Monday, January 02, 2017

Columbia & Twain, September 1958

Is it just me, or does it seem like I've been posting a helluva lotta pictures from Frontierland lately? Not long ago I guestimated that 45% of my photo collection was from Frontierland, but now I'm thinking it's higher than that. 55%. Yeah, that's it. Please make a note of it in your official GDB notebook/dream diary/recipe book. And as usual, the photos feature both the Columbia and the Mark Twain. Big surprise! If I had a million dollars for every Mark Twain photo that I have, I'd be a millionaire! How do I make that happen?

The Columbia was brand new of course, and by golly, it looks like it too. So shiny! And nary a barnacle. Nary, do you hear?! You can see the guests disembarking; why not use a slide? That's a million dollar idea, for sure. The patriotic bunting makes me guess that the photos were actually taken around July.


Yep, there it is. I believe that more photos have been taken of the steamboat than the castle, and that's saying something. Octillions of photos! 


10 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

You may have a ton of 'em, but in spite of the beauty of The Sleeping Beauty Castle, both ships have that little extra something that makes each one of them so photogenic. And today's image of the Columbia is testament to that beauty.

And as for your "million dollar idea", I'm sorry to have to break the news, but it was already tried with disappointing results: Most of the 'disembarking guests' kept ending up at the feet of the Gonzalez Trio-! (Now instead, how about that catapult...)

Thanks, Major.

K. Martinez said...

When I first opened this page I thought it was deja-vu. No! Not the former coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain, but the feeling that I've seen these pics before in this order. And now it just occurred to me that you like to pair up the Mark Twain and Columbia quite often when posting images of the Rivers of America. Anyway, the Columbia shot is a gem. A Gem of the Ocean that is! Yeah, it's late.

Thanks ,Major.

TokyoMagic! said...

It appears that there might be a spare grinding stone propped up against the mill on Tom Sawyer Island. I don't remember seeing that before. And what is that thing out in the middle of the water (in the same pic)? It almost looks like a large pipe used for drainage if the river level gets too high, but I'm pretty sure it's not that.

Scott Lane said...

"Octillion".....isn't that one a them fancy debutante balls?

stu29573 said...

Slides are only used if the Columbia experiences a hard water landing.

Unknown said...

Mr. Martinez, that's simply a terrific reference! All I can offer is that the signal flags read, "England expects that every man will do his duty". The second shot shot almost meets my oft-repeated criterion for wonderful Frontierland pictures except for the pesky Holiday Hill Skyway tower. So close...

Steve DeGaetano said...

I always loved the lanterns hung from the spar ends on the Columbia. Such a neat detail long since removed. A typical story...

Patrick, as an American merchantman, I have a nagging suspicion the signal flags say something else. "Oregon or bust," perhaps? ;)

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, what would be so bad about going down a slide and winding up at the feet of the Gonzalez Trio? Sounds OK to me!

K. Martinez, sometimes even I have to double-check to make sure I haven’t posted certain images before. As for pairing up the Columbia and Mark Twain, I sometimes like to post slides in the order in which they were taken (based on the number stamps) - often that means that the photographer stood on the banks of the River and took photos of various things passing by.

TokyoMagic!, I know I’ve seen that grindstone before; in fact when I went back to look at other photos of the mill, it’s there in most of them! I’ve always wondered why there were things sticking out of the river, but don’t know why they are there.

Scott Lane, it’s EIGHT of those fancy debutante balls!

stu29573, inflatable slides make air accidents fun.

Patrick Devlin, um, do the signal flags really “say” that?! I have no idea. However, I am fluent in semaphore. I know what you mean about the Frontierland photo criterion; the ones in which you can see almost no evidence that you are in an Anaheim amusement park!

Steve DeGaetano, I hate it when they remove great little details like those lanterns. Did they get rid of them because they occasionally required some minor maintenance? I now think the flags say “Buy more plush dolls”. Subliminal advertising at it’s most subtle.

Steve DeGaetano said...

Major, I believe the lanterns came down with the onset of Fantasmic!

At night, when they were lit, the soft amber glow provided a ton of ambiance.

Unknown said...

I don't think they say that, Major. I was trying to be clever. That's Admiral Nelson's pre-battle message to the British fleet at Trafalgar. I may have reached a bit too far...