Cascade Peak, June 1962

It's SNOOZLE TIME! Prepare to be underwhelmed. Both of today's photos feature Cascade Peak, one of my favorite vintage Disneyland icons, but the pictures leave much to be desired.

Well, OK, this first one isn't so bad, it mostly just suffers from being boring. But it also makes me miss the rocky peak with its multiple waterfalls.

This next one is pretty bad, canted to the right in what might be an attempt at being "arty". 

Classic Cars

Who loves old cars? We know Nanook does, but hopefully a few other Junior Gorillas appreciate some beauties from Detroit. 

We'll start with this undated (but 1950s) photo from "someplace in California". I realize that the main subject is the two ladies and their friendly collie, but that truck isn't there by accident! Whatever it is, I love it, it is just waiting for some teenager to turn it into a hotrod. Candy-apple red metal flake paint? Fuzzy dice? Wiggling hula girl on the dashboard? It's like heaven on Earth. The landscape fascinates me, it could be anywhere in CA, my grandma and grandpa once owned some land that they never developed, way out in the Pasadena area, I swear the one or two photos I've seen looked very much like this.

Next is this great photo of a man proudly standing next to his 1951 Buick Special (I think). What a beauty, and it must be brand-new, that thing gleams very gleamily. My one complaint? Not enough chrome!

And finally, a slightly blurred photo of a little girl (?) sitting on the hood of a Dodge Sedan with a 1947 New Jersey license plate. It's not quite as elegant as the Buick in the previous photo, but it's still awesome!

Anaheim Motels, September 1961

Today I am presenting the third installment featuring Lou Perry's 1961 photos of various Anaheim motels (scanned and shared with us by his daughter, Sue B.). This final installment has my favorite images!

First up is this shot of the venerable Jolly Roger Inn (on Katella at Harbor), which I believe was razed in 2013. I always love a giant globe!

Here's a vintage postcard. It sure seems like back in the day I knew a lot of people who stayed at the Jolly Roger during their visits to Disneyland.

Next is this photo of a dirt lot. Oh yeah, and the Charter House too! The Charter House is at 1700 So. Harbor Blvd. I believe it is still there, but is now called "The Anaheim". 

Vintage brochure view!

Vintage postcard view!

Next is the Fantasy Motel, located at 1734 Harbor Blvd. (now the location of Castle Inn & Suites). It has another great sign! Free shuttle service to and from Disneyland; heated swimming and wading pools; free TV; Hi-Fi. ICE CUBES!!

You can thank me for this vintage postcard view later.

Wowee, this is some great night view. THE COLORS!

And finally, my favorite photo of the batch, this amazing look along Harbor Boulevard, with a bunch of classic motels, and at least one restaurant. Closest to us is the Domino Restaurant and Coffee Shop, and the Magic Star Motel is just beyond that, and then a place called the "Showboat" (no info on that one!). If you look carefully you can see the crossed candy canes of the Candy Cane Inn, and then the Meri Go Round liquor store

Here's a nice postcard showing the Magic Star Motel and Domino Restaurant.

Here's the Candy Cane Inn.

And here's what the sign in front of the Candy Cane Inn looked like!

This was a super-fun batch of photos, I wish I'd had more personal knowledge of all of the motels on Harbor or Katella. MANY THANKS to Lou Perry and Sue B.!

Randos

I love randos! They're not quite Leftuggies, but only the most brilliant physicists can determine the difference anyway. So don't worry about it. Both of these are undated, but likely from sometime in the mid-1960s.

This first one is shows a view inside Fantasyland, looking at the west end of the Castle, with the Dumbo attraction to our left. I'm intrigued by that doorway near the top of the castle wall - perhaps it allowed maintenance access to the roof. What would have been out of frame to our right? My guess: restrooms. People just have that, "I'm heading to the bathroom" body language! 

Next is this nice view of a Casey Jr. Circus Train, as seen from a Skyway gondola, right outside the Chalet station. A friendly fellow throws us a wave, which is mighty neighborly of him. If you look closely you can see Cinderella's pumpkin coach on the roadway up to her castle. 

The Golden Horseshoe

I sure wish I'd seen the classic Revue at the Golden Horseshoe, back in the days when Wally Boag was doing the show. But... no such luck. Today I have two fairly early photos from the Golden Horseshoe Revue - undated, but almost certainly from the 1950s.

Look at how young Wally Boag appears! Though he was a seasoned veteran of the stage by the time he worked at Disneyland. With him is Donald Novis, who co-created the script for the original show, and performed from 1955 until his retirement (due to illness) in 1964. I think that's Novis' hat hanging from the steer's horn in the background - but maybe not. As many of you know, after Novis retired, Fulton Burley replaced him, and was with the Revue for 25 years.

I'm sure somebody out there knows the name of the pianist! I thought that the painting in the background might be a copy of a Frederic Remington piece, but if so, I could not find a match on Google Image Search.

Sternwheeler

It's time for another bunch of publicity photos featuring the MARK TWAIN, courtesy of the Mysterious Benefactor! 

This one is fascinating, the Twain is absolutely PACKED. With cast members? And the Disneyland Band is there, along with some Disney characters. I wonder what the occasion was? There is no solid date on this particular slide, so it's impossible to even hazard an educated guess. 

Oh boy, the Mark Twain at night, one of the prettiest sights you'll see at Disneyland. 

Same view, only during the bright sunshine. The hoodoos of Big Thunder appear so rarely on GDB that it's a little weird to see them, even after all these years.

What can I say about a view that we've all seen a thousand times?! It's still pretty, but... my brain is empty. Or emptier than usual?

This close-up is kind of fun. Match the people to the previous picture! Hello, Mr. Pale Yellow Shirt. Hello, Mr. Blue Hat. 

 There are still SO MANY Mark Twain scans! Many thanks to the Mysterious Benefactor!

Adventureland, July 1960

I have a pair of very nice Adventureland pix for you today, both from July 1960. I think it's kind of interesting that the two lands on the west side of the park got big signs overhead as you entered - maybe because they are somewhat close together? I suppose Sleeping Beauty Castle made the entrance to Fantasyland pretty obvious. As for Tomorrowland... again, maybe it was super obvious where guests were headed. ANYWAY, I do love this arched sign, made of woven palm leaves and bamboo, in the best "Gilligan's Island" style.

Next is a good photo of the elaborate sign above the entrance to the Jungle Cruise. I don't know if the four 'lanterns" actually lit up at night, but if so, I'll bet it looked great. There's some skulls, and lots of what look like skeins of dyed hair, or maybe they are supposed to be the feathers of tropical birds. I've always liked the sign painted on stretched animal hide. The ticket booth sign says that adults needed to pay 50 cents, children 35 cents, or you needed to part with a precious "E" ticket.

Mickey Flower Portrait, April 1974

For the second Sunday in a row, Main Street Station is featured in the SNOOZLES™. It's nothing personal! They just aren't very good photos. As you can see, in spite of the bright sunshine, this first picture is way too dark. The slides are dated "April, 1974", but they might have been taken earlier, since everyone is bundled up quite a bit. There's always one or two people who are determined to wear a light t-shirt no matter how chilly it is! 

It's not even noon yet! Plenty of time to hit all of our favorite rides. This photo gets bonus points for the cut young lady in the classic Mickey t-shirt.

EXTRA! EXTRA! GDB pal Chuck Hansen shared this 1972-ish photo of his lovely family; notice the t-shirt that Chuck was wearing! Thank you, Chuck.

Palm Springs and Wild Bill Hickok, 1950s

I have a few fun slide scans (undated) from Palm Springs today. This first one features actors Guy Madison and Andy Devine, who starred in "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" from April of 1951 through September of 1958 (eight seasons). Wikipedia's synopsis says The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok starred Guy Madison as the legendary Old West lawman (in real life, also a gunfighter) United States Marshal James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, and Andy Devine as his comedy sidekick, Jingles P. Jones. The series was set in the 1870s, with Hickok and Jones based at Fort Larabee. 

Madison and Devine are participating in a parade, apparently in conjunction with some sort of annual rodeo, though I could find no old news articles about it.

There are the boys again, this time presumably in the stands at the rodeo. Andy Devine is known today to many folks from his appearance on "The Twilight Zone", as well as the 1966 "Batman" series, or as the voice of Friar Tuck in the 1973 animated feature, "Robin Hood". 

Madison starred in many lesser movies of the 1940s and 1950s, though Wikipedia says that... his career began to suffer, in part because of his limited acting ability. Ouch! Still, he had success as Wild Bill, and eventually did many movies in Europe (spaghetti westerns, sword and sandal epics, and such). 

Here's a publicity photo, if I had to guess I'd say that the picture was taken near Corriganville. In fact, I just did a little research and found a man's account of his visit to Corriganville, in which he said Guy Madison and Andy Devine were there (along with the cast of Rin Tin Tin, filming in another section of  Corriganville). What do I win, Johnny?

Wow, that's quite a crowd! The lesson is: FOLKS LOVE A RODEO.

A Pair o' LEFTUGGIES™

Let's all wish a BIG "Happy Birthday" to Junior Gorilla David W.!

Once again, Sue B. has provided a special scan for a special event; David W. loves the old pie-eyed Mickey, and this cake (for "Richie Boy"!) has a folk-art version of the Mouse. His giant ears have cowboys (?) on horseback. Don't ask, just go with it! There are other little toys on the cake too, lots of fun for Richie, and for us.

Meanwhile, it's time for some Leftuggies! I hope you brought a good appetite. First up is this great photo of The Friendship Train (circa September, 1973). All aboard! I only have eyes for the two groovy babes in their watermelon-pink outfits. In the background is the Carousel Theater; the Carousel of Progress would close on September 9th of 1973, so perhaps lucky guests might be able to catch one last show, though of course it might have already shut down at this point.

Sorry, guy in the middle, those gals are the main attractions!

Next is this beautiful shot (September, 1971) of the entry turnstiles as night falls. Maybe folks were showing up for Labor Day festivities, and/or to hear a Big Band at the Plaza Gardens. It must have been fun to be a local who could just pop into the park on a pleasant September evening.