Sunday, March 07, 2010

Sailing Through Sundays on The JC: Construction of a Hippo



This construction photo from 1955 of a Jungle Cruise hippo shows what’s below the water line.

This April 1964 vintage shot shows the final effect:



And the oh-so-commonly photographed hippo today:



See more Disneyland Jungle Cruise photos at my website.

6 comments:

Thufer said...

Dave, any idea what the (for lack of a better term) horse-shoe shaped things are? There appear to be eight of them along side and behind the hippo. To blow air bubbles maybe?
Thanks.

Daveland said...

Air bubble blower is a good guess; could also be some kind of lighting for nighttime voyages. Any experts out there know?

CoxPilot said...

I think lighting effects is the most likely. If you watch the video < http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=QUVIk6xS5qY&feature=related > you will not see any air bubbles at all. Amazing what you can find on the web.

I always thought it was a shame the the emagineers couldn't find a way to stop the jumpy-bouncy movement of the animals. The modeling was fantastic, but the movement took away from the realism.

Great historical photos Dave. Thanks.

Heidi Ann said...

I think the hippos are my favorite!

Matthew said...

Hi CoxPilot. I can't seem to open the YouTube video, so I don't know what was there. I don't recall any underwater lighting effects in 1986 - 1994. I wonder if the horseshoe shaped pieces were supports of some kind. I checked out Club 951 photos and I can't see those horseshoe shapes at all from any of the Rehabs. I have not a clue.

Bubbles in 86 – 94 were created by blowing compressed air into what looked like a rounded VW bug hubcap, hinged on one side. When the air filled the space under the "hubcap" the hinge would open on its own and release a large bubble to the surface. Pretty basic stuff.

Skinny Arbuckle said...

fascinating! dave, i really, really, really love your blog. thank you!