Nice 1950s Views
I sure do love early views of Disneyland - but have to admit that today's examples fall dangerously close to the "Snoozles" category. But they look pretty good, so... crisis averted.
Let's begin with... a photo of Sleeping Beauty Castle? On this blog? There's just something about the castle, it's hard to resist taking at least one picture of it. I did it myself a while ago, when it was all lit up at night. Yes, my face burned with shame. But nobody could tell because it was too dark! You can tell that it was a Winter day, with coats and sweaters, and trees lacking their full compliment of leaves. Did the ice cream vendor get lonely on cold days? Just go up and tell him he's doing a great job, he'll appreciate it. There's a trashcan front and center, maybe it was the point of interest for the photographer.
Next is this very nice Skyway view of Cinderella's Castle, perched atop a stony promontory. The rocks appear to be multicolored, but that's really due to some weird yellow blotches on this transparency. I guess the horses that pulled the pumpkin coach turned back into mice, which is why it sits abandoned on the winding path.
17 comments:
Major-
'Simple' tho' these images may be, it's still fun to look at them and see how Disneyland has continued to grow.
Thanks, Major.
The castle photo composition.....hee hee. I definitely can see this one in a book of helpful hints for new shutter bugs, of what-not-to-do. Major you really need to do another one of your hilarious blog posts on this subject. :o)
Pumpkin alert!
HERE'S one of Major's past "photo class" blog posts - in case you missed it.
Well of course the trashcan is the point of interest! Isn't EVERYBODY obsessed with Disney trashcans like some of us Jr. Gorillas are?!? And you notice that the photographer was careful to get the other trashcan in the frame as well.
The lady in the light beige coat is doing her impression of one of the (future) Little Pigs, with the sleeves of her coat empty and dangling uselessly at her side. Bolo tie alert on the gent to the right. I think the lady in red, behind him, is an escapee from "The Handmaid's Tale". Nice pant cuffs on the lad to the left of Little Pig impersonator.
The pic is a little stark, but nice. (It's the "blue sky" factor that elevates it above the Snoozle category.)
Wow, the pumpkin coach is waaaay down below this time. It's usually up on the bridge, or higher. I wonder if some creative employee places it at a different spot almost daily?
The yellow splotches are more noticeable on the bridge. Major, you should have used less mustard on your hot dog when you were scanning this slide. Either that, or you should've been more careful.
It's a good photo of the Cinderella Castle, even with the mustard splotches.
Nice, decent photos, Major. Thanks.
In the early days, those little carts didn't sell ice cream in the winter. They only sold churros, turkey legs, and chimichangas. ;-)
The landscaping in that second pic still looks fresh and new. I wonder if the photo could have been taken in 1956? I don't think we have ever seen the pumpkin that low on the road (as JB pointed out). If I was an employee and I was allowed to traipse around Storybook Land, and the pumpkin wasn't glued down, I would be tempted to place it on the rooftop of one of the buildings. But that's just me.
I forgot to thank Sue for the link to that older post. That is one of the classic GDB posts that sticks in my mind. Here is another one. Major actually included the link to this one, within his post that Sue linked to, but here it is anyway. And as "Monkey Cage Kurt" said in his comment back then, it really is "PURE GENIUS"!
http://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/photo-phun-september-1959.html
Nanook, I know some folks look at early Disneyland and think it appears “boring”, but I’d give anything to have seen it!
Lou and Sue, welll… some things just have to come to me naturally. You know how it us with us artistes! We are a fussy (and annoying) bunch. Plus it’s more fun when the photos are REALLY bad!
Lou and Sue, jeez, I’d forgotten about that one! Hey, it was only 15 years ago.
JB, I don’t know if I am “obsessed” with the Disney trashcans, I’m more obsessed with Taylor Swift, as I know all of the other Junior Gorillas are. It never occurred to me to do an impression of a Little Pig, and I guess my sailor suit (with no pants) isn’t cutting it. Bolo ties: they are weird. I do think they eventually moved the pumpkin coach up the pathway a ways (maybe even up to the arched causeway). These larger transparencies were very nice, but I really did have to deal with a lot of yellow splotches. Not sure what caused those (it wasn’t mustard!).
TokyoMagic! I can’t explain why, but the turkey legs at the park do not look appealing to me in any way. A big greasy, glistening piece of meat? No thanks. A few years ago I got some ice cream at Salt and Straw in Downtown Disney, they had a “Thanksgiving Dinner” ice cream. Curious, I got it. I’m not sure I would have thought of Thanksgiving Dinner while eating it, but it was surprisingly good. I do think that many of the transparencies in this batch are from 1956, or no later than 1957. I think it would have been fun to have the little pumpkin coach moving down the mountain, but I suppose at some point it would have to go back UP. Maybe that would be OK?
TokyoMagic!, oh yeah, I remember that one. I’d do it a little differently now, but it was kind of fun to write, and the response from the readers was fun too.
I bashfully admit to being obsessed with Disneyland trash cans. I remember my parents remarking on how many there were and how clean the Park always was kept, with sweepers everywhere and no gum on the paving. Then, years and years later learning that Walt himself set those standards, just made the topic more interesting.
Notice in photo 1, the classic Main Street and Plaza green and yellow design in the foreground, an unfortunate place of prominence. But further back, a second plain can, the drab green factory standard model. Based on dated photos previously posted, I would say this photo is early 1957 as we have seen mixed plain and fancy cans on Main Street by the Opera House before, dated to around that time.
Cindy’s Castle looks shiny and new here, the blotchy rocks look fine to me. The coach has to go one direction or another, I guess. It’s a great example of making do with the ingredients available, those fairies were resourceful. At least they didn’t turn the pumpkin into a Prius, leaving the mice out of work. I am wondering a bit about the real estate sign over to the left, has Practical Pig subdivided the kingdom and is now selling lots? He dresses like a builder/developer after all.
Major, you should write a more detailed monograph on theme park photography and put a link to Amazon on your site. Thank you for these early views and all the advice!
JG
Like fudgie and Dentie, I can't really see the mustard on Cindy's Mountain: so it all looks good to me! I think Cindy's Mountain could be the next thrill attraction...I have ideas. I think I read somewhere that little mini trashcan replicas would house candies for sale at the parks....which seemed a little odd to be nibbling things out of a trash can...or maybe it was a trash can popcorn bucket? Either one is strange...to me anyway...no matter how clean a trash can can be. These may be snoozles(tm) but that should be decided by a group of peers. Ice cream sales did not dip in cold weather...the only thing that it would dip for is attendance. So...if it's cold and attendance is down: then subsequently: so would your sales. During Christmas when it was absolute bedlam...the sales would be akin to a Summer day. Thanks Major for the off schedule perhaps could be Snoozles(tm)! P.S. thanks for the links back in time....it's interesting to see that none of those commenters names are around anymore...or perhaps they are under assumed names...I hope they all are doing well and continue to follow GDB! Go Monkey Cage Kurt!
A friend of mine and I used to go ti the park and photograph trash cans then have lunch . She eventually became an art director at WDI but started there as a WDI graphics intern . On one DL trash can photo trip a custodial cast member in Tomorrowland saw us moving a can so it was clear from tables and chairs and we could easily photograph it. The helpful cast member said “ oh let me move that for you” and moved out trash can subject away from us!! He thought the can was in our way of taking another photo. He looked at us likdd we were insane when we embarrassingly explained we were photographing just the trash can!
At one point at its zenith in the early 1970’s , Disneyland featured almost 30 different trash can designs being used at one time. Their maintenance and upkeep was a whole separate team within the cycle-shop. At first they were all hand painted .. then silkscreened decals applied … then that was replaced with vinyl cut appliqués… then vinyl decals …. Now a digital printed color-fast decal is used . And over time the wide selection of trash can styles became smaller and smaller to keep costs down. Where sections of lands had differ color schemes - like the Main Street yellows and Main Street greens … individual restaurants ( coke corner , plaza inn, French market , Jolly Roger grotto , etc ) and attraction ( haunted mansion , mark Twain , Matterhorn , Jungle Cruise etc areas had their own can designs … now with a few exceptions a single can design may be used throughout the entire land.
Today's commentary showcases Disneyoskubalchronology at its best.
Whoops! That was me. Did you guess?
JG, I remember when I was younger being especially fond of the designs that were painted on the trash cans that were in the IASW area; and then Disney made a pin set featuring trash can designs, with little swinging doors! But the Disney Store was out (maybe they were a special edition, I kind of forget). I later saw them at some store in Anaheim that sells leftover merchandise from the parks, but by then I’d decided to spend my money on something else. GREAT STORY!?! 1957 (as I said to TokyoMagic!) is a good estimate of the date of some of these. I used to laugh at Priuses, but then I got to drive one when my car was in the shop. It was nice! Roomy inside, good “pep”, I enjoyed it! But my girlfriend said that if I ever bought a Prius she would give me a knuckle sandwich. Oh well. You can tell that she hates those cars. Has anybody written a monograph about the Monorail?
Bu, the next rollercoaster should be Mustard Mountain. I’m sure they could concoct some lame back story! Hm, I’ve never seen candy boxes in the shape of the trash cans, but that doesn’t mean that they never existed. It does seem weird to eat food out of them, but then again, there was that sandworm popcorn box last year. These photos are not quite Snoozles™, they are too large and too clear, and the sun was out - all was good and pure in the world. I’m imagining happy supervisors on crowded days, listening to the cash registers ring and ring. They’d might even whistle a merry tune!
Mike Cozart, ha ha, I love the story of you and your friend taking a picture of the trash can. You’d think that employees would have seen it all, fans love every detail. Oh well, you made his day, he had a great story to tell. “Can you believe these people wanted a photo of a TRASH CAN??”. I know that the old wood-grained cans in Frontierland were hand painted - I forget the technique - something using rubber “combs” to simulate grain. It’s fascinating, and when done well, surprisingly convincing. When done poorly, well - maybe they wipe it down and start over. I think that simple white or silver cans with decals on their sides are often seen today, I’ll have to pay more attention the next time I go.
Anonymous, there is something jaunty about the term “Disneyoskubalchronology”, and I’m sad that the Sherman Brothers never wrote a song about it.
Chuck, YES
Disneyland & Walt Disney World did some ceramic ornaments and salt & pepper shakers of park trash and but unfortunately they were mostly imagined designs and just had some elements of the real park trash cans. There was also a key chain and a set of markers that were in the shapes and designs of the trash cans.
Tokyo Disneyland has a multiple series of miniature park trash cans - they are done in plastic but very highly detailed and graphic accurate. I think about 12 have been done so far and about every year 2-3 more are added to the series . ( they also have a series of park mailboxes and popcorn wagon ROASTIE-Toasties) Tokyo DL also has a line of wastebaskets - about two feet tall that are TDL trash can replicas. They do about two different ones a year. Several years ago Tokyo Disneyland produced a set of pictorial guidebooks called WE LOVE TOKYO DISNEYLAND - each book was focused on attractions, restaurants, shop’s & merchandise, costume characters , resort hotels , parades . Then there are special edition ones of cast costumes , TOONTOWN, bands & entertainment , park details which had sections of attraction posters , drinking fountains , popcorn wagons , restaurant food trays and a large section showing trashcans from 1983 to the newest ones .
Years ago there was a proposal to make a series of highly detailed models of Disneyland popcorn wagons and trash cans … a Korean company who makes brass model railroad models was making the prototypes . They were wonderful!!! Even the little hinged trash can doors worked!! But it was decided to make other things .
Hong Kong Disneyland has just started a collectible series of their park trash cans . Made of plastic the first set contains 4 different can designs.
.....it's interesting to see that none of those commenters names are around anymore....
Bu, JG and I commented on that 2011 post that Sue provided the link for, and we are still around! But I know you were probably referring to the 2008 post that I shared a link to. I discovered Major's blog just a couple months later.....and then went back and read his previous two year's worth of posts, in two days.
Yes, Tokyo is on it, I left a comment on the 2011 post, I read the 2008 post but didn’t have the courage to reply at that time. 2011 was a hard year for me, GDB helped me retain then what few scraps of sanity I may yet possess now, thank you Major and my fellow Junior Gorillas, I think. I miss MonkeyCage Kurt, I hope he is still out there lurking.
JG
Surprised to see that I was here too in 2008, I was DZ then and a lurker mostly.
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