Friday, June 17, 2011

Skyway & Skull, 1974

The Fantasyland Skyway chalet still stands, even though the colorful fiberglass buckets completed their last trip across the park in 1994. Even though it makes me a bit sad that it sits there unused, it would make me more sad if they tore it down. In the photo below, you can see it at its peak, with beautiful mature trees surrounding it, enhancing its alpine ambiance. I like the colorful flowers on the hillside. See any edelweiss? I was going to zoom in on the Skyway sign, but it's a bit indistinct, so ... never mind. It does say that you need a "D" ticket though.


High above Fantasyland, we glare (always glare!) down upon Skull Rock, and the Pirate Lagoon, not to mention the dining area behind the pirate ship. They should have had mermaids in this lagoon!



7 comments:

Chuck said...

I needed these memories this morning. Thanks.

Thufer said...

I always enjoy pictures of the Fantasyland Terminus. The chalet was (is) a beautiful bit of craftsmanship that really needs to be saved at most any cost to the park. I know that is prime 'real estate' but the history back there is rather important and is beyond monetary pricing.
Oh goodness, lunch at skull rock was a high point of my day on many visits. I can remember roaming in this beautiful area and letting the sights, sounds and smells whisk me away to many exotic places alive only in my mind.

JG said...

What Chuck said, Major...and Thufer as well.

I am becoming a collector of these shots, they help me remember the numerous (endless) times i carefully carried my plastic tray across to sit on one of the barrels under the sailcloth awnings to listen to the waterfall.

Does anyone remember the pebbled paving? It was similar to that at the Tiki Room, but distinctive in its way. Nothing like it remains in Disneyland today except a tiny patch in the Tiki Room.

Gone forever.

JG

Momma Nic said...

I can still smell the tuna as you walked in to the ship

bloefeld said...

My absolute favorite place to eat in the park as a kid!
I'll be there today gazing at the ghost of the skyway shrouded in the overgrown trees. Always makes me nostalgic and more than a bit sad. As always, thanks for keeping these places alive on your blog, Major!

Nancy said...

lucky people who remember this...
thank goodness for Polaroid!

the Skull Rock area looks like a diorama from this angle.. maybe unless you did your fancy artsmanship on it? so cool, wish i had seen it too

at WDW we still have our Chalet station, always worry that the next time i am there it will not be. they really need to think of a way to bring it back! (sadly, of course, our Tomorrowland station is gone with the recent SM rehab :***( luckily i had the sense to take a picture of me there before it went away)

Chuck said...

I'd forgotten about the pebbled paving until you mentioned it.

My memory may be failing me, but didn't there used to be a lot more "themed" pavement around the park?