Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Three More From Huck

Here are three more photos that GDB pal Huck took back in 1995. Can you believe that that's over 20 years ago?

Star Tours is doing bang-up biz on this day, with the line out the door - something I haven't seen for a while (though I have still experienced relatively long lines). The cast member in the orange jumpsuit will use the Force to maintain an orderly line (or a William Shatner karate chop if the Force isn't strong). 


Now that I am paying attention, all of the queues are super busy - and the Jungle Cruise is no exception. With the addition of the Indiana Jones attraction in Adventureland, the Jungle Cruise underwent some changes. Some of the Rivers of the World were re-routed, and scenes were removed, while a new two-story boathouse was built. It's a nice way to get people out of the narrow streets of Adventureland, plus they get to stand in the shade.


I still love riding the Matterhorn Bobsleds; it isn't the scariest roller coaster, but the theming makes all the difference. Can't you practically hear the sound of yodelers, the occasional roar of the abominable snowman, and the screams of happy riders? 

Bonus points because two bobsleds are visible. 


THANK YOU, Huck!

11 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

That is hard to believe that 1995 was over 20 years ago? Time flies! I would still rather ride Adventure Thru Inner Space today....or an updated version of it, than Star Tours or it's updated version! ATIS gave us a lesson in science. Give me edu-tainment any day!

TokyoMagic! said...

P.S. Nice pics, Major and Huck! Thank you for sharing them with us. Now I'll have to start looking for myself in any pics you post from the nineties. I was going to the park quite a bit from 1994-1998.

K. Martinez said...

Major, How ironic your comment today on Adventureland's narrow streets is. It is currently going through changes again to anticipate increased foot traffic. As of this month they are closing Tropical Imports, Souths Seas Traders and Indiana Jones Outpost. Tropical Imports will be replaced with stroller parking and the shops converted into indoor dining for Bengal Barbecue.

Thanks, Huck and Major.

TokyoMagic! said...

Ken, I was hoping you were going to say that the South Seas Traders and Indiana Jones Outpost were closing so that they could bring back the Guatemalan Weavers shop and the Big Game Shooting Gallery. ;-)

Scott Lane said...

Great pics! Thanks for sharing, Huck!

Chuck said...

I keep looking for my wife and I in Huck's and Irene's brother's photos, and today I finally hit paydirt. We are in the third photo, standing immediately behind Huck.

In that second picture, you can see a cast member in Adventureland garb out in the street, moving crowds along. Remember how crazy Adventureland crowds were that summer? Queues for Indiana Jones down the middle of the street, spilling into the hub and wrapping back into Frontierland?

I remember being there with my wife, my mom and my 91-year-old grandmother (those are three separate people) for rope drop one morning that July, and in an effort to keep crowds down in the western half of the Park (presumably to keep it from capsizing) they actually had the Hub roped off at the 7 or 8 o'clock position. This forced guests to work their way around the Plaza in a counterclockwise fashion and pushed a lot of people into Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and Frontierland before they could get to Adventureland. Something to do with centrifugal force, I think.

Nice set today. Thanks (as always) for sharing, Huck & Major!

DrGoat said...

Sorry to hear South Sea Traders and Tropical Imports are closing. Bought many a neat thing there over the years. I think I still have my rubber shrunken head somewhere. Lost some of his hair, but I have too.
So happens, my front plate on my car is a Star Tours one I picked up back in '96.
Nice pics.

Anonymous said...

I only have one thing to say, "Permanecer sentados por favor"

Major Pepperidge said...

TokyoMagic!, I have wondered what updates they could have made to “ATIS”, using new technology and effects. It could have been amazing! It was one of my favorite rides ever.

TokyoMagic! II, that would be amazing if you saw YOU in any of those photos!

K. Martinez, you are right, and it is especially ironic because I just created a post with some photos from Irene and her brother, one of which features the Tropical Imports shop. When I wrote it, it was before the changes were announced. Now I have to go back and rewrite parts of it!

TokyoMagic!, I wish they would close the Jungle Cruise to make way for more stroller parking.

Scott Lane, glad you liked these!

Chuck, why isn’t that cast member carrying a whip and a pistol? That’s how it’s done in my home town. I remember the queue for “Indy” actually going up the side of the Matterhorn. I’d never heard about the park’s crowd-control experiments (roping off the hub at strategic locations) - it seems like people who were determined to ride “indy” would have just ignored it, but maybe the lure of Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, etc, was too much to resist for some. Or it was the Coriolis effect.

DrGoat, I agree with you, though I am glad that the Bengal BBQ will still be there, as it had some of the better food (in my opinion) in the park.

Anonymous, I can’t see those words without hearing Jack Wagner’s voice.

Chuck said...

Major, there was also a line of cast members along that rope and the perimeter of the central plantings around the "Partners" statue directing people around the Hub. That's probably where all of the whips and pistols were when that second photo was taken.

We dutifully followed the crowd around the Hub, then ducked through Frontierland to get to Pirates, figuring we'd mess with Indy later in the day. By the time we came out, we had to fight the Indy crowd to get to the Tiki Room (I was glad we'd installed the rotating sawblades on the front of my grandmother's wheelchair the night before), but by late afternoon the line had dwindled to just outside its normal queue. Of course, every single lane of that queue was open, but it wasn't quite as crazy.

DrGoat said...

Yep, nothing like bacon wrapped asparagus.