Jungle Cruise Conundrum

Once again my limited knowledge of the park leaves me with questions, this time about the Jungle Cruise. Questions that you can answer! I am wondering if these two photos, taken seven years apart, depict the same area of the Cruise? There are many differences, but then again, there are lots of similarities as well. In this first picture from 1965, You can see the mysterious monkey god sitting in his ruined temple, guarded by an enormous spider. I'm sure the spider has been there for hundreds of years, protecting the monkey god (and perhaps some hidden treasure)!


Fast-forward to 1972, and the scene now shows a different temple, this time housing a golden idol that appears to be surrounded by precious gems. Don't even think about taking the loot, though...it is guarded by another (or the same?) giant spider, a swaying giant cobra, and a couple of hungry crocodiles as well.

I know that the Jungle Cruise has received more upgrades and changes than any other attraction at Disneyland, since Walt wanted to be sure to keep things exciting and new for repeat visitors!

A Trio from December 1960

December, 1960. Most of you probably remember it as the month that King Baudouin of Belgium married Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragon (Ah, Doña Fabiola, she loved a saucy limerick!). But if it doesn't have to do with Disneyland, then I don't want to know about it. So here are three lovely photos from that park, from that happy month.

This is a Disneyland band, but it isn't the Disneyland band...at least not all of 'em. Is this the Tyrolean band that used to wander around the Matterhorn playing oom-pa-pa music? Anyway, they are standing next to the entrance to the Sleeping Beauty Castle walk-thru, and impressively, are playing with carefully trained chickens balanced on top of their hats.


I love the warm golden glow in this next photo. Everybody in the front of the horse-drawn streetcar is smiling and happy, laughing about somethin'. It has to be a knock-knock joke, because what could be funnier?

"Knock knock"
"Who's There?"
"Tom Sawyer"
"Tom Sawyer Who?"
"Tom Saw yer underwear!" HA HA

(Major Pepperidge waits five minutes while you try to regain your composure....)


There's not a lot to see in this night shot, but there is just enough so that I thought that it was worth posting. We're looking towards the Monorail queue area, you can see the ramp that goes up to the top level. To the left, the Yacht Bar, and silhouetted against it is the Astro Jets.

The House What Come From The Future

These pictures were taken six years apart (this first one in 1963), but you'd never know it to look at them. That's because the Plastic House of the Future was immune to the effects of the sun, rain, and wood munchin' bugs. It also protected its inhabitants (if it had any) from cosmic rays and the microwaves that the Russkies send out, the ones that scramble my thoughts and make me so very dizzy. A word to the wise: always line your hats with aluminum foil.


Ya know, now that I really look closely, this next photo is from 1957, and the HOF actually does look newer, whiter, shinier and cleaner. It probably smelled like brand new sneakers! Maybe plastic wasn't the answer to all of our problems (just my very special - and unspeakable - problems). Or maybe the house just needed a coat of white paint.

The Canyon That's Grand

We all know that 1958 is the year the Civil War ended. But I like to think of it as the year after 1957. 1958 is also the year that this first picture was taken (I accidentally labeled the jpeg "1956" because I was suffering from nitrogen narcosis). There's the train station - - again! I wish I could see what the "population" was at this point. The freight train has some covered excursion cars here (as well as the infamous "cattle cars"), I believe that they were brand new, added so that you could see the Grand Canyon Diorama in all its glory.

And raise your hands if you're sick of me going on and on about attraction posters! Not that it'll do any good, because here I go again. There's a Rocket to the Moon for you (Jed!). And there's the first version of the beautiful Grand Canyon Diorama poster...later versions only listed three train stations at the bottom. Because Fantasyland station was removed when "It's a Small World" went it. You there, why aren't you taking notes? And are you chewing gum??


Here's a nice big jpeg that I took of my own Grand Canyon Diorama poster...it's a much larger image than I usually post, so it might take you a while to see, depending on your connection. Somehow I doubt I'll get many complaints! I love the unusual color scheme, this is definitely up there as one of the most "zowie" of all the Disneyland broadsheets.

Sunday, Nutty Sunday

Sometimes you find old slides from Technicolor, and ironically, they usually kind of suck. Unlike the old 3-strip Technicolor, which still looks amazing today (The Wizard of Oz for example), the slides tended to turn green...and this one was no exception, so I did the best I could to make it at least presentable. Here's a pretty nice view of the Indian Village, with a group of folks getting chummy with the Indian dancers. The little girl has her Donald Duck squeaky hat on, I still have mine from when I was a kid.


A year or so later, this picture was taken of a young girl riding King Arthur's Carrousel. It's a bit dark, I know, but I like photos of the Carrousel back in the days when the horses were all sorts of colors (instead of the stable of albinos that it houses now).


And finally, here's sort of an unusual angle showing the Snow White Grotto. The Wishing Well is just visible through the foliage as well, and it was the site of a terrible tragedy. See that kid? He wasn't visible when the photo was taken...in fact he only appeared when it was developed. Some say he is the ghost of a boy who fell down the well while trying to get at all of the money at the bottom. And late at night, just before the park closes and it is quiet and lonely, listen closely...you just might hear his pitiful cries for help!


Would I lie to you?

Monorail, December 1960

It's Monorail time! Didn't you get the memo? Oh well, you can still do the Monorail Dance at lunch. Meanwhile, I hope that these photos provide inspiration.

Here's a nice picture taken not long before nightfall. The last remaining sunlight is still glinting off of the train, though. Those two guys in suits seem kind of out of place, I wonder if they worked for Disney in some capacity? The Skyway is operational, but it appears that the Matterhorn was down, or at least this particular load area wasn't in use.


Bubble dome! Bubble dome! Oh, if only I had been able to ride in that seat. The mere fact that it was even designed into the thing makes me smile, since it would have been cheaper and easier to leave it out. But that's another example of the "plussing" that Walt was so willing to do. The amber emergency light was another interesting touch...completely unnecessary, but it added a dash of coolness (particularly at night).

Clock-o-licious

I wonder where the idea for the Clock of the World came from? It doesn't really seem to be very futuristic, and yet it's funky fifties look fit right in next to rockets and flying saucers. It appears in a few early concept sketches closely resembling the finished product. Check out the family with their straw hats bedecked with red ribbons as they admire the plastic house (or are they looking at the posters?).


Both of today's pictures are from May, 1958, although they are from different lots. This one, taken from inside Tomorrowland, shows us that it is about 3 o'clock (we can't see the minutes, which appeared on the small globe). Behind it is Circarama, sponsored by American Motors.


As you can see, there was a large diagram showing the concept behind Circarama for those who had no idea (and why should they?).

Night Shots, December 1960

I have found that nighttime is typically the darkest time to visit Disneyland. Fortunately, that's when they tend to turn all of the lights on, making things look extra splendiferous. Night photos at the park don't often come out so great, old film stocks were just too slow. But once in a while you get lucky!

These first two pictures are unusual, showing the fountains that were outside the Hall of Chemistry. The one below is reduced to an abstract weirdness...


...and here we've taken four steps back to get a better feel for what this looked like. There's the flagpole for the great state of Maine, where the fish stick was invented*. Mmmmm, fish sticks!


Enough with the strange pictures already! Here's a pretty one that actually came out good. Main Street is at its most beautiful at night, it's almost like a mini Las Vegas! You can see the glint of the tracks for the Horse Drawn Trolley, and the silhouette of the Omnibus.


*I made up the "fact" about fish sticks, please don't use that information in your Doctoral thesis!

Freedomland Yet Again

Mules are some of the most bloodthirsty, ferocious killers in the wild. They've been known to skeletonize a cow in less than 3 minutes! But when tamed by man, they become a theme park attraction. Here at Freedomland, it was just that sense of danger and adventure that made their pack mules such a thrill to ride. The "rugged" landscape isn't very convincing, but the perhaps the designers should be cut some slack, since the park was still brand new (having only opened about three months earlier).


Remember that commercial with the native American, the one that cries because of all the litter? Well, look at that mess these guys have made. What gives? Maybe they meant for those paper coffee cups and cigarette packs to wind up in the fire made up of two-by-fours (just like in the wild west). They left parts of their feathered costumes hanging on wooden poles, and probably played poker at that cute little table. At night, they all slept in that yellow plywood box. I do my research!


Sorry about the blur, you really should get your eyes checked! I figured that as long as I was talking about the Indian Village, I would include this view taken from the Skyway. I mean, from the "Tucson Mining Company" Ore Car ride. In the distance you can see the stage coach, moving at mach 3, while folks walk beneath the track of the Santa Fe Railroad. Directly below us are those crazy tipis.

Knott's, June 1960

The more I see photos of Knott's in its present-day form (via blogs such as "Outside The Berm"), the more I appreciate what a special place it was back in its glory days. The pre-Snoopy days!

I love this shot of the beautiful Ol' number 41, the "Red Cliff", a real antique full-sized locomotive with a nice southwest color scheme. Can you imagine a time when old steam engines were being scrapped, basically considered worthless trash? Luckily for anyone who wanted one, they could be had for a song...I've pointed it out before, but I'm sure that nearly all of the surviving steam engines are still around due to the existance of amusement parks and a few die-hard enthusiasts (like Ward Kimball). Anyway, this is one of those pictures that just makes me happy.


This one is interesting to me...I've seen endless photos of the cement (fiberglass? plaster? play-doh?) saloon gals and cowboys that you could pose with, and of course there's old "Sad-eyed Joe", and the prospector with his mule. But I've never seen this fella, eternally panning for gold. I am assuming that he is next to the creek that led to the area where mere mortals could pan for gold themselves?