This week, Bryan Carlson reached out to me to send a graphic in honor of the Keel Boat Anniversary. What’s a Keel Boat you ask? With this YouTube video, you can…
re-live the glory days of the most, um, . . . actually, second, uh no, . . . more like one of the top five most popular vehicles to ever traverse the Rivers of America at Disneyland - the Mike Fink Keel Boats. Former skippers re-enact their spiel while showcasing the vistas of their backyards.
As a special treat, here are some vintage images from the Daveland archives showcasing the beloved Keel Boats, starting off with this Summer/Fall 1956 image:
Undated 1950’s:
Wonder what these trucks were there for?
An early color view:
June 1964:
A corner of the Keel Boat shows up in this one showcasing the Fowler’s Inn area:
Final one for today is this beautiful sunset view:
A passenger train and both Keel Boats? Sheer heaven!
See more vintage Disneyland Keel Boat photos at my main website.
I know I comment all the time and it probably becomes tiresome to other readers but seriously, this is all pure gold. I didn't know about 12/25/1955 being the keelboats first day, I just learned something. I got to ride on the Gullywhumper once. I wished I'd done it more now. Looking at one of those color shots where everyone's riding on the top, all I can think is Tony Baxter saying "safety first" during one of his D23 appearances.
ReplyDeleteUntil now I had no idea there was a Main Street Shooting Gallery. I knew about Frontierland and Adventureland, but never Main Street.
It's neat to see the closed loch doors on Fowler's harbor in that B&W shot. There's something I don't see often. ...or ever.
That yellow passenger car on the train is great. So rare to see that passing through Frontierland. ( Back when that stretch of land was Frontierland. )
Merry Christmas to all, Happy New Years and anything else that was missed.
It doesn't tire me, and it's my blog, so keep on commenting! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you as well!
ReplyDeleteFun post and great pictures, Dave! I especially love the former skippers doing their spiels - you can really tell they loved their job.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!