GDB Greatest Hits - Tomorrowland
It's time (yet again) for some "greatest hits"! Let's head over to Tomorrowland, shall we?
Look at that cute li'l 3-car red Monorail! It's like a puppy version of the later, longer, sleeker versions. This image was originally posted way back in 2006, but the photo itself is from December of 1960. As you can see, there is a low construction wall in front of us, though I haven't the foggiest idea of why it is there. Is that the Midget Autopia to our left?
Here's a neat photo (posted in 2007) showing the longer, sleeker Monorail I mentioned before; this time it's the yellow one, heading in to the Disneyland Hotel station. Look at those lucky ducks in in the front of the Monorail! Someday I need to make sure I ride up there. Just visible in the background is the dome of the Anaheim Convention Center, while a hotel tram waits below. (The photo is from 1969).
What a spectacular view of Tomorrowland, as seen from a Skyway bucket as it heads toward the Tomorrowland station; You've got your subs, and the Monorail, and some Autopia, as well as a smidgen of Astro Jets, and even the Disneyland Railroad. Look at all those trees outside the park!
10 comments:
Major-
Yes, indeedee, that is the MIdget Autopia to our left in the first picture. And, oh - all that Tomorrowland goodness in the last picture. Yummy.
Thanks, Major.
Retreads or not any photos of the Monorail in all it's bubble top goodness is a-ok with me. Only rode up there once but it's a great view. Thanks for posting these.
Note the 100-series passenger cars hiding in the trees in the first photo. I keep forgetting how close the train ran to the lagoons before the iasw expansion.
Note how the last car of Monorail Yellow is sightly elevated in comparison to the rest of the train. Are the monorail tracks superelevated (canted to the inside) on curves or is this just a suspension problem?
Oh, and look at all that parking lot splendorisomousity.
Reruns or not, great bunch today, Major!
Yes, all the monorail curves are superelevated. I always tried for the bubble when I rode the monorail. Not a lot of clearance when the train exited the park and went under the return beam!
Chuck, you can also see the Retlaw 1 cars pulling out of Tomorrowland Station in the third photo. They sure do like making cameos!
Nanook, I wish I could figure out what the construction was for, since the Midget Autopia had already been there since 1957. The Fantasyland Autopia had opened almost two years before this photo was taken. It’s a mystery to me!
Alonzo, at least you experienced the bubble dome in all its glory, which is more than I can say.
Chuck, the passenger cars really were hiding, I didn’t notice them at all. As for the Monorail, those curves were not superelevated, they were super DUPER elevated. In the case of that photo, it almost does look like a suspension problem, however.
Anonymous, now I’ll have to look for a photo or map to get a sense of how low the clearance was!
Steve DeGaetano, the best thing about that photo is that so much stuff is visible, including the train. BTW, I went to Travel Town in Griffith Park yesterday, for the first time in decades. It was a lot of fun, but I do with they had the money to preserve those old trains better.
Wonderful pictures, Major, retreads or not. Some are still new to me.
I do love Monorail Yellow with the yellow Parking Trams, I have that as one of my screensavers, never fails to make me smile, and I don't particularly like yellow.
Re: Construction Fence in photo 01. Is the photo date too early for the changes related to IASW, since that work supplanted Autopia Mini? I know that IASW attraction didn't open until 1965, and with the miraculous speed of Disney construction, they would not have needed to start five years in advance. But that's all I can think of... unless there were renovations or shutdowns of the Autopia.
Anyway, thank you. The Disneyland I loved, then and still.
JG
@ Major & JG-
What JG surmises is all I can come up with also. But five years at Disneyland is an eternity. Also, the Midget Autopia didn't close until April of 1966; with IaSW opening in late May, 1966.
The mystery continues...
Did the nautical flags hanging from the Motor Boat Cruise turnstiles spell anything? Too few are visible in the first picture to be sure.
Was the bus behind the Hotel Tram in the second picture from another hotel?
Note the General Dynamics sign in the last picture. I assume it rotated - this is Tomorrowland, after all.
JG, how can you not like yellow? I wouldn’t want to wear a yellow outfit, but it is a beautiful color! I think it is safe to say that construction had not begin on IASW in 1960; it is much more likely that it was (as you said) renovations/maintenance of some kind.
Nanook, yes, this one might have to remain a mystery…
Dean Finder, I once looked up those flags based on a clearer photo, and could detect no secret message, so I am going to say that they were were there strictly for their movement and bright colors. As for whether the General Dynamics sign rotated, I honestly have no idea! Arg, now I need to know.
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