4/15: Golden Horseshoe

[Al Lutz]

A recent event celebrating the Golden Horseshoe Revue prompted Sue to take a look back. Discuss it here...

DIRECT ARTICLE LINK: http://miceage.micechat.com/suekruse/sk041508a.htm

[DizDragon]

Sounds like it was a great event.

I didn't realize until I read this piece that Dana Daniels was a DL performer. My wife & I saw him perform on Maui during our honeymoon a couple of years ago - we spent the next week randomly saying "it's a bird" to each other. I'm sorry I never saw him at the Horseshoe.

[tonyrr1]

Sue... Thank you for this article. I am sitting here as a grown man getting all misty-eyed because this show was one of my favorite things to see as a kid, even though my mom didn't always take us to see it when we visited DL.

When they came out with the 50th Anniversary DL soundtrack, I played the GHR track many, many times, and in fact, my 5-year-old daughter now loves to listen to the whole show, especially Donald Novis sing his Irish lullabyes and the whole cast singing The Ballad of Davey Crocket at the end.

I haven't seen the current show as I live half way across the country now, but we're planning a week-long trip for next year (DW + 2 daughters), and that will definitely be something we do. For me, I can't wait to get back in Slew Foot Sue's place... I'm looking forward to retirement so I can move back to Anaheim and be a CM, and I won't care what they pay...

[Pineappleprincess]

Oh how I miss that show. I remember running over to the Golden Horseshoe first thing in the morning to put our name in for one of the show's. Forget the rides I wanted to see the gang at the Golden Horseshoe. I wanted to be a Can-can girl so badly. It broke my heart the day they finally closed the show for good. We had passes growing up and I was able to see the show on a regular basis. I consider myself lucky to have been able to experience the show on a regular basis. It will always live on in my heart.

[DaveG]

The Tribute to Wally was such a wonderful evening. Thank you to Carlene for putting it together. This was truly a once in a life time event.

[JiminyCricketFan]

It sounds like a great evening! I saw the original show and have fond memories of it. Wally's teeth were something I remember too. (How could you forget it, if you were a kid!)

While I am a fan of Bill Hill and the Hillbillies, I enjoyed the old Golden Horseshoe Review and the talent that show represented.

[Disneykin Kid]

I grew up in the 60's, my Dad owned a supermarket and he used to get free tickets to DL from the Pepsi salesman, and we used to get special passes to watch the GHR, I remember sitting in the side boxes, I think they were reserved for only VIPS at the time. (Pepsi sponsored the GHR) I loved it and was sorry to see it go, but I also love Billy Hill. I was listening to the GHR on the Musical History of DL album and was thinking that many of the songs probably appealed to my parent's generation, like Bill Bailey, the Irish songs and Beautiful Dreamer. The songs that Billy Hill plays appeal to the baby boomers like myself, like Elvis and songs of the 50s and 60s. So in a way the GHR appealed to an older generation and is past its time, and BH is appealing to an increasingly older generation itself. Any show after BH would also have to appeal to the current generation. But if they brought back a musical show like the GHR with can can girls and such, it would probably have to be a purely period piece that was a total transportation back to the Old West. The problem with that though, is that people going to a musical show are probably most jazzed when they hear their old favorites. An exception in my mind is the exceptional rendition of the 'Billy Hill Overture' by the no-longer-playing Billy who played the mandolin.

As for Sue's comment that the GHR couldn't pay for the room because it was too expensive, I too am saddened. There's something I don't understand about this 'every location must make a profit' policy, though. Obviously, most attractions are not revenue makers, but the shops and restaurants are. It's the attractions that draw people into DL, much like loss leaders (definition: a popular article that is sold at a very low price or at a loss for the purpose of attracting customers to a retail store) at the auto dealer, or the specials at the supermarket. Then DL hopes to earn revenue at the shops and restaurants, I understand that. But classifying the GH as a revenue maker is the wrong thing to do. Yes Billy Hill makes do with a small cast and I enjoy it very much, but I hope that there will be some rethinking of what needs to generate revenue and what can be valuable 'loss leaders'.

[fantasygirl]

I wasn't alive when the GHR was going on (im only 15!) but i saw a recording of one of the preformances and really liked it! i wish it was still going on now. thanks for that article!

[BassBone]

What a beautiful article. I wish I had seen the Golden Horseshoe Revue when it was going on, but I was born in 1982. If I did see it, I was too young to remember. But still, at least there's quality entertainment in that room in the form of the Billys. It's not just a food venue like at WDW's Magic Kingdom.

[SummerInFL]

Wow what a wonderful article, I can't even imagine what it must have been like to grow up with Disneyland as your playground.

I'm sad this show is no longer there, I would have loved to see it. It's nice though that everyone got together for a great tribute.

Thanks for a great read!

[Neverlandtink]

Originally Posted by Pineappleprincess

Oh how I miss that show. I remember running over to the Golden Horseshoe first thing in the morning to put our name in for one of the show's. Forget the rides I wanted to see the gang at the Golden Horseshoe. I wanted to be a Can-can girl so badly. It broke my heart the day they finally closed the show for good. We had passes growing up and I was able to see the show on a regular basis. I consider myself lucky to have been able to experience the show on a regular basis. It will always live on in my heart.

I hear ya, Sistah! Some of my earliest memories of Disneyland were the GHR in the early 1970's. Seeing Wally perform was magic for me! (I really believed that those were his real teeth.) The can can girls were always beautiful and had the prettiest dresses on. It was so fun to see them flip their skirts up towards the audience. Not only was the show wonderful, but it was something that my parents, my teenage sisters and this little 6 year old could enjoy together. Now that I'm a grown up It was such a thrill for me to be on the event team this year. It really turned out to be a memorable evening.

Thanks Sue, for the great review!

[Malawi Missonary]

I Also remember fondly the memories this show had on me. I remember asking my Dad if thee teeth were real. Also, a bit random, I remember Wally on the Muppet Show as a special guest star where he did the tooth spitting as well.

Thanks for the great article. Really a nice read.

[Queentitania19]

Wow, thanks for the great article. I wasn't old enough to see the show at DL but I used to watch it over and over again on Vault Disney. I made my mom record it so I could watch it whenever I wanted and a few years ago I lost the tape. I was so sad I almost cried. Then it came out on the Disneyland Treasures DVD and I jumped up and down screaming and my roommate thought I lost my mind.

[katy621]

That was a very nice article about The Golden Horseshoe Revue! I was trying to find out on imdb.com about Betty Taylor. What ever happened to her? Imdb.com didn't have much on her. She seemed like a very sweet person.

[Neverlandtink]

Originally Posted by katy621

That was a very nice article about The Golden Horseshoe Revue! I was trying to find out on imdb.com about Betty Taylor. What ever happened to her? Imdb.com didn't have much on her. She seemed like a very sweet person.

Hi Katy,

Betty is still alive and seems to be doing very well. She lives with her sister up off the coast of Oregon, I believe. We asked her to join us for the recent Golden Horseshoe event, and she planned to come, however her sister took ill and they weren't able to make it.

Lannie