Friday, October 18, 2013

Beautiful Tomorrowland, November 1972

Man oh man, I sure do love today's photos! They feature a bright, colorful Tomorrowland that I was so enamored with when I was a kid.

Peoplemover! Skyway! Autopia! Monorail! Check out the candy-like yellows, reds, blues and greens of the vehicles, looking especially vivid under a brilliant blue sky with plenty of fluffy clouds.


Howsabout another shot from the same vantage point. The Peoplemover has magically changed colors, like a mood ring. After our Autopia ride, let's go over to "Flight to the Moon", followed by "Adventure Thru Inner Space" and "Carousel of Progress", and then maybe a visit to the Circlevision theater to watch "America the Beautiful".


12 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

These images are real beauties. And in addition to the Peoplemover! Skyway! Autopia! & Monorail!, there's also a bit of Rumpus Room Action! in the first image.

Thanks, Major.

K. Martinez said...

Sometimes when I see photos like this, it makes me wonder if the inheritors of Disneyland understood what they had besides it being a money maker.

2nd Pic: Those chairs and tables at the Tomorrowland Terrace next to the PeopleMover track is where I used to always sit so I could watch the bobsleds careen down the slopes of the Matterhorn while I munched on my moonburger and fries. It was a great memory.

Chiana_Chat said...

Photos from a Sparkling Planet!

I'm up for the Major's agenda, but I suggest we can also enjoy the Peoplemover between Adventure and Carousel.

How perfectly the look of the people matches the look of the place, incidentally...

@ K. Martinez - No; they got it without having to get it.

Alonzo P Hawk said...

I would stick to that itinerary as well. I could spend hours in this part of the park (circa 72') with that list of attractions.

Now it's just a crowded ugly mess. I sure hope the re-boot/remod/refurb (when it's done) will bring this corner of the park back to glory.

Melissa said...

Was it even possible to take a bad picture of that version of Tomorrowland, what with it being laid out so beautifully?

Since it's November 1972, I'm assuming that the grumpy girl in the second picture is Grumpy Linda's kid sister.

Melissa said...

Forgot to mention the stripey-shirted lady in the top picture. Such elegant posture! Such perfect contrapposto! The angle of the purse-holding arm! (And of course, not a scuff on that white leather.)

Her outfit is slightly outdated in that way that was expected of even fashionable middle-aged women at the time - it was considered ridiculous when a mother wore the same cutting-edge fashion as her grown daughters. Her skinny pants were probably new, but bought at a shop that catered to women who were young when skinny pants were the latest thing.

I keep expecting her to turn around (pivoting like a model onto that slightly bent left leg, of course) and be, if not Jackie O. herself, then someone patterned on her.

I also dig the Tammy Wynette hair on the lady in the purple pantsuit. She's done a really cool French braid thing in her daughter's hair, too. In ten years she'll be giving her root and spiral perms to get that big '80's hair. Lucky girl.

Major Pepperidge said...

Man, all of my readers are early risers! I'm up at 7 today and feel like a slug.

Nanook, I'd like to believe that the kid was running to apply life-saving CPR to some needy guest. She's a hero!

K. Martinez, I do think that at least a *little^ of the magic was accidental, but those guys were pretty sharp back in the 60's in particular. Did they really call the hamburgers "moon burgers"?!

Chiana, yes of course, the Peoplemover would be a "must do". Especially knowing what I know today. Look at those wonderful Sears catalog clothes!

Alonzo, I don't want to be a pessimist, but it is hard to imagine that today's designers will come up with anything as great as Tomorrowland '67.

Melissa, I believe that today's photos are actually from a different lot of November 1972 pix. And you're right, it was hard to take a bad picture of Tomorrowland back then.

Melissa again, I had contrapposto (with a carbonara sauce) for dinner last night. For some reason the clothes in the 1970's really took on a character all their own, with the colors and patterns. I used to find them ugly, but now they have some genuine charm. I keep assuming that everybody shopped at Sears or Montgomery Ward… maybe because my mom liked to order stuff from those catalogs. I don't even remember my mom taking us out for clothing in those days (except for sneakers).

Melissa said...

"No, Lisa! Mother said you can't ride by yourself, and that's that. I don't care if Michael IS watching. He's only number 19, anyway. Aren't there any nice single-digit boys in your class?"

Anonymous said...

Melissa - I just noticed that Michael is a Staff Sergeant Grade 3 according to his iron-on chevron...chicks dig a military man, even in the 7th grade.

Bill in Denver

K. Martinez said...

Maybe my comment was poorly written. I was referring to the team that inherited the task of keeping Disneyland going during the Eisner era. At least to me they didn't seem to understand the design aspect of Disneyland as well as their predecessors. How else could the coolest area of the park (Tomorrowland) become so bad over the years. I think the guys from the 60’s definitely understood what they were doing. In the end it was probably more a case of the power shifting too strongly in favor of the bean counters. Either way I hope change is coming soon to this area of the park. The latest Tomorrow-Wars Land rumor sounds strange and interesting, but who knows what they’re really planning for Tomorrowland’s future.

Major - If I recall my memories correctly, the Tomorrowland Terrace menu labeled some of their food offerings as Space Burger (hamburger), Moon Burger (cheeseburger) and Jupiter Dog (hotdog). I also remember the menu was divided into sections by "Liquid Fuel" (beverages) and "Solid Fuel" (French fries, side items and other solid foods). This might’ve been around the late 70’s that it was like this.

TokyoMagic! said...

And let's not forget "Space Mist" which was sold underneath the PeopleMover station at the "Lunching Pad"!

Nancy said...

The Wonderful World of Color!