Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Welcome to Disneyland, Circa Summer 1962, Pt. 3



The Mark Twain is at the dock, waiting for you to board! C'mon—hurry up, so that you can take a spin around the Rivers of America on this majestic beauty of a boat.

Once again, more mysterious construction going on here. I believe the Indian Village had already moved over to this location by 1956, so not quite sure what the pickup truck and lumber are for; maybe just a "plussing" of the show.



Curious people like me just have to zoom in.



Despite the construction, the canoes appear to operating just fine.



With Castle Rock in the foreground, you can see The Mark Twain's competition (The Columbia) in the background, alongside the Matterhorn.



The Burning Cabin and the Dead Settler:



Gotta' see that gore as close as possible!



The faux Indian Village along the river:



And barely visible is the dead Indian; unlike the Dead Settler, this guy at least gets wrapped up:



Last ones for today are two shots of Cascade Peak:



...and a glorious closeup:



See more vintage and contemporary Rivers of America photos at my main website.

6 comments:

Connie Moreno said...

OK, I have to say this: WHAT? NO CONSTRUCTION WALLS?? Wow, what were they thinking with that truck in plain view?

This is going to sound strange but I used to dig the dead indian. Not because he was dead but because it portrayed the great respect Native Americans had for their dead.

Jason Schultz said...

It looks like they are actually doing Cast Member (or, in those days, Disneyland employee) training on the Canoes. Note that there are no Guests around.

In 1961-1962 the Indian Village expanded and reopened with a new amphitheater and dance ring.

Major Pepperidge said...

Yes, the amphitheater is definitely being added to the dance circle area. Cool!

JG said...

I see the Dead Settler, (I'm gonna call him Al...wait for it...Gore)
is wearing his brand new Arrow Shirt today!

Love when people got dressed up to go to Disneyland.

JG

Daveland said...

Connie - I agree on the dead indian; a little bit of "edutainment"!

Progressland - good eye (again) on the canoe cast member training; the second shot of the canoe bears your theory out, too.

JG said...

On second look, that Ford truck looks familiar. Have we seen it before in construction shots and the pics from the opening day?

Seems like one taken on Main St. and another by the submarine. Was the sub open in 1955?

JG