Thursday, July 04, 2013

July 4th Fireworks Spectacular!



In honor of the 237th Birthday of our country, I am going to feature a few shots of the Fireworks Spectacular at Disneyland, with the first one from August 1958, followed by a July 1969 shot:



A few of the earlier ones that I shot myself from July 2006:





In this July 2008 photo, you can see Tinker Bell flying around the Castle turrets:



Former Tomorrowland Flight Circle cast member Cox Pilot shared his memories of the original woman who "played" Tinker Bell:

Tinker Bell began her flights over the Disneyland castle from the top of the Matterhorn in 1961. It's almost always been a real person up there (although they tried a dummy for a short while). The first Tink was a former circus performer in her 70’s named Tiny Kline, who originally wanted to hang from her teeth as she did in the circus (Disney would have none of that). The only way to stop her at the end was for her to crash into a mattress behind the berm! Kline retired in 1964 due to health problems and was replaced by Judy Kaye who was Tinker Bell for another decade. There was even a Mary Poppins for a while.

And lest we forget the REAL meaning behind July 4th, here are a few photos that celebrate two of the men that were crucial to the importance of that day. George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, circa 1952:



Thomas Jefferson's masterpiece, Monticello, from 1964:



And the building where the Declaration of Independence was signed, Independence Hall in Philadelphia:





Let freedom ring:



See more vintage & current Disneyland fireworks photos on my fireworks web page.

8 comments:

K. Martinez said...

Happy 4th of July!

Love the images of Mount Vernon, Monticello and Independence Hall.

Have a great weekend!

Major Pepperidge said...

Whenever I see the Liberty Bell, I remember the little version I carved out of a bar of soap when I was in grade school.

Edward Allen said...

Just want to offer my thanks, Dave, for your time & effort in maintaining this blog site. It has given me a lot of pleasure and is now one of my favorites. I count this as one of life's little pleasures, and reading your posts is a nice palate cleanser when I need to step back from the routine troubles of the day. Thanks again and keep blogging.

outsidetheberm said...

Happy 4th, Dave! Nice post.

Anonymous said...

Happy 4th to all...from beautiful (that is dry and sunny)Portland Oregon. Dave, I can see the fireworks from here...at least in my mind.-KS

CoxPilot said...

Happy 4th, Dave. (Thanks for the shout out.)

After marriage and two little girls, we moved to a condo off of East Street in Anaheim. It was our good fortune to be able to see the Disneyland fireworks every night for years. They were nicely centered between two buildings where we lived, and were visible from our yard. We made it a nightly ritual to sit our on lawn chairs to see and hear them. Sweet are the simple things.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the pictures of Independence Hall. I was deeply moved by my visit to Philadelphia. There is a special feel about that City that is found nowhere else and lasts right down into today. It is the City of Brotherly Love, and appropriately the birthplace of the Republic.

If more places had this same spirit, we would be a very different and better nation.

Thank you Dave. I concur with Edward Allen.

JG

Daveland said...

As always - thanks to all for the nice comments. Especially Edward—glad to make your day a little better!