Thursday, February 21, 2008

Double Date @ Disneyland, Nov. 1965 Pt. 4



I have a hard time guaging what posts will stir up discussion, other than Tomorrowland, which appears to be a guaranteed comment-fest. The lack of discussion on Nature's Wonderland yesterday was a surprise, but then again at this point, how many different things can you say about the 100th photo you've seen of an attraction? Thanks to Brian for letting me know that there is still someone out there! Today’s post will be focused on our double-daters on the Rivers of America, with #1 showing the venerable Columbia. In shot #2, we can see that Castle Rock on Tom Sawyer’s Island appears to be safe from the Yippies.



#3 shows the canoes and entrance to the Indian Village, which has now been swapped out with Critter Country...ugh.



Back to the Rivers, we have my favorite lost attraction, the Burning Cabin, for all of you who are just as twisted as I am, I have included a close-up of the settler, who has assumed a lot of positions over the years.





This poor stiff has been on the River for years, constantly waving at passersby.



It’s back to shore with a view of the Mark Twain/Columbia dock:



A Rivers of America post wouldn’t be complete with one of the Mark Twain, so here’s one that also includes a closeup of the Disneyland Band playing on board:





Last one for today is one of the 3 out of our 4 guests at the park, again out of focus with a nice clear background:



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

16 comments:

Major Pepperidge said...

Sometimes it just seems like the comments are light on all of the blogs, who knows why. Maybe it's the post-President's Day blues! Or everyone's sick. Anyway, the pictures from today and yesterday are great!

The Viewliner Limited said...

The pictures are all great Dave. No matter what the subject. I see that Majors humor carries over to your blog. If you want to see light comments, check out my blog, lol.

Vintage Disneyland Tickets said...

You know I love all things 1965 Dave! I like how the guest are out of focus, but man those backgrounds look sweet.

Hey, yesterday I was "out in the field" and was stuck with a weak wireless connection on my PSP, and, well, your blog took about 20 minutes to load - LOL! But I waited…..

One thing I've noticed about comments is sometimes they come in days (or weeks) after your post, the gift that just keeps giving!

Thanks for all your hard work!!!

Unknown said...

Great shots, Dave.

They are kind of random...but it is neat to see a shot of the dock from the boat.

And the last shot...is that the petrified rock in the background? Or am I thinking (and seeing) something else?

Chris Merritt said...

Well - I was going to comment on the marmots from yesterdays post - that the ones done for the "wrecked" train on the river were not the originals from 1960. In fact, Tony B. told me that when they put Big Thunder in, that many of the original animals were in such bad shape, that they just left them in place, and buried them in situ (They raised the grade back there - you can just see the top 1/3 of the switch line tunnel to the right of the barn, in back of the BBQ back there). So next time you are back at the barn, say a silent prayer for those buried denizens of the desert underneath your feet!

I'll add this to yesterday's post for history's sake...

Chris Merritt said...

By the way - who is 'Rulin'? I've never heard of him (or her). Is that a WED drawing?

Daveland said...

George: What you see in the background of the last shot is Castle Rock; the Petrified Rock is much smaller and on the shore of the ROA over by "Old" New Orleans Street. Chris: I have no idea who "Rulin" is/was...I was hoping that when I posted it somebody out there would know.

Chris Merritt said...

So - is the 'Rulin' art an original? Because this piece (although obviously not by him) looks similar to the Sam McKim art from Frontierland. Just wondering when this was done. Either way - it's a nice piece.

Anonymous said...

hey Dave - you're welcome for the comment...I'm eating up the pics on your site and you blog...so yeah, I'm out here!

As for Critter Country, I loved the Country Bears - they were always a treat. But Pooh? One of the great things about Disneyland was you could go there and see 'live' animals talk and sing...but Pooh? I am glad that the Canoes have stuck around - they always offer a great adventure. I think the Indian Village being there said a lot about Walt Disney and who he was - where else could you find Native Americans sharing their culture in the 50s (even if Davy Crockett was fighting them on TV)...the Village was a treasure.

Major Pepperidge said...

That drawing by "Rulin" looks familiar somehow, maybe it appeared in "The E Ticket"? I might be mistaken though...

Unknown said...

I found a few scant mentions of Rulin on the web. Form what I can tell, his name is Roy Rulin.

He is mentioned as doing concept sketches on the liner notes for the 2005 release of "The Musical History of Disneyland".

I also found a concept sketch of his from 1954 on a flickr site:
http://flickr.com/photos/disneylandpostcards/tags/royrulin/

I know it isn't much, but I will leaf through some of my reference books this evening.

Chris Merritt said...

Nope - never in The "E" Ticket...

todd pierce said...

Hi Dave,

Just saw this now.

Roy Rulin was an art director for WED. He also free-lanced out and did work for Nat Winecoff on his parks. He did the birdseye for Bible Storyland.

Anonymous said...

I would like to know more, I have 2 originals. From 1960. Exquisite.

Anonymous said...

I have an original haunted mansion and another from the official set of Henry Fonda movie. Commissioned
For Bob Gray.

Unknown said...

I have an original from Rulin, sold for 9600.00