Three From January, 1974
Well... I have some "nice but boring" scans from January 1974 for you today. There's nothing really wrong with them, as photos go. But after viewing many thousands of Disneyland pix, these are very run-of-the-mill. Are they "Snoozles"? Kinda.
It's that nutty old Mark Twain, with Cascade Peak still looking pretty good just behind it. I could almost see a picture like this showing up in a souvenir guidebook of the time. And yet... SNORE.
The Columbia, the first American vessel to circumnavigate Oxnard. It makes you proud. When it's in Fowler's Harbor, it ain't circumnavigating nuthin'!
And lastly, you knew it had to be in this batch... a view of the Castle later in the day (in January that means 2:00). Again, there's nothing particularly wrong with this photo, but we've certainly seen many nicer and more interesting images of this feature over the years.
I promise to have something more interesting for you tomorrow!
8 comments:
Major-
That image of the Mark Twain might be a 'snore', but I'd still like to hop-aboard to experience the Rivers of America from a "better time". And upon disembarking - head over to Rainbow Ridge for a ride on the Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland, as it passes around Cascade Peak.
Thanks, Major.
Are all three of these pics from the same batch? The Mark Twain picture and the Castle photo both look bright with a happy blue sky. But the Columbia pic looks kinda colorless, except for the Ship itself, which is nice and saturated.
I think the Mark Twain pic is especially nice; I'm keeping it! The lighting in the Castle pic is excellent; I'm keeping that one too!
No reason to apologize for these photos, Major! I think they're g-r-r-eat! Well, the Columbia pic is a bit meh, but the others are better than usual, IMO. Thanks.
I could almost see a picture like this showing up in a souvenir guidebook of the time.
Major, all three of them look guidebook-worthy to me. And there is a light on in the "below decks" of the Columbia. Does that mean that Walt's ghost was hanging around in there? Or maybe just his head?
Thanks, Major!
I hope I never get jaded enough to think photos like this are a snore. The Mark Twain with Cascade Peak is especially lovely. Thanks, Major.
Major, no need to apologize for these excellent photos. First, you know the GDB audience would ooh and aah over the list of nails, screws, and hardware needed to maintain Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and second, there are details here I’ve never noticed.
An unbuttoned CM vest in photo 1… …and what kind of design process determined “how high” the steamboat smoke stacks must be? Surely there was some kind of optimization applied to require them to be so tall, and braced just so.
…lanterns hanging from the yardarms of the Columbia (whose stern castle windows open “in”!). Who is the lucky guy who has to climb the rigging to light those, or even just change the bulbs in a driving sou’wester?
And last, maybe I’m hallucinating, but I think I see some more turrets with irregular surfaces, not dents exactly, but not smooth transitions either. And I suspect some of those little pennants are cut from sheet metal since they are waving in a different breeze than animates other flags. Always something new to see on the Castle, and every photo animates an old memory.
Thank you!
JG
Nanook, well sure, I’d hop aboard for a ride on the Mark Twain anytime! It’s just kind of an unexciting image. No reflection on the ride itself!
JB, yes, all three are from the same batch. I think that “time of day” and the angle of the photo influence the color of the sky a lot, which would explain the disparity. Again, the Twain pic isn’t bad by any means, but is so much like jillions of others!
TokyoMagic!, I don’t know if Walt’s ghost haunts the “below decks” area of the Columbia, but now I will never go down there. Just in case!
K. Martinez, it’s probably true, I am pretty jaded! Sadly.
JG, nails, screws, and hardware?? I WISH! I heard that there are 320 washers found in Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. INCREDIBLE! By now I almost feel like we see unbuttoned vests more than we see them buttoned up. No idea why that is, since we know that it is supposedly verboten. No idea about the design process for the stacks, unless they based it on historical examples (so that it “looked right”). Those lanterns were turned on an off using The Clapper. Yes, many of the turrets had lumps and bumps, just not as pronounced as The Dent. And some of those pennants are definitely metal and not fabric.
Yea, Melissa!
That open stern window is just one more place to flick chili beans.
Major, I heard about the 320 washers in Mr Toad but there's only 2 dryers which causes quite the wait.
These are great photos, I enjoy them, So I agree, just not fantastic.
Thanks, Major
Zach
I agree that there are more unbuttoned than buttoned vests. I get it: it's hot, I'm uncomfortable, it looks better, I don't like it ....It may have been (officially) verboten but not enforced, and since everyone was doing it, including the supervisors...who were now in suits, but had grown through the ranks in an unbuttoned vest...understood it...and it was so much in the vernacular of everyday life, it just was "is". I kind of pine for an unbuttoned vest these days, the least of worries in a Disneyland with generally horrifying appearance guidelines....I say generally, as some employees do "turn it out"....but the days of Dick Nunis ruling with an iron fist are long gone. Lovely photos however: very picture perfect. Thanks Major.
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