Two From April, 1963
Here's a pretty nice pair of slides, the only two in a batch from April, 1963. We'll start with this view from the Skyway as it soared over Skull Rock Lagoon in Fantasyland; the colors are a bit odd in both of today's pix, for some reason - a little subdued. From up here we can look down into the dining area to the left, and even into the pools that fed the waterfalls - I always have an irrational wish that I could sit in one of those pools, sip a cool drink, and enjoy the view. YES, I would be wearing a bathing suit, I'm not from Hollywood!
Next is a pretty photo of the Rainbow Desert from the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland. A geyser is erupting, but I'm pretty sure it's not Old Unfaithful. Maybe it's Young Stinky? You know, the sulphur. I believe that the mine entrance in front of us was used to store the rolling stock at night, please correct me if I'm mistaken.
20 comments:
Major-
"I always have an irrational wish that I could sit in one of those pools, sip a cool drink, and enjoy the view. YES, I would be wearing a bathing suit..."
You're not the only one with just such a wish. I, on the other hand, would be wearing a tuxedo - as I'm classy-!
I'm curious what and where that tall pole, with the 'ball' on top resides that's popping-up above the elevated tree line behind the Rainbow Desert. It should be near Cinderella's Castle in Story Book Land...
Thanks, Major.
Really nice photo! Skully looks a little different from this angle. Maybe because he has a more than usual amount of greenery growing out of his orifices. The rocks and whitewater in that little pool on the left makes it look like there are seagulls taking a bath. We also see a smidgen of the Pirate Ship. Was it still selling Chicken-of-the-Sea burgers at this point?
Another nice photo. I think you're right about this not being Old Unfaithful, Major. Seems like it would be one of the geysers with a more pronounced buildup of mineral deposits at the base. Probably the one to the left of Young Stinky. Why is there a wooden railing on the left? Is it a walkway? Or a bridge for the Train? And, as Nanook noted, why is there a flagpole above the trees in the background (but no flag)? Is that the tall flagpole at the entrance to Tomorrowland?
A few minutes in a chlorine bleach bath should brighten these slides up real good! Of course, there wouldn't be anything left of the images, but they would be bright! Thanks, Major.
@ JB-
"Why is there a wooden railing on the left? Is it a walkway? Or a bridge for the Train?"
Make that a tunnel for the train.
^ [Thumbs up emoji]
My eye also went right to that flag pole in the backstage area. I wonder if it had something to do with Tinkerbell, and the reason we aren't seeing a wire is because in April she would not have been performing. They used to take the wire down after the summer entertainment/fireworks were over, right? We don't always see it in vintage pics, especially pics that show the Christmas star on top of the Matterhorn. I believe they used to put the wire back up as summer got closer. Of course, today, there's a series of wires and they remain year-round, since the fireworks are now year-round.
That overhead pic of Skull Rock is just beautiful. It also makes me angry all over again, at the idiots who decided to get rid of it.
Thank you, Major!
Loving the Skull Rock photo. Major, I am imagining you in a striped, late-Victorian swimsuit, complete with a straw boater and handlebar moustache. I think this is a look you could pull off. At work, even.
The mine entrance visible in the second photo was an access tunnel to a backstage road. While there were tracks that led into the tunnel, I’m not sure that they were connected to the main line via a switch. You can get a better look at it and the SF&DL RR tunnel bore (as well as Janet Leigh and her daughters, Kelly and Jamie Lee Curtis) here.
There was a spur inside Rainbow Caverns that led to a train storage area, although I’m guessing it could probably only hold one or two of the four train sets. There really wouldn’t be an operational need for that indoor storage spur to hold any more. There was a siding in Rainbow Ridge where an off-duty set could be stored ready to go and at least one and probably two would be running at any time the ride was open. If there was a need to bring them indoors while the ride wasn’t operating, all of the trains could fit inside Rainbow Caverns and the indoor storage spur. They do something similar with the trains (Chance Rides C.P. Huntingtons) at the St Louis Zoo at night; they cram as many as can fit into the “roundhouse” (which, like at Disneyland, is a rectangular building) and then stuff two more in the tunnels, although unlike at Disneyland those tunnels have heavy, locked gates over the portals to keep out Vandals or Visigoths or Mongol hordes.
Hoping KS checks in to give us the real scoop.
No idea what that “flagpole” thingy is (and I looked at a lot of photos to try to figure it out).
Thanks, Major!
By the way, that larger tunnel for the Disneyland Railroad existed all the way up until construction began on Wookie World. The train tracks/route had been moved to the north in the mid-1960s for the construction of It's A Small World, but that tunnel remained for decades, and was used for backstage pedestrian and vehicle traffic. I got to walk through it several times, when my friend's father was working on the construction of Big Thunder.
I think the strange pole is a light fixture. For sure I remember one or two elevated lamps on the berm near the saguaro cacti, which flooded the whole desert with a pale blue wash simulating moonlight. Warmer lights were concealed within the rockwork to illuminate individual scenes. MTTNW at
night: quintessential Disneyland magic.
Thanks Major, I'm also loving that bell-shaped lamp under the awning at Skull Rock.
The year 1963 was my introduction to Disneyland. I remember both of these attractions well and with great fondness. They reflect the Disneyland of my childhood. Now both of these are completely gone only to be visited in photos like this and memories.
The magic of Disneyland for me was definitely both a time and place. Thanks, Major.
I wish we could have a GDB pool party up in Skull Rock. We could have Captain Morgan rum mai tais with our tuna burgers. No surprise that I love this photo 1. The glimpse into the dining area is very special. Thanks Major for this one especially.
Photo 2, I’m not sure what that pole structure is/was. Stefano makes a good case for lighting, and if I’m right about the direction of the photo, it’s in the wrong location for Tinker Belle. Her landing pad was more of a wooden tower with a platform etc. inside closer to the Rainbow Caverns show building, which I think is behind us to the right.
JB, the “handrail” item to the far left is the upper edge of wood retaining wall holding back the berm hillside or possibly the train tunnel. The vertical members are heavy timber posts and 4x boards span behind the verticals. It’s a cheaper method than concrete, but not as durable. A good choice for a backstage area that might be reconfigured in a few years. These are used extensively down to this day over by the Submarine Voyage area as well.
Thanks Major!
JG
Interesting view on Skully.....we've seen lots of photos from the Skyway, but in this one you can see how it isn't as 3-D as I thought...in fact it looks more "wall like". From the ground it looks larger, actually massive. I'm sure that is intentional. What a shame it's gone, and the one in France is just kind of odd if you ask me, but nobody did, including the person who built it. I did see it....kind of, sort of...on a really rainy day out in the Marne La Vallee...was a big pile of mud, and we were in the car also spinning around in the giant field of mud attempting to get traction (we had to get out and push...) That being said: I am sincerely disappointed that I never made it to the Mine Train, it just never made "the list"..or the line was too long, etc etc. I do think that Big Thunder was a huge upgrade, and was happy to see some re-purposed sets and design. Thanks Tony and team! I'm not sure I like fireworks year round, but I am sure the guests do. Summer was such a momentous thing to look forward to at the Park, and the anticipation built when you got to the announcement of the Electrical Parade and Fantasy in the Sky returning for another season. It made Summer special, like the Mark Twain AND the Columbia both sailing on the river: a true sign of "it's a crowded Summer day!" Thanks Major!
I agree Tokyomagic. This was the stuff that Disneyland dreams were made of. There were once lots of wonderful waterfalls all over the park.
MS
These earn four Swells from me! I, too, feel early DL as a time and place, very evocative, helping me 'relive fond memories of the past...' Thanks, Major
Zach
Nanook, you mean you have a Speedo Tuxedo?? Nice! Hmmm, that tall pole is baffling. I’m going to have to look at an aerial photo to try to figure out the direction we’re looking. You said that you think it’s near Cinderella’s Castle, but I’m all discombobulated.
JB, for some reason the Skyway bucket seems higher up, but I guess that’s just a lens thing. 1963 was only three years after Skull Rock was built, so it doesn’t seem like the plants should be “greener”, but then again, the Disneyland gardeners worked some magic. I wish I could get somebody to repeat the name “Young Stinky” in a book. “Walt named it Young Stinky after a childhood friend”. I want to spread as much erroneous information as possible. I’ve already done it unintentionally, when somebody quoted me (without attribution) about a poster - and I found out that I was wrong later. Oh well!
Nanook, oh yeah, I blipped over that part - definitely a train tunnel.
JB, in my country, a thumbs up emoji means that you owe somebody money.
TokyoMagic!, did they take down the Tinker Bell wire during the months that she was not “flying”? It seems like it would be easier to just leave it up. But you might be right. I’m not sure how that pole would be used by Tink, did she slam into it at 20 mph? “Here’s an extra 20 cents per hour for your trouble, Tink”. I could be wrong, but I do think that the wire was left up, even if it’s hard to see in some pictures. I sort of wish I’d seen Dumbo when he used to fly from the Matterhorn, but I guess that was short-lived. I’m mad that they removed Skull Rock too - it was a great part of Fantasyland!
Chuck, your description is accurate, except that my moustache is more of a “Fu Manchu”, left over from when I was in that biker gang. You remember! How do you know so much about the tunnels and storage for the Mine Trains? You probably spent all day at the liberry. Think of the cartoons you could have been watching instead! I’ll bet you feel pretty foolish, looking back. I love the thought of going back in time and walking through Rainbow Caverns, lights on OR off… I’m sure it looked pretty mundane with the lights on, but I would still love it. Yes, if KS knows anything cool, chime in! Maybe Walt bought that flagpole for Lillian for some other anniversary?
TokyoMagic!, wow, that’s very cool that you got to walk through that tunnel! Was it well-lit and clean, or damp and spidery?
Stefano, interesting, I did not consider that the pole could have been a light fixture. I have never been sure how the Mine Train operated at night, I guess I thought that they might have used a spotlight on the train, sort of like they do on the Jungle Cruise boats. But I (sadly) never rode the MTTNW at night. DARNIT.
K. Martinez, I am jealous of all you Junior Gorillas who seem to have such vivid memories of their first (or otherwise early) trips to the park. I only remember drips and drabs, maybe I’m just dumb.
JG, a pool party up there would be so cool! Conversely, I would also choose the “ponds” above the waterfalls of the Submarine Voyage - the ones that sort of hide the tunnels into and out of the dark ride portion. “Oops, my peanut butter and jelly sandwich went over the falls”. HARD FACTS. After I’m done with these comments (a lot today!), I’m going to look for a good aerial photo to help orient me regarding that second photo. I thought maybe the pole was the Tomorrowland flagpole, but I guess it’s not the right direction? I’ve seen that tunnel retaining wall in many photos, but it’s usually in the distance, and overwhelmed by more interesting things nearby.
Bu, I think the “flattening” is an optical illusion, I do have a photo of Skull Rock early in its construction, and it looks pretty dimensional. I’d link to it, but I’m lazy. As I’ve said many times, in my memory I thought that the skull was so large that it could hold a group of people, but I think it was small enough that a person of normal height would have to stoop. I still have a memory of seeing somebody inside the Skull, but now I feel like it was my overactive imagination, and that it never really happened. Your time in France sounds like fun! Rain and mud. I like Big Thunder, but as we’ve all said, the Mine Train is the sort of ride that they will never do again. Slow, beautiful, and it took up so much land. But it really was awesome. For a few years, Summer meant a birthday trip to Disneyland for me. And then if I was lucky we’d go to Navy Nite a few months later.
MS, they can’t have too many waterfalls. Even the ones on Grizzly Peak at DCA are wonderful, especially when lit (with low, blueish lights) at night.
zach, FOUR swells?! That’s a lot! My aim with GDB is to elicit the memories that you described, so I’m happy that it worked today.
@ Bu-
"I'm not sure I like fireworks year round, but I am sure the guests do".
Even if the [so-called] "experts" running things at Imagineering and at the Parks today actually do the right thing(s), i.e. delayed gratification; seasonal activities; less is more; etc., regrettably, the 'demands' from today's society won't allow it.
Unfortunately, just another reason why 'you can't really go home again' at Disneyland, and why GDB is the real portal to great memories.
Chuck...based on your knowledge of the Mine Train, I am expecting a picture of you in full-dress Miner costume! Yes, there was a spur in the Caverns near the tunnel exit that would allow covered storage of 2 train sets. The other two, if it was to rain overnight, could be backed into the Cavern itself to remain dry. The train sets would not operate on rainy days.
BTW Major, the Order of the Red Handkerchief has now been officially honored with a poster in Rainbow Ridge. I can send you a picture that you could post if you or the Jr Gorillas are interested.
'Sand your track, stay on time!' KS
Nanook, I can understand that some people might only get to go to the park on very rare occasions, and fireworks are a big part of the Disneyland experience. For those who can go more often, it might feel excessive. I can’t be too upset at “fireworks year round”.
KS, I would love to see a picture of that poster tribute to the Order of the Red Handkerchief! I would definitely share it with the Junior Gorillas.
KS, you have no idea how honored I am to receive that kind of a compliment from an Order of the Red Handkerchief guy. Looking forward to seeing that poster!
I’m not sure how that pole would be used by Tink, did she slam into it at 20 mph?
Major, no....she just did a very sexy pole dance with it, twenty feet up in the air!
TokyoMagic!, wow, that’s very cool that you got to walk through that tunnel! Was it well-lit and clean, or damp and spidery?
Major, I don't remember it having lights, but I only walked through it during the day. It wasn't a long tunnel. Maybe it did have lights, but they were only on at night. I don't remember any spiders either, but it doesn't mean that there weren't any in there. I do remember it being kind of dank in there. I took a picture of the sign next to the tunnel, but not the tunnel itself, darn it! But I think some of the wood supports around the opening of the tunnel can be seen in the pic. The sign was huge, and it notified cast members that they were entering the "Big Thunder Construction Area" and that hard hats were required. But now that I think of it, my friend's dad never had us put on hard hats! I need to get that negative out and scan it!
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