DISNEYLAND CHARACTER COSTUMES

It's hard to imagine what a truly weird place Disneyland used to be. For a short time after Disneyland opened, the park was full of costumed demons like the one above. I think that's because the park didn't have many walkaround costumes of its own and had to borrow hideous ones from the Ice Capades.

It was decided that a new costume look was needed and photos from the period show some of the experiments.

Here's (above) The Three Little pigs again. This time they're buck naked below the waist. It's something you never notice in cartoons, but somehow the costumes bring it out.

Wow! Here's (above) a Mickey from the next costume era, which favored a cartoony look. This time they got it right. My guess is that Ward Kimball had something to do with it, but I could be wrong. Mickey looks great here!

So does Minnie (above)!

In our time the lumpy corporate Mickey (above) dominates. I can't believe that anyone actually preferred this.

Back to the classic, cartoony look: Haw! I love this picture. It looks like a little girl has stopped to talk to one lone pig and doesn't notice that other demented pigs have come in and surrounded her. Finally the Big, Bad Wolf comes in. Uh-oh! It's too late to run away now.

To judge from old photos it used to be common to see both villains and nice guy characters wandering around the park. Good! That's the way it should be.

The cartoony Grumpy (above) used to wander around.

So did the cartoony Mad Hatter (above). Disney should bring all these walkaround costumes back into everyday use.

I'm not a fan of the plush toy look of some of the newest costumes, but I have to admit that I'd like a picture of myself with this Pluto. That face is just made for photos.

LATEST TRIP TO DISNEYLAND (PART II)

This post is for architecture fans. Disneyland is an architect's dream, even when it's a bit overwrought or hokey. Here's a few examples. See what you think.

Even on a gloomy, overcast day like this the landscaping looked terrific. I could easily have photographed nothing but that all day. The tallest shrubs (trees?) here are only about as tall as a person.

Even industrial sites look good in this park.

And why shouldn't industry look good? It has a noble purpose, which is to make useful or beautiful things in quantities which will allow them to sell for low prices.

Every time I go to Disneyland I come back with a resolve to make my backyard look like Disney's cannibal village. I actually tried it once and was surprised to see that my kids were indifferent to it.

Nice shield!

Above, that crossbar and faux giraffe skin add a lot to that pole.

Nice bamboo stakes! I'll have to remember this when I decorate my porch next Halloween.

Here's (above) a low roof supported by columns in Fantasyland. Walless sections of buildings like this aren't very useful for keeping cold air out, but they're psychologically sheltering, and make for great indoor/outdoor transitions. For some reason this sort of thing never caught on in America except on railroad platforms.

Remember the stage set for Disneyland's Animation Academy that I posted about last time? Here's a few blurry pictures (sorry about that) to show details of that set. Check out that framed picture on the wall showing what I assume is a winning hand in a card game. It never occurred to me to frame things like that. It looks good.

Here's (upper left) a bulletin board framed in thick, quality wood that matches the wood in the shelf stack beneath it. It's a nice look.

In a different location now, here's a shelf top (above) in a voodoo shop in New Orleans Square.

In the same shop: a shelf of colored glass bottles. Nice, huh?

Above, the Haunted Mansion decked out Tim Burton-style for both Halloween and Christmas. Click to enlarge.

Yikes! I have more pictures but no more space. Oh, well.....

MY LATEST TRIP TO DISNEYLAND

Here I am again, this time on a cloudy day.

I was so happy that on the park trolley I broke into the J. G. Wentworth song. I was surprised to find that others on the trolley joined in. Apparently lots of people know the lyrics: "I have a structured settlement and I need cash now."

"Call J. G. Wentworth! 877 CASH NOW!!!"

"They've helped thousands, they'll help you too-oo!"

"One lump sum of cash they will pay to you."

"Call J. G. Wentworth, 877 CASH NOW!"

'It's your money! Use it when you need it!"

After that we blitzed the area around the trolley stop.

Holy Mackerel! My head is about twice the volume of the park attendant's.

We ended up in The Animation Academy where an animator teaches the audience how to draw Mickey.

I didn't get to draw because I was too busy taking pictures of the set.

Wow! I'd give a lot to have wooden shelves like the ones on the stage.

Check out the rug on the floor.

From a distance the pattern looks like a faded, old-time Sunday comics page like the one above. When you see it up close though, it's just an abstraction. Even so, the idea is an interesting one. I've heard you can get custom patterns printed on throw rugs and the price isn't steep.

Yikes! I've reached the end already! Maybe I'll continue this on another post.

DISNEYLAND PRINCESSES

I just visited Disneyland again, and here we are (above) at Princess Island, or as I call it..."Princessneyland." This is the part of Disneyland devoted to little girls who wear princess costumes and come to hobknob with adult princesses. The place is just crawling with royalty!!!

Oh, yes...the "censored" symbols are there to cover up a friend who wandered into camera range and got into the shot. None of my friends will allow me to post their pictures so I'm forced to cover them up with these stupid signs.

Here's a theater where, between shows, kids get to chat with adult princesses. This is a terrible photo but I put it up so you could catch a glimpse of the three peasant girls who dance to entertain the people in line. They twirl around in flare skirts like they were at a ball dancing to a Strauss waltz. I wanted to stay to get a better picture but my friends were getting antsy. Princessney Land was just not their thing. 

 As you would expect, princess outfits were sold.

Now here's the interesting part...in the back of the princess shop I stumbled into a photographer's dream...the kind of thing the old LIFE magazine would have assigned their top photographers to. I refer to the fact that Disneyland has set up a beauty parlor there just for little princesses.

Imagine that...a kids' beauty parlor in the middle of Disneyland!

I could easily have spent an hour taking pictures but the place creeped out my friends who practically pulled me out of there.

 Outside, adult princesses were all over the place.

Boy, it looks like this little girl (above) has fallen head over heels for the Prince.

Here's (above) the princess with the hardest job: Snow White. She not only has to smile all day, but she has to speak in a high-pitched voice, like the character in the film.

After all these years Snow White is still a big attraction. Interesting, eh?