Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Frontierland at Dusk, June 1962

After a day of stomping around Disneyland beneath the bright sun, one can feel a real change in atmosphere when evening approaches. There's no more squinting, no more feeling the urge to sit on a hot rock (this is for the lizards who read GDB), and generally feeling more relaxed. Both of today's photos were taken during the last hour (or so) of daylight.

A mother and daughter hold hands as they head toward the queue structure for the Columbia sailing ship (or the Mark Twain). "I want to see the shiny boy on the canoe!", the girl laughs. "I like the burning settler's cabin!", says the mother (who might be a budding arsonist). There is truly something for everyone. Editor's note: I just happen to be wearing pink pants today. HARD FACTS.



After a brief wait in line, guests would find themselves standing at the edge of the load dock, and this is the view you might expect to see. It's very pretty! We can see the distinctive oval sign of the French Market across the water, as well as the tops of some of the buildings in New Orleans Square. I like the fact that some of the lamps are lit. Some of the magnolia trees appear to be full of large white blossoms (magnolias were my grandmother's favorite tree). I also like the way shirts that are yellow or red seem to "pop" especially. 


 

13 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-
Dusk is definitely a magical time at Disneyland. After closer inspection, now realize the "1962" date for today's post is where the typo resides. (No God-fearing Mom would be caught dead wearing such a 'loud' outfit in 1962-!) Nor was there a French Market in 1962.

Thanks, Major.

JB said...

I'm gonna take a wild guess and say these two photos are from 1972 instead of 1962. People in '62 looked like people in the fifties, mostly. These folks look too trippy and groovy for 1962.

In the first pic we can see a green Mickey balloon with undersized vestigial ears. In the center of the photo is Margaret Hamilton, wearing dark glasses so nobody will recognize her. But she can't fool me.

You mentioned how the red and yellow shirts 'pop' in the 2nd picture. And I agree, the bright colorful clothing is the best part of this photo. Since this is so close to nightfall, I'm thinking this is the last Canoe ride of the day. (Don't the Canoes close at dusk?) This is a very nice you-are-there photo.

Now that I've refreshed the page, I see that Nanook also notes the date discrepancy.

Regardless of the date, these are nice photos for people watching and you-are-there-ing. Thanks, Major.

MIKE COZART said...

NANOOK: you are correct sir!
JB: you are also correct sir!

Yes : canoes did close at dusk … but I think this is the first time I’ve seen guests in the canoes this late … maybe the line moved slow and they had to cycle the guests already in the que… today the canoes and Tom sawyers island would never operate at the same time the evening lights came on. Of course “CRANTAMSIC - presented by Ocean Spray has ruined these magic hours around Frontierland & New Orleans Square.

MIKE COZART said...

That was CRANTASMIC!!

TokyoMagic! said...

This very well could be 1962, and what we might be seeing in the second pic is the "pop-up" for New Orleans Square, when Walt wanted to give the idea a test run, and see how popular it might be. "Pop-up" shops and restaurants were very trendy in the early 1960s, just like pillbox hats and the "Jackie" look. ;-)

Stu29573 said...

Ah, a scene that can still (pretty much) be seen ar Disneyland, but shall never be seen again in the Eastern Parks (which shall remain nameless because Walt would NOT approve). Their folly has made DL firmly my favorite park! So, there!
On a side note, I hate it when my shirt pops. Very messy.

JG said...

Photo 1 is somewhat odd, unless Mom and daughter were the subjects? There doesn’t seem to be much of a focal point other than them.

Photo 2 is very nice, my favorite part of the Park at my favorite time of day, right when the little white lights in the Plaza trees start to sparkle.

KS is piloting the last canoe of the day back to the dock and the crowds in Crescent City are thinking about dinner.

Thanks Major!

JG

K. Martinez said...

Whatever year it is, that is a beautiful shot of New Orleans Square along the riverfront. Having the Explorer Canoe in the pic is a nice addition.

Thanks, Major.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, yeah, I am not good with “touch typing” on that number row. “1972” is more likely.

JB, it’s funny, I just wrote the text to another blog post with pictures from 1972… only the old round Skyway gondolas were there, so it should have been 1962. Margaret Hamilton spent the rest of her life proving to people that she was not wicked, nor a witch. I never believed her! You might be right about that being the last canoe ride of the day, or very nearly so, at least… now I’m imagining how cool it could have been to do the canoes at night. During fireworks!

Mike Cozart, if this was indeed June, then maybe they had long lines for the canoes. Look in photo #2, it looks like there are a LOT of people waiting on the steps up to the Frontierland Station platform to ride the train! Not to mention plenty at the French Market.

Mike Cozart, now that you mention it, I’m surprised that Fantasmic never had a sponsor (that I know of).

TokyoMagic!, hmmm, I think I remember reading about that “pop up”, Marty Sklar wrote all about it!

Stu29573, the mere idea that they removed the river from the Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland is beyond belief. They have all that land! But it’s needed for more hotels and timeshares.

JG, I see a surprising number of photos in which it is not clear what the photographer was interested in! I agree, dusk is somehow especially magical, no longer “day”, but not quite “night” either. Hey, maybe that IS KS!

K. Martinez, I agree, that photo of the river (and NOS) is so pretty, it makes me wish I was there.

Anonymous said...

Hi folks. I wish it WAS me but I didn't get into the canoes until the next summer...in 1973. I might even remember the two CMs in this canoe. The picture provides a perspective of a great time of the day as the heat recedes, the daylight fades and dusk begins. I recall us closing around 6 pm back then but on a busy weekend, perhaps 6:30 should management give us the OK to extend. Yes, should we have a long line, we would have to station a CM at the front of the line to start cutting off further folks from entering in advance of closing. But there was signage advising of a dusk closure which gave us some latitude since no specific time was shown. Sometimes we'd let a few come in. It was our discretion but we also knew what our scheduled shifts were and maybe we had a party to go to! KS

Bu said...

Dusk is the perfect time at Disneyland, and I'd really love to go back to '72....but would take '82 too! The first photo: I need to really dig in, but for now, the word of the day is PINK! And I don't mean those hot dogs on La Brea in LA....which heavens knows why people wait in line for them...but I'm not a hot dog fan...so maybe they are yummy...to them. The second photo is marvelous...I can smell the water, hot slurried pavement, popcorn, hamburger smoke...and as I get closer to New Orleans Square...the magnolia blossoms. Yes: the river is gone in WDW...and this morning I was sent photos of the fort: demolished....so no chance in returning. Hopefully, there is a small nod to what once was when it's all said and done. FYI: you cannot get a burger at the Stage Door Cafe anymore...I was quite perplexed....isn't it ALL you sell? It's like when I go to Starbucks for a cup of just regular drip coffee and they are "out"....again: isn't it ALL you sell? I digress. I could get rather lost in that second photo: it has very strong memories. The view is very close to the Frontierland Popcorn wagon: which is just a few feet to the left of this photo....so I saw this view quite frequently at this same time. I wish I had a photo of me in that costume: I was rather dashing in my brocade vest and the clip tie...the trousers were fit more like Wrangler jeans than the somewhat baggy "Yellows"....The Frontierland wagon was central and very busy most of the time...and if it was raining: it would be one of the few open in the Park. I also did prioritize parties over staying late: but didn't have the canoe rules....and trust me: we were WATCHED. That wagon better stay open until the last second....and if I remember correctly: we had to show the trash bag of how much popcorn we had left to prove that we did not run out and close early. Annnndddd....the popcorn trash better end up in the trash and not in your mouth or someone else's....my viewpoints on that are varied, and not for this blog. I suppose if we were at Knotts none of this would be an issue at all. Hee hee. Stale popcorn is sounding pretty good right now.....Thanks Major!

Major Pepperidge said...

KS, I figured it was kind of a long-shot that you’d be in the canoe, but you never know! There’s not much to go by as far as you ID-ing the guys, though maybe you can tell without seeing faces. I’ll bet that this photo brought back lots of memories, and the excitement that the day would soon be done and you could relax or play!

Bu, yes, I think we all would love to go back to 1972, or even ’82. I’ve never had a Pink’s hotdog, mostly because everyone I know says that they aren’t that great. Still, I almost feel like I need to try them for myself so that I can speak with authority. Problem is, I don’t go down to that area much anymore. I love those “sense memories” of Disneyland, somehow they are so powerful. I think that’s why everyone talks about the scent of the water (or whatever) in “Pirates”, when you smell it, you are THERE. I don’t know why I care about the river in Florida when I have never been there… it’s more the principle of the thing. A few years back, I noticed that not all restaurants at Disneyland sell burgers… in fact we had to walk all the way to the Hungry Bear to get one. Like you, I assumed you could get one anywhere. I think that popcorn wagon is the one that my friend Mr. X worked at, I’ll have to ask him to make sure. He has many fond memories of his years at Disneyland, especially going to see the great Big Bands at the Plaza Gardens. I’m surprised you have no photos of yourself in your popcorn vendor costume! Popcorn kernels are so cheap, it just shows you how penny-pinching Knott’s Berry Farm was if they sold leftover popped popcorn the next day. Yuck!

Dean Finder said...

Margaret Hamilton, you say? That reminds me, it's time to watch that execrable Paul Lynnde Halloween Special with her in it.
I'm still in denial about the Rivers of America in WDW. My mother-in-law wants to make one more trip there next year, and I'm not sure how I'll react to seeing the river drained and likely filled in by then.