Christmas, The Magic Kingdom, December 1983
It's LOU AND SUE time! Sue B. scanned some of her dad's (Lou Perry) slides from a visit to The Magic Kingdom in December, 1983. Let's take a look!
We're looking south along Main Street USA, with what seems to be light attendance - maybe this was typical of those days. Is somebody boarding the Horse Drawn Streetcar? If so... weird. You'd think that everyone would be required to be seated. The Sweepers are out in force, dealing with some horse apples. The tree in the distance must be a good 50 feet tall!
Speaking of trees! I like the way the lower branches have been pruned to leave plenty of room for presents for ME. I want a Thingmaker from Mattel, and a Corgi Yellow Submarine. And a pony. No, two ponies, so they can keep each other company.
A similar view to the first one, only that Streetcar got in the way, so I am going to Sue the Disney Company for ten million dollars. See you on the beaches of Rio!
Cinderella Castle is so big. I know there is a restaurant inside it ("Walt's Slurp and Burp"), but is there anything in the upper levels? A private apartment for when I eventually visit?
Where is the fake snow, the artificial icicles? Where are the LED lights that cycle through all the colors of the rainbow? How am I supposed to know that it is Christmastime?
Once a day, a young child was given a bow and arrow, and if he could fire a flaming arrow through all of the wreaths, he would be arrested for arson. Luckily, most kids are klutzes.
As the sun sinks slowly into the west, let's take one final look at the Town Square Christmas Tree. Notice the larger ornaments at the bottom, with others getting smaller and smaller on the way up. This helped protect the tree from predators. Near the watermark we can see several men in shirtsleeves and ties (accompanied by a lady), maybe they are Cast Members?
THANKS SO MUCH, Lou and Sue!
11 comments:
Major-
From a time when the Magic Kingdom was truly magical-!
Thanks to Lou and Sue.
CORGI! Still have a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, complete with the front and rear wings and all four passengers. Corgi was way cooler than Matchbox, which was all about boring realism, and Hot Wheels, silly "custom" cars whose main purpose was to fly off orange plastic strips and hit the wall. Corgi meant James Bond cars, the Batmobile, Steed's classy antique and Mrs. Peel's sports car, Green Hornet's Black Beauty, and even the psychedelic woody from the Hardy Boys cartoon ... and yes, Yellow Submarine. Most with tiny hand-painted figures.
Another British company called Dinky did the Supermarionation shows. Still have my Thunderbird 2 with the tiny Thunderbird 4 inside, but legs on one side don't work.
1) This looks nice! Very green, earthy, and traditional. It looks like the driver of the Horse Drawn Streetcar is turning his head to look at red-jacket guy as he attempts to board the Streetcar... Do they have churro mines in the Orlando Park? In the distance we can see Rodan soaring overhead at supersonic speed, looking for a nesting site.
2) Major, I think you'll have to settle for a My Little Pony. The scale of the Tree makes the size of the ornaments look deceiving. I bet those gingerbread men are more than a foot high. Is the Tree leaning a bit to the right? The Castle is barely visible through the misty air.
...4) Major, there IS a VIP room up inside the Castle, but I'll let more knowledgeable Jr.Gs supply the details. I wonder if Cinderella Castle has a Dent?
...6) If the little kid's name was Odysseus, I bet he could shoot an arrow through all the wreaths. The Castle makes a nice background for the wreath garlands. (Wreath Garland is Judy's brother.)
7) On the left, there is a gaggle of colorful balloons, which looks nice. On the right, there is a red Mouse-ear balloon peeking around the tree trunks... Or maybe it's red-jacket guy again, trying to make an escape from the churro mines.
Thanks again to Lou. Thanks, Sue and Major.
In the early years if the Magic Kingdom, above KING STEPHANS BANQUET HALL restaurant inside Cinderella Castle , there was space for an apartment suite for the Disney family ….but it was left unfinished and of all things housed the PBX operators …. Until the 1990’s.
Mike, was that unfinished apartment the same space that was converted into WDW's version of the "Dream Suite," for the "Two and a Half Years of a Million Dreams" promotion?
Than you Lou, Sue, and Major, for more 1983 WDW pics!
In that first photo, the lighting makes it look like the street is covered in a fine layer of snow!
Beautiful pictures from Lou, once more. Thank you Sue!
Major, don’t rush to judgment on that second streetcar pic, I think it’s is very nice. The angled streetcar is an interesting view.
This question just occurred to me… why are all the Castle pinnacle roofs blue in color? I know these are made up of some whiz-bang space-age material in real life, but what old natural material are they mimicking? And why is it blue? Lead is gray, copper is green, etc.?
Major, this post is a holiday tour-de-force, thank you!
JG
Nanook, I can only assume that the Magic Kingdom’s Christmas is over-the-top, just like Disneyland’s!
DBenson, I loved my few Corgi toys. A Batmobile, a Black Beauty, and a Yellow Submarine. I think my brother had a James Bond car. I’ll have to look up Mrs. Peel’s sports car, I don’t know that one. I loved Hot Wheels too, though! Because they were so inexpensive, my dad would sometimes go to the Navy Exchange and pick up a few to surprise my brother and me, I still have every Hot Wheels I was given, though they are beat to heck. I’m aware of Dinky toys, though I never owned any.
JB, it really does boggle my mind that the Streetcar might (apparently) stop and let somebody board in the middle of Main Street, rather than at the two designated load areas. Maybe because the Magic Kingdom Main Street is so long? I’m afraid the appeal of My Little Pony is lost on me, but then again, I’ve never watched the cartoon. Maybe it’s great? I think it’s more likely that the photograph is not completely vertical, I’ll bet they go to great pains to make the Christmas trees plumb. I can’t wait to learn about the VIP room! “Odysseus”, called “Odie” by his parents. “Git in here, Odie, and wipe yore feet!”. Those balloons, they’ll make a break for it if they can. I still remember accidentally letting go of my balloon, and watching it get smaller and smaller, we could see it for a long time.
Mike Cozart, such a shame, knowing that Walt made plans for things that he did not live to enjoy. But I guess such things happen to all of us!
TokyoMagic!, ah, those “Dream Suites”, it’s nice to know that rich and famous people get preferential treatment, I would have never guessed. Do they ever let “normals” stay in them?
Steve DeGaetano, I see what you mean!
JG, I am a harsh judge of streetcars, and always will be. Some say it’s unfair, but rules are rules, or something. I always thought that the blue “cones” of the castle were supposed to look like slate (exaggerated, of course), but really don’t know.
I was gonna say slate too, Major.
Hey, my comment is gone! In it I questioned the Major's wish for 2 ponies since 2 ponies is twice the road apples. And they needed a SHOVEL near the streetcar! I also spy a drone hovering over the streetcar. Or it's a projectile road apple.
The first Slurp and Burp served Chili Panninis. I never went there but I hear there were many repeat customers (har). Does anyone else see a face in the castle facade photo? Well, that's about it.
Major, you are helping me get into the Christmas spirit. Thank you and Lou and Sue, too.
Zach
That suite in Cinderella Castle isn't available for money. It's given to people for PR purposes. Mostly VIPs there for some big event. A few "influencer" types have posted pictures from inside.
A few years ago, Disney had a special showing the overnight decoration of Main Street. The tree is stacked in giant sections by construction crane. Those garlands across Main Street were replaced with garland "arms" that stick out from the facades so tall parade floats can get down the street.
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