Bayern Kurve Blog: 2024

"Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination..."

I've often enjoyed playing with the tilt-shift setting on my camera, and I thought it would be fun to apply the effect to some Disneyland images. Some of the results were better than others, but I hope you enjoy them. Looking at an already scaled-down world with a "miniature" filter lets you see the park in a different light!

Though we never got to ride the Submarine Voyage, we watched the subs ply the lagoon during testing, and I feel like the kinetic energy this adds is part of why the ride is important. Hopefully whenever I get back to Disneyland, the attraction is still operating.

Watching the train approach the New Orleans Square station may be one of my favorite views in the park. Who doesn't love the little historic depot? I can't remember for sure if they ever ran four trains while we were there, but I was impressed by even three at once.

I'm surprised that Disneyland still has turnstiles when so many parks have done away with them. I wonder how old these particular turnstiles are at Small World. This exit wouldn't be built today with ADA accessibility in mind!

Casey Jr. is peak Disneyland charm. Storybook Land has plenty of candidates for tilt-shift photos, though I feel like I could capture new scenes with an even more convincing effect.

I remember this ride on Casey Jr. in the early morning light fondly, seeing a guide in training on the canal boats. I am so happy that these wonderful vintage ride vehicles continue to operate without safety modifications.

Seeing both the Mark Twain and Columbia operating at once was such a happy sight for me. The Columbia had a relatively limited capacity compared to the Mark Twain, so you had to time it just right if you wanted to ride it. The little boy inside of me wishes I could be the guy operating the cannon!

Returning to Frontierland aboard the Columbia, the Golden Horseshoe beckons. Though there isn't a full show anymore, during our visit there was a piano player. (Now, there apparently is no entertainment at all.)

I swear that the Cherry Coke I drank sitting on the upper level of the Golden Horseshoe was the best-tasting Cherry Coke I've ever had, but that was probably affected by where I was drinking it.

I love the yellow umbrellas in front of the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe (former Plaza Pavilion) and the fringe umbrellas around the Hub. They seem like something you'd see in the park during the 60s to me for some reason.

Either the tilt-shift effect is working, or Main Street just looks miniature on its own. It looks like someone will need to duck to enter the shop! But if he wants to visit the Silhouette Studio, it was still temporarily closed in 2022.

I remember glancing at this sign and believing it, then when I was looking at my pictures I thought "wait a minute..." Clever theming (or lying)!

Happy to see the mailbox hails from the great state of Pennsylvania!

When Main Street isn't crowded, a ride on the Horse-Drawn Streetcar sounds like a wonderful idea. Or you can just sit on the bench and look at a park map to plan your next ride...

Fortunately, there are lots of open benches from which to choose! I'm guessing that these small trees replaced older, larger ones that made it more difficult to see the castle.

Though the cannons have been moved out of the walkway into the adjacent planters, they still herald a patriotic theme that is appropriate for Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.

No "tilt-shift" nonsense here, just a cannon in its full glory (albeit plugged up).

While we're at it, let's take that plug off and shoot that cannon right down Main Street! We'll only hit a couple people.

No matter what happens at Disneyland, this will always be the prettiest entrance of any park anywhere, in my opinion! And it's not even close.

Ok, shooting the cannon now might not be as good of an idea as it was in the previous picture where the street was largely empty. I took this picture from the Omnibus, or I was standing on the shoulders of my 7-foot-tall dad. I can't really remember...

Why ride the Horseless Carriage when you can rent a hoseless, electric scooter of your own! Yee haw! (Yeah, I'm running out of ideas...) I think the brick border on the streetcar tracks is an improvement over how it was, but I can see how people would be nostalgic for the old look.

The last time the Main Street Electrical Parade ran was during its 50th anniversary in 2022. Hopefully it returns someday, though I can see how some people might see it as tired. This is an image I posted previously, but I couldn't resist using the tilt-shift effect on it.

I can appreciate my rides on Splash Mountain all the more now that the conversion to the new theme is largely complete. I have a feeling that Disneyland's Splash Mountain will not only always be the best log flume I've experienced but one of the best dark rides too. I love the melancholy look of this shot, as the sun was setting on the attraction's tenure at the park.

Here's one shot from DCA. I love the lights for this restaurant in Paradise Gardens Park. They evoke an old turn-of-the-century "electric park" perfectly. With the lights on Golden Zephyr across the way, the effect was as close as I could get to being at an early 1900s amusement park today.

And now for a few completely different shots! These are from Story Book Forest at Idlewild Park in Ligonier, PA, a self-contained fairytale park with no rides. These are the original shots taken with the built-in tilt-shift effect on my camera that convinced me to do this post. That's Snow White's cottage in the background (its chimney has seven multicolored stacks).

Story Book Forest has the Seven Dwarfs, but it is also home to the generic "elves of the forest." Here's one of the bunch.

Finally, this is Laffland at Sylvan Beach Amusement Park in New York, a delightful old dark ride that is pretty much a perfect time capsule of the 1950s like the park itself. If all goes according to plan, I will be riding this ride this coming Friday. After dark, I love how the sign is illuminated and the clowns are shrouded in the shadows.

I feel like the tilt-shift thing is kind of hit-or-miss, but I hope that didn't take away from the photos. I'll have more to come on Disneyland and other parks in the future! I'm very busy "working" at Kennywood (it's mostly fun), but I hope to get another post out by the end of July.

Going back through my Knott's Berry Farm photos, I realized I have a bunch of shots that are still worth sharing. I hope you enjoy these photos that cover some of the finer details in the park! Starting across the road at Independence Hall, I like this picture with the former Jungle Island Lagoon in the background. Judging by the hat on the left, someone appears to have photobombed this picture!

Moving into the park, I sprinted straight to the train. I was stunned by the puddles along the tracks, which show that this is still a functioning water tower. I tried telling everyone around me this fact, but they just gave me weird looks. Photoshop the thrill rides out of the background, and this would be a convincing old-west scene.

I remember reading rumors that The Western Trails Museum was going to close permanently a year or so ago, but seeing that it's still listed on the Knott's website, that thankfully appears to have not been the case.

I love that the museum also has Knott's memorabilia on display, like the "Super Bonanza" ticket books. The displays are very unpolished, and that adds to the charm.

I forget which peek-in this is, but it's super cool.

Like much of Ghost Town, I'm guessing these mannequins have been pretty much untouched for decades and decades!

Even with Pony Express overshadowing the Boot Hill Cemetery, there are still plenty of vintage delights in this area. I'm sure at one time the Barrel House was just as popular as the roller coasters that now tower over it.

Hopefully this little sliver of vintage Ghost Town remains as-is for as long as possible!

I'm surprised that these super-old-looking information signs are still here and that they haven't been rendered illegible by the California sun. I'm assuming that these signs are examples of handmade craftsmanship, which characterized the early days of Knott's.

This outcove near GhostRider is a pressed penny enthusiast's dream!

The old schoolhouse wasn't open during our visit, but I was able to get a photo of the interior.

I wonder if these posters in the Bird Cage Theater are original prints or if they're newer reproductions?

Even though some of the old peek-ins have been temporarily removed for "Ghost Town Alive," the undertaker display is still the best of the bunch!

Pepper's Ghost at its finest!

I like this picture of the mobile pianist in the Roaring 20s area, playing for an invisible crowd!

Here are some photos of a couple of Camp Snoopy features that are now history. It isn't surprising that the High Sierra Ferris Wheel was removed given Cedar Fair's emphasis on high-capacity rides, but it's a shame that it won't be replaced by a similar Ferris wheel-style ride.

The Grand Sierra Railroad will also be replaced by an electric train, meaning this genuine steam locomotive has been retired.

Sitting in front of the Calico Log Ride as the sun goes down really is a special place!

California sunsets blew my mind! The air creates an interesting effect that we don't have in Pennsylvania.

I wish I had more pictures of Ghost Town after dark with its atmospheric lighting.

The orange lights in the upper left of this picture are part of GhostRider. We had plenty of time in Virginia's Gift Shop while waiting for my mom to get her bearings (she accidentally took I-5 in the wrong direction when coming to pick my dad and me up).

The variety of vintage merchandise offered by Knott's is delightful. There is a large market for vintage items that most parks leave untapped, but Knott's and Cedar Point take full advantage of the nostalgia.