Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Disneyland Gems from ’56, Pt. 3


The final installment of 1956 gems begins with a shot of the TWA Moonliner. Most interesting part of this shot to me is the phone booth, which probably goes right over the heads of the current generation. A phone...you don’t carry it around...you walk into it...you put coins (what are those?) into the slot and then dial (huh?) the person you want to talk to. Yes...you had to know the number of the friend/relative/business you wanted to talk to. No memory buttons to push. Can you imagine the brainpower one of these things required? Probably not.


Toning down the snark, here’s a shot of what was once known as New Orleans Street, before the quaint Louisiana city got a square of its own. Casa de Fritos was located in the green portion of this building:


You can see the sign for Aunt Jemima’s Pancake House below right:


Look how barren the banks of the Rivers of America look. Obviously the landscaping would take a few years to make this section look believable.


A detailed view of the dock, the Mark Twain, and the cast members:


See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland photos at my main website.

6 comments:

Matthew said...

Unbelievable the amount of brainpower we had to operate a phone. It is funny to think. I also like the little wooden boxes by the drinking fountains in that first photo.

Love those Frontierland photos. And you're right... those riverbanks are pretty bare. Great picture of the Mark Twain and the Cast Members. Looks as if they are thinking of wheeling something on board. I remember I started using the hand truck (or dolly if you prefer) on the dock to bring the fake bales of cotton and wooden crates onboard as if we were really going somewhere and transporting goods up the river.

Always your pal,
Amazon Belle

Anonymous said...

When I saw the phone booth I immediately thought of Maxwell Smart. All that was needed was a trap door. Now wouldn't have that been a great way for CMs to go 'off-stage' on a break! It would seem so futuristic in Tomorrowland. KS

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a great shot of the Moonliner!

KS, I have the Get Smart theme as my ringtone. People of the right age crack up laughing when I get a call.

One more thing you couldn't do with phone booth was a customized sound, every phone sounded the same.

Thanks Dave, these are fine pictures, especially the barren riverbank.

JG

"Lou and Sue" said...

That first picture is a gem! What a contrast(!) - with the old phone booth and drinking fountains (with the little wooden boxes) in the foreground, and the beautiful sleek, modern Moonliner towering in the back. Love it!

Dave, if you take away someone's cell phone now, they probably can't call home. I know of people don't have their immediate family's phone numbers memorized. (I bet YOU can still recite your childhood home phone number.)

JG, speaking of phone ringtones - I love when cell phones are programmed with the old phone ring. Your "Get Smart" theme ringtone sounds fun, too!

Fun post and comments from all!

Sue

Daveland said...

In my best Don Adams voice...“Would you believe…?”

Anonymous said...

Yep...but also..."Missed it by that much!" KS