I dont like to get political on this blog, but I do feel it is time for change at Disneyland. Although I like Steve Martin as much as the next guy, the 3+ year old 50th Annniversary Film is getting a little creaky. It is definitely time to bring back the true classic, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. For you newbies who don't know about Ol' Abe, he used to be the star of the Opera House. Picture #1 for today shows Walt with WED Project Art Director Victor Greene, perusing the miniature for the "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" attraction, 1965. I sure hope that's not a cigarette in Victor's left hand! Photo #2 shows the Opera House complete with the Abe Lincoln marquee; love the giganormous penny! The little boy with the Confederate cap looks like he might be getting ready to blast the Bank of America.
I've also included a close-up showing the Mr. Lincoln poster and the Tencennial lightpost banner.
See more vintage & current Main Street U.S.A. Opera House photos at my regular website.
Beauty pics Dave. I agree, definitely time for change.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard that they are planning to bring Lincoln back, but not by himself? The latest idea is to make a mini Hall of Presidents in the Opera House, where Lincoln and George Washington would be joined onstage by whoever the current president is. Sort of the Abe 'n Friends Variety Hour.
ReplyDeleteScott - Hadn't heard that one; but another reader just emailed me that funding had been approved and that Abe would be coming back. The Variety Hour definitely has possibilities!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if that's a Johnny Yuma confederate cap. He would NEVER blast a bank! That series lasted into the early 60's (1961?).
ReplyDeleteDZ
Two words: Rappin' Abe!
ReplyDeleteAcually, I sat through the Steve Martin film on the very day you posted this entry, and although Steve's face lift has made him look like an elderly Chinese man, I still enjoyed the film (Which I was only seeing for the second time. Any fim gets creaky if you watch it too many times.) far more than I had "enjoyed" the Mr. Lincoln presentation at any point in the last 30 years. Now THAT was truely "Creaky".
ReplyDeleteLincoln's comments that destruction of America can not come from abroad has been overwhelmingly dated for about a century, as he understandably did not forsee aviation, long-range ICBMs, nuclear warfare, and 9-11. Bringing back that egregious bore of an exhibit would just keep me out of the Opera House for another three decades.
But they are welcome to close WINNIE-THE POOH over in Critter Country, and re-install the Country Bear Jamboree, and maybe add an audio-animatronic President Bush to the presentation, fumbling his way through sentences for some real comic entertainment. Now that he's no longer president, it would be funny again, instead of merely internationally embarassing.
If they must bring back the robot Lincoln, at least piece together a fresh script for him. I could not sit through the old one even once more.
While I'm carping, as entertaining as I found the holiday overlay on IT'S A SMALL WORLD, and especially how pretty the exterior is at night now, and despite how nice it is for the music to be more than just the same mind-numbing song endlessly repeated until one wants to scream, I was appalled to sail through "Africa," "Asia, Major & Minor", "India," "China," and "Japan," and see all these non-Christian cultures celebrating Christmas. Muslums do not celebrate Christmas. Nor do Hindus, Bhuddists, Shintos, Chinese Atheists, etc. I wonder how the Muslums I saw riding the ride took to such a culturally insensitive exhibit.
As originally conceived, it's a ride about how we are all brothers under the skin, enriched by our cultural diversity. But at the moment, it's about how everyone in the world is a Christian, which is just plain not true, and is grossly insulting to non-Christian cultures.
But the new boats were nifty.