Monday, December 18, 2006

Animals in the Christmas of Many Lands Parade 1959

I must admit that when I looked at these slides, I saw 1960 and assumed they were for the 1960 parade. However I did not look at the month and these are dated Jan 1960, so the parade is 1959. For a good look at the 1960 parade look at Gorillas Don't Blog for some great views. Tiki Ranch Blog has some great posts showing a couple of Magic Kingdom Club posters for Christmas during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Finally check out the Disney History blog, Toons at War blog, and 2719 Hyperion blog for some nice Disney History. Congratulations to Jordan at The Pickle Barrel blog for his mention on the Disney History blog.

A couple of more images from the 1959 parade. Both show animals in the parade, the first is of Russia with a Cossack walking his trained bear in the park. In the background you can see Mineral Hall and Casa De Fritos restaurant area.

This one is more fun showing the Disney walk around characters from the early days. The white rabbit is very frightening. But who would not want one of those costumes in their collection?

This is one of my favorite floats, Japan with a great Tori gate and bridge on the float. Of course making the little girls pull the float is kind of mean.

For those tired of looking at the parade, here is a nice view of Fantasyland from the steps to the Skyway. You can see some decorations on the trees.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I appreciate the spectacle of today's elaborate parades, but I don't get much joy from them. Generally they are an obstacle to be avoided!

This early Christmas parade looked like it was really charming, almost in a "small town" way in spite of the variety of costumes.

Hannibal8 said...

I know the pig is probably supposed to be one of the three little pigs, but to me he looks suspiciously like another pig from the Warner Brothers stable of characters. Perhaps he's a spy. I also think it's interesting that the parade is in Frontierland (not Main Street), and that they actually set out chairs for the guests.