Swiss Family Treehouse, August 1965

Visitors to Disneyland have to be of a certain age to remember that Tarzan's Treehouse once belonged to a certain Swiss family. While I don't hate Tarzan's Treehouse ("hate" is such a strong word), it lacks the charm (and dare I say it, "magic") of the Swiss Family Treehouse. Today I have three photos, taken from up in that tree's canopy.

Down below, it appears as if Father, Mother, Fritz, Ernst, and Moochie have just stepped out for a bit, perhaps to take a walk along the shore. It whets the appetite, and who knows, maybe they will see a distant sail on the horizon. Just as long as it's not a pirate's sail! All the tableware appears to be made of wood or bamboo (not  counting the metal knife blades). Dinner that night would be Sloppy Joes, though they called them "Sloppy Jakobs".

Oh boy, my favorite thing, the system of waterwheels and pulleys, constructed of simple materials (some pieces retrieved from their wrecked ship), yet ingenious enough to make Rube Goldberg doff his hat. Who ever dreamed of living up in the branches of a giant tree, and actually having running water? 

More waterworks. Even the professor from Gilligan's Island never managed to use bamboo like this. Luckily for the people who visit the Magic Kingdom in Florida, there is another Swiss Family Treehouse.

Random Scans, 1950s

Going through a folder full of scans from the 1950s, I decided to grab two at random and post them together. And I suppose we have sort of a theme, totally by accident!

I quite like this nice view of Tom's Treehouse on Tom Sawyer Island, from what appears to be a closer vantage point than usual. Maybe the photographer had a fancy zoom lens? Tom's Treehouse was good practice for the Swiss Family Treehouse built a few years later. The leaves are kind of sparse, but that allowed for better views. Before the Matterhorn was built, this was the "highest point in Disneyland".

The Monsanto House of the Future was raised up on a column, with its four "lobes" cantilevered over gardens and ponds. It was like a futuristic treehouse! Only with no tree. I wonder why those boxes are stacked up next to the steps? It's not like they need to restock the house with food. Eventually the plastic house outlived its usefulness, but I wish I'd seen it.

Fantasyland, June 1967

Everybody loves some vintage Fantasyland! It's a scientific fact, just like Bigfoot and pyrokinesis. 

Here's sort of a general view, looking past the Mad Tea Party (now with added decorative arches), toward the Skyway and the Pirate Ship, with the Carrousel to our right. The woman to the left wore purple just so that she could stand near the Welch's Grape Juice stand and coordinate. Her husband is used to it by now, in fact he thinks it's adorable. 

This is sort of an unusual view; part of me wishes that the photographer had taken a few steps to be closer to the Alice in Wonderland attraction, but then it wouldn't be an unusual view, would it? WOULD IT? Even though these slides are date-stamped "June 1967", I'm seeing a surprising number of long sleeves, sweaters, and even some coats, perhaps these were actually snapped months earlier.

 

Fantasyland, September 1983

Here are a bunch of Fantasyland scans, courtesy of Lou Perry and Sue B; they are from 1983, when the New Fantasyland really was new. Incredible that next year will be the 40th anniversary of "New Fantasyland"!! 

This first shot gives a pretty good look at the toylike clockwork mechanism at the center of the Dumbo attraction. Am I crazy or does it hint at the future Steampunk look for Tomorrowland in 1998?

I don't remember those rocks in the background at all, I guess they were just a sort of visual "white noise", to me anyway. We can just see the body of Monstro the whale, before he turned cartoony and blue.

Dumbo must be at least seven feet up in the air. Thrilling! Amazing that there isn't a rope to keep children from being flung out due to the intense centrifugal forces.

Very cute to see the father with the boy in his lap, a ride on Dumbo is probably one of the first Disneyland attractions that many kids get to experience.

Now we're over near King Arthur Carrousel, with a new '80s color palette of blue and violet. New Fantasyland had debuted on May 25th of that year, but guests from all over were still flocking to see the refurbished buildings. To the right, just above the castle turrets, I believe that we can see the raised platform where Tinker Bell would land after flying down from the top of the Matterhorn.

Look at all the people! it's so great to see the Skyway still going strong; the chalet is almost swallowed by the evergreens, but it gives it a nice "European forest" vibe. The Skyway would close 11 years later.

And finally, here's a look at the wonderful façade for "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride", they did not skimp on the details. I miss the old Medieval Fair tents, but you have to admit that this looks pretty fantastic. And I've always loved that statue of Toad above the doorway. Those folks in line think that they are almost on the ride, but there's a LOT of line to go!

Thanks as always to Lou and Sue!

Walt Disney World, November 9th, 1971

I want to start off by wishing our pal Steve Stuart, aka NANOOK, a very Happy Birthday! Thanks for your years of friendship and participation! I hope you have a wonderful day.

All of today's photos were shared by Sue B, including the first one - it is from her personal collection of slides, but was NOT taken by her father, Lou Perry. As you can see, Grandpa is mighty proud to be there with his grandkid's 2nd birthday, especially since chocolate cake is his favorite. Meanwhile, what is up with the texture on that wall? It's like dinosaur skin (I've watched "Jurassic Park" a million times).

Sue also included this photo of a Replicant named "Steven" as he blows out his candles. He believes that he is seven years old because of the implanted memories. Tupperware bowls hold all kinds of edible wonders, including popcorn and potato chips. Yum!

The rest of today's photos are photo prints from The Magic Kingdom, from the early days of November 9th, 1971. Imagine being there when WDW was just over a month old! That's where I would head if I had that time machine working - but I designed it to run on Donkey Kong Crunch cereal, which isn't made anymore. Why didn't I choose Frosted Flakes?? 

The fire station is pretty grand, it's quite something to see those tall thin buildings when compared to the Disneyland counterparts. I'm told that the taller tower is where they would dry their cloth hoses, but don't understand why they didn't have a Ronco Hose Drier. "Engine Co. 71"... if the park had opened the following year, would it have been called "Engine Co. 72"?

I hate to admit it, but Cinderella Castle really does make a pretty amazing impression. I think they had to attach cables to prevent it from rocketing into space. Here comes a yellow Horseless Carriage, was it just like the ones at Disneyland?

If I was building a castle, I'd want it to be a nice one-story ranch-style castle. Who needs all those stairs? Still, it's fun to throw things from the upper parapets, especially watermelons. Just make sure you watch out for serfs below, you don't want them to get bonked.

Here's a pretty, late-afternoon look down Main Street towards the magnificent train station. At this point the sweepers wore outfits that recalled the "white wings" from Disneyland's early days, a fun detail. Ha ha, that man is carrying a purse! Well, maybe it's a camera in a case, but that's not so funny. Let's go to the ol' Cup & Saucer. Did they serve coffee? Did they sell crockery? Was it named after Sir Albert Cupnsaucer? I guess we'll never know.

THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!

Jungle Cruise. 1950s

I scanned a LOT of slides from a batch from the 1950s, and some of those tended to be either a bit too dark, or they were not as clear as I would like. Today's are all a little bit too dark, though Photoshop was able to lighten them up just a bit.

First up is this shot of a fearsome giant spider, patiently waiting in front of a crumbling temple that contains a golden Buddha statue. I wonder if the three crocodile guardians were there at this point? Either they are submerged, or just out of frame. It's interesting to compare this photo to one from just a few years later.

The lush jungle holds many secrets, but for a fleeting moment we get a glimpse of another naphtha-fueled launch, one that has probably been trying to return to civilization for weeks.

We don't typically see a lot of human beings on the Jungle Cruise (though there are some occasional headhunters), but their presence is hinted at by these outrigger canoes (are they still canoes if they have a rudimentary sail??), and by that tiki to our right, I wonder if that's the same one that we would later see on display in the middle of Adventureland, or if it is a different (but similar) one?

Vintage Kids

I was surprised to learn that kids were actually invented sometime in the 1800s (thanks, Wikipedia), but nobody took photos of them until the 1950s. I have two such photos to share with you today.

The place: Somewheresville, USA! The date: who heckin' knows. I assume that this was taken at one of those old-fashioned schools that still used the stocks to punish recalcitrant children. See how mouthy they are after a few hours in the hot sun, right?! To the right we can see the legs of many boys who can't wait for their turn. Nice girls help them, while others pose demurely. 

I have no information about this next scan. This might be ALL of the children who attend a small-town school, or maybe it's a bunch of Sunday-schoolers. If you happened to be standing nearby, you could actually hear the distinct sound of squirming. The schoolmarm (to the right) looks like she arrived directly from Central Casting. 

 

Two Nighttime Beauties!

Oh boy, I'm proud to present two special scans today, from photos taken by Mr. X back in 1973. At night! Arguably when the park is at its most beautiful (and, dare I say, magical).

I can't tell you how much I love this first photo, with the façade of It's a Small World all lit up like a dream. The touches of violet are somehow just right; perhaps there were other colors that didn't show up on film as well, but I have no complaints. Wonderful.

Perhaps even more wonderful is this amazing shot of Skull Rock, with those glowing green eyes that can only be the result of an evil curse. Why is the water glowing green as well? I've mentioned many times that the sight of Skull Rock at night was one of my favorite things when I was a kid, hopefully you can get a sense of what it was like.

THANKS to Mr. X!

Omnibus, May 5th, 1980

Everybody loves a bus, but they really love an Omnibus. Imagine if it was a GIGABUS! People would lose their minds. Both of today's photos are from May 5th, 1980, and the park looks great.

The Omnibus stopped in two locations to load and unload passengers, and to get new loads of coal (the lady in the red (pink?) dress just delivered the coal to the cast member to our right). She said, "Here ya go, Mac! See ya in the funny papers!". She didn't have many friends. I guess I have to be predictable and point out those wonderful mini-posters on the side of the bus that is omni. The Bank of America is to our left, they gave out souvenirs bags of money (with large dollar signs on them, of course) to guests.

Now the Omnibus is at the load/unload spot at the Plaza, nicely lit by the afternoon sunshine. The lamp post to our right has bunting for Disneyland's 25th birthday celebration. We get just a glimpse of one blue Peoplemover vehicle, but that's better than nothin'. Look at all of that greenery to the left of the Omnibus, is it completely gone today?

I'm not even going to comment on the mini-posters. I might mention that Heritage Auctions recently had four of those in an auction, and each one fetched roughly $30,000. EACH. But I won't mention it because it wouldn't be right. This zoom is to point out the young man in the red plaid outfit, who I can only assume is a tour guide. I wonder when the park first introduced male guides?

 

Two Cameras, One Scene - April 1964

Today I have an interesting pair of photos - both from April, 1964, featuring the same family as they posed near the same decorative planters in Tomorrowland. WHY? I have some theories; maybe you do too.

Here's the first view, possibly taken with an Instamatic camera (or at least using film with the "126" format). Those planters are nice, but it was inevitable that they would have to go as the park continued to develop and get more crowded. I wonder what the boy was pointing at? He and his mother seem awfully interested in something.  

Now here's the standard 35mm view, which is sharper and clearer and generally better in quality in all particulars. Tomorrowland has clusters of shaded benches and souvenir booths, along with the Flight Circle, and of course the Douglas Moonliner. 

You can see stacks of souvenir hats to the left of the family (at the Hat Bar, naturally). Above the stacks, other blacker hats hang, looking like giant fruit bats.