Skyway Views, July 1972
SO MANY photos were taken by guests while aboard the Skyway! You can see why, really - aerial views are interesting, and there were no distractions (such as other people blocking your view). BUT... now that I view hundreds of those aerials years later, I find myself taking them for granted.
It's July 1972; we're gliding above Fantasyland, with King Arthur's Carrousel down blow, and only glimpses of other attractions, such as "Peter Pan" to the left, and the Fantasyland Theatre to the right. In the distance, the Administration Building, and even further away, Main Street Station.
Next we're gazing out toward the white "city" of It's a Small World - I don't think I ever really think about how massive the façade of that attraction is until I see a picture like this. I sort of like it this way, without the big gift shop in the way - instead there's a more tasteful shop on the right side of the path.
It's fun to zoom in a bit and make up little stories about various guests. Those four sailors will feel right at home on The Happiest Cruise To Ever Sail 'Round the World.
12 comments:
Major-
Also on-view [in the background] of the 1st image, popping-up above the Admin building is the Wilbur Clark Crest [now Grand] Hotel; and on the right side of the Sleeping Beauty Castle is the [then] Royal Inn of Anaheim, but better known since August, 1976 as the Inn at the Park.
"Those four sailors will feel right at home on The Happiest Cruise To Ever Sail". (Now, if we can only locate a quartet of nuns-! They are often spotted near sailors in uniform - as if traveling in packs...)
Thanks, Major.
I like the lighting in the first pic; the colors really pop! And the Castle has just the right ratio of light and shadow. And of course... Power lines! (and towers). Beautiful cerulean sky too.
Nice photo of the Small World facade. Even at this distance we can see a lot of detail. Funny how the "Leaning Tower" makes the whole right half of the facade look like it's slipping into the ground. The trees in front of it, covering up the lower part, add to the illusion.
In the close-up, it seems a yellow Mickey(?) balloon has been captured by that balloon-eating tree on the right.
Pretty pictures, major. Thanks.
I’m not 100% sure why but I have so many memories of SMALL WORLD GIFTS and THE FANTASYLAND ICE CREAM TRAIN . I still have a little friction motor double deck omnibus from Germany that came from
Small World Gifts … I had to do a lot of convincing to my parents to get it . It was kinda pricey … and at first my reason for getting it wasn’t good enough ( …”because I don’t have one…”) I had to agree to help set the table and clear it - without complaining . The toy Omnibus was from a friction motor toy line called GNOMY … it was made by Lehman Patent Works of West Germany …the makers of LGB garden railway trains . “LEHMANS GROSSE BAHN” ( lehmans big train . But Gnomy was small.
As a kid we almost always got a chocolate dipped frozen banana from the Fantasyland Ice Cream Train. It was a tradition like getting funnel cake at Knott’s Berry Farm.
In the 1990’s the Toyshop at EPCOT’s German Pavilion was selling the same GNOMY friction motor trains , omnibuses, autos , trains and streetcar toys.
It looks like two of those sailors are gravitating towards the Ice Cream Train. They either want ice cream, or they want to climb on top of it and pretend they are train engineers.
Mike, I also have strong memories of the Ice Cream Train and the Small World Gifts souvenir stand.....and also the Fantasyland Caricature Stand across the way, which we can see poking up through the trees. Oh, and that other Fantasyland Souvenir Stand shows up, too.....but barely. It's underneath that tree to the left of the Motor Boat Cruise sign. I also have memories of stopping at that stand and buying souvenirs.
These are great Fantasyland pics, from a great era, Major! Thanks for sharing!
Excellent views, Major!
I love the Castle/Carousel view with the power lines and hotels. Too bad we can’t see the big UFO convention center.
And IASW is very impressive too. It’s funny, I remember the ice cream train, but not the gift stand. There are at least four striped trash cans visible and I think there might be one more behind the foliage to the right. Those sailors are due on watch at the Submarines and are heading back to the Disneyland Navy Yards to report in.
Thank you for the beautiful pics today, Major!
JG
Nanook, that Wilbur Clark Crest/Grand Hotel sure likes to have its picture taken. As for nuns, I am very sad that I only have a few photos featuring the penguins at the park.
JB, yeah it’s funny, now that I’ve scanned umpteen-thousand slides, I start to notice changes in Kodak film stocks, some years they seem to really have it perfected, but then they change it and it’s not as good. NO idea why they did that, except perhaps to make a “faster” film. The Leaning Tower is so good because I’m sure it’s one of the few stylized buildings that nearly everybody can identify. Back when my brother went to Europe (MANY years ago) they still let tourists up the stairs of the Leaning Tower. By the time I went a few years later, they’d closed the stairs. Oh well.
Mike Cozart, that’s cool that you have personal memories of the ice cream train and the gift shop! I didn’t even remember that the ice cream train existed until I started seeing it in photos like today’s. My mom and dad did not spend money on much at Disneyland (being a “Navy family”), but if we went with my grandparents, we’d be spoiled rotten. It was great! Frozen bananas - I’ve had friends who’ve gotten those, and they are SO frozen that they have to wait until they thaw a bit, otherwise it’s like a banana made of granite.
TokyoMagic!, the sailors are hoping that the ice cream train has jellyfish-flavored ice cream, like they had on their destroyer. “With chunks of real jellyfish!”. Sadly, they only had flounder ice cream, which is just not the same. Do you still have any of the souvenirs that you bought at the “Small World Gifts” stand? Of course you do!
JG, I guess the Convention Center would be just out of frame to the right in that first picture. I do love that kooky building. Those striped trashcans must have made an impression on me, because Disneyland sold pins that looked like the various trashcans, and the striped ones were what I wanted. But you had to buy the whole set, and I didn’t want to spend that much.
I remember the Ice Cream Train. It had the simple magic. Was disappointed when it was removed. Also, my most missed attraction ever, The Skyway.
And I loved frozen bananas. Loved gnawing on those puppies. That was my favorite snack at Disneyland.
Thanks, Major.
Are we sure that those guys in white aren't milkmen? I wonder how they'd do against a gang of nuns.
The story of the rock-hard frozen banana makes me think of a time I went to one of those hard ticket after hours parties at WDW. They had free popcorn and Mickey bars, but the bars were frozen to close to absolute zero and could crack your teeth if you bit down on them.
Do you still have any of the souvenirs that you bought at the “Small World Gifts” stand? Of course you do!
Major, yes....I bought the picture discs/records for the soundtracks of It's A Small World and The Main Street Electrical Parade at that Small World Gifts stand. And I also bought the little booklet of clear plastic pages which hold photos (on Kodak paper) of the Main Street Electrical Parade. I have posted that on my blog, back in January of 2009, but not the records.....yet.
K. Martinez, I love that people have such fond memories of the ice cream train. Obviously the design did what it was supposed to do! I think the Skyway is up there among my “most missed” attractions, not only was it a great ride, but it got you from one side of the park to the other.
Dean Finder, I can imagine milkmen breaking bottles against a nearby fence so that they could terrorize nuns with the sharp edges. However, nuns can throw a cloth over the milkmen’s heads and give them a knee to the groin.
TokyoMagic!, I think one of the things that amazes me is that you not only remember buying things at the Small World Gifts stand, but you remember exactly WHAT you bought there. Impressive.
I hope we'll see Anna's hair be calf length, huge, and voluminous while her hair is getting style in many ways including updos from pocahontas 2 (during the song wait til he sees you).
In frozen 3.
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