knott's Monkey Farm, from what I think is the early 1960s (judging by the clothes and the buzz-cuts on some of the boys). Walter Knott knew that boysenberries were OUT, and monkeys were IN, so he wisely changed the focus of his popular farm. FYI, two of the slides had damage, which explains the different aspect ratios of the images. 

It appears that boys were more fascinated by the Capuchin monkey than anybody else, and that makes sense of course. I hope they treated the little guy with kindness. Or else he might bite their thumbs off! The boy with the blue cap is wondering if he could grab the monkey and make a run for it. They would be pals forever, solve crimes, and be elected as co-Presidents of the United States someday. 

I'm not sure if that boy is shaking the monkey's hand (paw?), or if he is giving him a nickel. Judging by the hands of some of the other boys, they appear to be ready with their own coins. Notice the one to the right with the Davy Crockett t-shirt! Which might mean that these photos are from the 1950s?  The kid to the left is thinking, "Yeah, yeah, but can he smoke a cigarette? I want him to smoke a cigarette".

You know what? I want a monkey too!

1950s Fantasyland Pix

Here are two more scans from a batch of loose, unmounted transparencies from various years in the 1950s- these larger-format images really captured some nice details.

The good old Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship - well, it wasn't so old in this photo. In fact, it had there for under a year. If you look just in front of the bow, you can see some of the Casey Jr. track before the "rock work" had been added (in the summer of 1956). No matter how many photos I've seen of this ship, I am always impressed at the beauty of this feature - not a ride, but a restaurant. Amazing!

Nearby, a woman poses with Monstro the Whale right behind her. Quite the photo op! I like the guests to the right, intently watching the canal boats as they loaded and then headed toward Monstro's gaping maw. The man with the red plaid flannel reminds me of my paternal grandfather; thinking about it now, I don't know if he ever visited Disneyland. 

 

SNOOZLES™

Sometimes I'll be going through a batch of scans, and I'll wonder (out loud), "Is THIS a Snoozle?". But other times it is so obvious that there is no need for me to talk to myself (though it is fun, you should try it). 

Beautiful Frontierland (from a February 1977 scan) doesn't look very inviting here; in fact I am reasonably sure that there are bears and mountain lions and raccoons just waiting to eat any guests who happen to wander too far into that dark, gloomy forest. Even the normally-cheerful Mark Twain can't cheer things up. I thought there was a large white bird on top of a rock, to the right, near the shore. But then I realized it was just a man's jacket. Sorry, sir!

Next, from April of 1974 comes this photo of the Jungle Cruise... a pair of boats sit unused by that outer dock, while another boat returns from the trip through the Rivers of the World. The trouble is, the jungle was so dark that nobody saw a thing. No crocodiles, no mother in-law elephants, no headhunters... nothin'!

Vintage New Orleans

I have a number of vintage slides of New Orleans (aka "The Big Squeaky"), which was built after Walt Disney thought up New Orleans Square (needs verification). I've never made it down to Louisiana - I declined an opportunity to go to New Orleans for Mardis Gras because... well, because of Mardi Gras. But it's still a fascinating and unique part of the U.S.

Here's a nice look along Canal Street from November 1961, at the Baronne Street intersection, looking northwest. Photos of almost any city or town look so vital and prosperous, let's go to Kress for some loafers, and then to McCrorys for... whatever they sold. Up the street is the Saenger Theater, and further up, the Texaco Building.

Here's a screen grab from Google Maps, the city looks a little less energetic, though it might just be the gray skies.

Next is this neat shot of one of the streetcars in the city, which has the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world. There were steam locomotives dating back to 1835 (as the vampires surely remember), with the switch to electric trams in 1895. Obviously there have been many changes and upgrades over the years. There are currently five operating streetcar lines in New Orleans: The St. Charles Avenue Line, the Loyola-Riverfront Line, the Canal Street Line (which has two branches), and the Rampart-Loyola Line.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to The Big Squeaky!

Two Nice Randos

Happy Friday! As you saw in the title, I have two randos for you today, and I think they are pretty nice examples. First up is this scan from October 1963, with a view of the old Indian Village on the western shore of Frontierland (roughly where the Haunted Mansion stands today). The angle is unusual, I believe that the Rivers of America would be directly behind us - but I'm not 100% positive. You could show this to most people and they'd have no clue that this was in Disneyland. There are some tepees, along with the anachronistic totem pole to the left. A lone guest can just be seen next to the foremost tepee, but things look pretty quiet around there.

Next is this scan from September, 1968. It's a bit darker than I'd like, but I liked the composition, looking at the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship, with some of Skull Rock's waterfalls, and the lagoon's tropical plants in the foreground. It's as if we just happened upon this tableau after wandering lost on an island! That magical mermaid might grant you a pipin' hot tuna burger.  

 

Fantasyland at Dusk, August 1970

I have two familiar scenes from August, 1970, but they are made interesting by the late afternoon/dusk lighting.

This shot of Sleeping Beauty Castle is very pretty, with only the topmost spires catching the last of the sunlight. Various lamps and lanterns are already lit. I'm assuming that the flowerbed directly in front of us is long-gone, but hey, maybe I'm mistaken. I can't help imagining being at the park on a pleasant August evening, with all of the music, clanging bells of the Streetcars, the smell of popcorn, and all of the other sensory pleasures to be had!

I probably should have shared this one first, but oh well. We have another late afternoon view, this time of the Matterhorn, still fully lit by the setting sun, while the swirls of yellow and purple flowers (at the entrance to Tomorrowland) in the foreground are in shadow. I tend to look for climbers on the Matterhorn in photos like this, but I don't think Hans and Otto are there.

A Pair From, November 28, 1973

Here are two fun views, from November 28, 1973. Even though I've shared at least one blog post from this batch, I think I neglected to refer to Jason's Disneyland Almanac - something I always enjoy doing. So... November 28th was a Wednesday; the park opened at 10 AM, and closed at 6 PM (so early!); the day reached a high of 70º, with a low of 42º. There are no attendance estimates.

Meanwhile, here is a photo of the Ernest S. Marsh as it rested at Main Street Station - you can just see a tiny bit of the parking lot in the distance. A Cast Member is busy doing some sort of maintenance, possibly applying oil. Or macaroni and glitter, which is my guess.

Over in Frontierland... well, here's a nice, but fairly standard, look at the Mark Twain. I have become so used to similar photos that I have to remind myself how pretty this is.

 

Disneyland Hotel, May 1984

Our friend Sue B. sent me some photos of the Disneyland Hotel, circa 1984! As usual, they were taken by her father, Lou Perry. This was from around the time that Michael Eisner had hoped to buy the Hotel from Jack Wrather. Wrather refused, though the deal was finally accomplished in 1988 (after Wrather and his wife had passed away).

One of the features that was at the Hotel around this period is something that I forgot about: In 1982, The Off-Road Raceway opened in front of the Bonita Tower and featured 1/10 scale remote cars that could be rented by guests. Crazy!

Here's a lovely shot of the old pool area, surrounded by tropical plants, and the old Hotel architecture. Brochures from that era encouraged guests to stay at the Hotel, and take a mid-day break at the park, come back for a swim, perhaps a meal or a nap, and then return to Disneyland later in the afternoon. I have to admit that it sounds pretty great!

I guess this was next to some of the Garden Apartments? Early on, there were orange trees outside most of the rooms, and guests were encouraged to pluck ripe oranges whenever they desired! As you can see, much care was taken to ensure that the grounds were beautiful and well-manicured. The tall light poles make me think that one of the golf courses (or a driving range) might be just past those white oleanders.

THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!

Special Event Mini-Posters

After a bit of much-needed organizing, I realized that I had a dozen or so mini-posters advertising various special events. None of today's examples mention the Magic Kingdom Club, although the first poster mentions Magic Key ticket books, so there (makes a raspberry noise). I'll share the posters in two installments because that's just my wacky way. 

First up, it's Marine Corps Day, October 18 1964. Hooah! Guests would have VIP Travel Passports, in which one could ride whatever one wanted, as many times as one wanted. So... why the need for Magic Key ticket books?  Unless people wanted to stock up for future visits, which is not a bad idea. Notice that the Tiki Room is an additional charge. $5.00 for adults - adjusted for inflation that is around $50, which seems nuts (even though I love the Tiki Room). Would you pay that much? Maybe some of those free prizes will help ease the pain, especially that Royal Weekend at the Disneyland Hotel.

Chip and Dale, don't you have anything better to do? Donald Duck is probably working in his garden or building something that you can mess up for him. This poster is for an event for Garrett Airesearch Manufacturing Division. The general public is not admitted to Disneyland on the evening of this event! It looks like the Tiki Room is included with the price of admission this time. And dancing? I can finally bust out all of my new moves! You have to see them to believe them. 

Next is this poster for the May 5, 1967 Southern California Gas Company Family Night (fools, they could have said "Family Nite" and passed the savings on to us). Sorcerer Mickey promises that everything will be free (except for shooting galleries, and food and drink). This event only runs from 8:00 PM to 1:00 AM, but I'll bet an enterprising person could easily do all of their favorite rides. 

March 1, 1968 was Public Employees Night for San Bernardino County workers. Regular people, get outta here! I like the mention of some new-ish features, such as New Orleans Square and Pirates of the Caribbean, and the "All New Tomorrowland". No Haunted Mansion yet, sadly. 

And finally, it's November 21, 1969 - Telephone Family Fun Night, for the Mission Chapter Pioneers (no idea). The logo at the top says "Telephone Pioneers of America", and I have been to America several times. Six days before Thanksgiving, those nutty Pioneers could have fun fun fun, even on the Breathtaking Haunted Mansion, which had only been open for about three months! Let's just ride that 15 times in a row.

I hope you have enjoyed these mini-posters. Stay tuned for PART TWO!

Snoozles From February, 1961

It's Snoozle Time, and you know what that means - I'll be sharing some scans that have issues. No, not the "fear of intimacy" sort of issue, I mean that there is literally something wrong with the scans. In this case, both have turned out very dark.

You probably remember this Girl In Red from a previous photo. Her outfit is so striking that this should be an interesting picture, but as you can see, most of the background is overwhelmed with dark, inky shadows. Vesey Walker gleams in his white uniform, but the Disneyland Band is barely visible in their seats as they perform in front of the Opera House.

Just up Main Street, the same girl poses with her Mom and Dad next to the Carnation Milk Truck, surrounded by colorful faux flowers in the Flower Market. But half the picture is almost black. Was it an errant camera setting? Did the film sit in a hot car? It is February of 1961, but Mom is holding a 1960 souvenir guidebook - gotta use up that inventory. 

 

Random Amusements

Today is GDB friend DW's birthday! Happy Birthday, DW. As usual, Sue B. has provided a fun vintage photo for the occasion - an undated picture of a young boy posing with his Mickey Mouse balloon thingy. I thought maybe that was one of those punching toys... you know, "bop the clown" or something. But Sue didn't think so, and now I think she's right. On the table is a delicious cake - or is there more than one cake? Hard to tell. Having an al fresco birthday party is the height of elegance, especially if you get a nice glass of ice-cold lemonade, and get to play "pin the tail on the donkey".

And now, on to the regularly-scheduled blog post! I love me some random (and vintage) amusement parks. Hopefully you do too.

First up is this fun portrait of a happy family posing in front of an impressive dark ride façade, GOLD NUGGET. It has a great, classic look to it, and you can't go wrong with a giant steer skull. I was unsure of  the exact location; there were a number of different attractions that went by the same name, including one at the Atlantic City Pier, and another somewhere in New Mexico. But luckily, I happened upon THIS PAGE, which had tons of helpful information. This is Roseland Park, at Canandaigua Lake (in the Finger Lakes region) in New York.

While I recommend that you read the linked article, Roseland Park opened in 1925. From Wikipedia: Over the years, as the park changed and grew, it saw many rides come and go. Some of the additional attractions included a Ferris wheel, bumper cars, a miniature train ride, a sky ride that went out over part of Canandaigua Lake before returning to the station, and the park's Carousel, which was purchased for the park in 1941 from the defunct Long Branch amusement park. For a period of time there was even a live circus act. Additional attractions have been added and changed over the years, including the addition of the park's major wooden roller coaster, the Skyliner, which was built in 1960.

 So, what was the Gold Nugget ride? From laffinthedark.com: In 1961, Roseland regulars would welcome a new dark ride to replace the older “Crazy House”, and they added one of the best: A Bill Tracy design called “The Gold Nugget”. Bill Tracy was a former artist for the great dark ride Company called Pretzel Rides, in Bridgeton NJ, who went on to form his own company “Amusement Display Creators” and later “This Is, Inc.” after his death. Tracy was known for revamping existing rides or designing them from bottom up. His most famous attractions included his “Pirates Den” walkthroughs and his dark rides called “Wacky Shack”.

Tracy would bring his “Best of The Best” to Roseland's own custom version. Tracy was a master using UV black lighting, day glo paints and warping reality and space by using red/yellow striped painted rooms with strobe light effects. The outside facade had a large mechanical skull mounted with an exposed speed hill and roller coaster style drop, complete with warped and bent Western ghost town buildings and Indian tee-pees drawn in for good looks.

Roseland Park closed in 1985

Founder and original owner William Muar... collected commissions from the park's few rides that were

brought in by concessionaires each summer. This would allow him to eventually buy his own equipment starting in 1935. The big and most famous purchase was a large carousel bought to Roseland in 1942. Mr. Muar partnered up with George Long of nearby Seabreeze Park to bring the carousel to Roseland that was built in 1909 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company - PTC No. 18. This is STILL the ride that fans remember the most.

Next is a fun little flying saucer "spin around" ride, location unknown. In fact I couldn't find out much about this ride at all - who built it, what it was called, nothin'. It might just be the Flying Saucer ride. But I'll bet at least one of you knows a thing or two! A YouTube video shows kids on one of these, and while they don't give the info that I mentioned, they do say that ...it features a 3-phase motor with a hydro-sheave for a soft start on the motor shaft and a belt-driven gearbox which turns a chain final drive.