If you've ever spent a significant amount of time at Disneyland, then there's a very good chance that you've witnessed that most horrid experience. The one every parent who has just dropped their bankroll on tickets, hotel, food, and souvenirs dreads. You all know what I'm talking about. It's called "the meltdown." It occurs when a child's senses have been overloaded and they've missed their afternoon nap. It doesn't matter what you promise them, they are going to cry and scream. It's embarrassing, but there's nothing that you can do, other than take them back to the hotel and let them sleep it off. In this September 1959 image, a little boy has begun his meltdown (mom doesn't look like she's in much better shape, either).
Perhaps mom denied him the Fried Chicken he'd been craving at the Plantation House (now the approximate site of the Haunted Mansion).
Whatever the reason is for the meltdown, it certainly creates an awkward experience. The parent who feels helpless as they add up how much they've spent on this tired and seemingly unappreciative kid. This is the parent who is going to force their kid to have fun because they just blew their entire paycheck, dagnabbit! And then there are the nearby guests, who get honked off as they add up how much THEY have spent on their day of "fun" at the park, which is being ruined by the screaming little varmint. Oh what to do, what to do. The joys of parenting.
Let's focus on happier things, by panning to the right and getting a better look at the Plantation House's signage, as well as the little girl licking her chops as she imagines a nice juicy piece of that Fried Chicken. If it wasn't so early in the morning, I'd be doing the same thing!
See more vintage Disneyland Plantation House/Chicken Plantation Restaurant photos on my Chicken Plantation web page.
3 comments:
I've seen the meltdowns. I just look at it as part of the package of overextended parents with tired and hungry children at Disneyland. Who knows! Maybe sitting down and having that Fried Chicken from Plantation House could've calmed the kid down and given him some energy. I remember that not eating enough food would make me cranky when I was a kid.
One meltdown I do remember very well was during the afternoon, this mother dragged her kid who was having a screaming fit all the way down Main Street to the exit. The kid was stomping and screaming the entire way down. It was quite a show all in itself. I guess it was time for his nap.
When my kids were little, on their first visit to Disneyland, my son had a little meltdown. He was pretty young, four I think. To be fair, he was at the end of his rope. He cried and cried and cried.
We sat on one the stone walls looking out at the River, just up from NOS and finally got him quieted down.
We had lunch (or maybe dinner) then at the Cafe Orleans since it was the closest place. He fell asleep on my lap while we ate. I sat there with him for about an hour until he woke up, and then we rode on the train, which made him happy.
I think he was just hungry and tired, both extremes still set him off a little, but now he is old enough to recognize it and fix it himself.
Thanks for the photo that triggered that memory.
JG
The mom in the pic definitely doesn't look too happy herself. Hopefully their entire day at the park wasn't a bust.
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