Christmas Parade, December 1965
Christmas and parades at Disneyland go together like salami and grape jelly on a sandwich (a gourmet delight)! Today I have four photos of a holiday parade; the slides are dated "January, 1966", and thanks to my razor-sharp intellect, I have deduced that the parade was from the previous month.
An odd little calliope is accompanied by a two pantomime horses. It looks like they took pieces (or castings of pieces) from the various circus wagons that Walt had purchased for "Toby Tyler", and applied them to this float for a bit of that old-world look. It's interesting, but even more interesting is the fact that the buildings of New Orleans Square are under construction beyond that wall! I can't wait to visit the Parfumerie.
A horrible irradiated caterpillar terrorizes guests, eating them in a single slurp (and two burps), while a mutant half-human, half insect taunts people; they will be next! Jeez, Walt, this parade is messed up.
Donald Duck drives by in one of Mr. Toad's antique motorcars, along with is nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. I wonder where that drivable version of the Toad car is today?
Same parade, slightly different angle; a group of magnificent knights on horseback trot by the Frontierland Ticket Booth in the brilliant late-afternoon sunshine. What non-religious Christmas song are they playing on their authentic medieval instruments? "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"? "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"? In the distance, the Matterhorn is crowned with its seasonal star.
3 comments:
Major-
Looks like a fun parade - especially when viewed from Frontierland, rather than the typical Main Street, USA location.
"What non-religious Christmas song are they playing on their authentic medieval instruments? "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"? "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"?"
Clearly, they're playing Santa's Too Fat for the Hula-Hoop-!
(Yes, that's a real song - performed by The Pixies [w/Thurl Ravenscroft] as Santa Claus).
Thanks, Major.
Donald’s “Toad” car is obviously the same body as the original steel attraction toad cars , but I’m curious if it was made specifically for the parade or did they pull one of the ride cars off the attraction and modify it for parade use….
That calliope has ranks of pipes sticking out all over the place... interesting. I wonder if it was an actual, playable calliope? Or if the music was recorded and played back through speakers? Looks like we can see the Swiss Family Treehouse, and tree, in the background.
While I like you description of the caterpillar, I do believe this is none other than Mad Madam Mim in one of her transformative disguises; note the purple hair.
I don't know why, but when Donald shows up in a parade, or just walking about the Park, I feel happier than I did just a moment before. He has that effect on me. That red banner looks like it says "Little Squirts"? What, or who was that?
I've always thought this type of horse-and-rider were cleverly designed. Of course they pre-date Disneyland, probably by hundreds of years. The Matterhorn looks especially sugar-coated here. My guess for the X-Mas song is "Up On The Rooftop" (A song I don't particularly like).
Bright, colorful, cheery pictures, Major. Thanks.
Post a Comment