Knott's Monkey Farm, 1960s

I have three fun photos from Knott's Monkey Farm, from what I think is the early 1960s (judging by the clothes and the buzz-cuts on some of the boys). Walter Knott knew that boysenberries were OUT, and monkeys were IN, so he wisely changed the focus of his popular farm. FYI, two of the slides had damage, which explains the different aspect ratios of the images. 

It appears that boys were more fascinated by the Capuchin monkey than anybody else, and that makes sense of course. I hope they treated the little guy with kindness. Or else he might bite their thumbs off! The boy with the blue cap is wondering if he could grab the monkey and make a run for it. They would be pals forever, solve crimes, and be elected as co-Presidents of the United States someday. 

I'm not sure if that boy is shaking the monkey's hand (paw?), or if he is giving him a nickel. Judging by the hands of some of the other boys, they appear to be ready with their own coins. Notice the one to the right with the Davy Crockett t-shirt! Which might mean that these photos are from the 1950s?  The kid to the left is thinking, "Yeah, yeah, but can he smoke a cigarette? I want him to smoke a cigarette".

You know what? I want a monkey too!

1950s Fantasyland Pix

Here are two more scans from a batch of loose, unmounted transparencies from various years in the 1950s- these larger-format images really captured some nice details.

The good old Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship - well, it wasn't so old in this photo. In fact, it had there for under a year. If you look just in front of the bow, you can see some of the Casey Jr. track before the "rock work" had been added (in the summer of 1956). No matter how many photos I've seen of this ship, I am always impressed at the beauty of this feature - not a ride, but a restaurant. Amazing!

Nearby, a woman poses with Monstro the Whale right behind her. Quite the photo op! I like the guests to the right, intently watching the canal boats as they loaded and then headed toward Monstro's gaping maw. The man with the red plaid flannel reminds me of my paternal grandfather; thinking about it now, I don't know if he ever visited Disneyland. 

 

SNOOZLES™

Sometimes I'll be going through a batch of scans, and I'll wonder (out loud), "Is THIS a Snoozle?". But other times it is so obvious that there is no need for me to talk to myself (though it is fun, you should try it). 

Beautiful Frontierland (from a February 1977 scan) doesn't look very inviting here; in fact I am reasonably sure that there are bears and mountain lions and raccoons just waiting to eat any guests who happen to wander too far into that dark, gloomy forest. Even the normally-cheerful Mark Twain can't cheer things up. I thought there was a large white bird on top of a rock, to the right, near the shore. But then I realized it was just a man's jacket. Sorry, sir!

Next, from April of 1974 comes this photo of the Jungle Cruise... a pair of boats sit unused by that outer dock, while another boat returns from the trip through the Rivers of the World. The trouble is, the jungle was so dark that nobody saw a thing. No crocodiles, no mother in-law elephants, no headhunters... nothin'!

Vintage New Orleans

I have a number of vintage slides of New Orleans (aka "The Big Squeaky"), which was built after Walt Disney thought up New Orleans Square (needs verification). I've never made it down to Louisiana - I declined an opportunity to go to New Orleans for Mardis Gras because... well, because of Mardi Gras. But it's still a fascinating and unique part of the U.S.

Here's a nice look along Canal Street from November 1961, at the Baronne Street intersection, looking northwest. Photos of almost any city or town look so vital and prosperous, let's go to Kress for some loafers, and then to McCrorys for... whatever they sold. Up the street is the Saenger Theater, and further up, the Texaco Building.

Here's a screen grab from Google Maps, the city looks a little less energetic, though it might just be the gray skies.

Next is this neat shot of one of the streetcars in the city, which has the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world. There were steam locomotives dating back to 1835 (as the vampires surely remember), with the switch to electric trams in 1895. Obviously there have been many changes and upgrades over the years. There are currently five operating streetcar lines in New Orleans: The St. Charles Avenue Line, the Loyola-Riverfront Line, the Canal Street Line (which has two branches), and the Rampart-Loyola Line.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to The Big Squeaky!

Two Nice Randos

Happy Friday! As you saw in the title, I have two randos for you today, and I think they are pretty nice examples. First up is this scan from October 1963, with a view of the old Indian Village on the western shore of Frontierland (roughly where the Haunted Mansion stands today). The angle is unusual, I believe that the Rivers of America would be directly behind us - but I'm not 100% positive. You could show this to most people and they'd have no clue that this was in Disneyland. There are some tepees, along with the anachronistic totem pole to the left. A lone guest can just be seen next to the foremost tepee, but things look pretty quiet around there.

Next is this scan from September, 1968. It's a bit darker than I'd like, but I liked the composition, looking at the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship, with some of Skull Rock's waterfalls, and the lagoon's tropical plants in the foreground. It's as if we just happened upon this tableau after wandering lost on an island! That magical mermaid might grant you a pipin' hot tuna burger.  

 

Fantasyland at Dusk, August 1970

I have two familiar scenes from August, 1970, but they are made interesting by the late afternoon/dusk lighting.

This shot of Sleeping Beauty Castle is very pretty, with only the topmost spires catching the last of the sunlight. Various lamps and lanterns are already lit. I'm assuming that the flowerbed directly in front of us is long-gone, but hey, maybe I'm mistaken. I can't help imagining being at the park on a pleasant August evening, with all of the music, clanging bells of the Streetcars, the smell of popcorn, and all of the other sensory pleasures to be had!

I probably should have shared this one first, but oh well. We have another late afternoon view, this time of the Matterhorn, still fully lit by the setting sun, while the swirls of yellow and purple flowers (at the entrance to Tomorrowland) in the foreground are in shadow. I tend to look for climbers on the Matterhorn in photos like this, but I don't think Hans and Otto are there.

A Pair From, November 28, 1973

Here are two fun views, from November 28, 1973. Even though I've shared at least one blog post from this batch, I think I neglected to refer to Jason's Disneyland Almanac - something I always enjoy doing. So... November 28th was a Wednesday; the park opened at 10 AM, and closed at 6 PM (so early!); the day reached a high of 70º, with a low of 42º. There are no attendance estimates.

Meanwhile, here is a photo of the Ernest S. Marsh as it rested at Main Street Station - you can just see a tiny bit of the parking lot in the distance. A Cast Member is busy doing some sort of maintenance, possibly applying oil. Or macaroni and glitter, which is my guess.

Over in Frontierland... well, here's a nice, but fairly standard, look at the Mark Twain. I have become so used to similar photos that I have to remind myself how pretty this is.

 

Disneyland Hotel, May 1984

Our friend Sue B. sent me some photos of the Disneyland Hotel, circa 1984! As usual, they were taken by her father, Lou Perry. This was from around the time that Michael Eisner had hoped to buy the Hotel from Jack Wrather. Wrather refused, though the deal was finally accomplished in 1988 (after Wrather and his wife had passed away).

One of the features that was at the Hotel around this period is something that I forgot about: In 1982, The Off-Road Raceway opened in front of the Bonita Tower and featured 1/10 scale remote cars that could be rented by guests. Crazy!

Here's a lovely shot of the old pool area, surrounded by tropical plants, and the old Hotel architecture. Brochures from that era encouraged guests to stay at the Hotel, and take a mid-day break at the park, come back for a swim, perhaps a meal or a nap, and then return to Disneyland later in the afternoon. I have to admit that it sounds pretty great!

I guess this was next to some of the Garden Apartments? Early on, there were orange trees outside most of the rooms, and guests were encouraged to pluck ripe oranges whenever they desired! As you can see, much care was taken to ensure that the grounds were beautiful and well-manicured. The tall light poles make me think that one of the golf courses (or a driving range) might be just past those white oleanders.

THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!

Special Event Mini-Posters

After a bit of much-needed organizing, I realized that I had a dozen or so mini-posters advertising various special events. None of today's examples mention the Magic Kingdom Club, although the first poster mentions Magic Key ticket books, so there (makes a raspberry noise). I'll share the posters in two installments because that's just my wacky way. 

First up, it's Marine Corps Day, October 18 1964. Hooah! Guests would have VIP Travel Passports, in which one could ride whatever one wanted, as many times as one wanted. So... why the need for Magic Key ticket books?  Unless people wanted to stock up for future visits, which is not a bad idea. Notice that the Tiki Room is an additional charge. $5.00 for adults - adjusted for inflation that is around $50, which seems nuts (even though I love the Tiki Room). Would you pay that much? Maybe some of those free prizes will help ease the pain, especially that Royal Weekend at the Disneyland Hotel.

Chip and Dale, don't you have anything better to do? Donald Duck is probably working in his garden or building something that you can mess up for him. This poster is for an event for Garrett Airesearch Manufacturing Division. The general public is not admitted to Disneyland on the evening of this event! It looks like the Tiki Room is included with the price of admission this time. And dancing? I can finally bust out all of my new moves! You have to see them to believe them. 

Next is this poster for the May 5, 1967 Southern California Gas Company Family Night (fools, they could have said "Family Nite" and passed the savings on to us). Sorcerer Mickey promises that everything will be free (except for shooting galleries, and food and drink). This event only runs from 8:00 PM to 1:00 AM, but I'll bet an enterprising person could easily do all of their favorite rides. 

March 1, 1968 was Public Employees Night for San Bernardino County workers. Regular people, get outta here! I like the mention of some new-ish features, such as New Orleans Square and Pirates of the Caribbean, and the "All New Tomorrowland". No Haunted Mansion yet, sadly. 

And finally, it's November 21, 1969 - Telephone Family Fun Night, for the Mission Chapter Pioneers (no idea). The logo at the top says "Telephone Pioneers of America", and I have been to America several times. Six days before Thanksgiving, those nutty Pioneers could have fun fun fun, even on the Breathtaking Haunted Mansion, which had only been open for about three months! Let's just ride that 15 times in a row.

I hope you have enjoyed these mini-posters. Stay tuned for PART TWO!

Snoozles From February, 1961

It's Snoozle Time, and you know what that means - I'll be sharing some scans that have issues. No, not the "fear of intimacy" sort of issue, I mean that there is literally something wrong with the scans. In this case, both have turned out very dark.

You probably remember this Girl In Red from a previous photo. Her outfit is so striking that this should be an interesting picture, but as you can see, most of the background is overwhelmed with dark, inky shadows. Vesey Walker gleams in his white uniform, but the Disneyland Band is barely visible in their seats as they perform in front of the Opera House.

Just up Main Street, the same girl poses with her Mom and Dad next to the Carnation Milk Truck, surrounded by colorful faux flowers in the Flower Market. But half the picture is almost black. Was it an errant camera setting? Did the film sit in a hot car? It is February of 1961, but Mom is holding a 1960 souvenir guidebook - gotta use up that inventory. 

 

Random Amusements

Today is GDB friend DW's birthday! Happy Birthday, DW. As usual, Sue B. has provided a fun vintage photo for the occasion - an undated picture of a young boy posing with his Mickey Mouse balloon thingy. I thought maybe that was one of those punching toys... you know, "bop the clown" or something. But Sue didn't think so, and now I think she's right. On the table is a delicious cake - or is there more than one cake? Hard to tell. Having an al fresco birthday party is the height of elegance, especially if you get a nice glass of ice-cold lemonade, and get to play "pin the tail on the donkey".

And now, on to the regularly-scheduled blog post! I love me some random (and vintage) amusement parks. Hopefully you do too.

First up is this fun portrait of a happy family posing in front of an impressive dark ride façade, GOLD NUGGET. It has a great, classic look to it, and you can't go wrong with a giant steer skull. I was unsure of  the exact location; there were a number of different attractions that went by the same name, including one at the Atlantic City Pier, and another somewhere in New Mexico. But luckily, I happened upon THIS PAGE, which had tons of helpful information. This is Roseland Park, at Canandaigua Lake (in the Finger Lakes region) in New York.

While I recommend that you read the linked article, Roseland Park opened in 1925. From Wikipedia: Over the years, as the park changed and grew, it saw many rides come and go. Some of the additional attractions included a Ferris wheel, bumper cars, a miniature train ride, a sky ride that went out over part of Canandaigua Lake before returning to the station, and the park's Carousel, which was purchased for the park in 1941 from the defunct Long Branch amusement park. For a period of time there was even a live circus act. Additional attractions have been added and changed over the years, including the addition of the park's major wooden roller coaster, the Skyliner, which was built in 1960.

 So, what was the Gold Nugget ride? From laffinthedark.com: In 1961, Roseland regulars would welcome a new dark ride to replace the older “Crazy House”, and they added one of the best: A Bill Tracy design called “The Gold Nugget”. Bill Tracy was a former artist for the great dark ride Company called Pretzel Rides, in Bridgeton NJ, who went on to form his own company “Amusement Display Creators” and later “This Is, Inc.” after his death. Tracy was known for revamping existing rides or designing them from bottom up. His most famous attractions included his “Pirates Den” walkthroughs and his dark rides called “Wacky Shack”.

Tracy would bring his “Best of The Best” to Roseland's own custom version. Tracy was a master using UV black lighting, day glo paints and warping reality and space by using red/yellow striped painted rooms with strobe light effects. The outside facade had a large mechanical skull mounted with an exposed speed hill and roller coaster style drop, complete with warped and bent Western ghost town buildings and Indian tee-pees drawn in for good looks.

Roseland Park closed in 1985

Founder and original owner William Muar... collected commissions from the park's few rides that were

brought in by concessionaires each summer. This would allow him to eventually buy his own equipment starting in 1935. The big and most famous purchase was a large carousel bought to Roseland in 1942. Mr. Muar partnered up with George Long of nearby Seabreeze Park to bring the carousel to Roseland that was built in 1909 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company - PTC No. 18. This is STILL the ride that fans remember the most.

Next is a fun little flying saucer "spin around" ride, location unknown. In fact I couldn't find out much about this ride at all - who built it, what it was called, nothin'. It might just be the Flying Saucer ride. But I'll bet at least one of you knows a thing or two! A YouTube video shows kids on one of these, and while they don't give the info that I mentioned, they do say that ...it features a 3-phase motor with a hydro-sheave for a soft start on the motor shaft and a belt-driven gearbox which turns a chain final drive. 

Junior Autopia

Before we get to the Disneyland pix, let's wish a big Happy Birthday to GDB pals Lou Perry and Dean Finder! Sue B. has provided this fun vintage photo of a birthday party (thanks Sue!) - I'm trying to guess an approximate date, but am not sure. Early 1950s? Late 1940s? There are two young basketball referees in the center, one of them is presumably the birthday boy. I think that the table is too big, and that they should have used an even smaller table. How much cake wound up on the floor? In the background is what appears to be a photographer's lamp, so this photo might be from the finished batch.

Here are two more scans from a batch of loose (non-mounted) 120-format color transparencies, from the 1950s! A lucky girl is on a magnificent golden Junior Autopia vehicle - James Bond would look good at the wheel of a car like this. She has a steely look of concentration on her face; it looks like the cast member is giving her some sort of instructions. "Don't run over my friend up ahead", perhaps?

Well, she made it in one piece, and is returning to the load/unload area. A mechanic in oily coveralls looks like he's been kept busy.  Two other employees can be seen near his left shoulder, presumably part of the landscape maintenance crew. Thank goodness there's a telephone booth nearby, you just never know when you'll need to call "Bowling For Dollars".

 

Two From August 1970

August, 1970 would have been a great time to visit Disneyland. Well, maybe not August 6th. But otherwise you had the New Tomorrowland, and the Carousel of Progress was still going strong.  The Haunted Mansion had opened only a year earlier.

Here's a nice shot looking across the Submarine Lagoon on a glorious, sunny day - presumably from the Skyway terminal in Tomorrowland. If you look closely, there is a bobsled visible on the Matterhorn, which of course means wealth and prosperity for everyone. Guests glide up the Speedramp to the Monorail station, while the tail cone of the Green Monorail can be seen in the lower right. Also... a yellow Peoplemover train!

"Honey, take my picture, these yellow and purple flowers match my eyes". Joke's on him, he forgot to take off his sunglasses! Ah, he's enjoying his Marlboro cigarette, life is good.

Two From the 1950s

I love almost any photo of Disneyland from the 1950s - here are two of 'em! First up, here's Gramps sitting in one of the seats (where only the cool kids get to be) on the bow of the Mark Twain - it looks like the steamboat is still at the dock, but not for long! I'm sure many of you remember Gramps from these photos. I wonder what he's holding in his right hand? It appears to be a rolled-up piece of paper. Maybe one of those Pilot's Certificates? Or else it is a whammy stick.

For a year or two, there were some painted plywood "Fun Photo" ops near the Red Wagon Inn. We get a good look at one, with a little girl resembling Stinky Pete from "Toy Story 2". Pluto loves her no matter what she smells like!

More Special Guest Photos!

Today is the FOURTH post featuring family photos from GDB pal JG! As you can see, these are from September, 1965; JG included some comments on each photo for your enjoyment. Let's go!

Oh boy, what a beautiful look at the stern of the Pirate Ship, with the Chicken of the Sea mermaid in bas-relief. A nice Skyway view of my favorite place in Yesterland. The sails are unfurled and we are ready to launch, first star on the right and straight on till morning.

An action shot from the Skyway - two gondolas pass within, what? Eight feet of each other? That's 2.43 meters to the rest of the world. This picture should go in front of the one above, I think. A standard and somewhat dull view from a Skyway bucket. No, JG, this is in the correct order, the gondola is heading to the Fantasyland Chalet! The red gondola is on its way to Tomorrowland.

JG poses in front of Snow White, there she is, with the Dwarfs and various woodland critters: I'm posed in front of Snow White's Grotto, my favorite place in the Park that still exists. I love that I can still stand in the same spot 50 years later. I think it is the only spot like that in these pictures that still survives intact and I am constantly in fear that Johnny Depp or Rachel Zegler will be added to the Grotto.

Oh yeah, the Subs! Very cool that JG and Russ (his dad) are so close to the conning tower. My Dad and I in front of the Nautilus. I was fascinated with the 20K Leagues movie, we had probably just come from seeing the walk-through exhibit and then rode the sub with the same name. I think I shared the scanned version of the 20K storybook that I got on this trip.

THANK YOU, JG, for sharing these wonderful scans!

 

Random Beauties From the 50s

Here are two more random scans from a batch of loose 120-format transparencies from the 1950s, starting with this nice view of locomotive #1, the C.K. Holliday as it pulls into Main Street Station. If you look carefully you can just see somebody in the cab of the locomotive, while a conductor stands at the door of one of the old yellow passenger cars, waiting to help guests as they disembark. I like the view of the distant parking lot! Notice the red Christmas bell decoration to the left.

Over in Fantasyland, two girls we've seen previously (one is harder to spot in this image) ride King Arthur's Carrousel, back when the horses were all sorts of colors. Black! White! Burnt Sienna! Butterscotch! Green! Well, maybe not green, but you get the idea. Either the girl closest to us is a daredevil, or the Carrousel hasn't started moving yet. You have to hold on to that pole with a kung fu grip!

Snoozles From August, 1965

Sometimes I wonder if I should continue to share Snoozles™ here on GDB. But I guess it's a way to post some "content", even if it is not great - on a day when viewership is low. Lower than usual, I mean (it's always low)!

Neither of today's pictures is terrible, they are just a bit "soft", focus-wise. I'm never sorry to have a look at an Omnibus. My eyes always immediately go to the mini-posters on the side, I kind of wish they would bring those back (with a mix of new and old artwork of course). Having finally taken several rides on the Omnibus, I can confidently say that the top level is the best! Shocking, I know.

This one is in focus, but it's rather dark. The Streetcar is in Town Square, and is being pulled by what I believe is a Percheron horse rather than the Belgian Draft Horses that we seem to see so often. I want to feed him an apple. There's a couple to the right of the horse's head, and above them you can see a lamppost sign for DISNEYLAND '65, the joyful Tencennial celebration. 

 

Random Roadside Attractions

I have a fondness for weird roadside attractions from around the USA, and once in a while I've been lucky enough to find slides for a few that I've never heard of. Researching can be half the fun.

From December, 1964 we get this look at... well, what the heck is it? A giant piece of folk art, but what else? I was pretty baffled until I saw the red sign between the two sitting prospectors (who look like friends of Handsome Brady and Whiskey Bill from Knott's Berry Farm) - the sign says OLD SOUTH BAR-B-Q RANCH. Aha! The Old South BBQ was located in Clewiston, Florida, along US Route 27. 

Here's a vintage postcard! One website had some personal recollections from people who went here: "Boy, this was the place. Every time we would go fishing on Lake Okeechobee we would stop at the Ranch for lunch on our way home. IT WAS THE BEST! ... We used to climb on the fiberglass horses and cows and play on their outside decor forever and the food was great too."

"This place had all of that plus an outside ambience beyond description. The roadside signs started 50 miles north of Clewiston on HWY 27. I knew that we were almost home when we started seeing the signs."

"The outside was full of fiberglass 'old west' characters, wagon wheels, and punny signs adorning the building and parking lot. The inside was full of old west decor and bric-a-brac, and the waitresses wore Dale Evans-style cowgirl costumes with toy holsters."

I'm unclear as to when this place first opened (perhaps it was tied to the 100th anniversary of the start of the Civil War in 1860?), but it was there until at least sometime in the 1980s, finally closing after 1987, from what I have gleaned. You can read a bit about it on the Roadside America website.

What the heck? I guess sitting in a toylike cart  behind a burro qualifies as tourist fun! And what in the world is the "Desert of Maine"? From Wikipedia: The Desert of Maine is a natural curiosity and privately owned tourist attraction whose main feature is a 20-acre expanse of barren glacial sand in the town of Freeport, Maine, United States. The area was de‑vegetated by poor farming practices in the 19th century.

Say, this vintage postcard is somethin' else! Did you know that the burro had a name? PEDRO THE BURRO! From the back of this postcard: Desert of Maine is the greatest natural phenomenon of its kind known. The desert itself covers approximately 500 acres and is still growing, with possibilities of extending into several thousand more in the next 25 to 30 years. It is a spot no tourist should fail to visit. Only five minutes from Main Highway, Route 1, or Route 95 Freeport, Maine. Wikipedia says the place is 20 acres, the postcard says 500. Perhaps much of it was sold off to developers and is no longer "desert"?

I hope you have enjoyed today's weird Roadside Attractions.