Frontierland Views, June 1970

While today's photos might qualify as "Sunday Snoozers", they could be worse! Once in a while you guys will get a break.

It's that burning cabin that we are all so familiar with. It must have been built with authentic Dura-flame logs, those things really do last forever. The flames are really roaring, but we know that an energy crisis was on its way in about three years, At which point the flames would be replaced with an anemic fire effect (with theatrical smoke) like the kind we see in "Pirates of the Caribbean". Our dead settler looks particularly contorted this time, which is totally rad! 

Meanwhile, over at Fowler's Harbor, the Columbia rests (as usual) while it undergoes some repairs... or I guess that's just where it sat when the park wasn't that busy. However, the park was busy, just look at the crowd of people waiting to ride the Keelboat! The raft is packed too. A few guests are aboard the Columbia, possibly there to see the "below decks" exhibits (which was rats and a bunch of unshaved sailors with scurvy). We also get two canoes for one low low price.

Knott's Berry Farm, November 1974

Who's ready to visit Knott's Berry Farm, circa 1974? Put on your velvet, boysenberry-colored suit and come with me!

Disneyland is so squeaky-clean, but neither of these folks look very reputable. The man probably hasn't bathed in months, and that woman is way too happy. It's not natural.

A group of majorettes (?) from a local high school are marching past the Calico Saloon. Let's see your school spirit! "WHS"... Whittier High School perhaps? The Whittier Whitefish! Whittier is only about 10 miles from the Berry Farm. Did local schools perform at the park regularly, or was this a holiday-related event? 

There's just something about crumbling brick structures that is picturesque. "This thing must be 200 years old, or my name's not Herman Snerfengruber!". Bright pink bougainvillea blossoms add to the charm of this decrepit feature.

I hope that the next two photos are from a stunt show, and not just two guests fighting over which cereal was better (Quisp? Or Quake?). "I'll be dang-blasted if I'm gonna eat any cereal that is made by an alien with a propeller on his head! (*OOF*)". "Quake is just Cap'n Crunch without those delightful crunch berries, you boneheaded salamander! (*SQUISH*)". 

"Aw, I'm sorry, podner, let's hug it out!". "You know I can't stay mad at you!". Aaaaand... scene.

Magic Kingdom Attraction Posters, September 1972

Happy Birthday to GDB friends Mike Cozart! It's Zach's birthday as well, I'm not sure if he's still reading GDB, we can wish him a happy birthday too. Sue B. sent me some amazing slide scans that will be especially interesting to Mike. BUT FIRST... here's a cake for both of them.

Lou Perry went to Walt Disney World in September of 1972, when the park was not quite one year old, and as he so often did, he took photos of things that most guests did not. In this case he took a series of rare photos of attraction posters, which (I believe) were on display in the tunnels to Main Street USA. In all my years of looking, I have seen darn few images of these Florida posters - the ones that I have seen were on Mike's old blog. Since Mike is such a poster aficionado, this seemed like a great subject to cover on his birthday.

First up is this "Mickey Mouse Musical Revue" broadsheet, in a style quite different from what most of us probably think of when we think "Disney attraction poster". One of three opening-day Fantasyland attractions, it featured many of your favorite Disney characters as they performed beloved Disney songs such as "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" and "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo". Mickey Mouse was the conductor, of course. 

Here's the "Diamond Horseshoe Revue" poster, a fairly faithful reworking of the original "Golden Horseshoe Revue" poster, only they did away with that troublesome gold ink and replaced it with a baby blue background. Thanks to Mike's blog we know that the WDW posters were a bit smaller than their Disneyland counterparts; 30" X 45" compared to 36" X 54".

Disneyland's "Submarine Voyage" poster is a beauty, but the Magic Kingdom's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" poster might be an improvement, with the fabulous Nautilus sub. I sure would love to have one of these!

Seeing these familiar Disneyland posters with different text is almost like looking into a bizarro dimension. Here's all of Frontierland (and Liberty Square) river craft. 

Ah, the beautiful Swiss Family Treehouse poster, definitely one of the most eye-catching of all with its vibrant oranges and pinks. This is virtually identical to the Anaheim version, except that the word "Island" has been rather clumsily crammed in.

And finally (for today), here's the Peter Pan, or "Fantasyland attractions", more accurately, poster (see the Disneyland iteration HERE). I'm not wild about the large green banner shape, but it's not the end of the world. 

That's it for now, but there will be one more Magic Kingdom attraction poster blog post to come! Thanks to Lou and Sue as always.

River Belle Terrace Dining, 1978

Just one week ago, I shared three photos (courtesy of the Mysterious Benefactor) featuring the outdoor dining area near the River Belle Terrace. Today I'm going to share the remaining three from that batch.

I'm sure some of these diners got their meals from the Oaks Tavern and the Wheelhouse, both nearby. And judging by the crowd, you were lucky to find an empty table. It appears to be late in the afternoon, but these photos are from December (according to the original file names), so the sun was on its way down by 1:00 PM.

We can see some of Chuck's "Winnie the Pooh" umbrellas. I wonder how many people walked past this dining area and thought, "Maybe it won't be so busy in Tomorrowland"? Guess what, it will be just as busy! Head over to the Hungry Bear, that's your best bet.

Oh man, the line is way out to HERE? The funny thing is, even a busy day like this is nothing compared to my last trip to the park, when it was so busy that my friend and I finally gave up on the idea of making our way all the way over to the Haunted Mansion. No fun.

 Thanks as always to the Mysterious Benefactor!

Parking Lot Arrival, March 1962

Oh boy, a parking lot! Normally I like photos of dumpsters, but parking lots are even better. I love that our photographer was so excited that he (?) snapped two photos before he even got to the front gate.

Two well-dressed (one with white gloves!) pose with the Matterhorn and the Monorail track in the distance. Unfortunately, a kid suffering from Horizontal Neck Syndrome ("HNS" to medical professionals) happened to walk past just at the wrong moment. Smart visitors knew that they could eat a free can of Kal Kan dog food at Ken-L-Land. Meaty, and no fillers or by-products. It sure looks a beautiful  March day. 

This one is a bit less great, but I'll take it. Did our photographer marvel at the vastness of the parking lot? Or was he fascinated by the Monorail track? Or did he just like buses? Enjoy your day at 1962 Disneyland, you lucky people.

"Walt Disney's Disneyland" Part Four

It's time for part four of "Walt Disney's Disneyland"! PART FOUR! Thanks to JG for scanning his 1973 copy of this classic volume.

Sorry I'm starting you out with a page of text rather than a photo, but that's the way things go sometimes. Marty Sklar tells us about the Columbia, the Keelboats, the Canoes, Tom Sawyer Island, and Nature's Wonderland. And then it's on to Tomorrowland, the tomorrowiest land ever. It was "the most difficult to conceive and design", which might explain why it has been so hard for today's designers to update and improve upon what was already there.

I always love a good "splashdown" photo of the old single-car Matterhorn bobsleds. I forget that they were so colorful! I love the mention of electric eels in the ocean, aren't they found in the Amazon? Maybe the subs took a side trip to Brazil.

I love this two-page spread, a photo collage featuring some fun photos of guests of all ages and many nationalities having fun in the park. Interesting that the little girl on the phone at the Bell Telephone exhibit was seen in a 1963 issue of "National Geographic". There's a sailor from a foreign land. France? Russia? 

More words! Nobody told me that there would be reading involved! For a moment I thought Marty Sklar was going to mention the Viewliner, but he just skipped ahead to the Monorail. Can't say I blame him, even by 1972 the Viewliner was ancient history. We also get a mention of the Monsanto House of the Future, Circle-Vision 360, and the Autopia. And there's that troublesome quote from Walt about Disneyland never being completed!

Sorry, Charlie, the dent isn't visible in this pretty photo of Sleeping Beauty Castle.

I love that photo from the Jungle Cruise, with completely believable crumbling ruins in the foreground framing a scene of the river stretching away in the distance, and a single baby elephant playing in the water (I think he was squirting an unfortunate crocodile).

All the birds say words and the flowers croon, in the tiki tiki tiki tiki Tiki Room.

It's interesting that Marty mentions one of Walt's rare missteps, with the Mickey Mouse Club Circus. I also think it's interesting that it is implied that people don't go to Disneyland for the shows, they go for the ride experiences. And yet... live shows have become a fairly common (and popular, in some cases) feature at the park over the years. I guess they are relatively cheap, and can be updated or cancelled with ease. Remember the days when Audio Animatronics seemed to be the thing that Walt was most proud of? Now you don't hear diddly about them, I guess mechanical performers have lost some of their wonder.

That's it for PART FOUR! Stay tuned for PART FIVE in just one week!

Elephants

Elephants! It's today's theme. Not that I often have themes, and I admit that as themes go, "elephants" is kind of lame. But I'm going with it anyway.

The Sacred Elephant Bathing Pool might not rank up there with the "most photographed" features at Disneyland, but it's still way up there. Guests just loved those frolicking pachyderms. I'm a little confused, because the fella sitting to the left appears to be the same one that sat beneath the waterfalls, taking a happy shower. But here, he's just kind of out there. Perhaps this slide predates the addition of that scene (which was added in 1962)? 

From the same batch comes this photo of completely different elephants. Flying Dumbos, to be precise. A whole bunch of them, whirling around in endless circles. I don't often do the Dumbo ride, but it was fun to do when my niece and nephew were little. And it's such a Disneyland classic, I hope they never remove it (based on its popularity, I don't think we have much to worry about).

Sunday Snoozers

I'll tell ya what, today's "snoozers" really are pretty lame. But you can't say that I didn't warn you. 

From October 1967 comes this sleep-inducing image of Casey Junior - or rather, just the top half of Casey Junior, chugging away on its (his?) journey through Story Book Land. But all we really see is that "hedge art" on the hillside. It's pretty nice as hedge art goes! I'm going to do my own version, only it will say MAJOR PEPPERIDGE IS AWESOME. The world needs to know.

Next, from June of 1970 comes this way-too-dark photo of a ceremonial Indian burial on Tom Sawyer Island. It's pretty spooky like this, I suppose, and that circle of nine bison skulls isn't helping any. What's wrong with colorful throw pillows? That's what my mom would have used. To be honest, I appreciate that they resisted the urge to make this a humorous scene, and kept it respectful.

Universal Studios

I have a folder full of scans from Universal Studios (California), and decided to share scans from two different batches, both undated but from "sometime in the '60s". 

One of the fun things about the famous tram tour is that you will pass scenes like this one, a whole fleet of antique autos, just parked and waiting until they are needed for some background action. Presumably the studio had an army of mechanics who could keep these cars looking new and running fine.

This street set could be in "Old New York", except that the building at the end of the street has some Albanian text. Clearly related to a previous post! 

I don't recall the "Flower Drum Cafe", but it was obviously on the upper lot; guests could get snacks, as long as they wanted to eat flowers or drums. "No sir, we don't have hamburgers, please go next door to the Flower Hamburger Cafe".

After eating a delicious drum, this woman (I like her hat) was full of energy and happy to pose at that "seaside wharf". The tower from "The War Lord" is in the background, that movie is only remembered because the tower stood at Universal for so many years. 

Universal Studios was no just a tourist attraction, it was (and is) a working studio. Across "Singapore Lake" we see crews setting up lights and doing whatever those guys do. There was probably a lot of chatter on walkie-talkies. "Sleepover at my house tonight!".

Singapore Lake might have been the name of this area, but that little town appears to be in... Central America?  Just a wild guess. Of course studio sets are made to be constantly redressed. The "Jaws" attraction would be built here in 1976.

I can only assume that this is part of the rather extensive New York area of the backlot, which has burned to the ground several times. There are sections that include "West Village Street", "Wall Street", "Modern N.Y. Street", "Central Park", and more. I admit it looks a bit "small town-y" in this photo, but once it was dressed and full of cars and extras, it might have felt a lot more authentically "New York".

Universal has a western street known as "Denver Street", but this looks a bit grander than that (I think). Maybe this is the former "Laramie Street". In fact, I literally just did a bit of research, and a TV show called "Laredo" (starring Neville Brand) was shot here in 1965 - hence the name on that building. Notice the Glamour Tram in the distance.

This charming lady poses with Woody Woodpecker, one of the more annoying cartoon characters out there. My theory is that he was supposed to be "a Bugs Bunny type", but Walter Lantz and his crew made him too brash and aggressive. He had a catchy theme song, though, and really, isn't that all that matters? Considering that this was intended to be a "picture spot" for visitors, it's odd that they would put the sign for rest rooms right there.

I have more Universal Studios for you, never you fret!

Tomorrowland, October 1962

You know me, I love some vintage Tomorrowland. Both of today's photos are from October 1962, though they are from different photographers.

First up is this sweet image of The Autopia (and the Richfield Eagle), with a whole herd of "Mark IV" vehicles at rest - which is interesting, because the Mark V cars were in use from 1958 through to 1963. What gives?? The color on this slide was pretty faded, and in spite of my efforts, it still looks a little bit "off".

I assume this was taken first thing in the morning, mostly because of the lack of people. The Skyway has no line, and the gondolas are empty. In fact, most of this end of Tomorrowland is practically deserted. Over the roof of the Space Bar, a red sign that says "Pancakes" looms in the distance, any idea what Harbor Blvd. eatery that was?  Probably "Joe's House of Potatoes And Sometimes Pancakes (But Never Potato Pancakes)".

Next is a nice shot of the Matterhorn, from a sunnier day with a cloudless blue sky. The Yacht Bar, one of my "top 14" buildings ever, is to our left. Ah, the Yacht Bar; I can almost feel the cool ocean breezes and smell diesel fumes and the funky aroma of low tide. When I build my third summer home, it will be an exact replica of the Yacht Bar, only it will be scaled way up, and it will be 8 stories. Because the roof is at that angle, the building will actually form a complete circle (half underground).