Freakin' Swans!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

For some reason I keep winding up with photos of Disneyland's swans. Who knew that so many people were willing to use multiple, precious film frames for these birds? I've heard that they were fed raw meat to make them extra aggressive, but it might just be a rumor. I believe every rumor I hear, just in case.

All the swans are black in today's pix, and they sure look graceful and cool, but they also have poisonous spurs on the tips of their wings, with a toxin that will paralyze you. I think Admiral Joe Fowler had the bright idea to put these killers in Disneyland.

They look so peaceful, but that's how they get you to drop your guard. And then - KERSPLISH! I... I can't even describe what happens next (tears streaming down face).

This third photo is actually kind of pretty; it appears that he (she?) is not in the main moat of the Castle, but in one of the smaller tributaries. Maybe if we all took the time to know the swans, we could live together in peace and harmony.

Frontier Town

Today's "Anything Goes Saturday" post features scans of some mid-1950's slides with pictures of a western-themed park called "Frontier Town". In one of the photos a sign indicating the Pigeon River helps place this park somewhere near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, but I can find no information about it at all. Part of the problem is the very generic name of the place.

It's not the most detailed Western Town I've ever seen; many of the buildings appear to be a continuous flat façade, presumably disguising something more ordinary. Metal industrial sheds? Who knows!

A single postcard on Pinterest is all I could find, and the back wasn't scanned, so it wasn't much help, even though I was glad to see it.

This man reminds me of actor Mark Rylance in the Spielberg movie, "Bridge of Spies". I suspect that old Frontier Town wasn't open this day, considering the absence of other people, and the presence of only two automobiles. 

The arrow-shaped sign says "Pigeon River Court" - one of the few useful clues. The larger sign advertises "Homespun Valley Mountaineer Village" (in Gatlinburg, only a mile south of Pigeon Forge), which, according to author Tim Hollis, "...opened in 1951 as arguably the town's first true tourist attraction outside of the craft shops and candy stores". 

I would imagine that this place was busy with happy crowds during the summer vacation season; but it looks so gloomy and sad in these pictures.

The buildings appear to be so unsubstantial that I am not 100% certain that people could actually go inside. You'd think that the Dodge House would be the place to get a nice ham sandwich or some lemonade. Ditto the Silver Slipper Saloon, although that looks rather small and kind of chintzy.

Yes, yes, Dodge House, I've already mentioned you. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, you're probably the best Dodge House that ever dodged. And I appreciate the random wagon wheels. These days, Frontier Town would make for an excellent Halloween Haunt location. It makes me think of Scooby Doo, glowing green ghosts (the old caretaker in disguise!), and those meddling kids.

Over 200 miles west of Pigeon Forge is a town called Madison; they had their own Frontier Town. Completely unrelated to our town, of course.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Frontier Town, Tennessee. If you have any information about it, please chime in!

Rescans, 1955

I don't have many slides from 1955 in my collection - but I have some. And a few of those have turned pink to one degree or another. Those were posted long ago, but I've decided to take another crack at them to see if I can improve the way they look. Results were mixed!

I'll start with this neat view looking down Main Street, from a slide dated August 13, 1955. Just a month after opening day, roughly. I was bothered by the reddish cast that infuses nearly everything, which is what inspired me to try again.

Well, I guess that's an improvement, anyway! It still leaves something to be desired, but I'll take what I can get. This early view has many charms, like the tiny trees, the "Plaza Apts" (replaced by the INA Carefree Corner in September of 1956), and the popcorn vendor, doing boffo biz.  

Just for yucks I zoomed in to this little family resting on the bench; most folks have those blue-striped popcorn boxes in hand, and sailor boy is chowing down. 

Next is this photo of the Disneyland Band marching somewhere near Town Square (note the sign for the Red Wagon Inn). Jeez, there's nothing here but umbrellas, benches, trees, and dirt. Where's all of that famous Disneyland stuff?

The new restoration attempt has at least restored the sky to a nice blue, and the uniforms on the band members don't have that odd blue fringing. It's a bit sharper too. You can tell that this is early because those dark blue uniforms weren't use for very long, even though I think they look swell.

Mark Twain & Rainbow Ridge, May 1966

We haven't seen Molly (our Polly Holiday lookalike) since last November, so it's nice to be able to check in with her again. Here she is (with her friend) on the top deck of the Mark Twain, waiting for their journey through the wilderness. Molly might be a vampire, she's avoiding the direct sunlight a little too obviously if you ask me.  In the distance, we can see the colorful tables and benches from Casa de Fritos. 

The lady who brought an ice cream cone on board has the right idea!

The Mark Twain might have still been at the dock when this photo of Rainbow Ridge was taken (maybe toward the back of the boat?). 

The Mine Train was not operating that day, from the looks of things. Any idea what that construction to our left was for? Perhaps it was the platforms for guests who were going to ride the Pack Mules - it's much easier to climb on a mule from two feet up! I like seeing the small ticket booth.

Frontierland, 1997/1998

GDB pal Mr. X has done it again, and presented me with about 50 color slides from photos that he personally took about 20 years ago - while many are undated, X guesses that most are from 1998. Twenty years doesn't seem that vintage, but it's surprising how much has changed in two decades.

First up is this nice photo of the south end of the Rivers of America, as seen from the Disney Gallery (which closed in 2007) - which, as many of you know, was going to be the site of Walt's new apartment, had he lived long enough. Imagine waking up to this view! At the extreme lower edge of the photo you can see people walking along the elevated queue to enter "Pirates of the Caribbean". And... seeing a Keel Boat along the river means that this must be from no later than 1997, since they closed in May of that year.

This end of Tom Sawyer Island saw some major changes when "Fantasmic!" was introduced in 1992. The original Old Mill was moved eastward, and a massive stage area (full of hidden lifts and other stage tech) was built. I know that many people adore Fantasmic!, but I wish this part of the island didn't look so crummy during the day. The Columbia is nestled peacefully in Fowler's Harbor.

And there's a Keel Boat again, gliding past Cascade Peak, with its waterfalls still going strong at this point. Cascade Peak was razed in the Fall of 1998 (for some reason I can't find a precise date - probably because it took days or weeks to demolish the peak). It sure looks pretty here! Fort Wilderness can be seen (barely) in the distance, it closed for good in 2003.

Stay tuned for more photos from Mr. X!

Tour Guide, October 1963

Hooray for the famous Disneyland tour guides; smart (usually multilingual), informed, helpful, and charming. Adorable too. It would have been a lot of fun to experience a guided tour back in the "Walt years". 

Here's our dimpled guide, standing next to one of the massive landing struts of the Moonliner (it would have had the Douglas color scheme by this point). In the background, the entry to the "Rocket to the Moon" attraction, which seems to have evolved over the years. I think that those white spheres held displays of some sort - I sure wish I knew what, exactly. 

The guide is wearing her golden "D" badge, as well as a diamond-shaped pin with her name. It's impossible to see, but it almost looks like there are small dangling charms hanging from the bottom of the name tag - not sure I've ever observed that before. Note that she also has one of the triangular tour guide tags hanging from her riding crop, no doubt she held that above her head in crowded situations so that people could follow her like baby ducks.

I've heard that at the end of a guided tour, everyone got to go up to Walt's apartment to shake his hand,  use the bathroom (if necessary) and see if there was anything good to eat in the fridge. "Dibs on the strawberry Jello".

Here's a zoom in on that name tag, on the off chance that somebody out there is interested. Sorry it's not sharper.

Random Frontierland Views

It's time for another selection of Frontierland slide scans, courtesy of our Mysterious Benefactor! It's sort of an odd batch, but that's what makes it fun.

There's something about this first one that looks so 1970's; maybe it's the blonde's hairstyle? It is labeled as being from 1970. The musicians are part of the New Dixie Rebellion Band, which is certainly new to me.  All I care about is the man with the fez in the background. I hope he drove his tiny car to Disneyland.

Above the Mark Twain/Columbia queue building is an assortment of flags from various eras in U.S. history. Too bad they're not fully unfurled; I can see the "Betsy Ross" style, George Washington's "Pine Tree Flag", and the Union Jack.

This slide is labeled "Golden Horseshoe Flag", but it doesn't look like the Golden Horseshoe building to me. Help!

Here's an unusual view from inside a Frontierland restaurant, looking outward. Say, is that Boz Scaggs about to order a burger? 

This very large set of scans has some rare views of the kitchens of some of Frontierland's restaurants, such as this one from Casa de Fritos, circa 1976. I can't quite tell what is coming out of the fryer. Could you get fish and chips at Casa de Fritos?? Maybe those are battered chicken patties.

And finally, for today, the exterior of you-know-what, as seen in January of 1977. The shadows went really dark, but it's still a lovely photo of a bustling day. 

Many thanks as always to the Mysterious Benefactor!

The Usual Suspects

Sunday might be the day when I share slides that are not that great, but even so... I might just have to stop scanning photos of the Mark Twain that are similar to this. I have SO MANY of them, and they're all basically the same! It gets tedious for me, so it must for you too. That doesn't mean I won't post any photos of the Twain - I have a few pretty views coming up - but, for the sake of my sanity, I'm going to get a lot more picky.

I have a ton of photos of the Burning Settler's Cabin too (as you know) - the same rule might apply to that subject as well. It doesn't mean that I don't love this feature, I just don't need 50 identical photos of the thing.

Midwest Cities

I have two nice vintage slide scans for you, each featuring a city from the midwest. Of all the wests, the midwest is definitely in my top 10. I was born there, after all!

First up is this photo of a street - it is undated and unlabeled, but I love old views of cities, and doing a little research is half the fun. Judging from that car, I'd guess that this is from the early 60's (what do you think, Nanook?). There are a few clues to help ID the location, such as the building to the right, "L.S. Ayres and Company", not to mention the Claypool Store to our extreme left. My sassy robot butler determined that this is a photo of downtown Indianapolis (Indiana, of course) - Washington Street, to be more specific. Look at those huge, distinctive street lamps angled above the road...

Here's one vintage postcard view, with the Claypool Hotel, with more of those street lamps. Not sure what's going on with the 'Merican Airlines office. Did somebody abscond with the "A"? Let's go to the Indiana Theatre and see "Son of Robin Hood" and "The Oregon Trail".

Here's another vintage postcard image.

Next is this October 1951 Kodachrome photo from St. Louis, Missouri. It's so clear and colorful that it looks like it could have been taken yesterday, and not well over 60 years ago. The large art deco building is the Park Plaza Tower, built in 1929. The red brick building to the extreme right is the Chase Park Plaza, built in 1922. 

Surprisingly, a Google street view shows this area looking remarkably unchanged, at least superficially. The Park Plaza Tower was undergoing some sort of renovation, but other than that and the modern-day automobiles, you can hardly tell the difference!

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to the midwest.

Two Nice Ones From November, 1975

The 1970's were pretty good years at Disneyland; many of the old classic attractions (Nature's Wonderland, Carousel of Progress) were still going strong (at least in the early part of the decade), and some wonderful new attractions were added. The Country Bear Jamboree, Space Mountain, America Sings, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mission to Mars. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. 

This is a nice photo of Sleeping Beauty Castle, but as far as I'm concerned, the highlight of the image is those red polyester pants. Why put up with horrible cotton when you could wear high-tech artificial fibers? The tree near the center of the picture seems to be in kind of a bad location, unless they always kept it scrupulously manicured. 

You could still enjoy a ride on the Peoplemover - what more could anybody want? Plus there were the Rocket Jets. The elevator/gantry to the third level was a secret ride. You can see the Carousel Theater, now painted red, white, and blue for Sam the eagle, Ollie the owl, and all of the other AA performers in "America Sings".