Mine Trains and Mad Hatters
I have two undated scans for you, though both are certainly from the 1960s. The first one features a nice "you are there" view from aboard a yellow Nature's Wonderland mine car. The ride is much more fun if you do your best to imagine yourself as a pile of ore. "So THIS is what it was like!". The guy next to you isn't even trying, and it shows - what a derp! It's a full load today, and the train is just about ready to move forward, through the tunnel up ahead, and into Nature's Wonderland.
Young women who had long blonde hair could count on being cast as Alice. Was it necessary to fake a British accent? Just study films of Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins", and you'll learn from the best. I like that they gave the Mad Hatter a somewhat threatening expression, children love people with eyebrows like that. Notice that the top rim of his hat is very frayed, evidence of many falls. Probably from when he tackled a guest with no warning!
Folks, I will be out of town for a few days. You know, stuff and such. Of course there will be new posts for you while I'm away. I'll talk to you soon!
12 comments:
Major-
I love the Mad Hatter getup - just frightening-enough to scare young children.
Thanks, Major.
Seeing that train-load of guests makes me wonder if the engine has the 'oomph' to make it all the way around the circuit. Evidently so. I don't remember seeing a Frontierland CM wearing a magenta-colored shirt before.
Poor Mad Hatter. His hands and arms are sewn to his jacket and glued to his teacup. Perpetually holding a cup of tea that has spilled out due to the cup being tilted at such a steep angle. I wonder if the CM used his real arms to make the Hatters mouth move in a comical way? I guess the only difference between Alice and the Canal Boat hostesses is that Alice wears a blue dress and the others don't.
Thanks for the pics, Major. Enjoy your stuff and such.
JB, the cast member inside this version of the Mad Hatter costume did use their hands to manipulate the face from inside. I mostly remember the nose being moved around.
I'm not sure if I've told this story before, but one of my very earliest DL memories is being in Fantasyland and meeting the Mad Hatter. He had a penny inside his cup (probably a tip for doing some sexy twerking for a guest). His penny fell out of the cup and onto the ground. He used his feet to point to the penny on the ground and somehow got his message across to my brother for him to pick it up and put it back in the cup. After my brother put the penny back in the cup he seemed to be very happy after that.....or at the very least, satisfied (although it could have just been because it was time for his scheduled cigarette break) and he scampered off. A few years back, I was very surprised to come across some home movie footage of this entire experience unfolding!
Thanks, Major! Have a safe and fun time doing your stuff and such!
While it’s not super clear due to the distance involved, you still can make out the level of detail the Imagineers worked into the boiler backhead…even though these electric locomotives didn’t actually have boilers. I love that giant pressure gauge. Did the needle actually move?
Note the speaker in the end of the out-of-service hopper to our right, another amazing historical detail that Disney spared no expense to include. This was a major technological innovation that allowed a single engineer or fireman to sing to all of the ore at once, quieting the herd and preventing stampedes. Hard facts!
Ah, Alice, my crush. And…not kidding here…is the Canal Boat CM an amputee or is her forearm behind her back? That seems like a very odd angle to bend an arm.
Nanook, “frightening enough to scare young children…” Heck, it scares ME!
JB, you obviously aren’t a chaophile. You have to hold the cup at that angle for the tea to properly steep.
TM!, I love that story, and that is awesome to find it captured in a home movie!
Thanks, Major, and have a great time doing stuff and such. I hope the Thanksgiving Bunny fills your stocking with lots of beets!
That seems like a very odd angle to bend an arm.
Chuck, she had a REALLY bad itch, and she was scratching it!
Now, I'm thinking that I might have told that Mad Hatter story before, because I am now remembering that at some point, Major posted a pic of the Mad Hatter where we could clearly see that there was a penny in his cup. I remember realizing that the "penny in the cup" thing wasn't just a one time thing during my DL visit. I wonder if guests were just routinely tempted to put a penny in his cup, or if he went out "on stage" with the penny already in it? You know, sort of like priming the tip jar. But I bet Walt would have frowned upon the characters receiving any kind of tips from guests.
Oh, great picture of the Mine Train, I was just thinking of Nature’s Wonderland, Bear Country and Beaver Valley. Anyone remember a Day at Beetle Rock?
Major, when the Pack Mules were running, riding the Train was an “Either-Ore” proposition.
This Hatter is terrifying, no joke, Hard Facts. Hands or no hands, at least the CM inside could scratch his (real) nose. I see that the hatter has been converted to a “face character” now and is much less threatening, and less like the movie. Alice is a nice looking young lady. No doubt a prerequisite for the position. I think the Canal Boat hostess is scratching that difficult spot between her shoulder blades, or searching for a Penny to put in the Hatter’s cup.
Tokyo, I love your stories, never stop.
Thanks Major!
JG
In one of the Mouse Tales books, a former Alice recalled she and the bighead Mad Hatter would hang around the end of the Alice in Wonderland ride and discreetly collect tips, which went towards snacks. Management caught on and installed a round piece of plastic in the cup so it couldn't hold anything.
And keep your hands and arms inside the train...ore else! JB, I too was intrigued as to the color of the shirt worn by the MT operator. And Chuck, the air gauge behind the 'boiler' was indeed operational as the system depended upon air brakes. Oversized for looks, the Imagineers did it a great job for realism. One would have to look very carefully on an enlarged view of the train on the spur to see, to the right of where the RO sat, the handle which engaged the air brake by using ones thumb as necessary on the downhill run. Above that, while one can't readily see it, while I think I can, a small bulb handle which was the transmission that was manually engaged. To the left of the operator one can see a handle sticking up from the main brake wheel used as a parking brake when stationary. We also had a button on the left side slightly below the seat to engage the spiel. We pressed the button with every scene at a pace at which we were moving, our discretion. Directly under the seat and on the right side was the sander which was used if we detected the train slipping on inclines due to moisture on the rail or rail sections which the foreman greased to remove friction and squealing. And now it's time for your first training run! KS
@ Chuck-
THIS image should help pictorially fill-in some of the blanks to your question that Ken described to you.
Adjacent to that handle is a Veeder-Root Manual Tally Counter.
Alice is a 'doll.' Regarding that Mad Hatter costume.....can you spell CLAUSTROPHOBIA?
I think Major meant to say, "Stuffing and such." :o)
Thanks, KS & Nanook! Now I just need a Time Machine to begin training…
Get shot Nanook! My memory is still intact. That was a wonderful attraction to 'work' because it never felt like work at all. KS
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